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“Is my name in there?” Zee asked.

“Yes.”

“I bet I’m under B for Best Demon, right?”

“I suspect you’re more likely listed under I for Irritating Distraction.”

“Oh.” Zee fluttered his lashes. “I see how it is. Daddy Vampire is getting his sass on. Alright then. That’s fine. Are you in there under A for Antique?”

I rolled my lips to hide my smile.

“Considering your reputation,” Victor added. “You’re likely flagged as a threat, and therefore high on the list of targets to be eliminated when The Coming begins.”

Zee’s snort was at least predictable. “The coming? You’re fucking with me, right?”

“The Coming?” I asked.

“That’s what they’re calling it, when they figure out how to open the veil and our queen arrives.”

“Excuse moi,” Zee raised a hand. “The who now?”

“Vamps want to take over the world,” I explained. “Victor admitted to helping organize it, but he’s not into the whole evil-villain thing now.”

“Woah, hold up, let’s all backtrack a second and count the ways Victor Reynard is a dick. One, he gifted you to their fang-fucker queen⁠—”

“Tried to,” I corrected.

“It rather backfired,” Victor said, comfortable enough with me to joke. I was liking his new sassy side. “Although, I much prefer the resulting outcome than the previous potential version.”

“Two, he neglected to mention that he and Tinkerbell—the fae behind selling body cream made from bits of demon—were old pals, for dramatic daddy reasons.”

“I did have reasons, yes. Reasons Adam is aware of,” Victor said. “I’m not certain they were dramatic, or . . . familial.”

“Three, he’s behind The Queen’s Coming—which sounds like my kind of rodeo, until you realize it’s a fucking masterplan to take over the world? And we like him because?”

“I’m not behind it, so much as I was one of many minor facilitators.”

“Four, you’re a dick.”

“I’m working to rectify that.” Victor pulled out a second keyboard, linked to a separate screen, and typed away. “In the chaos of Gideon’s hostile takeover, he neglected to remove my permissions, which means I still have access to the building’s security systems. A mistake Gideon will come to regret by the morning.” He hit the return key and all the lights around us dipped to red. “Goodbye Cain Technologies.” The red mood lighting highlighted Victor’s sharp fangs.

“Ohh, nice.” Zee grinned. “Just like the red room at Razorsedge.”

“With fewer dildos,” Victor said.

Zee gasped. “Did you just make a dick joke? What is happening? I tingled all over. You’re tormenting me, is that what this is? Standing there all wet and sexy. I could deal with that. But if you’re going to start slinging dick jokes around, then imma get weak, and I have not had enough drugs for that.”

As much as I was enjoying their banter, a growing sense of unease plucked at my nerves, making me twitchy. The whiskey must have worn off, taking my lack of inhibitions with it. Or maybe the red lighting was a stark reminder we were in enemy territory, inside a building that had already tried to kill us once.

It was definitely time to leave.

The screen pinged and zoomed in on a map location.

“Hm, troubling,” Victor said, taking all the information into his photographic memory. “I know where Jimmy’s family are. We’ll discuss it later. Let’s go, before the security measures kick in and the systems begin to fail.” He made for the door, but the twitchy, niggling feeling inside me grew.

“Wait, what about Claymore? Can you use that computer thing to find him?”

“I had staff try with no results, Adam. We really must go.”