She leaned forward. With her free hand, she pushed one of Roger’s short strands of hair away from his face. Then she pressed her forehead to his. “Oh, you love them so, mon cher.”
“I do.” He tightened his hold. “Now, you have always been the most driven of us. I want my next blow to him to hurt. Guide my blade, Candide. Tell me where to strike.”
In silence, they stayed where they were. Roger danced through a plethora of memories, each of her and their friendship. She was right. She was someone he’d trusted for so long. Yet part of him did worry that her ambition would ruin him.
“If you are looking to break his heart, you won’t. He doesn’t have one.” Candide clutched Roger’s hand. “If you are looking to break his pride, you know what he loves.”
“His mansion,” Roger murmured. “Candide, if I am to strike there?—”
“Then speaking to your men may be of help.” Candide leaned back. “You have a point. And a need. I’ll arrange a meeting for you.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank me if your heart remains whole afterwards. Zack has changed.”
No doubt he had. Roger kissed Candide’s fingertips and then rose. He kissed her and Ezra on their cheeks before leaving the penthouse.
In the elevator, he collapsed against the wall, his strength leaving for the moment. Zack. A vampire. The consequence ofRoger’s actions had led to Seamus hurting more people. Always more and more and more. And some new power was within Roger’s reach, something he had never considered before.
Burning down Seamus’s house would certainly be a statement. If he could do it with his own arcane abilities? Seamus wouldn’t be able to hide that. People would talk about the castaway fledgling who dared to ruin his “master’s” home. With international vampires in town, word would quickly spread across the world.
As the elevator reached the ground floor, Roger recovered and smoothed out his jacket. His ragged psyche would heal. He would see Zack and Takashi again in a week’s time.
Until then, he had an attack to plan.
CHAPTER 39
The phone lay on the center of the coffee table in Zack’s living room, where Takashi had placed it ten minutes before. It was charged. He’d made sure of that these last two weeks. However, he hadn’t dared to call anyone from it yet. While his new phone lacked his old one’s stored contacts, he had memorized a vital set of numbers.
One was Nell’s.
Anton had sent out actual invitations to Zack and Katie’s debut party. Either this night or the next, Nell would receive one. If she somehow hadn’t heard about what had happened the night of the Winter’s Grand Ball, she’d definitely know that something was amiss after that.
Though Takashi had called her a few times before being brought to the mansion, their last in-depth conversation had been months ago in Tennessee.Of all my sirelings, you have always had a clear vision of the bigger picture, she had told him.Keep Roger on track.
He had failed miserably at that. Would Nell blame him for his lack of foresight? For taking things slow? For falling in love rather than pursuing the objective? She had Josefina, who she was devoted to, but Takashi knew that if Nell had to sacrifice herin order to protect herself, she would. She’d given Eulolia over to a dragon and never looked back.
Despite a vampire’s long life, stalling was still a bullshit move. Takashi sighed at himself, then grabbed the phone and headed into the closet where Zack’s coffin lay. He dialed. As he pressed the phone against his ear, he leaned back against the door.
“Hello?” Reed, Nell and Josefina’s favorite pet, said. Takashi had met him a handful of times, but he never forgot a voice.
“Hello, Reed. It’s Takashi. Is our master about?” Takashi tried to keep his tone light.
There was a slight shuffle of noise on the other end, but within seconds, Nell said, “Are you all right?”
Takashi blinked. Nell sounded genuinely concerned for his well-being. “I am … safe is an overstatement, I’ll admit. What do you know?”
“Roger has brought Josefina into his mess,” Nell replied. “I hope that he has told her everything.”
“He trusts her. I imagine he has.” Takashi closed his eyes. He had to focus to listen both to his conversation and for any indication that someone was entering Zack’s suite or passing too close. “You’ve heard what happened at the hotel?”
“Seamus took you and the hunter,” Nell said.
“We’re at his mansion. The situation has become complicated. Very complicated.”
“I appreciate your concern for propriety, but I have been waiting weeks to hear from you. Unless you have ages to speak, forget your trepidations and talk.”
Bluntness was one of her better traits. Takashi let the words unspool from him. “The night we were brought to the mansion, Seamus made it clear that if I cooperated, he would be lenient. He doesn’t seem to care much about what Roger does, considers him nothing more than a toy. But we had a long conversationabout international affairs. I betrayed nothing of your deals or your domain.”
