Kanej

Chapter 20

Kaz

It had been two days since Kaz came clean and admitted that he was, in fact leading the Dime Lions and that he had appointed Ivan in his stead. Inej had her suspicions and to her surprise, she wasn't very surprised with Kaz's confession. Kaz always did such unpredictable things that Inej figured she was used to it by now.

Although she took the news silently, Kaz could tell she was unhappy by the way her eyebrow furrowed in displeasure and the stiff set of her shoulders. Kaz knew it bothered her that he hadn't told her before but he pointed out that she kept secrets from him too.

It was just a playful jibe but Kaz noticed a flare of alarm spark in Inej's eyes for a split second before she composed herself. He expected her to deny his claim but she shrugged and said lightly 'I guess we both have our secrets then.'

Kaz wondered what secrets Inej kept from him but brushed the thought away. If it was something important, she would tell him. And if not, I'll figure it out. He thought. He always did.

According to Ivan, there had been whisperings of a mutiny, even though no one had openly opposed or rebelled against him. Not yet at least. Kaz was more amused than outraged at the audacity of Pekka Rollins. He had assumed that Rollins would have remained in his manor, hiding in shame and disgrace like the cockroach he was, but Kaz had been too optimistic.

No matter, he destroyed Rollins once, he could do it again. And this time it wouldn't matter if he learned his lesson or not because he would soon be dead. Kaz smiled, a genuine smile. This would be poetic justice. Jordie would be proud.

And then there was the matter of Mikhail.

True to his word, Mikhail had returned within ten days. And with ten million kruge to spare as promised. Inej didn't think she had ever seen that much money in such a small space. Even though Mikhail had brought notes with the highest value, there was enough money to fill the entire drawing room.

Kaz was silent, processing the kruge with a sort of sick fascination and Inej felt uneasy at the simmering greed and ambition glinting in his dark eyes. She was so sure that Kaz had agreed to help Mikhail, solely for vengeance but maybe she had misunderstood and Kaz was right. Greed sure was a strong motivator.

Kaz hadn't divulged the details of his plans in destroying Pekka Rollins because he didn't want her involved. She had risked her life for him too many times to count. But he wasn't opposed to her helping him out once in a while. And although he was already planning and calculating how and where he would spend his newly acquired kruge, he arranged for half of his share to be transferred to her bank account. Five million now, and five million when he received the rest of the money.

Despite knowing an opponent's next move, or calculating and planning a thousand cases scenarios, Kaz was embarrassed that he hadn't the faintest clue as to how Inej would react to his gift. He wasn't blind to her hesitance and disapproval of this 'job' as he called it, but money was money. You could never have too much of it. At least that was his belief.

But he did know Inej, and he understood how important her independence and sense of autonomy was. After her time in the Menagerie, and then being indebted to Per Haskell for her indenture, money was security. And freedom, Kaz thought uneasily, but Inej was here with him, when she could have chosen a thousand other places to be. Maybe Inej would be wary and suspicious, because everything came with a price when Kaz was involved, but not when it came to her. Not anymore. She would get five million kruge, no strings attached. This was a first, even for Kaz and he could only hope that she would take it well.

Kaz and Mikhail settled in the parlour and discussed the details of Pekka Rollins' destruction. For reasons unknown to Kaz, Mikhail was hostile against Inej and adamantly refused to discuss anything in her presence. Inej had rolled her eyes and retorted that she had no interest whatsoever in his business, before quietly leaving the room.

There was a tense silence before Kaz spoke quietly, dangerously, 'if you ever speak to her that way again, I will rip out your tongue.' He didn't wait for an answer, confident that his threat was understood and launched into the recent behaviour and movements of Rollins. Mikhail was eager to infiltrate the Dime Lions under the pretence of looking for a gang and to hunt for any information they could use against Rollins.

Kaz had agreed, although he had warned him to be discreet. He didn't want to alarm Pekka Rollins and give him a reason to be alarmed. Not yet at least. Mikhail promised to update Kaz in a couple days, claiming that he had other businesses and 'scores' to settle.

When he stood up to leave, he said, 'what should I do about-' but Kaz smoothly interrupted and said 'two days. Don't make me wait.' Mikhail looked a little surprised but smirked and gave him a mock salute. 'Yes sir.' He was gone in an instant.

Kaz rolled his eyes to heaven and walked the three flights of stairs to his room. Inej was braiding her hair, her nimble fingers working quickly across her long hair as she glanced at the mirror. She held his gaze, an innocent expression on her face but Kaz wasn't fooled. He raised an eyebrow before asking casually 'hear anything of interest?'

She held his gaze through the mirror and continued braiding her hair. 'I don't know what you're talking about' she said evenly but Kaz shook his head. 'Let's skip the part where we pretend you weren't eavesdropping' he said but there was no accusation in his tone, just resignation.

He knew Inej would conceal herself and spy on them and he could hardly blame her. He would actually be disappointed if she hadn't. After all, he was the one who taught her how to steal secrets and information. Stopping her would be like teaching a falcon to hunt, and then not expecting it to kill. It seemed that Inej was constantly surprising him but Kaz felt more intrigued than threatened. There was always more to learn about her.

Inej tied her braid and turned to face him. 'I don't trust him.' She said simply. Kaz remained silent. 'We can't trust him,' she insisted, pleading with him with her eyes to listen to her. 'Can't we?' He retorted, watching Inej carefully. She was keeping something from him, but he didn't know what.

'Is there something you want to tell me?' He asked, scrutinising her in a way that made her feel like he already knew all her deepest, darkest thoughts. She turned her face away. 'Nothing,' she lied. But even to her ears she didn't sound very convincing.