Pawn
Page 23
I stared out the dark window, and I could feel her eyes boring into me. Celia would only accept one answer, and as long as Knox was going along with this, I had to believe that she was telling the truth. Knowing someone had been Masked as Daxton didn’t give me the upper hand; it painted an even bigger target on my back. If I didn’t gain some leverage I could use, my days after he died would be numbered. And if he woke up, I could very well be looking at the last hours of my life. Gaining the public’s trust after proving everyone else was lying to them could be the insurance I needed to buy more time.
“Fine. Send Benjy with us, and I’ll do it.”
Celia’s smile was about as welcoming as broken glass.
“Good girl.”
That night I crawled through the air vent toward Knox’s room again. Celia had left shortly after giving me a recording of a twenty-minute speech to memorize, and after listening to it twice, I needed a break. Walking over to Knox’s room would have been much easier, but I hoped Benjy would be there, and if Knox left, I didn’t want anyone wondering why I spent so much time alone with him.
I didn’t want to run into Celia again, either. When she’d handed me the earpiece with the recording of my speech, her hand had lingered, and even though I couldn’t be sure, I thought I saw her eyes watering. I didn’t know what that meant, but I knew it couldn’t be good.
Just as I reached the opening that would drop me into Knox’s suite, I heard the murmur of voices rise to meet me. I stopped, careful not to make a sound. The first person was Knox, but the second voice didn’t belong to Benjy.
“I know it isn’t ideal, but my mother has him under her thumb, and we can’t leave it like this. If we do, it will have all been for nothing.”
Celia. I inched closer to the opening, straining to catch her every word. They were going to finish Daxton off after all. Good.
“There has to be a better way,” said Knox, his voice tense with anger. “You can’t just get rid of him.”
“Of course I can. I have a responsibility to do whatever it takes.”
“Maybe it won’t come to that,” said Knox. “How do you know for sure he’ll do whatever Augusta wants?
Have you considered talking to him about it instead of jumping to conclusions?”
I frowned. Knox had been fine with it before. Why had he suddenly changed his mind?
“And risk the entire operation?” Celia paused, and when she spoke again, her voice was much more sympathetic. “I know how much you care about him, Knox.
I love him, too. But I’m not asking for your permission.
I’m telling you as a courtesy, so you can say goodbye.”
“I’m not going to say goodbye to him, because you’re not going to do a damn thing,” said Knox. “And if you do, so help me, I will destroy you.”
“No, you won’t. You have just as much at stake as I do, and if I go down for it, so will you.”
“Then I’ll go down for it, too. But I’m not going to leave without warning him.”
“Go ahead, but don’t expect it to change things. Daxton killed my daughter, Knox, and I’m not going to let him get away with it.”
“So this is your solution?”
“Do you have a better one?”
“I can think of a dozen.”
Celia sighed. “You only think you can. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the greater good. Lila understood that, and so do you.”
“This isn’t for the greater good,” said Knox. “It’s revenge. They killed Lila, and your plan for Daxton didn’t work, so now you’re going to go after him.”
My eyes widened, and I covered my mouth to stay silent. She wasn’t talking about Daxton.
“Revenge or not, having Greyson in power will still give Augusta a direct line to the pulse of the country,” she said. “I’ll do whatever it takes to stop her.”
“Then stop her. Leave Greyson out of it.”
“You don’t think I’ve tried? Mother is too well protected. She won’t let her guard down like Daxton.”
“Then find another way.”
“I’m sorry, Knox,” she said. “But there is none.”
I slid back through the vent, not waiting to hear the rest. Whether or not Knox warned Greyson, I would.
He’d done nothing to deserve this, and no matter what it took, I wasn’t going to let Celia kill him.
Chapter 14
I burst into Greyson’s suite, not bothering to knock.
He stood behind a table, wearing goggles that made his eyes look twice as big as they were supposed to be. His living room had been converted into a workshop, with long counters covered with bits and pieces of things I couldn’t identify.
Looking up at my unannounced entrance, he set down whatever new thing he was working on. “Everything all right?”
I shook my head, grateful he wasn’t wasting time with pleasantries. “Celia wants to kill you.”
Greyson blinked owlishly. “Nothing new there. She’s had it in for all of us for ages.”
“This time she means it. I overheard her and Knox talking, and—”
“Kitty.” His voice cut through mine. “It’s all right.
Even if she does try something, I have guards, and I can take care of myself. I appreciate the worry, but I know my aunt, and I know that no matter how fast she talks, she’d never hurt me.”
I balled my hands into fists. He didn’t get it. “No matter what you think she’s capable of doing, this time she’s going through with it. She has a plan.”
“What is it?” he said with the air of someone who had better things to do but knew the conversation wouldn’t be over until he heard it all.
I hesitated. “I don’t know. I overheard her and Knox talking, and I think he knows, but—”
“So you broke down the door to tell me that Celia’s going to kill me, and that’s it?” he said, not unkindly.
“Do you know when?”
“Tomorrow. Knox and I are going to New York, and she’s going to do it then so we aren’t here to help you.”
“Then I’ll make sure to keep an eye out for her,” he said. I started to protest, but he cut me off. “Kitty, really.
This is my family, and I know how they operate. Nothing’s going to happen.”
“Please,” I said, bursting with frustration. “Just listen to me. Celia’s crazy. She’s determined to get revenge on Daxton for what happened to Lila, and she said she’d do whatever it takes, even if it means hurting you.”
“She talks a lot, that’s all. She was blowing off steam.
I’m flattered you came to warn me, but—”
“I’m the one who tried to kill Daxton.”
He stilled. “What?”
A knot of panic formed in my stomach. “Not because—I didn’t do it on my own, I mean. Celia, she told me to—”
“And you just do whatever Celia wants?” said Greyson softly.
“You have to understand. Daxton killed my friend, he killed the only parent I’ve ever had, he took away who I was—”
Without saying a word, Greyson headed into another part of his suite. I trailed after him, refusing to let the conversation end like this.
“He attacked me,” I said, stopping short of his bedroom. He stood with his back facing me, and his arms hung loosely at his sides. “He talked about how Lila was so pretty, and he—he—”
“Did he hurt you?” said Greyson quietly, and I shook my head.
“No. I kneed him and—used the syringe Celia gave me. I know it was wrong, but—”
“If you poisoned him, then why isn’t he dead?” said Greyson, finally turning to face me. He was pale, but other than that, he looked as if we were having a normal conversation. Not discussing how I’d nearly managed to assassinate the man he thought was his father.
“I couldn’t do it. I tried, and only half of it…” I swallowed tightly. “That isn’t the point. Celia arranged it.
I stupidly went along with her, and I’m sorry—not because Daxton didn’t deserve it, but because it hurt you.
Celia’s unhinged. She—”
Greyson raised his hand, and I fell silent. “My family has been fighting each other for longer than I’ve been alive. It’s how they keep themselves entertained. I stay out of it. They know that, and none of them come after me.”
“It’s different now that Lila’s dead,” I said. “Celia really wants to hurt Daxton, and she’ll do it through you if she has to.”
“I won’t let it happen,” he said. “Can you try to believe me for now? If I’m wrong, you’ll be the first to get to say I told you so.”
A dozen reasons why he was being absurd ran through my mind, but if he refused to help himself, there wasn’t much I could do about it. “Fine,” I said. “And if you do wind up dead, I’ll be mad at you.”
“I’ll be mad at me, too,” he said with a rare smile. “So let’s hope I’m right.”
Benjy wasn’t with Knox when he arrived at the airport the next morning, and I said nothing as we boarded. If they weren’t willing to let Benjy come, then I wouldn’t be their puppet anymore. Maybe once I opened my mouth and they realized I wasn’t saying the words they wanted me to say, they would start treating me like a person instead of a weapon.
Greyson weighed heavily on my mind as the jet tore down the runway. I was exhausted; I’d spent all night going over ways Celia could get to him, even with the guards he’d promised to keep with him. If she could get to the prime minister, Greyson would be a cinch. But I didn’t know how everything worked well enough to begin to guess how she might do it, especially in her frail state.
“I need to talk to you,” I said once we were gliding through the air and my ears no longer popped. Knox had his nose stuck in a book, and he didn’t even glance at me when I sat down across from him. I was supposed to be memorizing Celia’s speech, but since I wasn’t going to say it, there was no point.
“Knox,” I said, sharper this time. “We need to talk.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t bring Benjy, but he had to stay behind to take care of some things. I assure you he’s well guarded.”
“That’s not what this is about,” I said. “I know what Celia has planned.”
Knox raised an eyebrow, and finally he set his book down. “Oh? And what’s that?”
“She’s going to kill Greyson, and you’re going to let her.”
“You must not have heard our conversation correctly,” he said. “I made it perfectly clear that I’m not.”
“Then what are you going to do about it?”
“None of your business,” he said, opening up his book again. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have work to do.”
I glared at him, but he didn’t seem to notice. “I’m not giving Celia’s speech.”
Knox’s eyes stopped moving across the page. Now I had his attention. “Why’s that?”
“I said I would if Benjy came along. Benjy isn’t here, so I won’t. I would have considered it if you were nice, but you’re being a jerk, so—”
He snapped his book shut. “You do realize the world doesn’t revolve around you, yes?”
“I grew up with forty other kids and one adult to watch over us,” I said. “Yeah, I realize the world doesn’t revolve around me, thanks.”
“If you can’t accept that this is all bigger than you, then fine, say whatever you want. But the audience doesn’t want to hear about how the pain they feel every day of their lives isn’t real. They aren’t there to listen to you tell them that everything they’ve hoped for is a joke. If you want to take that away from them just to piss me and Celia off, then do it. Right now I have more on my mind than how to keep you happy so you’ll do the right thing.”
I glowered at him. This was another trick, another way to manipulate me, and I hated him for it, but that didn’t make him any less right. The people in the audience— they were me, but their marks would never magically turn into VIIs. The frustration I’d felt that had pushed me toward theft and following Tabs to a brothel—they lived with that every single day. I hated that Daxton hadn’t asked me whether or not I wanted to be Masked, but if he had, I would have said yes. I didn’t want to live my life miserable and desperate for something eternally out of reach. These people had never had a choice.
They didn’t need me to tell them that, though, not if their lives were anything like mine had been. And I couldn’t keep living under Celia’s thumb.
“I warned Greyson,” I said. “I told him that I was the one to go after Daxton.”
Knox exhaled, and for a moment I thought he was going to yell at me, but instead he closed his eyes. “It doesn’t matter. Greyson probably already knew. Augusta treats him like a child, but he’s smarter than the rest of us combined.”
Smart enough to know his father wasn’t really his father? “Are you sure Celia won’t hurt him?”
“She knows Greyson’s security has been beefed up since the attack. If she wants to get to him, she’s going to have to be a lot smarter than she has been.”
“And what if she is?”
When Knox looked at me, I saw a hint of fear, and it scared me more than anything he could possibly have said. “Then she’ll spend the rest of her life regretting it.”
“Fine. Send Benjy with us, and I’ll do it.”
Celia’s smile was about as welcoming as broken glass.
“Good girl.”
That night I crawled through the air vent toward Knox’s room again. Celia had left shortly after giving me a recording of a twenty-minute speech to memorize, and after listening to it twice, I needed a break. Walking over to Knox’s room would have been much easier, but I hoped Benjy would be there, and if Knox left, I didn’t want anyone wondering why I spent so much time alone with him.
I didn’t want to run into Celia again, either. When she’d handed me the earpiece with the recording of my speech, her hand had lingered, and even though I couldn’t be sure, I thought I saw her eyes watering. I didn’t know what that meant, but I knew it couldn’t be good.
Just as I reached the opening that would drop me into Knox’s suite, I heard the murmur of voices rise to meet me. I stopped, careful not to make a sound. The first person was Knox, but the second voice didn’t belong to Benjy.
“I know it isn’t ideal, but my mother has him under her thumb, and we can’t leave it like this. If we do, it will have all been for nothing.”
Celia. I inched closer to the opening, straining to catch her every word. They were going to finish Daxton off after all. Good.
“There has to be a better way,” said Knox, his voice tense with anger. “You can’t just get rid of him.”
“Of course I can. I have a responsibility to do whatever it takes.”
“Maybe it won’t come to that,” said Knox. “How do you know for sure he’ll do whatever Augusta wants?
Have you considered talking to him about it instead of jumping to conclusions?”
I frowned. Knox had been fine with it before. Why had he suddenly changed his mind?
“And risk the entire operation?” Celia paused, and when she spoke again, her voice was much more sympathetic. “I know how much you care about him, Knox.
I love him, too. But I’m not asking for your permission.
I’m telling you as a courtesy, so you can say goodbye.”
“I’m not going to say goodbye to him, because you’re not going to do a damn thing,” said Knox. “And if you do, so help me, I will destroy you.”
“No, you won’t. You have just as much at stake as I do, and if I go down for it, so will you.”
“Then I’ll go down for it, too. But I’m not going to leave without warning him.”
“Go ahead, but don’t expect it to change things. Daxton killed my daughter, Knox, and I’m not going to let him get away with it.”
“So this is your solution?”
“Do you have a better one?”
“I can think of a dozen.”
Celia sighed. “You only think you can. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the greater good. Lila understood that, and so do you.”
“This isn’t for the greater good,” said Knox. “It’s revenge. They killed Lila, and your plan for Daxton didn’t work, so now you’re going to go after him.”
My eyes widened, and I covered my mouth to stay silent. She wasn’t talking about Daxton.
“Revenge or not, having Greyson in power will still give Augusta a direct line to the pulse of the country,” she said. “I’ll do whatever it takes to stop her.”
“Then stop her. Leave Greyson out of it.”
“You don’t think I’ve tried? Mother is too well protected. She won’t let her guard down like Daxton.”
“Then find another way.”
“I’m sorry, Knox,” she said. “But there is none.”
I slid back through the vent, not waiting to hear the rest. Whether or not Knox warned Greyson, I would.
He’d done nothing to deserve this, and no matter what it took, I wasn’t going to let Celia kill him.
Chapter 14
I burst into Greyson’s suite, not bothering to knock.
He stood behind a table, wearing goggles that made his eyes look twice as big as they were supposed to be. His living room had been converted into a workshop, with long counters covered with bits and pieces of things I couldn’t identify.
Looking up at my unannounced entrance, he set down whatever new thing he was working on. “Everything all right?”
I shook my head, grateful he wasn’t wasting time with pleasantries. “Celia wants to kill you.”
Greyson blinked owlishly. “Nothing new there. She’s had it in for all of us for ages.”
“This time she means it. I overheard her and Knox talking, and—”
“Kitty.” His voice cut through mine. “It’s all right.
Even if she does try something, I have guards, and I can take care of myself. I appreciate the worry, but I know my aunt, and I know that no matter how fast she talks, she’d never hurt me.”
I balled my hands into fists. He didn’t get it. “No matter what you think she’s capable of doing, this time she’s going through with it. She has a plan.”
“What is it?” he said with the air of someone who had better things to do but knew the conversation wouldn’t be over until he heard it all.
I hesitated. “I don’t know. I overheard her and Knox talking, and I think he knows, but—”
“So you broke down the door to tell me that Celia’s going to kill me, and that’s it?” he said, not unkindly.
“Do you know when?”
“Tomorrow. Knox and I are going to New York, and she’s going to do it then so we aren’t here to help you.”
“Then I’ll make sure to keep an eye out for her,” he said. I started to protest, but he cut me off. “Kitty, really.
This is my family, and I know how they operate. Nothing’s going to happen.”
“Please,” I said, bursting with frustration. “Just listen to me. Celia’s crazy. She’s determined to get revenge on Daxton for what happened to Lila, and she said she’d do whatever it takes, even if it means hurting you.”
“She talks a lot, that’s all. She was blowing off steam.
I’m flattered you came to warn me, but—”
“I’m the one who tried to kill Daxton.”
He stilled. “What?”
A knot of panic formed in my stomach. “Not because—I didn’t do it on my own, I mean. Celia, she told me to—”
“And you just do whatever Celia wants?” said Greyson softly.
“You have to understand. Daxton killed my friend, he killed the only parent I’ve ever had, he took away who I was—”
Without saying a word, Greyson headed into another part of his suite. I trailed after him, refusing to let the conversation end like this.
“He attacked me,” I said, stopping short of his bedroom. He stood with his back facing me, and his arms hung loosely at his sides. “He talked about how Lila was so pretty, and he—he—”
“Did he hurt you?” said Greyson quietly, and I shook my head.
“No. I kneed him and—used the syringe Celia gave me. I know it was wrong, but—”
“If you poisoned him, then why isn’t he dead?” said Greyson, finally turning to face me. He was pale, but other than that, he looked as if we were having a normal conversation. Not discussing how I’d nearly managed to assassinate the man he thought was his father.
“I couldn’t do it. I tried, and only half of it…” I swallowed tightly. “That isn’t the point. Celia arranged it.
I stupidly went along with her, and I’m sorry—not because Daxton didn’t deserve it, but because it hurt you.
Celia’s unhinged. She—”
Greyson raised his hand, and I fell silent. “My family has been fighting each other for longer than I’ve been alive. It’s how they keep themselves entertained. I stay out of it. They know that, and none of them come after me.”
“It’s different now that Lila’s dead,” I said. “Celia really wants to hurt Daxton, and she’ll do it through you if she has to.”
“I won’t let it happen,” he said. “Can you try to believe me for now? If I’m wrong, you’ll be the first to get to say I told you so.”
A dozen reasons why he was being absurd ran through my mind, but if he refused to help himself, there wasn’t much I could do about it. “Fine,” I said. “And if you do wind up dead, I’ll be mad at you.”
“I’ll be mad at me, too,” he said with a rare smile. “So let’s hope I’m right.”
Benjy wasn’t with Knox when he arrived at the airport the next morning, and I said nothing as we boarded. If they weren’t willing to let Benjy come, then I wouldn’t be their puppet anymore. Maybe once I opened my mouth and they realized I wasn’t saying the words they wanted me to say, they would start treating me like a person instead of a weapon.
Greyson weighed heavily on my mind as the jet tore down the runway. I was exhausted; I’d spent all night going over ways Celia could get to him, even with the guards he’d promised to keep with him. If she could get to the prime minister, Greyson would be a cinch. But I didn’t know how everything worked well enough to begin to guess how she might do it, especially in her frail state.
“I need to talk to you,” I said once we were gliding through the air and my ears no longer popped. Knox had his nose stuck in a book, and he didn’t even glance at me when I sat down across from him. I was supposed to be memorizing Celia’s speech, but since I wasn’t going to say it, there was no point.
“Knox,” I said, sharper this time. “We need to talk.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t bring Benjy, but he had to stay behind to take care of some things. I assure you he’s well guarded.”
“That’s not what this is about,” I said. “I know what Celia has planned.”
Knox raised an eyebrow, and finally he set his book down. “Oh? And what’s that?”
“She’s going to kill Greyson, and you’re going to let her.”
“You must not have heard our conversation correctly,” he said. “I made it perfectly clear that I’m not.”
“Then what are you going to do about it?”
“None of your business,” he said, opening up his book again. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have work to do.”
I glared at him, but he didn’t seem to notice. “I’m not giving Celia’s speech.”
Knox’s eyes stopped moving across the page. Now I had his attention. “Why’s that?”
“I said I would if Benjy came along. Benjy isn’t here, so I won’t. I would have considered it if you were nice, but you’re being a jerk, so—”
He snapped his book shut. “You do realize the world doesn’t revolve around you, yes?”
“I grew up with forty other kids and one adult to watch over us,” I said. “Yeah, I realize the world doesn’t revolve around me, thanks.”
“If you can’t accept that this is all bigger than you, then fine, say whatever you want. But the audience doesn’t want to hear about how the pain they feel every day of their lives isn’t real. They aren’t there to listen to you tell them that everything they’ve hoped for is a joke. If you want to take that away from them just to piss me and Celia off, then do it. Right now I have more on my mind than how to keep you happy so you’ll do the right thing.”
I glowered at him. This was another trick, another way to manipulate me, and I hated him for it, but that didn’t make him any less right. The people in the audience— they were me, but their marks would never magically turn into VIIs. The frustration I’d felt that had pushed me toward theft and following Tabs to a brothel—they lived with that every single day. I hated that Daxton hadn’t asked me whether or not I wanted to be Masked, but if he had, I would have said yes. I didn’t want to live my life miserable and desperate for something eternally out of reach. These people had never had a choice.
They didn’t need me to tell them that, though, not if their lives were anything like mine had been. And I couldn’t keep living under Celia’s thumb.
“I warned Greyson,” I said. “I told him that I was the one to go after Daxton.”
Knox exhaled, and for a moment I thought he was going to yell at me, but instead he closed his eyes. “It doesn’t matter. Greyson probably already knew. Augusta treats him like a child, but he’s smarter than the rest of us combined.”
Smart enough to know his father wasn’t really his father? “Are you sure Celia won’t hurt him?”
“She knows Greyson’s security has been beefed up since the attack. If she wants to get to him, she’s going to have to be a lot smarter than she has been.”
“And what if she is?”
When Knox looked at me, I saw a hint of fear, and it scared me more than anything he could possibly have said. “Then she’ll spend the rest of her life regretting it.”
