King Of Fools. Amanda Foody

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ laughed, and despite his familiar dimples and easy demeanor, he looked different. Sleeker. His black hair, greased back and glossy, made his gray eyes look more like steel than dust. He might’ve been hesitant about Enne choosing his wardrobe, but, she noted smugly, he looked great. She clearly had excellent taste.

      They climbed the stairwell to the first landing. Behind the door, Levi sat stiffly in a leather office chair. His curls had been dyed black, and his shirt and jacket were colored to match. However, his new ensemble did nothing to hide how terrible he looked. Every time he shifted his posture, he winced in silent pain.

      Levi’s gaze moved from the window and met hers, and his breath hitched.

      Enne went to sleep last night reminding herself of all the reasons she couldn’t fall for Levi Glaisyer. But her heart still stuttered seeing him look at her like he was now—like he’d felt their separation every bit as acutely as she had.

      “Did anyone see you?” Levi asked.

      “I don’t think so,” Enne answered.

      The room was filled with desks and toppled chairs, each coated in a thick layer of grime. Enne grimaced as she sat down at the one beside him and tried her best not to touch anything. Jac perched on top of her desk without concern for his new clothes, and Lola resorted to standing. Everyone shared the same grim expression.

      “I assume you’ve spoken with Vianca,” Levi said to Enne.

      “I did this morning,” she replied. “I told her you’re the one who should be doing this, not me.”

      “Well...” His gaze flickered to Jac, who avoided his stare. In fact, Jac was faced away from Levi, like he had no intention of looking at him at all. “I convinced her that we should both be doing this, that we’d be better off as allies.”

      “I thought the Irons hated you,” Lola said.

      Levi pursed his lips. “They have mixed feelings.”

      “Your third tried to kill you.”

      “I said mixed.”

      Enne felt a pinch of resentment. Levi had argued against Vianca exactly as Enne had warned her he would, yet still Vianca had acquiesced to his requests and therefore left Enne without a consultant. It paid to be the donna’s favorite.

      “Were you able to catch the news?” Levi asked Lola.

      “Yes,” she answered darkly.

      “You know far more about the Orphan Guild than we do. What do you think of this?”

      “I...” Her voice was unusually high-pitched. Enne knew she must have recognized at least a few of the names on the list of casualties. “I’m shocked. Bryce keeps the location private, known only to Scavenger, Ivory, and the members of the Guild. There must have been a mole—someone who knew where it was and how to cause the most damage.”

      “But you know the location,” Levi said. “Has Bryce made any effort to contact you? He must suspect you.”

      Lola stiffened. “I doubt he suspects me.”

      “Why is that?” Levi asked.

      “Because he made it very clear that he’d kill me if I ever betrayed him.” Enne flinched at Lola’s coldness. Was that how the Guildmaster treated all his associates? “And he knows I’m not thick. Or a killer.”

      Levi’s forehead creased with worry. “I’m nervous about this. The Irons is the only gang that doesn’t hire from the Orphan Guild, but this attack was directly prompted by events Enne and I caused.”

      Enne shivered. “Which means the other lords might blame us.”

      The notion of becoming enemies with Ivory, Scavenger, and Bryce left Enne ill. Even if she needed to call herself a street lord, she wasn’t like them. They were...dangerous.

      You killed Sedric, she reminded herself. You wanted to. He was despicable. He was a predator.

      She remembered the sweetness of the drugged Lollipop Lick on her lips, the pity in the bartender’s eyes. How many girls had Sedric targeted? How many people around him had been complicit in the suffering he’d caused?

       You watched Semper die, and you were glad he did.

      Enne was just as dangerous.

       You killed the whiteboot. You didn’t even hesitate.

      She was just as deadly.

       You’re not like the other lords. You don’t want this.

      It was true that Enne didn’t have a cause to drive her, like Vianca. Or ambition to motivate her, like Levi. But she did have her anger, her grief, her frustration. She felt it all unfurling and writhing inside of her, like a snake rising from its slumber. You do have power, it whispered as it curled around the broken cavities of her heart.

      “Enne?” Levi asked, drawing her out of her thoughts. “Do you mind if we speak in private?”

      “Of course,” she said, and she cringed watching Levi shakily get to his feet. They walked back into the stairwell, keeping the door propped to let in a sliver of light. Levi leaned against the wall to support himself.

      “I want you to know that I’ll still help you,” he told her seriously. “In any way I can.”

      Her resentment waning but not quite gone, she said, “You assume I want your help. Last time you called yourself lord, I had to rescue you.”

      He put his hand to his heart as though she’d wounded him more than he was already hurt. “I’m offended you don’t think higher of my consulting skills.”

      “Then tell me: how will I pay for these associates? Where will they stay? How will I convince them I’m not a fraud?”

      He gave her a weak smile. “Just give me some time and a bottle of whiskey, and I’ll find you a few clever ideas.”

      She frowned. She didn’t want to hear about his confidence in himself—she’d suffered through enough of that already. She needed to hear that he had confidence in her.

      “That life philosophy is why you look like you do now,” she grumbled.

      “Like what?” He smoothed the front of his blazer. “I think I look rather dashing. You know, you’re pretty observant, if you guessed my measurements.” He smirked. “Very observant, even—”

      “You look terrible,” she said quickly, before he could embarrass her further.

      His laugh was followed by a wince. “I mean it, though. I’m sorry I don’t have solutions yet, but I will—I promise. I’ve spent all day trying to figure out how to piece my life back together, and it feels like every time I think I’ve gotten ahead, there’s some other problem, some other risk.” His voice grew gradually more heated. “You saved me yesterday, and I don’t have it figured out yet, but give me a chance to think and—” СКАЧАТЬ