“She released you?” Dmitri asked. “Has she lost her mind?”
Takashi leaned against the railing near Roger. “She has her concerns, of which I do not owe you an explanation. Depending on your point of view, I am here as either Roger’s hostage against Nell’s wrath or her assurance that Roger doesn’t screw her over.” He grinned coyly at Roger. “Though I’d be lying if I said being with you is a hardship. I have missed you.”
“We have had good times.” Roger smiled back at Takashi.
Dmitri shook his head. “But to excuse you from her coven?—”
“Zack threatened to kill him if he was still politically bound to her,” Roger said.
“I do admire him for that,” Takashi said. “I was about to voice a concern that you would murder me once the deed was done, and then he issued his threat. Thankfully, that made my argument a piece of cake.”
“You wanted to leave Nell?” Roger folded his arms over his chest.
“I love her, I do. Best sire in the world—and I have traveled far and wide enough to know. But to be stuck serving a master whose ambition is the status quo of her ‘perfect’ domain?” Takashi shuddered. “I have been seeking a way out that benefited both of us since that was the only way she’d grant permission for me to leave.”
“Glad I could be of service,” Roger replied.
“Don’t be cross with me. I’m excited for this.” Takashi grinned broadly and glanced between Roger and Dmitri. “A coup of this magnitude? It’s been decades since anyone even considered.”
“Someone tried to take out Seamus recently?” Roger asked.
“No, Parysatis in Cairo, 1977,” Takashi replied. “They’re still talking about her wrath the evening she smote the individuals attempting to take her place.”
“This isn’t a damn adventure,” Dmitri snapped. “If we do not watch our every step, Seamus will catch on and murder the group of us.”
“We’re aware of the risks,” Roger said. “Did you come to give anything besides grim warnings?”
“If you’re asking about Quinn’s accounts, I’ve told you it will take time to untangle them,” Dmitri said. “I came because I had to ask, what the hell are you thinking?”
Roger rolled his eyes and relaxed against the railing again. Internally, he was running through what his potential answers could be. He needed Dmitri on his side, but he could be fussy. “Nell isn’t happy about how long the money is taking, so Takashi is here to ensure that we aren’t scamming her out of a few million and gathering enough intel to dismantle her empire.”
“And the new boy?”
“He offered himself,” Roger replied, “and made quite the spectacle doing so. I could hardly refuse him.”
Dmitri muttered in Russian, “Always thinking with your dick.”
“And my fangs,” Roger replied in Russian. He flashed his fangs at Dmitri.
“Is there a reason we’re switching languages?” Takashi said, also in Russian.
“You learned Russian!” Roger exclaimed and tapped Takashi on the shoulder. “You were stumbling over it in the ’80s.”
Takashi smiled, a smaller, more genuine gesture. “You were impressed I was aiming for my twelfth language. I’m learning my fourteenth.”
“English, Japanese, French, Spanish, German, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Dutch, obviously Russian,” Roger listed as he switched back to English. “Damn, I’ve forgotten the others.”
“Farsi and Portuguese,” Takashi replied. “I’ve learned Korean, and I’m studying Thai.”
“Very impressive!” Dmitri blustered with clear frustration. “Can we get back to the matter at hand!”
“Which would be?” Roger asked coolly.
“What is the plan?” Dmitri said.
“I don’t know,” Roger replied.
“You don’t …” Dmitri shook his head and paced between the couches only to stop three steps into it. “Of course you don’t have one. That would requirethinking.”
