Chapter 4 Zaria #2
Perhaps she should have been afraid, but it was anger that tightened in Zaria’s chest. She didn’t like it—the idea that Vaughan not only had people watching her but had also been able to predict her actions.
“And where is your boss? For someone who wants to establish a reputation, Vaughan certainly doesn’t like to show his face. ”
“That’s a reputation within itself, is it not?
The unknown, you see, presents a singular type of threat.
It keeps one guessing.” Despite Zaria’s earlier refusal, Pritchard set a glass of wine before her.
The deep crimson liquid couldn’t have looked less appetizing.
“More to the point, Vaughan’s whereabouts are none of your concern.
Now, if you’ve quite finished, I’d like to address the reason for this meeting.
The playing field has shifted since we spoke last.”
The words were affable, but his tone was not. Zaria took a steadying breath. “Because of the new kingpin.”
“I told her,” Maisie cut in, tapping a silent pattern on the table with her fingers. “She didn’t seem to know yet.”
“Stop talking about me like I’m not here,” Zaria said icily. “You wanted information, right? People connected to Ward’s crew? I can give you names.”
Pritchard’s cool blue eyes held a threat as he surveyed her over the rim of his glass.
“Vaughan is no longer interested in anything as menial as names. Did you know, Miss Mendoza, that rumor has it Ward died in a fire as long ago as Thursday? That was the day we first spoke to you, if you’ll recall. ”
Panic tugged at her. “I do.”
“And yet you said nothing about his death.”
“I wasn’t yet aware.”
“Is that so?”
Zaria braced her elbows on the table. “I was rather busy that day, as you well know. Besides, I rarely interacted with the kingpin himself.”
“Indeed. As I recall, you were more closely aligned with his replacement. Kane Hunt. Or,” Pritchard corrected himself, “Kane Durante, as I hear he now prefers to be called.”
Emotions warred within her at the confirmation of what she already knew. As if Kane hadn’t presented enough of a danger, now he was the most powerful man in Devil’s Acre. How had he made it happen? What had he done?
“We’re no longer in contact,” she said shortly. “Our partnership was only temporary. I didn’t even know he had replaced Ward until tonight.”
“You didn’t know.” Maisie repeated the claim slowly and with disdain. “You didn’t know Ward had been killed. You didn’t know Durante was his replacement. You’re either a liar, or you’re useless.” She turned to Pritchard. “I told you she wasn’t important to him.”
For some reason, the assertion sent a pang through Zaria.
Pritchard sighed, motioning for Maisie to be silent.
“Your partnership with Kane Durante may have been temporary, but hopefully you still retain his trust. You see, these recent changes have inspired Vaughan to give you a different assignment.” He leaned forward as if to impart a secret.
“When it comes to kingpins, useless is equivalent to disposable. But I’m sure you could have guessed that much. ”
“What does Vaughan want now?” Zaria felt disconnected from her body.
She wanted to insist she no longer had anything to do with Kane, and that whatever they were about to ask of her was a mistake, but she also understood Pritchard’s warning.
If she wasn’t useful to Vaughan, he would get rid of her.
Best-case scenario, he told the coppers about her role in the theft from the Crystal Palace.
Worst-case scenario, he had her killed. Zaria wouldn’t delude herself into thinking there was an outcome where she walked away unscathed.
Pritchard’s lips thinned, the furrows around his mouth deepening.
“Whenever there’s a change of leadership, things become…
unstable. I suspect that’s doubly true with someone like Durante in charge, seeing as he’s quite young and presumably inexperienced.
There will be infighting. Poor management. General discord.”
Zaria said nothing; he still hadn’t answered her question.
“That being said,” Pritchard went on, “even if some refuse to pledge loyalty to Durante, the Devil’s Acre crew still has numbers that Vaughan doesn’t.
Brute force and violence is not an option.
We will have to wear them down, bit by bit, until Vaughan can gain control of the dark market.
And that’s where you come in, Miss Mendoza. ”
“Okay,” she said, hesitation making her draw the syllables out long.
“Ward possessed something important. Something that will ensure Vaughan succeeds in cementing his power and influence. It exists, we believe, in the form of a ledger. A master list of every dark market transaction overseen by his crew. It should outline the types and quantities of items being bought and sold, as well as buyers, suppliers, and their respective addresses.”
“And I suppose Vaughan wants this ledger so that he can poach Ward’s contacts and clients.”
Pritchard’s smile was oddly devious. “Something like that.”
There was no point beating around the bush any longer. Zaria drew herself up straight, bracing for the inevitable. “You want me to get that ledger, don’t you?”
“See? I knew Vaughan was right to think you clever. Yes, he wants you to get it. Once the ledger is in his hands, we can begin chipping away at Kane Durante’s control. And if we’re correct, that control will already be rather tenuous.”
“I’m not a thief,” Zaria said. A cold sweat had begun to bead along her spine. “Besides, Kane isn’t likely to let me anywhere near something so important.”
“That’s what I said,” Maisie put in, scoffing lightly. Her arms were crossed, the striated muscles stark in the dim light. “I told Evan you didn’t have a chance. Naturally, though, nobody wanted to listen to me.”
Pritchard’s lips curved downward, a glint in his eye as he reclined in his chair.
In that moment, Zaria understood why he had come to work for an aspiring kingpin.
He was, by all appearances, a gentleman.
He presented a facade of courteousness, an impression of a rigid moral code, in order to win your trust—or at the very least, to make himself seem like the lesser of many evils.
But that was a pretense, wasn’t it? Evan Pritchard knew exactly what he was doing. He was a con.
He was, perhaps, Vaughan’s very own Kane Durante.
“I told Miss ó Coileáin not to underestimate you,” Pritchard said to Zaria. “You claim you’re not a thief, but recent evidence suggests the contrary. If you can steal from a place like the Crystal Palace, then stealing from Kane Durante should be positively easy.”
Nothing about what he was asking of her was easy. Zaria didn’t even know where Kane was. She doubted very much that he remained at Moore & Sons, and if he had become the new kingpin, he was almost certainly surrounded by members of Ward’s former crew at all times.
Then, of course, there was the fact that he would never ever trust her again. She’d be lucky to get near Kane without finding herself looking down the barrel of a gun.
She flexed her fingers in her lap. “I don’t think it’ll be quite as straightforward as you’re hoping. Durante and I… We don’t exactly get along anymore.”
“Then make amends,” said Pritchard. He tilted his head to one side, eyes glinting. “Patch things up, so to speak. Don’t make me remind you that your life depends on it. It sounds so dreadfully melodramatic.”
Maisie spoke before Zaria could reply. “Durante may be young, but I think you underestimate him. Miss Mendoza doesn’t have a prayer of tricking him and surviving it.
Just today, I overheard two men discussing how he dealt with a couple of crew members who wouldn’t accept his leadership—rumor is he had them rounded up and executed them himself in front of everyone. ”
Zaria felt the blood drain from her face.
Could that be true? For reasons she couldn’t quite put a finger on, she didn’t want to believe it.
Didn’t want to imagine that Kane could be capable of something like that.
Fletcher’s words seemed to slam against the inside of her skull again and again, like a fist rapping incessantly on a locked door.
Kane when he’s grieving? That’s a catastrophe.
Pritchard turned to Maisie. For the first time tonight, his facade of politeness seemed to crack, the skin around his mouth tightening. “You were not asked to give your opinion, Miss ó Coileáin. Vaughan wouldn’t ask this of Miss Mendoza if he didn’t know she could do it.”
An angry flush climbed Maisie’s face, her glare a daggered thing as she rose to her feet. “Whatever,” she said icily, her chest rising and falling in quick succession. “I’ve done my part. You can figure this out on your own.”
Pritchard lifted one shoulder, gaze apathetic. “Fine.”
Maisie flashed him a rude gesture before turning on her heel and stomping over to the stairwell.
Then she was gone, leaving Zaria feeling bizarrely less comfortable for her absence.
Pritchard gave a dismayed shake of his head.
“Please forgive Miss ó Coileáin. She has the unfortunate penchant for becoming quite hysterical.”
Zaria brought her teeth together. She had no love for Maisie, but Pritchard’s words set her blood aflame. “What if she’s right? If Kane really is that dangerous, maybe I’m better off facing whatever Vaughan has in store for me should I refuse.”
She said it mostly to see how Pritchard would respond, but part of her wondered if it was true. After what she’d done to Kane, who knew how far he’d be willing to go in pursuit of revenge?
“Ah.” Pritchard spoke more quietly now. “Because, Miss Mendoza, Vaughan isn’t only in the business of dealing in threats. Should you be successful, he’s also willing to offer you something I think you’ll very much want.”
“And what is that?”
The moment seemed to grow heavier around them. Zaria could sense the enormity of whatever came next. When Pritchard finally answered, her lungs ceased to function. Her heart dropped into her stomach and did not rise again.
“Vaughan knows where your mother is.”