“And you’re all right with that?” Takashi asked lightly.
The fear that Zack was masking his pain was there, written in big, bold letters that Takashi was quickly covering up with hope that he’d be okay. A few nights ago, killing would have bothered him. It should have, still, but they needed the bloodto survive. Zack couldn’t control his hunger, and Takashi hadn’t been allowed to properly feed in over a week.
He wasn’t going to drag his feet through however long he had to live. Would the people he fed on have done any different? Probably not.Why should I feel guilt for what I am?
“I’ll manage,” Zack replied. “They’re this way. Come on.”
CHAPTER 36
The world did not collapse in the nights following the robbery. In fact, as far as Roger could determine, the world did not even notice that they had done anything at all. He hadn’t expected the mortal news to make a comment, but Vincent found no remarks on the supernaturals’ social media platforms. Nathaniel heard nothing in his bar. Had anyone other than Dmitri been in charge of breaking into the finances, Roger might have doubted their success.
The new year came without fanfare or celebration. Roger spent that evening and the ones following by writing every down everything he knew about the Great Lakes Coven. With Vincent’s and Dmitri’s help, he added better details about the security and importance of various targets. Soon, he would strike again.
Ideas were plenty, but his resources were less. Six fighters weren’t enough to launch an attack on most of their targets, especially if they aimed to make a splash rather than discreet strikes. The formerly abandoned dance studio that had been their staging ground for their heist was now their loose command center and training ground. Nathaniel had sent a few trusted vampires their way. Every vampire was woefully underexperienced because Seamus had never encouragedexpertise, always relying on overwhelming numbers for a fight. Thomas had grumbled about “training the enemy.” His complaints ended when Roger suggested he bring in trusted hunters. Their numbers were growing.
But he still wasn’t surewhereto strike.
After two weeks without the slightest tremor in the GLC, Roger needed more information from someone in leadership. He contemplated kidnapping Xenofon, but that vamp had never paid attention to much outside himself. And though torturing Xenofon would have been justice for his many victims, Roger couldn’t use that as justification. He wasn’t innocent either.
Instead, Roger texted Candide. When three more nights passed without an answer, he decided that a visit was in order.
Chateau de Vampire was Candide’s jewel, a donor house with a private section for herself. But it wasn’t her only lair. Dmitri assured Roger that she hadn’t abandoned her penthouse in the Gold Coast neighborhood.
Roger made the journey on foot, crossing the miles of Chicago after dark. Once he was within a block, he used his supernatural speed to close the distance. Modern cameras weren’t quite capable of capturing him moving that fast.
He entered the building behind a tenant, encouraging their desire to have someone near so they didn’t mind having him close. Two security guards were in the lobby. One man began to scrutinize him, so Roger reached out with his power and heightened a desire to check for messages on his phone. He deepened the shadows of his face so that any cameras in the lobby wouldn’t have a clear image of him. That little trick had been a suggestion of Vincent’s in order to fool facial recognition software.
The top two floors of the buildings belonged to Candide. Once upon a time, the second to the top had been Roger’s, but he’d moved out in the 1970s and sold it to Candide. The placehad become tainted for him after Seamus visited one night.He has soured too much of my life.
A short hallway connected the elevator door to the penthouse door. Roger could have sworn he felt spider silk strands breaking as he walked forward, but he found no hint of webs. The hallway was bright and clean. Pushing the weirdness from his mind, he knocked on the penthouse door.
After a moment, he heard two voices just on the other side.
“I think it’s Roger.” The first voice belonged to Kit.
“Think?” a second voice asked.
“He looks different.”
“Doesn’t matter who it is,” a third voice said. “Mistress didn’t tell us to expect anyone, so we don’t open the door. He has one minute before we call security.”
“Mistress didn’t tell us to do that. Are you sure we can?” Kit replied a little too sweetly. They weren’t a fan of whoever the third voice was.
“Look, you’re the new toy of the month, okay? Don’t think you know Mistress better than we do just because you’re getting all the attention.”
“It isn’t my fault you’re a boring brat. Maybe if you behaved more, you’d get ignored less.”
“Darlings,” Roger called out, “let me in.”
“No!” the second voice said.
“Then I’ll wait out here until your mistress comes home. But I will see her.”
“Not if security hauls you from the building!” the third voice said.
“Security didn’t even look at me on my way through the door. They don’t have a hope of stopping me, and your mistress wouldn’t want to sacrifice their lives if violence erupted in an effort to remove me,” Roger replied. “Now, let me in.”
There was muttering, and then the second voice whispered, “I’m calling, okay?”
