“If you push him or hurt him in any way, the deal we strike will be void.” Roger let his eyes flare red as he added, “And depending on the depths of your crime, you may find your last day sooner than you’d like.”
“You have to know that was intimidatingandhot,” Carver said.
“As long as you understand my seriousness, I don’t care if you find it exhilarating,” Roger replied.
“I got the message loud and clear. You and Zack are an item, and don’t push my luck, or I’ll dig a hole deep enough to be my grave.” Carver smiled at him. “This mean you’re considering me?”
Rogeroughtto say no. Returning with too many pets was as bad as returning with none. He shouldn’t display too much wealth, especially since he had lost his massive fortune to the coven. Was three too many? Was it not enough? Josefina had three pets, and she was Nell’s right hand, but they were a different coven. Candide, a captain in the GLC and one of his oldest friends, had a half dozen or more when it suited her.
But Roger would need blood. And Zack had told the boy to ask him.
“You have the right to say no at any point,” Roger said. “I provide housing, healthcare, food, clothing—and you are expected to make public appearances in the clothing I buy. I don’t demand for my pets to live in the dom/submissive lifestyle that we display in public, but you will be expected to follow rules and not embarrass me. After my authority, Zack is in charge. You’ll be compensated a hundred thousand a year, which you’ll receive in increments over that time. Quit early and I don’t owe you the rest.”
“Good beginning,” Carver said. “Let’s hash out a few more details.”
They went back and forth on the agreement, amending only a few places while figuring out what they would need from each other.
As they were close to finishing, Roger received a text from Zack. “When are you coming back?”
“Soon,” Roger texted back.
“Nell wants to see us. Her office. ASAP.”
Roger frowned and promised he’d return shortly. He wrapped up his conversation with Carver by exchanging phonenumbers and emails. The fact that contracts could be done without paper and still be binding boggled Roger, but he liked to embrace modern practices. At least he could make the adjustments in a matter of moments rather than taking multiple nights.
“If we’re both satisfied and sign, then I’ll have the car pick you up before dinner tomorrow,” Roger said. “It’ll bring you to Nell’s mansion, and from there, we’ll leave for the airport.”
“I look forward to serving, master,” Carver said.
Roger guided Carver back into the donor house. Thankfully, Carver had clothing waiting for him. Roger spent his remaining orange chits between two wonderful donors, and then he headed toward Nell’s mansion. As he went, he texted Zack that they should meet outside Nell’s office for expediency.
When he turned the last corner to the hallway, he spotted Zack leaning against a wall, arms folded tightly over his chest. His scowl was deep, without a hint of anger. He wasn’t so much lost in thought but clearly navigating a labyrinth.
Roger paused to watch him. Something familiar about his features nagged at Roger’s memory, but he’d lived hundreds of years. Some faces were bound to repeat themselves, and yet every time, they found a way to be unique. A minor expression, a gesture, a freckle or dimple.
Zack looked up from the floor, and the night could no longer remain a frozen moment. As Roger drew closer, he murmured, “She was in our room.”
“What?” Roger whispered. Nell might overhear him even at this volume, but they could at least pretend they had an ounce of privacy. “Why?”
“She was searching for your plan,” Zack replied. “She’s pissed you don’t have one.”
Roger grimaced. His supposed lack of forethought would come to bite him in the ass.
Zack straightened and squared his shoulders before turning toward Roger. “How long has she been asking?”
“A few weeks. Last night, we had a disagreement about it,” Roger said quickly.
“Fuck.” Zack’s gray eyes became hard as steel. “You should have told me.”
“And what would you do about her annoyance?” Roger asked.
“Tell her that we have a plan. Because Ido.”
Of course he did. Zack had been raised to think of nothing but how to plot murders of supernatural entities and had probably devised six plans the night they’d met. Roger shook his head minutely. When Zack’s scowl deepened with an element of anger, Roger closed the distance between them to only a few inches. “Your research has been essential, but it’s not enough. We only have hypotheses about how people will accept me. Until I return, we don’t know for certain what the reaction will be.”
“You think I don’t know how to account for that?” Zack snapped. “You haven’t heard any of my ideas.”
“Seamus—”
