Page 47 of The Mountain King
“Or else what?” she asked, but he’d already turned away.
“Rumors they’re trying to dig new tunnels,” Melissa said after he’d closed the front door behind him. Kai heard the crack of thunder outside and sighed, irritated. Great.
“New tunnels? The Lord doesn’t allow that but once a century.”
Everyone in the town had a general idea of the contract between the mining company and Lord Maddugh. Too many of their husbands, lovers, sons worked the digs. It was odd, in a way. Maddugh was the ultimate source of the economy around here—the side business had sprung up to support the workers. But he wasn’t technically their Lord.
“One of my regulars is a development scout from the city. They’re looking to expand. Something about… suburbs?” Melissa looked baffled for a minute. “What the hell is a suburb?”
The word sounded familiar. Kailigh frowned, making a mental note. But that wasn’t why she was here.
“Look, Mel, I appreciate about confidentiality, but Ruthus is a danger to all the women in town. What if he decides to make quota by trying to pass a professional off as fresh meat?”
Melissa’s expression closed down. “If it gets out I ratted about clients, I’d be dead in a week. These traffickers don’t play that shit, Kai. You know that.”
She sighed, frustrated. “Give me anything. Something.”
The woman hesitated. “Try Anga’s place. Tomorrow night. Their group has been coming in once a week regular, and that’s their favorite spot. Sometimes we get the overflow here.”
“Thanks, Mel. I’ll leave you a tip at the bar.” So no one would see Kai and Melissa exchange money and wonder why.
“Thanks,” Mel said, and slid away, her hips swaying as she worked the room again.
Kailigh made her way back to Maddugh. “Got a lead,” she said, coming close so no one would hear. “Leave the bartender an extra silver piece. I need to pay Mel for her info.”
He nodded, rising from his seat a moment later. “Time to go?”
Once they’d opened the front door though, Kailigh stopped short. Outside the awning along the walkway, rain fell so hard it bounced off the packed dirt roads, creating a muddy dredge.
She swore. Her boots would behellto scrape clean, and she hadn’t brought an umbrella.
“We’ll get soaked,” she said, and started to step out when Maddugh grabbed her arm. She glanced at him, irritated.
“I’m not walking you home in this weather,” he said, voice barely discernible over the crack of lightning and pounding of the rain. “Let’s wait it out.”
“It will go all night!”
He shook his head, and pulled her back into the bar. The pound of music and conversation wasn’t nearly as loud as the weather. “They have rooms here? We can wait it out in one. Is the food safe?”
“One of the best cooks in town,” she replied, automatically. “But wait a minute—I’m not sitting around in a room with you all night. My girls—”
“Are fine,” he growled. “My sons won’t let anything happen to their future sisters.”
Kai’s jaw loosened. “Are you mad?”
He took her hand, pulling her through the crowd. “Quite probably. Where do we book?”
An attendant at a desk manned the staircase that led to paying rooms.
“Ignore the woman,” Maddugh said loftily. “She has been ill—and it’s storming outside.”
“Maddugh—”
“It’s raining. I haven’t had my dinner and I’m hungry. I don’t feel like a hunt. We will go upstairs, wait out the rain for the night, enjoy a hot meal, and if you wish to sleep, you may do so. I am Dwyrkin. I do not need to sleep.”
“Pot roast on special,” the attendant murmured. “And fresh bread. Might want to take him up on that offer.”
Kailigh sighed, aggravated and wanting to get back to her daughters, but the truth was she must be getting old. The thought of traipsing through the storm—rather than sitting in a dry room tucking into a hot meal—had little appeal.
She fixed him with a stare. “You will behave yourself.”
His expression was bland. “Of course, mistress.”
The attendant settled them into a plain, but serviceable room. Kailigh prowled it from end to end, inspecting for signs of bugs or rodents. She pulled the white bedding from the mattress and checked for tiny crawling things. She couldn’t abide insects.
