Pawn (The Blackcoat Rebellion #1)(37)
Author: Aimee Carter

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.