“You’re not hoping I will dump all this wealth on you, are you?” Dmitri asked.
“I want it to disappear,” Roger replied. “Though, if we could slide five million to Nell so she won’t come after me for a debt, I’d appreciate it.”
“I could arrange that if I had an account number for her.”
Roger grinned broadly. “Oh, I might know someone who could help us with that.”
“We’ll have to deal with security. The place runs all hours anymore.”
“If you can sketch out the details, I’m certain Thomas will aid us in figuring out how to combat it.”
Dmitri narrowed his eyes. “Who is Thomas?”
“Zack’s father.”
“You’ve managed to get another Wright to help you?” Dmitri put a hand to his head. “Perhaps I am still hallucinating.”
“You aren’t,” Roger said gently.
“If you say so.” Dmitri sighed and leaned against Roger’s shoulder. “But should I open my eyes and find myself still tied in silver, I won’t be surprised.”
Instinct begged Roger to slide an arm around Dmitri, and so he did, giving Dmitri every opportunity to move away from him. Instead, Dmitri leaned into him all the harder. No one in the world might understand what the other had endured so much as they could understand each other. Roger yearned to haul him close, to let him deeper into his heart. But he couldn’t betray Zack and Takashi like that, couldn’t risk hurting Dmitri’s heart or his own.
He ought to prod for answers, descriptions—anything to make his plan move forward. But he hoped they wouldn’t want him to deny Dmitri this moment of solace and comfort as he sank against Roger and relaxed.
“You’re anxious for action,” Dmitri murmured.
“I am,” Roger said. “I’ve waited too long to strike like this.”
Dmitri laughed, wiping away a tear as he sat straight again. “You have no idea how good it is to hear you admit that. Come. Nathaniel must have paper and pen. Call your Wrights. Perhaps together, we can rob the monsters blind.”
CHAPTER 19
Waking was a languid thing; Zack was in an incredibly soft bed with a perfectly divine comforter and was up against a pleasantly warmer person. Takashi, he was sure of it. He had his arm over his chest and knew the feel of him. So he scooted his butt back to search for Roger.
But that side of the bed was empty.
Realization brought back memory, and that drew aside the heavy curtain obscuring consciousness. Zack was a vampire. He was in Seamus’s mansion. The previous night’s meeting had ended close to sunrise, and he had barely had his eyes open while he shucked off his suit and changed into pajamas. He’d fallen asleep nearly as soon as his head hit the pillow. Takashi must have crawled into bed with him.
ItisTakashi, right?Zack opened his eyes.
And was met with pure, seamless darkness.
He hadn’t climbed out of his grave. He was caught in his coffin. He’d been hallucinating.
A terrified scream ripped from him as he sat up. He flung his arms out, trying to find the lid and failing. If he couldn’t find the lid, then he couldn’t break free. There was movement beside him. Scrambling. Oh God, was it maggots? Beetles?Worms?
“Whoa there,” Takashi said. His voice pierced through the panic but didn’t calm him.
A bedside lamp flicked on and illuminated the massive bedroom in a soft, gentle glow. Zack’s mind flailed, reason refusing to speak up on reality’s behalf, and he scanned the room over and over. Bed. Bedside table. Desk. Door. Dresser. Door. Door. Bookshelf. Painting. Beside table. Bed. None of these were his coffin lid. None of them were the way out.
“You aren’t trapped,” Takashi said. “Zack, look at me.”
Zack snapped his head to the side, a snarl on his lips, but it died in his throat. Takashi was sitting beside him, and there was a lamp behind him. A world around him. Not a hint of a coffin.
The intensity of the fear broke, but the aftershocks tumbled through Zack. He drew his knees to his chest and put his forehead on them. He couldn’t have curled up like this in the coffin. He hadn’t had Takashi with him. Everything that had happened was real, not a hallucination. He wasn’t trapped. He wasn’t. “Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.”
Gently, Takashi wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and Zack leaned into him without moving much. “I wasn’t thinking. I should have left the light on.”
