A Curvy Girl for the Prince by S.E. Law
8
Haakon
“What the fuck?” I demand. “Where is she?”
Nerilda shrugs.
“Beats me,” the madame says. “I swear I’d tell you if I knew, Prince Haakon, but Matilda hasn’t been around here of late. Actually, she only came by once, and that was when I set her up with you.”
I stare at the older woman, my gaze vengeful.
“You better not be lying.”
Nerilda’s not intimidated in the least.
“Listen, I know that whores aren’t exactly the most trustworthy of sources, but believe me: I am not lying when it comes to Matilda. If anything, if you see her, would you pass on a message from me? Mainly, that she can make big bucks working for the House of Silk. Men love innocent, sassy young things, and she fits the bill.”
I snort. Fuck, this sucks. What the hell is going on? To be honest, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen after our encounter at the driving range. I half-expected to hear from Nerilda, bawling me out for compromising one of her girls, but then I remembered that the date with Albert Ray wasn’t set up by the House of Silk. Instead, it was a real date, which only makes me angrier.
“Well, do you know where she might be?” I demand, my brows drawing down in a fierce frown.
Nerilda smiles sassily.
“Is what they say true?”
I frown again.
“About what?”
The older woman giggles behind an open hand before shooting me an appraising look.
“You know what I’m talking about. Do you have the genetic deformity rumored of the royal family? You certainly are a fine piece of man flesh, Prince Haakon, and there’s so much gossip about your anatomy swirling around.”
I grimace because this is not the woman I want to be having this conversation with.
“Why? Maybe,” I hedge. “What’s it to you?”
Nerilda leans forward then, her eyes bright.
“Show me,” she breathes. “This will be one for the ages.”
But I pull back, already repulsed by the middle-aged madame. She’s not ugly. In fact, Nerilda is quite attractive if you like hardened MILFs with jet-black hair and obviously fake breasts. But I know how to play my hand.
“If you tell me where Matilda is, then I might show you.”
Nerilda’s eyes go wide as she flicks her cigarette.
“I already told you, I don’t know.”
I shrug.
“Really. The madame of a whorehouse doesn’t know where one of her girls is.”
Nerilda holds both her hands up.
“I swear it. Matilda hasn’t been around recently!”
I shrug.
“Yeah, but you have spies all throughout the city. There are little birds that whisper in your ear at all hours of the day and night. So where is Matilda? Tell me and I might let you have a glimpse.”
Nerilda licks her ruby lips, considering my offer.
“I might know something,” she concedes. “It’s not concrete, but there are rumors.”
“Then tell me,” I command. “And you’ll get to see the Lysenian double shaft.”
With that, Nerilda’s eyes light up with anticipation.
“Okay,” she says in a rushed voice. “There are rumors that Matilda was kidnapped.”
I squint.
“Okay, by who? Who would want to kidnap her? And for what? To where?”
Nerilda rolls her eyes.
“So many questions, my prince. But I’ll tell you what I know. Matilda went on a date with Albert Ray. Rumor is that Albert kidnapped her, and that she’s off in the Colonies now.”
I squint.
“What? The Colonies?” The Colonies refer to a far-flung wasteland located beyond the reaches of Siberia. Allegedly, women are brought to the Colonies for hard labor, and the conditions are atrocious. They sleep in the open without access to clean water, and the mortality rate is fifty percent within the first year.
Of course, we’ve worked with other countries in the EU to put an end to the Colonies, yet our efforts have been unsuccessful. Somehow, women are continually trafficked to the wasteland despite our best efforts, and they disappear with alarming frequency. The area is controlled by violent warlords, many of whom kneel to no man.
“Holy shit,” I whisper, the blood draining from my face. “Oh hells.”
“Yeah,” Nerilda says. “So I’d get there fast if I were you. But now, it’s my turn,” she says in a snippy voice. “Pants down, pretty boy.”
I wish I could say that I stalked off and showed her nothing. I wish I could say that I slapped the madame across the face for daring to talk to a royal that way. But I knew I needed more information, and it was likely that the madame had more up her sleeve. So I upheld my end of the bargain. I showed Nerilda the Lysenian double-dick, as she laughed and clapped, beaming with excitement. Then I did even more, in order to extract additional information. After all, I’m desperate to find Matilda no matter the price to be paid … and the Colonies were the key to it all.
