Pawn

X Lies That Bind

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” said Knox, grabbing my elbow. Behind him the door slammed shut, but not before I caught sight of a portly man surrounded by open suitcases of guns.

“I was trying to find you,” I said. A lie, but he had no way of knowing for sure.

“I told you to wait.”

“I’ve never been very good at listening.” I jerked my arm away. “What were you doing in there? And what are you doing with that?”

Knox tucked the gun into the back of his pants. “None of your business. Let’s get you back downstairs before everyone starts to wonder where you went.”

I stayed put, and though he was strong enough to drag me, he didn’t. “Were you buying those?”

“Not yet. The price was too high, but he’ll lower it soon enough. Why are you so curious?”

I shrugged. Guns were illegal for everyone except Shields, but apparently those laws didn’t apply to VIs and VIIs either. “Can you teach me how to use one?”

Knox stared at me. “You want to learn how to shoot?”

“Yes. Can you teach me?”

“No.”

“Then I’m sure Augusta would love to know what you do on your nights out.”

Several seconds passed. I half expected him to threaten me—or worse, take a swing—but instead he burst out laughing.

“I like you,” he said, reminding me so firmly of Daxton that I nearly recoiled. “Sure, I’ll teach you. Why do you think you need to learn?”

Instead of answering, I started toward the stairwell. It was a stupid question. He knew how much danger I was in. “This doesn’t have anything to do with what happened to Lila, does it?” I said.

He fell into step beside me as we descended the stairs. “Why do you think it does?”

“You like answering questions with another question, don’t you?” I said, struggling to come up with a reason that didn’t include my knowing he’d been told about Lila’s assassination ahead of time. “Guns are for killing people or making them do what you want. You only have two hands, so there’s no reason for you to have so many guns. That means you were going to give them to other people, which means either you need money or you’re upset about something. Since you’re in no danger of starving, Lila’s the obvious answer.”

He eyed me. “Yes, it has to do with Lila.”

“What about her?” I said. “How she died, or—”

“The guns are for the people who supported her,” he said. “That’s all I’m telling you.”

I whirled around in the middle of the stairwell, and he grabbed the railing to stop from plowing into me. “You said you’d never seen the speeches before. Were you lying?”

“What? No.” He looked flustered, and a hint of satisfaction crept through me. “I had an idea of what she was doing, but I kept out of it. Celia filled me in after you were Masked.”

“Celia was using her to overthrow Daxton, wasn’t she? That’s why Lila was killed.”

Knox didn’t meet my eyes, and that was all the answer I needed.

“Is Daxton going to kill Celia, too?” I said, and Knox shook his head. “Why not?”

“It’s—complicated.” He frowned. “Daxton, he—”

Below us, the door clanged open, and I froze. Knox pressed me against the wall, and as footsteps thudded up the stairs, he kissed me hard.

“What’s going on here?” said a gruff voice, and Knox pulled away, looking annoyed.

“What does it look like?” he said, and the burly security guard below us paled.

“Miss Hart, Mr. Creed—my sincerest apologies. I didn’t realize—”

“That much is obvious,” said Knox, and he tucked me underneath his arm. “If you don’t mind, we’ll be going now.”

The guard stepped aside as Knox led me down the stairs. Once we were back in the corridor with the bathrooms, I slipped away from him and took a deep breath to clear my head. Pretend or not, he was a great kisser.

“You can’t just—do that whenever you feel like it,” I said, trying to sound angry, but it came out more like a whine.

“Is that so?” said Knox. “I’ll try to remember that next time we’re seconds away from being caught fifty feet from an illegal arms dealer.”

He waited, his eyes on me, and I had to turn away from him so I could refocus. I didn’t have time to care about the guns or the way he kissed me. My chances of having another opportunity to sneak away and find Benjy were all but nonexistent now, and making a break for it wouldn’t do me any good. Knox was taller than me, and I was sure he could outrun me.

That left the truth. I had no guarantee he wouldn’t try to stop me, but I did know about the weapons. If that’s what it would take to get him to bring me to Benjy, I would do it.

“I need to get to the Heights.”

“Why’s that?” he said, leaning against the opposite wall.

“Benjy’s taking his test tomorrow, and this is my last chance to find him before he disappears.”

Knox raised an eyebrow. “The Heights are fifteen miles away. What do you expect to do, walk the entire way?”

“If I have to.” I crossed my arms. “And unless you want everyone finding out about what happened tonight, you’re going to help me.”

“We’re already helping you,” he said. “You can’t try to take charge like this. It’ll derail everything we’ve been doing.”

“What have you been doing? You can’t just tell me everything’s being handled and not expect me to think you’re lying.”

“And why would I lie to you?”

“To get me to cooperate.”

“You’re already cooperating,” he pointed out. “We know what we’re doing, and you’re going to have to trust us.”

No, I didn’t. I could walk right out that door, and short of dragging me kicking and screaming back to Somerset, there was nothing Knox could do about it. Taking a deep breath, I pushed the curtain aside and did exactly that.

Hundreds of people stared at me as I stormed over the bridge and out of the club, but I ignored them. Once I reached the street, I headed back toward the walkway, jumping onto one heading east.

“This is going to end eventually.”

I scowled. Knox could follow me all he wanted, but that wasn’t going to change a damn thing.

“What are you going to do then? Keep walking until your feet blister?”

He leaned up against the railing and directly into my line of sight. I looked away.

“Tell me, Lila,” he said. “How do you plan on finding him? He won’t be at the group home anymore. Are you going to walk the streets until you spot him?”

“If I have to,” I said through gritted teeth. Benjy would show up at the testing center in the Heights the next morning, and that would be as good a place as any to wait for him.

“And how are you going to explain to him who you are?”

“I’m going to tell him the truth. Despite what you and everyone else seem to think, usually that’s the best way to handle things.”

“Fair enough.” Knox cracked his knuckles. “How are you going to tell him that you’re marrying someone else?”

I glared at him. “You bring that up now?”

“He’s your boyfriend, isn’t he? Won’t that bother him?”

Of course it would, and Knox knew it. It didn’t matter, though. Benjy would know the only reason I was marrying Knox was to stay alive. He would understand. But I would never forgive myself if something happened to Benjy because I didn’t reach him in time.

Eventually the walkway ended, and we set out on foot. The buildings became smaller, more run-down, and there were fewer lights. Knox tried to take my elbow, and even though I shrugged him off, he stayed close.

When the street ended, I stopped at the crossroad. We had to have walked at least three miles by then, and my feet were throbbing, but I couldn’t give up. “Which way?”

Knox shrugged. “You’re the one leading. You figure it out.”

I tried to imagine a map of the city in my head, but while I could picture the squiggly lines that indicated streets, I had no idea which one we were on. I squinted up at the sign, struggling to recognize the letters, but it was hopeless. I couldn’t do this without Knox’s help.

“Please,” I said tightly. “They could kill him.”

We were alone on the street now, but Knox kept glancing around nervously. I didn’t know why, since he was the one with the gun. “Trust me, okay? We’re not going to let anything happen to Benjy.” He set his hand on my arm, and when I tried to pull away, he tightened his grip. “Do you want to know a secret?”

“No. I want to find Benjy.”

He leaned in closer anyway. “You’re the most important person in the family right now. Daxton and Augusta need you to help undo the damage that Lila caused. Once lockdown is over, they’re going to ask you to make speeches that denounce everything Lila spent the past year building. They can’t do it on their own, and letting the news of Lila’s death become public will only prove that what she was saying was right. They can’t have that. They’re not going to kill Benjy to keep you in line, because as far as they know, he’s the only reason you agreed to go along with this in the first place.”

I dug my nails into my palms. “They can replace me.”

“Not as easily as they want you to think. Your eyes make you special, for one. And being Masked is rare, and it’s never used like this. Not replacing someone completely.” He grimaced, and for a moment I thought I saw a flicker of pain in his eyes. “All going to the Heights will do is risk our lives—mine, yours, and his. Come back to Somerset with me, and you’ll see Benjy again. Celia and I have already arranged it.”

I gaped at him. “What? When? How?”

“Patience.” He nodded to the left. “If you really have to do this, the Heights are that way. I’ll even go with you. But trust me, Kitty—nothing’s going to happen to him.”

“What if it does? What if something happens that you didn’t see coming?”

“Then I’ll hand you a loaded gun and close my eyes,” he said. “You have my word.”

Except I had no idea how much his word was worth. The thought of placing Benjy’s life in his hands made me nauseated, but Knox was right. I had no real plan. Even if Benjy were still in the Heights and did show up at the testing center in the morning, it would be next to impossible to convince him to come with me, let alone find a place to keep him safe.

“By the time you find him, Augusta and Daxton will realize you’re gone,” said Knox, “and they’ll know I’m with you. I won’t be able to protect you anymore.”

Hot tears blurred my vision, and I blinked rapidly. I had a VII and the face of a Hart, but I was still as powerless as I’d been as a III. It wasn’t fair.

“Fine,” I said, turning away from him and walking back the direction we’d come. “If anything happens to him—”

“It won’t.” Knox easily kept up with me, and he pulled his tiny phone from his pocket and pressed a button. “Greg, we need a ride.”

Seconds later, a voice replied, “I’ve got your location. I’ll be there in ten.”

“Got it.” Knox hung up and slid his phone back into his pocket. “And before you ask, no, I won’t tell him to take us to the Heights, and he’s my driver, so he won’t listen to you.”

I scowled. There went plan B.

Instead of dropping us off near the alleyway that led to the tunnel, Knox’s driver brought us straight to the front entrance of Somerset. A dozen guards milled around the sealed gates, and they shined flashlight after flashlight in our eyes. By the time they were finally willing to believe we were who Knox said we were, I was half-blind.

That wasn’t the worst part, though. That came when we walked into the drawing room, where every member of the Hart family had gathered despite the late hour. Celia and Daxton stood together in the middle of the room, both with their arms crossed and identical scowls on their faces. Augusta sat next to Greyson, and they talked quietly with their heads bent together as we entered.

“There you are,” said Celia. “See, Mother? I told you they’d be back soon.”

“You should never have left in the first place,” said Augusta. “We are in the middle of a national security crisis, and you two thought it would be a good night to go out?”

“It was just to a club,” said Knox, sounding much more relaxed than I felt. “Nothing happened.”

“You should both consider yourselves lucky,” said Augusta. “How did you get out?”

“Through the exit, of course,” said Knox.

Augusta narrowed her eyes. “Do not lie to me, Lennox. Guards were posted in the atrium all evening. Not one reported anyone coming or going.”

“That’s because we snuck out the servants’ entrance,” I said. All eyes turned on me. I had no idea if there really was a servants’ entrance, but in a place this size, there had to be.

“Is that so?” said Augusta slowly. She took a step toward me. “And how was it you managed to sneak off the grounds?”

“It’s not that hard, you know. If you’re really that determined to keep everyone locked up, you should do a better job of it.”

Her lips curled into a sneer. “Very well. You are hereby confined to your suite until the end of lockdown. Argue, and I shall extend it until further notice. And you—” She focused on Knox. “If I hear of you dragging her out into the streets at all hours of the night again, I will call off the engagement and have you banished Elsewhere. Do you understand?”

I stepped forward. “It was my idea, and if you punish Knox for it, I swear you’ll never see me again. I escaped once, and I can do it again.”

Augusta and I stared each other down for several seconds. I could see every wrinkle around Augusta’s eyes, and her pupils were so small that they looked like pinpricks. No matter how angry she was, though, I refused to be the reason anyone else was sent Elsewhere.

Daxton cleared his throat. “Er, Mother. Lila. If you will—there’s no need for this. Lila knows what she’s done wrong, and Knox is an adult. If he chose to violate lockdown, that’s his risk to take. But Lila’s back now, see? Still in one piece.”

Augusta took a long, deep breath and finally moved away. I felt Knox’s hand on my back, and when I glanced at him, I saw a strange combination of fear and pride on his face.

“My restrictions for Lila still hold,” said Augusta. “You are to be confined to your room until the end of lockdown.”

I didn’t care what she did to me as long as she didn’t send Knox to his death. “Fine. Want me to go now, or should I stick around for another lecture?”

She waved her hand dismissively. Celia smirked, and Greyson eyed me with his brow furrowed. I didn’t wait to find out what his problem was, and I turned sharply on my heel before storming off.

A guard trailed after us as Knox walked me back to my suite. He said nothing until we reached the door, and when he did, his voice was laced with amusement.

“Impressive,” he said, bending down to brush his lips against my cheek. “No one ever stands up to Augusta and lives.”

I wasn’t entirely sure he was joking. “Yeah, well, guess you were right about how much they need me. See you when she decides my sentence is up.”

I wanted to add something about Benjy, to tell him to take care of him, but the guard moved closer. Instead I gave Knox a small smile and slipped inside Lila’s suite, closing the door behind me.

Benjy’s life was in his hands now, and if he did something to get him killed, Elsewhere would be the least of his problems.

I was locked in my suite for two days straight. Servants brought me my meals on silver platters, and I had an endless amount of movies and music to keep me entertained, but that didn’t make it any better. More than once I thought about using the necklace Greyson had given me to pick the lock, but I didn’t want to risk letting Augusta know I still had a way to escape.

There was nothing I could do for Benjy anyway. The day of his seventeenth birthday, I spent the morning staring out the window, wondering where he was and if he would get a VI. No matter what Knox and Celia had planned, they couldn’t predict every variable, and anything could happen to him. I wanted to believe them badly, but all I could do about it now was hope.

Even though I didn’t use the lock pick to escape, I did use the air vent to try to find out what was going on. After my meals, I waited until a servant took my tray away, which guaranteed me at least a little time to spy on Knox before anyone else checked in on me. Augusta never bothered, but Celia knocked a couple of times. We exchanged nothing more than a few words, but it seemed to be enough to reassure her I wasn’t going to disappear anytime soon. And even though I knew it was unlikely, I half hoped Greyson would stop by again.

No amount of crawling through the vents told me what was going on with Benjy, though. Knox never mentioned his name, and I began to wonder if he was on Daxton’s side after all. Maybe he’d only said those things to keep me from walking all the way to the Heights. I almost dropped into the room and asked him, but my escape route was too precious for me to give up yet. He’d asked me to trust him, and I would until he gave me reason not to.

On the evening of the second day, as I lay flat in the vent listening to Knox mumble to himself, I heard his door open. A second later it shut, and the click of the lock was so loud it echoed up through the vent. I peeked through the grate in time to see Knox remove his reading glasses. “What is it?”

“Lockdown’s nearly over.” Celia. I let out a silent sigh of relief. At least I wouldn’t be cooped up much longer. “We won’t have much more time.”

Time for what? Did she mean Benjy?

“It can wait,” he said. “It doesn’t need to be done immediately.”

“Yes, it does,” she said. “You know what’s at stake. As soon as Daxton rallies the country again, we’ll lose our window.”

“I already told you, the price was too high. We’ll have to wait anyway.”

I strained to hear every word. The guns he was going to buy—would he finally explain why?

“We have enough for the first wave, if it comes to that,” she said. “But we can do this without bloodshed and with the country on our side the moment we tell them Lila’s dead.”

My mouth dropped open. Augusta and Daxton would kill her for sure. And probably me, as well.

“I know,” said Knox. “Believe me, I know. But the moment we release that information, there will be no taking it back. She’ll be gone, even if we have Kitty—”

“Kitty isn’t a factor in this,” said Celia.

“Yes, she is. You said it yourself—she’s part of this now. And we have the chance to make the best of it. She can touch thousands, Celia. Millions, if everything goes according to plan. She knows better than any of us what the people go through. She can help us, and you’d be an idiot to waste that.”

Something inside me swelled as Knox spoke. I’d never been useful before, and it was an odd feeling to be needed. But most of all, he was sticking up for me when he didn’t know I was listening. Any question I had about whether or not I could trust him disappeared.

“Fine,” said Celia. “We’ll see what Kitty can do. That won’t change what’s going to happen the moment lockdown’s over, though. They’ve been booking an arena in every big city since they killed my daughter. By the time the tour’s over, we’ll lose what small advantage we have. He’ll convince everyone that everything’s fine and we’re the enemy. We’ve worked so hard, Knox—Lila worked so hard. We can’t let him win.”

“So what?” said Knox. “Are you saying we do this tonight?”

“Yes. It’s the only chance we’ll have before he leaves.” She paused. “I’ll need the syringes.”

I heard a drawer open, and Knox handed her a small black bag. “Purple’s for you. How are you going to give him the other one?”

“You, of course,” she said, and Knox snorted.

“No.”

“Knox—”

“No. I got the product. You figure out how to make it happen. I’ll do a lot of things for you, but this isn’t one of them.”

Before Celia could reply, there was another knock on the door. Knox hastily put his reading glasses back on, and he and Celia exchanged a look.

“Go in the other room with him and close the door,” he said quietly. “I’ll fill you in after. Make sure not to bother him. He can’t know he’s part of this, too.”

Celia disappeared, and after a few seconds, Knox called out, “Enter.”

I tried to see who it was, but the grate blocked my view of the door. “Sir,” said a booming voice that could only have belonged to a guard. “Lockdown is over.”

“Thank you,” he said, shuffling a few papers. “When you tell Lila, will you inform her that I would like to see her?”

I didn’t wait around to hear the guard’s answer. I slid backward through the vent as fast as I could, dropping into Lila’s suite right as he knocked. I hastily pushed the end table back, wincing as it scraped against the floor. Wiping the sweat off my forehead, I called for the guard to come in.

A key turned in the lock, and the door opened. “Miss Hart,” he said. “Lockdown is over. Mr. Creed also asked for your company as soon as you are willing.”

I lay curled up on the couch, trying my hardest to keep my breathing steady. “Thanks. I’ll be right there.”

I splashed some cold water on my face, but I was too curious to bother changing out of my pajamas. Once I’d dried off, I shuffled down the hallway to Knox’s room and knocked.

“Enter,” he called, and I slipped inside. Just like before, he sat behind the desk, his reading glasses perched on his nose.

“If you’re going to tell me lockdown’s over, I already know,” I said. Knox shook his head and gestured for me to close the door. I frowned, but obeyed. “I can’t go with you anywhere. I’m still in my pajamas.”

“Yes, Lila, I realize that.” He removed his glasses and rubbed his face. “Would you please allow me to speak?”

He’d called me Lila. Someone else must have been listening. I crossed my arms, annoyed but silent.

“Thank you,” he said. “Now, I am pleased you were told lockdown is over, but that was not my purpose in inviting you here tonight. Instead, I would like to introduce you to my new assistant. Mr. Doe,” he called. “If you would join me.”

A tall boy with red hair stepped through a door on the other side of the suite, and the room seemed to close in on me until I could barely breathe.

Benjy.