Pawn (The Blackcoat Rebellion #1)(34)
Author: Aimee Carter

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.

Chapter 10

“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.