Pawn (12 page)

The doorman lifted a velvet rope blocking the entrance to the club, and Knox ushered me inside a dark hallway. Deafening noise pulsated around us, and even the floor shook in time to the beat. There was no hope of conversation here.

At last the hallway opened up into a large room packed with people writhing to the music. Colored lights flashed green and blue, and half-dressed girls who couldn’t have been much older than me danced ten feet in the air, suspended by wires or some magic trick I couldn’t see. As Knox led me down a raised walkway that bridged the front of the club with the rear, everyone stared at us.

It was quieter in the back, which was cluttered with tables and couches, but I still had a hard time hearing. Our table was behind another velvet rope, guarded by a man nearly as big as the one at the door. By the time Knox and I sat down, a crowd had gathered, and Knox gestured for them to join us. Within seconds I was squished between Knox and a girl whose eyelids were covered in thick green glitter, and one by one, they leaned over to kiss me on the cheek. When they were done, the urge to wipe it with a napkin overcame me, but too many people were watching.

Talking wasn’t necessary, since everyone seemed determined to do it for me. I was told about how much I’d been missed, how D.C. hadn’t been the same without me, and next time I went to Aspen, I had to take them with me. Waiters came and went, providing the table with an endless supply of drinks, but I didn’t touch any of it. I had to be clearheaded when I snuck out.

It was hard to tell how much time passed with the incessant chatter and pounding music, and after a few songs, my head throbbed along with the beat. I sank lower and lower into my seat until finally Knox touched my arm and leaned in close enough for me to hear him.

“Do you want to dance?”

I would rather have banged my head against the table repeatedly, but when the alternative was listening to a dozen people talk at once, dancing didn’t seem so bad after all.

“Yeah,” I said, and everyone moved to let us out. Relieved to leave them behind, I allowed Knox to wrap his arm around my shoulders, and we both ignored the catcalls coming from the table.

The music grew to an earsplitting level when we reached the dance floor. Maybe it was my imagination, but the crowd seemed to part for us, making room in the center of the chaos.

I knew how to dance, but this wasn’t dancing. This was writhing and grinding and perspiring bodies pressed together, and a trickle of sweat ran down my spine. By the time this was over, the makeup I had painstakingly applied would be ruined.

Knox faced me, and his mouth moved, but for the life of me I couldn’t tell what he was saying. He took my arms and guided them around his shoulders. We were half an inch apart, and even if I’d wanted to move away, the wall of people around us gave me no choice but to stay put.

I locked my hands behind him, and he wrapped his arms loosely around my hips as he started to dance to the rhythm. I clumsily struggled to move with him, making sure that half inch stayed between us, and I was sure I looked like an idiot. Celia had shown me videos of Lila dancing, and at age six, she had been leaps and bounds better than I would ever be.

Knox didn’t seem to mind, though, and he gave me an encouraging smile. Something inside me gave way, and I smiled back, enjoying myself for the first time since this whole mess had started. He was a forgiving partner, and as a new song began, he guided my hips in time to the beat.

He was a good dancer, too. A number of the girls around us kept an eye on him, but he didn’t seem to notice, instead focusing on me. I held his stare awkwardly at first, unsure whether I was allowed to look away or not, but eventually I relaxed and lost myself in the music. The more I watched him, the more I understood why the other girls were practically green with envy. The way he looked at me, the way we moved, the heat between us—in the low lights of the club, it was intoxicating.

He set his forehead against mine, and for a moment I let myself believe that the way Knox looked at me was real. That he wanted me and not just my face. He brushed his fingertips against my jaw, and before I knew it, his lips touched mine, so light that I could barely feel them.

I kissed back.

I had no idea how long it lasted. Seconds, minutes, an hour—time was lost to the thumping bass and slick bodies around us, and when Knox deepened the kiss, I went along willingly, tangling my fingers in his hair. He tasted like alcohol and sweat, and the way my mouth fit against his—

Not my mouth. Not my lips.

I wasn’t the girl he pretended he was kissing. And he wasn’t Benjy.

My eyes flew open. How much time had we been dancing? I broke away from Knox and glanced at his watch, too cowardly to look him in the eye.

Dammit. It was nearly midnight already.

Before I could say anything, someone pushed me into Knox, and I landed squarely against his chest. I babbled apologies that were lost in the roar of the music, and he glowered at the person behind me.

The moment was gone. Suddenly all I could feel was the overwhelming heat, and I wiped my forehead with my sleeve. I needed to get out of here.

I stood on my tiptoes and yelled into Knox’s ear, “Bathroom?”

He took my arm and led me through the crowd, which once again parted to let us through. The VIP bathrooms were behind a heavy curtain in the back of the club, and on the other side, I squinted against the blinding hallway lights. We were alone now, and I was all too aware I could still taste Knox.

“Is this it?” I said, pointing to the nearest door. He nodded.

“Kitty—”

“Don’t,” I said. “It’s fine. People expect that from us. I get it. Right now I really need to go.”

He sighed and gestured at another door. “Right. I’ll be in here. Wait for me when you’re done.”

I slipped inside and let the bathroom door close behind me. It didn’t matter how nice kissing Knox had been. He wasn’t my boyfriend—Benjy was. Or would be again, as soon as I found him.

Benjy might have been my boyfriend, said a small voice in the back of my mind, but Knox was my fiancé. And if I survived the next few months, he would be my husband.

Lila’s husband, the same voice corrected. That was who he’d been thinking about, not me. Not some pathetic III who couldn’t even read. Besides, Knox had only kissed me because he knew everyone expected it.

Something inside me deflated, and I pushed the thought out of my mind. I was being ridiculous. Right now I had to focus on Benjy. I’d have plenty of time to angst about Knox later.

I cracked open the door and peered into the hallway. It was empty. Creeping into the corridor, I eyed the three exits. The first was the door Knox had gone through, and the second led back into the club, which left the third at the very end.

It was a stairwell that only led up. I glanced back at the curtain. If I tried to leave through the front, too many people would see me. Pulling my hat from my pocket, I tucked my hair underneath and started up the stairs, hoping it led to an exit.

It opened up into another hallway, this one longer and full of doors on either side. Judging by the way the floor trembled, I stood above the club, which meant my chances of finding an exit were slim. But at this point, even a window was better than nothing.

I waited, but only silence came from the corridor. If anyone was up here, they weren’t talking. I hurried down the hallway. I’d be trapped if someone appeared, but I also had a greater chance of finding an exit at the far end. Even if someone did see me, no one in their right mind would go after a Hart. I hoped.

Halfway down the hall, I heard voices from behind a door. I ducked down and listened for any signs that someone was about to leave, but all I heard were two men arguing.

“You can’t be serious,” said the first. “I can’t go back to my manufacturer and tell him this is all I got. He’ll kill me.”

“I’m not in the habit of buying from thieves,” said a second, so low I could barely make out the words. I leaned in. “And at the price you’re charging, that’s exactly what you are.”

“With all due respect—”

“If you had an ounce of respect for me, you would offer me a reasonable price,” said the second voice. “It’s clear you don’t, so I will take my business elsewhere.”

The door opened without warning. I jumped away, but it was too late. Any chance I had at hiding was gone.

“Lila?”

My mouth went dry. Knox stood in the doorway, but that wasn’t what caught my attention.

It was the gun in his hand.

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?”