اوووه! هذه الصورة لا تتبع إرشادات المحتوى الخاصة بنا. لمتابعة النشر، يرجى إزالتها أو تحميل صورة أخرى.
CHAPTER THREE; as prisoners
♠
MEET WYLAN VAN ECK. Kaz Brekker was surely full of surprises. Ace was once again reminded of the difference between them because she would never have taken a job that required insurance on the payment. She stole and she sold her findings or spent her profit, she wasn't a criminal for hire. But Kaz was a criminal, a prodigy, his range of felonies stretched out way beyond thefts and fraud.
"Fucking hell," muttered Ace, gulping down her drink just as Jesper burst out laughing.
"Of course, you're a Councilman's kid," he said. "That explains everything."
Ace kept shaking her head in disbelief for not figuring it out sooner as she looked around. Wylan was red-faced and mortified. Nina looked stunned and irritated. The Fjerdan just seemed confused. Inej didn't look remotely surprised. Kaz appeared utterly pleased with himself.
Wylan's mouth opened and closed, his throat working. "You knew?" he asked Kaz miserably.
Kaz leaned back in his chair, one knee bent, his bad leg stretched out before him. "Why do you think I've been keeping you around?"
"I'm good at demo."
"You're passable at demo. You're excellent at hostage."
"Rich people are always the best hostages," said Ace, "At least the most profitable."
"What would you know about hostages?" asked Kaz, turning to her with a raised brow and Ace shrugged innocently.
"Enough to know the son of a Merchant is valuable," said Ace, though she chose not to mention the fact that she highly doubted Wylan Van Eck was worth anything for his bastard of a father—if her information about the boy who could not read was right, at least; though she hadn't been keeping tabs on him for a while. It wasn't exactly relevant at this point, especially when she could still use that piece of information in the future.
"It doesn't matter," said Jesper. "We should still take Raske and leave this baby merch on lockdown in Ketterdam."
"I don't trust Raske."
"And you trust Wylan Van Eck?" Jesper said incredulously.
"Wylan doesn't know enough people to cause us real trouble."
"Don't I have some say in this?" complained Wylan. "I'm sitting right there."
Kaz raised a brow. "Ever had your pocket picked, Wylan?"
"I... not that I know of." If I had my father would've disowned me, replied Ace in her mind as if Kaz was asking her the question—she was sure the only person able to rob her was Dirtyhands himself.
