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If he made that cabinet as perfect as he had made the paper swan he’d once given me, Zee would despise it. “Erm . . . Maybe don’t make it too well?”
He looked up and grimaced, as though I’d suggested he roll in mud. “You’re asking me to fail?”
“Not fail, exactly, just . . . you know . . .” How was I supposed to ask him to half-ass it so Zee didn’t have a crisis of confidence?
“No, I don’t know. Explain, Adam. A job worth doing is worth doing properly.” A good kind of shiver ran through me. One of those all-over, breathless shivers that had nothing to do with being cold, and everything to do with Reynard’s firm tone of voice. “Why would I sabotage my own efforts?”
Ugh. Vampires. Were they all obsessed with tiny details? I sighed, and glanced across the bar, checking that Zee hadn’t returned and wasn’t within listening distance. “Just trust me. It’ll make our lives easier if you’re less than perfect.”
“Well, that is a tall order.” His mouth ticked at one corner. “But I will try to oblige.”
“Good, that’s good. I’ll uh . . . go get cleaned up.”
He bowed his head, and turned to begin assembling the cabinet. I’d have liked to watch, but unlike his business, the SOS Hotel did not run itself, and required constant attention so it didn’t collapse like a card castle. At least the work kept me busy, and my mind off other things.
I pushed through the bar door, into the lobby, and found Zee standing with his back to me, beside a single-horned demon, at one of the waiting-area tables. I recognized Ramone—the demon with one horn from Razorsedge who had helped us dispatch Reynard’s bloodthirsty wife.
He raised his hand and threw me a smile. He was shorter than Zee by several feet, but stockier, and packed with muscle under his plain clothing.
I made my way over, but Ramone’s smile faded fast the nearer I got. This couldn’t be good.
“Adam,” Ramone said, “I hope you don’t mind me coming here?”
“Not at all. You’re welcome any time.”
Zee perched his ass on the arm of a tired-looking chair. His wings drooped, and his tail lay limp on the floor. I didn’t need to look at his face to know what I’d see there. Something bad had happened.
“There’s some trouble at the club,” he said, averting his purple eyes. When he did finally look up, all of their usual sparkle had faded.
“Trouble?”
“A friend of ours is missing,” Ramone explained. “Cherise.”
I blinked. “Missing?”
“I have to go back.” Zee stood and headed for the door, his mind already made up.
He was leaving? But he couldn’t. We had to talk about this. There were things I knew that he didn’t. I caught his wrist, opening my mouth to explain, but as he jolted to a stop and his gaze dropped to my hand, I let go.
He looked up, his expression still concerned, but now questioning too.
I hadn’t meant to grab him so hard.
I thrust both hands into my pockets, to keep from grabbing him again.
He couldn’t go back there. He wasn’t safe. He was safe here, at the hotel, with me. If he went back, Sebastien would sink his claws into him. I knew Zee could fight. I knew he could look after himself. But he didn’t fight Sebastien. I’d seen him battle vampire royalty. He’d put a frisky lupine shifter facedown on the Razorsedge bar. But for some inexplicable reason, he didn’t touch Sebastien.
How could I say all that, without saying all that? “I don’t think you should go.”
“It’s alright, Kitten,” Zee said, probably sensing my spiking anxiety. “It won’t be for long.”
“But what can you do that the others haven’t already done?” I asked, afraid I sounded whiny, when in fact, I was scared. “Why does it have to be you? You work here now, with me. You belong here.”
He smiled softly, and planted his hands on my shoulders, pinning me under his gaze. “This isn’t work, it’s family. You understand, right? You won’t even notice I’m gone.”
He ruffled my hair, then headed for the door with Ramone at his side.
My heart lurched. If he went back, Sebastien wouldn’t let him go. I knew, because he’d left me a message making it clear all games were over. He believed Zodiac was his, and he’d kill to prove it.
