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“What has it played so far?” Victor asked.

I recited the list.

“The first one was ‘The Only Way is Up?’” Victor asked.

“Yeah . . .”

The jukebox clunked and the opening of that same track began to play a second time, as though it could hear us.

The lights went out.

“Look up,” Victor said.

I did. Neon words glowed, scrawled across the ceiling in some kind of pen.

Gone to Cain’s mansion.

Don’t fuck up my bar.

Wait for my signal.

Tom.

Wait . . . Tom had allowed Sebastien to take him?

“Oh my fuck, our bartender is a genius.” Green neon light illuminated Zee’s grin. “He planned it.”

Victor nodded. “It does appear that way.”

The lights blazed back on.

“If Tom gets into Cain’s electrics from inside his home,” Victor mused aloud. “There’s no limit to the chaos he might cause.”

“Like a pissed-off virus made of sass and spite,” Zee agreed.

We’d already seen how formidable Tom could be when unleashed from behind the bar. Even restrained as an AI, Tom was smart, quick, and potentially brutal. And he had a motive. “Do you think he’s gone there because Gideon Cain stole his life?”

“Oh, for sure.” Zee nodded.

“In all likelihood, yes,” Victor said. “He listened to us for hours and would dispense advice, some of it unwanted. However, there has always been a contemplative part to him that few saw. If he spotted an opportunity to get revenge, he would take it.”

And that opportunity was Sebastien.

“Wow.” Zee huffed a laugh, impressed. “I am never going to bitch about his prices again.”

“This could be our opportunity too.” Victor ambled behind the bar, taking the place of temporary barman like he had when Tom Collins had gone AWOL before. “If Tom is able to create enough disarray, there’s a chance we may be able to get inside Cain’s home undetected.” He casually grabbed the whiskey bottle and poured me a shot, then set about making Zee some kind of fancy iced drink in a tall, thin glass.

Zee took the drink, wet his lips with it and brightened. “You are full of surprises.” And now the pair of them were on the same track. “Vampires are made for sneaky shit.” His gaze locked on Victor. “Creep in like the slippery shadow daddy you are, find Adam’s bead, sneak out again and nobody has to know. I’ll be there with Shareen if shit does go sideways. I am liking this plan . . . Adam?”

Hunger for vengeance made Zee’s eyes shine. Victor’s too.

“You’ll only be able to get it if Gideon isn’t wearing it,” I said. It was good seeing them bonding over battle plans, but the risks involved in going to Gideon Cain’s mansion were many. “If he’s going to take it off, it’ll be when he’s sleeping.”

Victor nodded. “Then we’ll need to locate his bedroom suite.”

There was no stopping them. The plan had formed, and they were doing this.

“What about wards?” I asked. “You can’t wear both rings at the same time, and there will be wards.”