Casting a sidelong glance at the dart gun on the kingpin’s desk, Kane sidled over and sat. He was familiar with the weapon; it was similar to a regular alchemological gun, though far less likely to be lethal. Rather, the magic-infused darts lodged beneath the skin and hurt like absolute hell. Kane had been hit with one only once, and he thought death might have been preferable to the extraction. Wariness overtook him, but he took extra care to keep his expression cool, letting a smirk play at the corners of his mouth.
Ward leaned back in his own chair. His expression mirrored Kane’s, as if he knew exactly what he was doing. “I hope you’re here to deliver good news. And yet, something tells me otherwise.”
“The address you sent me to was empty.” Kane’s voice was steady. That was one good thing about the education Ward had given him: No matter what turmoil plagued him on the inside, he knew how to con a man. How to speak in way that made people believe you. That made themwantto believe you.
But this was Ward, and he might as well have invented conning.
The kingpin tapped his index finger against his chin, a contemplative action. Kane knew Ward was letting him stew. Giving him time to explain why he’d come unannounced. But Kane held his silence, because although Ward was many things, patient wasn’t one of them.
Sure enough, Ward gave a huff through his nose. A small victory.
“You know, I sent Dickens to follow up,” he said silkily as Kane froze. “The family was indeed gone. And only just recently, by the looks of things. Isn’t that interesting?Convenient, one might say.”
Kane swallowed. It took considerable effort. “They must have known I was coming.”
“The only way they could have known you were coming, Kane, is if you told them.” Ward leaned back in his chair, eyes flashing darkly. “And we both know you didn’t do that.”
It was a test, and Kane’s stomach clenched even as he said with confidence, “Of course I didn’t.”
Technically, it wasn’t a lie. The familyhadn’tknown he was coming. Ward stared at him, hard, and Kane stared back, refusing to be cowed.
“What happened to your face?”
Ah. That. Kane gave a self-conscious tug on the collar of his overcoat. By now the bruising at his jaw had begun to purple, and there had been no hope of Ward’s not noticing. “Got into it with a beggar on the street.”
“What street?” Ward murmured, pulling a piece of parchment across the desk toward himself. “I’ll send someone to take care of the vermin. Unless you already did.”
“I did.”
“Is there a body?”
“I didn’t kill him. Just won the fight.”
“Ah.” Ward’s tone was laced with skepticism. “You know I have several constables on my payroll.”
Kane bit the inside of his cheek. “It would have been an inconvenience.”
And the lies were already piling up. He should have taken a finger when that man in the slum couldn’t pay his dues. Damn his wife. Damn his little girl. Why had Kane bothered telling them to leave? He wasn’tnice. He didn’t shy away from bloodshed. He wasn’t supposed to care about things like that.
“I see.” Ward crossed his arms, tapping a finger against his bicep as he studied Kane’s face. “You know, I’m glad you came to see me. I was about to send for you.”
“Why is that?”
“You’ve got bigger problems than a missing slum family. Did you know the exhibit from Waterhouse and Co. arrived in London yesterday? That it’s already been unloaded and set up in the Crystal Palace?”
Of course. OfcourseWard already knew. Sweat beaded on Kane’s brow as he digested the questions. How was he to respond? Ward never asked a question he didn’t already know the answer to.
Ward wasn’t looking at Kane anymore, but was examining his fingernails, frowning as he slid the tip of his knife beneath one dirt-free crescent. “Silence won’t help you, Kane. Not with me. You know that.”
It struck Kane as a nonsensical thing to say. Whatwouldhelp him where Ward was concerned? There were no right answers here. Once Ward had decided to be angry with you, nothing you said or didn’t say was going to make any difference.
“Yes,” Kane said eventually, a low growl. “Yes, I knew. I was going to tell you.”
Ward’s brows ascended his forehead. “You were? Well. You’ll forgive me if I find that hard to believe.” He leaned across the desk so that he and Kane were eye to eye. “Your plan didn’t work, you incompetent bastard. Thought you could charm Saville, did you? Learn everything you needed from his men? I gave you free rein. I can see now that this was a mistake.”
Kane could sense the coming storm. He swallowed, hands fisted in his lap.
Ward’s lip curled back from his teeth as he went on. “When I suggested Saville as a resource, I didn’t mean for you to waste time acting as his errand boy. This wasn’t to be a simple con job. Sometimes I forget you need constant, specific instruction in order to be useful.”
