Chapter 5

Reynard stoodin front of the cabinet, looking grumpy. Which is to say, his expression was stoic, but the fact he was staring at the cabinet as though he wanted it to burst into flames spoke for him.

He had on a pair of steel-gray suit pants, with suspenders that criss-crossed at his back over a red shirt. Old men wore suspenders, right? So he should have looked silly. But Reynard did not, in fact, look silly in suspenders. He looked refined, distinguished, and if Zee had witnessed the way those straps accentuated Reynard's frame, he'd have definitely had something erotic to say, and then blamed his desire on me.

"It looks great," I said, approaching him after the midday lunch rush in the bar. Zee hadn't returned from Razorsedge last night, but that was fine. I wasn't going to worry. Not yet.

Reynard folded his arms. "It is a monstrosity."

Beside him, I wondered if we were looking at the same cabinet. "It looks fine."

"Fine?" He scoffed. "I should dismantle it and begin again."

There was nothing wrong with it. The doors all lined up, the drawers were in. "No, nope. It's brilliant as it is. And you can't make it too perfect, remember? Fine is perfect."

His eyes narrowed and his gaze slid to me. "Are you humoring me?"

"No." I laughed a little, hoping to ease the tension. "It really is fine. If Zee and I had made it, then it would be a monstrosity. But that looks great."

"I remain unconvinced." Reynard sighed, collected his jacket off the back of a nearby chair and shrugged it on. "Where is Zodiac?"

"Oh, he's... He had a thing." I shrugged, and tucked my hands into my pockets, looking around the bar at nothing in particular. Tom was there, pouring drinks. The jukebox played. "At Razorsedge. Last night. He's fine."

Reynard did that thing he does, where he stares until you blurt out what's really on your mind. But I wasn't falling for that. Nope. He didn't need to get involved. I was just here to see how the cabinet was coming along, and definitely did not need his help with anything else.

"You're concerned for him?" Reynard prompted.

I winced. "Am I that obvious?"

"You would not be you, if you weren't concerned for a friend."

Oh well, that was nice of him to say. "It's just... I can't really talk about Zee's private life. But he's worked at Razorsedge for years. He has friends there, and uh... there's been some trouble... So, he's gone back to fix the trouble."

"Some trouble?" Reynard echoed, in a way that suggested he didn't believe my flippant explanation.

"Yeah, I guess, I don't know. He's fine." Just like we were all fine, and not clinging to this hotel like it was a life raft in the tumultuous oceans of our lives. "So, uh, how's work? Your business. All good? Making millions?"

Reynard tilted his head, keeping his eyes narrowed. "Have a drink with me, Adam."

I wasn't sure if he'd suggested or ordered, but followed him to the bar where Tom Collins greeted us. "Good day, gentlemen. What poison may I serve you today?"

"Your exquisite Irish tea, please Tom," Reynard said. I probably shouldn't have ordered whiskey, but there it was in front of me so down it went, warming my insides after Zee's absence last night left them cold.

"Tom." I called him back over. "Where did you get the bow tie?" He wore a burgundy suit, which wasn't new to his programming, but the blue bow tie was.

"Do you like it?" He preened, plucking at the tie's edges.

Could AI update its own programming? Because I didn't recall a bow tie in his appearance library. "It's... blue."

"It's charming," Reynard said, raising his teacup to his lips, clearly humoring him.

"Was it in your programming?" I asked.

Tom Collins smiled. "Must be, else it wouldn't be around my fucking neck, would it?"

"You aren't downloading anything off the internet, are you?"

"Did you enable automatic updates after you plugged me in?"

I huffed. When I'd set him up, I hadn't paid too much attention to the settings. Which was how we'd ended up with the profanity-riddled AI. "Maybe."

"I'm just an AI. I do exactly what you tell me to do. If you don't like the bow tie, I'll remove it."

"No, it's fine. It looks good." I waved him off and away he went, humming to himself. Was the humming also new?

"I suspect he is gaslighting you," Reynard said.

"What?" Could AI do that?

"I've been watching your Tom Collins while building the cabinet, and there are a great many issues affecting his programming."

That didn't sound good. "He has some glitches, but he seems to be a hit with the customers. Should I be concerned?"

He thought for a while, before answering. "You already have enough to worry about. I'm sure it's nothing. I'll keep an eye on him."

"I thought you didn't know about tech?"

"I've rather had to learn enough to get by."

I eyed Tom Collins as he wiped down the bartop, making it gleam. The bar was, without a doubt, one of the most well-maintained places in the entire hotel. He had some issues, but he'd been working fine, so as long as the guests didn't mind his eccentricities...

"Now, tell me what has you troubled, Adam."

"Me? What? Nothing. I'm fine. Everything is fine."

"Like the cabinet is fine?"

"The cabinet is fine."

Reynard sipped his tea, and I could have excused myself and left, but I also, maybe, sort of, wanted to sit with him, because whenever I did, he made all my worries seem smaller.

"We could do this dance around the truth, but we both know you are deeply troubled. Is it anything I can assist with?"

I clasped my hands around my whiskey glass and peered into its depths. "It's... personal."

"Ah."

"I want to do the right thing, but the right thing might hurt someone I care about... but also, save him. He thinks I can't, because I'm me, which is to say... Never mind. It's complicated, and you don't want to know my problems."

"If I didn't, I would not have asked." He set his teacup down in the saucer with a stern clack. "Allow me to be clear. I am in your debt. Until we deal with a certain sorcerer, I am yours."

He was mine? I had sort of, technically, claimed him in front of the vampire royal family. We were definitely more than hotelier and guest. And sometimes, when I looked at him, I got the impression he really did want to help.

I pinched my lips together, trapping everything inside. Maybe... just a little... mention? "Sebastien killed one of Zee's friends and demanded I let Zee go, but Zee doesn't know, so he's gone back to find her, but he won't ever find her, because I buried her in the flowerbeds, and Sebastien threatened to kill me if I ever went back, but I know I can free Zee, and maybe the others too, if I can just get a look at his contract." I breathed in. Okay. Wow. That had all just fallen right out of me.

"Sebastien threatened you?" Reynard repeated in monotone. "How exactly?"

"Oh, it was nothing. Just a little choking against a wall until I almost blacked out. But I'm fine now."

Reynard's eyes widened. His top lip thinned, pulled tight over fangs. "That is far from nothing."

"What he did to me doesn't matter. It's what he's doing to Zee that's wrong."

"And what is he doing to Zodiac, Adam?" I should have stopped, should have heard the warning in his voice. Or perhaps I did hear it, and knew exactly what it would mean if I told him. Because I needed his help.

"Sebastien uses him, treats him as though he's nothing. Like Zee's his property. He treats them all like that. Like they're nothing. They're not nothing, Victor. They're special, each one of them. They think I want to save them, but it's not that. It's not that at all. I want them to be free to choose. That is what I want. That's all I've ever wanted. For everyone to be free to choose."

Oh dear. I'd said too much. It had rushed out of me again, and now it was out there.

Reynard sat very still, absorbing my words. "He abuses Zodiac?" he repeated.

Oh dear. "I shouldn't have said anything. If Zee finds out I've told you, he'll be mad."

Reynard called Tom over. "A Bloody Bitch, please Tom."

"Coming right up." Tom Collins mixed the drink, tossing stainless-steel mixers like a maestro directing his orchestra.

"Does Zodiac wish to be free of Sebastien?" Reynard asked, stuck in the same, monotone voice.

"He does."

"He raised a sword in my time of need. The least I can do is help him spread his wings."

My heart missed a beat. Reynard was going to help me help Zee? Oh, Zee would hate this, but also my chances of success had just doubled. Why did helping people always have to be so complicated? "It's probably best we don't tell him you're involved, and... also he doesn't know his friend is dead. So we should probably keep that from him too. If he knew about Sebastien's threats, he'd go back to him forever, to stop him from hurting anyone else. And I'll lose him."

Reynard considered everything I'd said so far, cleared his throat, and turned to face me. Those darkly lined eyes with their silvery accents looked through me, touching my soul. "There are many lessons I've learned and relearned throughout my many years, but a few things remained consistent during the centuries."

By the stars, he was old. I peered at him, sensing more was coming. I was ready for some ancient vampire wisdom. Ready to learn.

"Choosing truth is always the better path."

"Hm... Yes. But also, sometimes, lies are good too."

"Experience has taught me, truth eventually leads to the better outcome."

I disagreed, and sat back. "Not always."

"Which one of us has survived the ages?"

"Yeah, but..." I shrugged. He was wrong. Truth could be twisted. Truth could be wielded like a weapon. "I'm not telling him."

"Is it not Zodiac's choice to make, Adam?"

Probably, but I wasn't going to tell him. "I appreciate your wisdom, I really do. But he's got enough going on. I will tell him, just not yet."

Reynard conceded with a slight bow. "Rest assured, your secrets are safe with me."

"One Bloody Bitch for the bloody vampire," Tom Collins announced, placing the red, glossy drink in front of Reynard. "And might I add, neither of you losers have seen Zodiac sitting at my bar alone at night, and witnessed the bruises beneath his glamor. If I could leave this bar, shove that shotgun down Sebastien's throat and blow his balls off, I would have." He smiled. "Enjoy your drinks."

Tom left to serve another customer, whistling a jolly tune as he worked. I blinked after him as his words settled in my mind, their meaning becoming clearer as the seconds ticked on. I was fairly certain I'd bought a murderbot. Maybe there had been a mix-up up at the AI bartender factory?

"I think we have our answer," Reynard remarked, taking a sip of his potent drink.

"As to whether Tom Collins is glitchy?"

"About what to do regarding Sebastien." He downed the drink in one gulp and licked his lips, eyes shining with renewed vigor. "Where do we begin?"

"We need to get a copy of his contract. I think it's in Sebastien's suite. But he has eyes all over the club. Vampires are banned, and he'll know as soon as I step inside. So we need to find a way to get past the doorman, past all the demons, avoid the guards, and break into his apartment without being seen. Oh, and we should avoid Zee, since he'll probably be there too."

"Ah." Reynard's smile slowly crept across his face. He raised his gaze, and the predator living behind his polished exterior pinned me to my stool under its gaze. "Well, it appears the answer is simple."

"It is?"

"We merely have to give Sebastien exactly what he wants." He ran the tip of his tongue over his thin lips.

"I don't understand."

"La mort d'amour,"he purred. His voice sounded like audible chocolate, and did tingly things to parts of my anatomy. Hello, Vampire Daddy.

Death sex? Wait. With him? What?

"Prepare yourself, Adam." His fangs gleamed, on display now, when they hadn't been moments ago. "You shall accompany me to Razorsedge this evening."