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More quiet. “Okay…so be it. And thanks for manning up.”

“Sure. Ah, no problem.”

When they broke a half hour later, Z was the first to leave the study. He didn’t want to talk to the brothers about what he’d volunteered to do or how he was feeling. He knew they were all curious about him, probably looking for signs that he’d been redeemed or some shit.

He went back to his room to arm himself. He had a hard task in front of him, a long, hard task, and he wanted to get it over with.

Except as he went for the weapons cabinet inside his closet, his eyes latched onto the black satin robe Bella had worn so often. Days ago, he’d thrown it in the trash in the bathroom, but Fritz had obviously picked it out and hung it back up. Z leaned forward and touched the thing, then took it off the hanger, draped it over his arm, and stroked the smooth cloth. He brought it to his nose and breathed deep, catching both her scent and the smell of his bonding for her.

He was about to put the thing back when he caught sight of something flashing as it fell onto the floor at his feet. He bent down. Bella’s little necklace. Left behind.

He fingered the fragile chain for a while, just watching the diamonds sparkle; then he put it on and got out his weapons. As he stepped back into the bedroom he meant to leave right away, but his eyes caught sight of the Mistress’s skull sitting next to his pallet.

Crossing the room, he knelt in front of the thing and stared into the eye sockets.

A moment later he went to the bathroom, grabbed a towel, and headed back for the skull. Draping the thing in terry cloth, he picked it up and moved fast, racewalking and then jogging down the hall of statues. He took the grand staircase to the first floor, cut through the dining room and the butler’s pantry, then crossed the kitchen.

The basement stairs were way in the back, and he didn’t turn the light on as he took them downward. As he descended, the roaring sound of the mansion’s old-fashioned coal-burning furnace got louder.

Approaching the great iron beast he felt its warmth, as if the thing were alive and fevered. He leaned down and looked through the little glass window in the hutch. Orange flames licked and gnawed at the coal they’d been given, always hungry for more food. He flipped the latch, opened the door, and got a blast in the face. Without hesitating he tossed the skull in with the towel.

He didn’t wait around to watch it burn, just turned and headed back upstairs.

When he got to the foyer he paused, then walked up to the second floor. At the head of the stairs he took a right, went down the hall, and knocked on one of the doors.

Rhage opened the thing, a towel around his waist. He seemed surprised to see who it was. “Hey, my brother.”

“Can I talk to Mary for a minute?”

Hollywood frowned, but said over his shoulder, “Mary, Z wants to see you.”

Mary was pulling a silk dressing gown closed and tying it with a sash as she came to the door. “Hi.”

“You mind if I do this in private?” Z said, glancing at Rhage.

As the brother’s eyebrows got real low, Z thought, Yeah, bonded males didn’t like their females alone with anyone else. Especially not him.

He rubbed his skull trim. “It’ll just be here in the hall. Won’t take long.”

Mary stepped between them and nudged her hellren back into the room. “It’s all right, Rhage. Go finish getting the tub ready.”

Rhage’s eyes flashed white as his beast checked in with its own bonded reaction. There was a weighty pause; then Mary was kissed soundly on the throat and the door shut.

“What is it?” she asked. Z could smell her fear of him, but she met him in the eye.

He always had liked her, he thought. “I heard you taught autistic kids.”

“Ah…yes, I did.”

“Were they slow at learning things?”

She frowned. “Well, yes. Sometimes.”

“Did that…” He cleared his throat. “Did that get on your nerves? I mean, did you get frustrated with them?”

“No. If I got disappointed at all, it was with myself for not figuring out the way they needed to learn.”

While he nodded, he had to look away from her gray eyes. He focused