Page 9 of Dewpoint
That was the nicest way to say I thought him a pussy. He pressed his lips together telling me all I needed to know even if he didn’t say anything.
I went to say more to end this conversation for good, but something hit me. I slowly blinked at him. “You’re fucking nuts. He’s going to try and nab her. He wants her for himself. He doesn’t want her gone as in not fighting—he wantsher.”
“I-I don’t know what you’re—”
“Metcalf will killall of youif you go near his daughter’s interests,” I bit out. “He scorches the ground around his kids and leaves no one alive. I’m shocked he hasn’t sent some…” I swore under my breath. “He already did. That was the guy I couldn’t get a read on last fight. They didn’t seem like a tiger, but they weren’t a dragon and I couldn’t place them.”
“So?” he snapped.
I gave him the look he deserved. “How do you think a master like Metcalf stays on top? He has magics working for him always. Everyone knows that and drools over the access he has.” I snarled when he opened his mouth. “I’m not getting involved in this insanity. I likeliving.”
He shoved at my chest. “Yeah, I do too, but I don’t have a choice.”
“No, you do,” I said with a snort. “Convince your boss ofreality. Metcalf will find him.” I chuffed when he rolled his eyes. “There is no escaping Metcalf when—”
“It’s not his daughter they want, but the fighter.”
“Doesn’t fucking matter!” I roared. “You might as well touch the daughter if you go after her interests. She’s not going to go ‘Oh well, I lost the fighter making memillions, bad luck.’ Fuck no. She’s going to dig and dig and never stop digging until she finds out what happened and who fucked with her. And if she can’t—which I believe she could—she’ll go to daddy.”
He swallowed loudly, understanding now how fucked he was.
I jabbed my finger in his chest. “And when any of them come looking, I will sing. Fuck, I’ll go look for her and tell her all about this.”
“You fucking disloyal—”
“Disloyal? You just threatened to toss me out if I didn’t act like your goon! We’ve been working together for a decade and you treat me like one of your hired hands? Fucker, I’ll put you in the ground before I riskmy life. And she makes me money. This is good business, so tell the owner to get his rocks off another way—”
He snorted. “It’s not for him.” He went pale when I fisted his jacket.
“He’s running girls? That’s dangerous for all of us.”
“Not here,” he hissed and tried to break my hold. “And it’s—he’s branching out. I don’t know. He wants—they want her drugged up and to whore her out like the rare prize she is.”
I couldn’t hide my disgust as I tossed him across the room. “She’s a fucking person—one of our people. What happened to you? You used to swim in gray like me, and it’s stupid thatfights and gambling are illegal, but you let drugs in here. Now you’re fine with selling women? Not just managing whores, but abducting and selling them asslaves?”
“I’m not going to justify myself to some two-bit bookie,” he bitched as he rolled to his feet.
“Oh yeah, you managed all this illegal and you’re falling in deeper. You have any room to judge me.” I shook my head and went for the door. “Convince the owner because I will tell everyone and then he’ll end you for trying to outsource it. I’m not having this on my conscience when she’s a decent person and just wants to fight.”
“She shouldn’t have been so full of herself and taken the money to be fucked like other fighters.”
I glanced at him over my shoulder. “She’snotother fighters. She’s fucking amazing and you know it wouldn’tbelike other fighters when she’s a woman. She’s smart enough to understand that, especially when it’s not even been a month and you’re talking abducting and drugging her. Get your shit together or bail.”
“Easy for you to say!” he called after me. “You don’t know who the owner is. You think he’s any better than Metcalf? He’snot.”
That made sense, but it was useful information that I would file away for later.
Part of me was disgusted to hear the owner was planning to branch out into running girls… But not surprised. I’d heard of a lot of everyone planning to push past their norms now that the king was dead. They had no faith in the new, youngqueenand wanted to exploit that.
Right, because the king had been the one to handle the investigations or arrest people. Just because the royal family controlled Nerthus specifically didn’t mean the king was so involved.
From what I heard, the wrong people thought greasing palms and bribes would get them out of any real trouble. I wasn’t so sure though. She’d been bold and ready to throw down before she even got the bigger crown.
I didn’t think she would allow things to fall apart right under her nose. If anything, I would think she’d have to be twice as tough as the king to prove herself and that she could handle the job.
It worked in the underworld that way, so why did people think she wouldn’t do the same in the legit world?
Because she’s a woman and Thovudin is way more sexist than people like to admit, but at least the rest of the world is starting to see it.
