Page 44 of The Mountain King
“The girls are dangerous, too, you know,” she said, vaguely offended on behalf of the female gender that he would dismiss all the women as ‘safe.’
He glanced at her. “Yes. But they aren’t traffickers. Although that one—” he nodded to a woman on a far table, hips swinging to the beat of the music “—moves like an agent. Watch her. She’s probably here to spy.”
Kailigh controlled the urge to gape, and made a mental note. “Then why not arrest them?”
“Management,” he said, clinically. “There are too many traffickers, and they change tactics too often. It’s easier to manage them than to try to stamp them out.”
Kailigh stared at him. He shrugged. “When you one day rule, you’ll understand.”
She snorted. “I rule my house, and my garden, and my girls—and they are almost fully their own women, so not even them soon.”
He glanced at her, but said nothing, following her into the dark, slightly musty room. It was stuffed with bodies, likely a quarter of the adult male population of the mining camps. More than usual, which brought a frown to Kai’s face, recalling the conversation between Maddugh and Amnan. She’d have to spend more of her time in town, keeping an eye on things. She was still human, despite the evidence of Dwyrkin blood, and she could skulk, ear to the ground, without no one batting a lash. So, if there would be trouble, she could warn Maddugh ahead of time.
“I will talk to some of the girls,” she said, leaning close to his ear. “They trade in information sometimes as well as other things.”
His hand wrapped around her wrist, hard, forestalling her. He lowered his head so his lips pressed to her ear. “And what is the plan, Kai? What do you do when you find one of his men?”
“Find out when he’ll be back so we can have a trap waiting.”
“And then just let the man go?”
The skepticism in his voice irritated her. “Of course not. We’ll turn them over to the constable to hold until things are settled.”
Maddugh sighed. “How cute. The constable.” He released her wrist and patted her bottom. “Go play. I’ll have a drink and keep an eye on things.”
“Whatever.”
