“How are they?” she asked, already dreading the answer. One female died not long after she arrived, and a second one a month ago. There were only three females left, and she’d heard Ukhaan muttering about requesting another shipment soon.
Rummel frowned. “One of ‘em is getting worse.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Not unless you can kill every bastard in this place,” he said bitterly, then shook his head. “Just do whatever you can to stay out of those cells.”
She stared after him as he left, then sighed and returned to work. The thought of Varga flitted through her mind. Since he had liked the corn muffins so much, perhaps he would enjoy a chowder made from the small kernels. Resolutely refusing to think about why she had any desire to please the big male, she set to work.
Chapter Five
By the time they returned to Ukhaan’s quarters for dinner, Varga was on edge. The conditions in the mines were all too familiar and brought back memories he would rather have forgotten. Having to play the part of a callous businessman filled him with disgust. He had done his best to disguise it but Ukhaan seemed to be regarding him with increased suspicion.
The two of them ate silently. Joan had prepared another delicious meal, but he hated having her wait on them. He had a hard time keeping his eyes away from where she stood silently against the wall.
“Leave us,” Ukhaan demanded as soon as they finished, and she began to gather up their plates.
“Don’t send the slave away,” he said lazily. “She can attend me.”
A flash of defiance flared in those silver eyes, but it passed so quickly that he was sure Ukhaan hadn’t seen it when the overseer shrugged and nodded. Good. His little human knew how to keep her head down and attention focused away from her.
“Bring me a drink,” he ordered. After she silently obeyed, she started to return to her position by the wall, but instead he tugged her down at his feet. A definite flash of defiance that time but he ignored it, curling his fingers into her silky brown hair. The light caught on the dark strands, showing highlights from gold to red. How had he ever thought that her hair was drab? He was so focused on her that he almost missed Ukhaan’s next words.
“What do you think? Are you prepared to make a deal?” the overseer demanded.
He arched a brow and looked down his nose at the male, mimicking the attitude of so many of the nobles he had encountered. “It is much too soon to say. But I will go this far….” He paused delicately, letting Ukhaan squirm at his hesitation. “The results to date look promising. Most promising.”
The other male relaxed back in his chair, a broad grin covering his ugly face. It was almost too easy. No, he reminded himself. Ukhaan might not be subtle, but he was not unintelligent. It would be a mistake to ignore his determined brutality.
“How do you keep your production costs so low?” he asked casually.
“The slaves, of course. Most mines focus on the bigger slaves because of the amount of force required.” Ukhaan shrugged. “And of course, I purchase a few of those as well. But they’re expensive and they’re hard to keep in line. I found that the smaller slaves can be quite effective with the right… motivation. Even though they don’t last as long, they cost very little.”
Varga forced himself to nod approvingly, even though his skin crawled at the memory of those wretched males in the tunnels. At least his own people had been suited for the work, their bodies forged in the crucible of Sorvid. And they had not technically been slaves, unless you considered desperation their master.
His fingers clenched in Joan’s hair at the memory, and her soft gasp, quickly silenced, brought him back to the present. Ukhaan laughed.
“I see you know something about keeping slaves in line yourself.”
Suddenly sickened by the part he was playing, he impulsively reached down and lifted Joan into his lap, pulling her against his chest and curving his hand over her breast. He knew that to Ukhaan his grip looked brutal, but he had no intention of hurting her. Her body was taut in his arms, and with the hand that Ukhaan couldn’t see, he stroked her hip soothingly until she relaxed.
Ukhaan continued to pontificate about his methods and his skill at maximizing profits and Varga attempted to appear interested, even though having the little human in his arms was extremely distracting. Finally, he faked a yawn and stood, keeping Joan cradled against his chest.
When Ukhaan’s gaze turned speculative, he realized his mistake and swung her over his shoulder instead, hoping he had acted decisively enough to avert suspicion. Joan’s body went rigid but to his relief, she didn’t protest.
“I assume I may use the human again tonight?” He kept his tone disinterested, almost bored, but his heart sank when Ukhaan studied him for a minute before responding.
“For tonight, of course. But perhaps we should conclude our business tomorrow—before you are… distracted.”
“Perhaps.” He shrugged casually. “I still wish to see the smelting operation and examine the shipping records.”
“Very well. Until tomorrow.”
“Until tomorrow,” he echoed and left the room.
Joan immediately started to squirm, and he was about to lift her back into his arms when he spotted Baahy coming towards them. The short time he had spent in the male’s company was enough to create a fierce disgust. Ukhaan’s methods were brutal, but they were driven by a ruthless desire for efficiency. Baahy was simply sadistic—he enjoyed causing pain.
Varga
