While I’m staring, I notice the scars affect his hand, too. It looks like he’s missing a finger or two.
And then I realize I’ve stared for one second too long, because the woman appears in the other doorway, carrying two books under one arm. She’s saying, “I really do think I should check on Edward,” but she breaks off with a shriek when she sees me.
“Penny!” the man shouts in alarm, and he shoves back from his desk.
“One of Crane’s people got in here!” Penny cries. She’s young and pretty and full of scars herself—and that’s all I notice before she chucks a book right at my head.
Well, there goes my element of surprise. I knock the book out of the way and prepare to fend her off.
But Lochlan slips out of the darkness to seize her. “Gethim!” he snaps at me, just as she cries out, trying to wrench herself free.
“Try not to hurt her,” I tell him, and then I turn to face Cheeke.
I’m almost too late. The man tackles me with a knife in hand, and it nearly goes right into my gut. As it is, I knock his arm to theside with the dowel, but he slams into me anyway. We go tumbling into the hallway. My shoulders take the impact, but I use momentum to my advantage, and I roll Cheeke into the wall. I’m distantly aware of Lochlan struggling to keep a grip on the girl, and it sounds like she’s trying to scream, but he’s got a hand over her mouth. I get a hold of Cheeke’s wrist and slam his hand against the floor. The knife clatters to the floor, and he grunts, trying to twist away from me.
“Penny!” he gasps.
Behind us, she squeals, and she must dosomething, because Lochlan yelps. Cheeke surges against my weight, but I have the upper hand now. I shift to kneel on his wrist, then pin his neck to the floor with the dowel. The blade hasn’t gone too far, and I take hold of the hilt, putting the point right against his throat.
He’s panting, wheezing from the pressure on his neck. It reminds me of the way Harristan breathes sometimes. I force the thought out of my head, because if I compare him to my brother, I’ll never be able to do this.
The King’s Justice wouldn’t hesitate.
The blade is in my hand, but I can’t move. My heart won’t stop pounding.
This is nothing like what I ever had to do in Kandala. Maybe Harristan and I could have donebetter, but we weretrying. We were trying to keep our people alive. We were doing the best we could in an impossible situation. When I did terrible things, I was enforcing laws to protect the people.
There’s no justice in this. None at all.
Cheeke isn’t even looking at me. His eyes are straining past me, at Lochlan and Penny, who don’t seem to be struggling as much now. She’s whimpering.
“Please,” Cheeke gasps. “Please let her go. Don’t hurt her anymore. Tell Crane I’ll give him whatever he wants.”
Penny squeals a little in Lochlan’s grasp, and her voice is muffled, but she says, “Papa,no.”
Now I understand the fondness in his tone when he spoke earlier. She’s not an employee. They’re not business partners. Ford Cheeke is herfather.
It reminds me of Tessa. Tessa, whose own father was killed right in front of her. I watched it happen.
Tessa, who would hate every single part of what we’re doing.
Tessa, who sat in front of me on theDawn Chaserand lectured me about the way I turn every single person I meet into an adversary before I give them a chance to be an ally.
Much like I’m doing right now.
Lochlan grunts with strain again, but his voice is tight with something akin to sorrow. “I’ll take her down the hall.”
A cord pulls in my chest. He’ll take her down the hall—so she doesn’t have to see.
I stare into Ford Cheeke’s face. His eyes blaze into mine. He doesn’t look afraid, and he doesn’t look furious.
He looksbeseeching.
“Please,” he gasps, and his voice has grown so soft it’s barely a whisper. “Please just let her go. She’s been through so much.”
“Papa,” she whimpers. Then she must fling her head back, because there’s a cracking sound, and Lochlan swears—but he doesn’t let her go. He begins wrenching her backward.
“Please,” Ford says again. “I beg of you.”
