20
THOSE WHO CARE
Ves allowed himself to be escorted back to the Flowered Calf. His mind was racing. There was a time he could have taken the two hammer-wielding guards flanking him. Or at least, there was a time he would have thought he could. But his years in Valez’Mui had made him soft, a fact that he wanted to blame Syrina for, but he knew better. He could have kept the hands-on approach to his business the way he had with his pirating, but he’d grown used to others doing things for him. At first, because it was expected of him, and it helped his reputation. Eventually, though, he’d grown to enjoy staying behind his walls while everyone else took all the risks. He’d always been good at hiring competent people. It had never been a problem to let them do all the heavy lifting.
But it
