Larissa's Game of Thrones (Larissa) novel Chapter 637

“You found Thatch already?” Larissa asked, surprised. To have located him so quickly could only mean one thing: Haskell had been prepared for this all along.

Haskell’s smile widened. “I’ve always known where he is. I was just pretending not to. Now, I thought we’d go ask Solomon where he might be.”

Larissa’s eyes lit up. “Oh, I see. You’re going to let Solomon think he has you cornered. This should be fun. Let’s go.”

As they ate lunch in the car, Haskell said, “My brother Rigby texted me last night. He wants to come to your birthday party.”

“That’s odd,” Larissa replied. “I barely know him. Why would he want to come?”

“Before he asked, he specifically wanted to know if my grandfather and I would be there,” Haskell explained.

Larissa understood immediately. “He probably wants to use my party as an opportunity to get close to Grandpa Zoltan. But he only asked for an invitation for himself, not for Sire?”

“That’s right. Just him.”

Larissa pondered this for a moment. “What do you think he’s up to?”

“My guess is that he and Sire have different ideas,” Haskell mused. “Sire wants to act on his own, and Rigby wants to do the same. Neither wants the other to take any risks.”

Larissa was silent for a moment, then gave Haskell a sympathetic look. “They certainly have a strong bond. Makes you, the actual brother, seem like the third wheel.”

Haskell gave a self-deprecating laugh. “Tell me about it.”

“Well, you can still joke about it, so you must not be too hurt,” she teased.

“That’s fine,” Haskell said with a pleasant smile. “I can talk to you.”

Faith’s own smile faltered. “Oh? What about?”

“Tell your brother to return Thatch to the asylum immediately,” Haskell said, his tone still light. “Otherwise, if anything happens to him, I’m afraid he and Uncle Tobias might lose their business interests in Africa.”

Faith’s face hardened. “Is that what you came all this way to say? I don’t know why you’re asking Solomon about Uncle Thatch, but I’ll pass on the message.”

“Please do,” Haskell said calmly. “Time is of the essence. You’d all be wise to behave yourselves, at least until I’m officially named the Palmer family heir. If you do, I can guarantee you’ll live comfortably. But if you don’t… well, your family will end up just like Paxton’s.”

Faith’s composure finally cracked.