3
King ignored the stares as he strode through the narrow alley behind the gaming hell and past a tavern that reeked of ale even out here in the foggy night air.
He was used to the stares.And even if the alleys were dark and the streets filled with knaves, he didn’t fear for his safety.
No man in his right mind would dare to lay a hand on King.If he did, he’d likely lose it.King hadn’t come this far by being a weakling.He might not be as big as Beast, but he was all muscle, and more than that, he was quick and cruel.
He’d never once hesitated to fight dirty, and to the end.
None of his opponents had lived to tell the tale, and that more than anything kept others from trying.
Still, Beast would bark at him for strolling about on his own like this.Or grunt, rather.The man wasn’t one for talk, but he took his job as head of King’s security seriously and he was annoyed when King took risks.
But this wasn’t a risk.King strode toward the back entrance to Loula’s brothel, one door down from the upscale den of vice where thetonhad their fun.The brothel was far less secretive.It was where the regular gents came to forget their troubles and ease their tension.
Loula ran a clean house and she treated her girls well.
Her men, too, because there were nearly as many uppity high-end ladies next door as there were gentlemen.
He let himself in, ignoring the whispers and glances as he strode through the narrow hallways and Loula’s office to the main room.
The main room…which was more crowded than he’d ever seen it.
“Oy, even King’s turned out for this one,” he heard a man say nearby.
He ignored them, eyeing the crowd for Loula or Tracker—he was never too far from Loula.The two claimed to be ‘just friends’ but they were rarely apart for long.
The crowd was thick, though, and even though it parted for him, he couldn’t see much beyond the heads in front of him.
But then the tension in the room shifted, the energy changed.King felt it, like a shiver racing over his skin.
Something was off.
Or something was up.
He caught sight of Beast by the far door, towering over the crowd, a scowl on his face as he monitored the situation.Beast saw him coming the moment King started to move in his direction.
Hell, maybe Beast had known he was here all along.Wouldn’t surprise King.
The moment he reached the bruiser with the misshapen nose and the scars that spoke of all he’d seen, King stopped short.“What’s going on?”
Beast crossed his arms and nodded toward the front of the room.The rest of the room turned that way as well.“Bidding’s starting.”
“Bidding for a girl…” King trailed off with a growl.No one ‘bid’ for Loula’s whores.So whatever was going on, this wasn’t business as usual.
No, this was the sort of business he despised.
He was no saint, but he never dealt in slavery, not for any reason.
Neither did Loula, though, so he frowned up toward the front.That was the reason he’d let her use his property rather than some nasty old cronies who took girls from their homes and ruined them.
He had standards—not many, but he stuck to them.Women and children were off limits.He had nothing against whoring but he trusted Loula to only deal with women who knew what they were about, women who came to the brothel willingly.
“What’s this about?”he started.
But then he caught sight of Tracker.The sly man seemed to shift within the shadows, his hat pulled down low as always.
“It’s not what you think, King.”Tracker didn’t beat around the bush.