Page 61 of A Bloom in Winter

Remis went full-bore hauteur, his stubbled chin raising. “I’ll address you any way I want to. And you do work for me. I’m Whestmorel’s right-hand male, so when I tell you the schedule has changed, you’re going to make it happen or you’re out.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. You’re right.”

On that note, Apex went into the study and picked up the duffle that hadn’t been opened. As he carried it out, the male had an expression of satisfaction on his superior face—

Which changed as the luggage was dropped by the front door and Apex went for his leather jacket on the coatrack.

Fucking hell, where was Mayhem with that SUV?

“What are you doing?”

Apex glanced over. “You gave me two choices. Stay and—how did you put it . . . ‘make it happen.’ Or leave. So I’m leaving.”

As soon as Mayhem got back. On that note, he got out his phone—

“You can’t go.” Remis started pointing at the cameras. “These need to work—we can’t have the meeting up here unless they—”

Apex’s phone made a series of little tippity-tappy noises.

“You don’t have to text him.” Now the tone was more reasonable. “You just have to do your job—”

“Oh, I’m not talking to our boss.” Apex smiled—truly smiled. “I’m going to let you handle what’s going to happen when Whestmorel tries to have the Council meet here and isn’t able to record every move of those traitors—so he has leverage to hold their feet to the fire if they rethink what they’re doing because it’s illegal.”

“Now, hold on—”

“Have fun with that, by the way. If the schedule has changed, and you only have two nights before they think they’re arriving? You’re going to have a totally easy time finding an IT guy who specializes in security systems. Dime a dozen. Especially one who you can trust not to fucking blab all over the place.” He leaned in and wentsotto voce. “If the great Blind King finds out this group is convening, you all are going to have serious problems.”

Remis’s eyes narrowed. “Is that a threat?”

“Nope. Hey, I work for Whest, too. It’s a statement of fact.”

“Whestmorel,” the male said absently.

“Tomato, tomata. Or whatever the human saying goes.”

Remis put his hand up to his head, like he had a pounder behind one of his eyebrows. “I’m sorry. If I came across wrong. There’s just been a lot going on, and this needs to go well. Lot of stress.”

Flaring his nostrils, Apex caught the scent of something that, given what he knew of the male, was a surprise: Fear.

Rank fear.

Then again, if you were part of a treasonous plot to reestablish the Council and try to overthrow Wrath, son of Wrath, you had a right to be shitting yourself.

“There was a murder,” Remis said. “Back in Caldwell. One of ours.”

With a frown, Apex said, “Who?”

“Broadius.”

“No . . . shit.” Apex whistled under his breath as he pictured the male who had been mission critical to the plot. “How’d he die?”

“Someone came into his house and slit his”— Remis glanced around as if checking to make sure there was no one else with them—“they slit his fucking throat.”

“When?”

“Last night. His maid found the body.” Remis cursed again. “Broadius was an integral part of all this. So things just got harder.”

“Do they have any idea who did it?”

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