“Goodnight, Roni.” Mildred kissed his forehead. “Are you sure you don’t want us to stay with you?”

She was such a sweetheart.

His handler and his wife had spent all day sitting in Roni’s hospital room. Barty was there to keep an eye on him, making sure he didn’t get his hands on a computer, but Mildred was there because she cared.

What did his bosses think he could do? Hack the Pentagon from his hospital bed?

Maybe. If he had a reason to.

Even feverish with pneumonia and weak like a newborn, Roni could still wreak havoc if allowed access to the Internet.

The paranoia was justified.

After all, the government had been holding Roni captive for years and he had a score to settle. But even if he had the opportunity, he wouldn’t hack the system with malicious intent. To use the backdoor he’d programmed, he needed the system up and working fine.

Roni patted her hand. “I’m sure. Besides, you have to go. Visiting hours are over.”

The bossy bird of a nurse had informed them that everyone needed to leave. Sylvia was allowed to stay only because Roni had told everyone who cared to listen that she was his fiancée.

Rising to his feet, Barty hiked his pants up. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning, kid. If you need anything, you can call me. Jerome is just outside your door. You can ask him to make the call.” He clapped Roni on the shoulder, so gently that it was almost a pat.

God, he was going to miss the old jerk and his kindly wife.

“Yeah, okay. See you tomorrow morning,” Roni said, his voice quivering a little.

The fever was making him mushy. That’s what it was. Because no way in hell would he shed a tear because that old asshole and his wife, who really was a sweetheart, were leaving and he wasn’t going to see them ever again.

Once they were finally gone, Sylvia’s crew would arrive and spring him free.

In the long hours he’d been waiting for Barty and Mildred to leave, Roni had made up his mind. It was a no-brainer. To stay meant that he would keep doing what he loved doing but have no life. To go with Sylvia, even with no chance of ever turning immortal, still meant doing what he loved doing, but with perks.

Either way, he would be a prisoner.

As long as the immortals kept him pampered and Sylvia warmed his bed, he didn’t mind never leaving their lair, or whatever they called their home. As it was, he spent most of his days in front of monitors, and it didn’t really matter to him where he was doing it.

“Thank the merciful Fates.” Sylvia let out a breath. “I thought they would never leave.”

“Yeah. I’m ready to get going.”

“I’m glad you decided to take the chance.” Sylvia sounded relieved.

Good, it meant she wanted him even as a human, but he needed to make sure. “What happens if I don’t turn?”

She looked away. “I’m not sure. Normally, someone who is really good at thralling would get into your head and make you forget everything you’ve learned about us. But I’m hoping our regent would allow you to stay. First of all, because we need you, and second of all because I doubt anyone would dare mess with that brilliant brain of yours—it’s too valuable. And if that’s not enough to convince him to let you stay, I’m going to plead and beg and do whatever I can until he does.”

Roni took her hand. “You really care about me.”

“Of course, I do, dummy.”

He smirked. “Hey, a minute ago you called me brilliant.”

“You’re both. But seriously, you know that if you stay with us as a human, it’s like a life sentence. You can never leave.”

“As long as I have you, I don’t mind. It’s not like I want to go anywhere without you.”

A tear slid down Sylvia’s cheek. “Don’t give up yet. I’m not. I’m going to implore the Fates every day all day long until they get sick of hearing my prayers and turn you. I don’t want to watch you get old and die. I can’t.”

He squeezed her hand. “I’m not giving up. I don’t care if I have to let all the males of your clan take turns beating me up and biting me until it happens.”

It wasn’t an idle promise. For Sylvia, Roni would even face that Brundar dude Andrew thought was so mean and scary. One of the males must have the right venom composition to turn him. Because there was no way Roni wasn’t a Dormant. Not with his grandma surfacing decades after her supposed death by drowning, looking not a day older than she did at twenty-five.

Sylvia nodded and squeezed his hand back. “That’s the spirit. Never give up, never surrender.”

“I’m with you, baby. Call your posse.”

Pulling out her phone, Sylvia sent the text.

“What about Jerome?” Roni asked.

The guy knew him well, which meant it wouldn’t be easy to thrall him to forget why he was there, and who he was guarding.

“We will take care of him.”

“You’re not going to do anything to him? Right? I like the guy.”

With a smile, Sylvia leaned and kissed his cheek. “I wish everyone got to see this side of you. Underneath that prickly exterior, you’re a nice guy.”

Roni shifted up, making himself more comfortable. “Don’t read too much into it. I don’t want to see Jerome hurt, but that doesn’t make me a good guy. I’m not violent, that’s all.”

Sylvia patted his arm. “Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that. Anyway, one of the guys is going to thrall him to believe that his shift is over and someone is coming to replace him.”

“He is not going to leave his post until his replacement arrives.”

“Don’t worry about it. He’ll be convinced it’s okay to leave. Let me just send them a text with instructions.” Her fingers flew over the screen.

“Why does it have to be one of the guys? Can’t you do it?”

Sylvia shrugged. “I can, but I don’t have as much practice. The guys do it all the time. Once they bite a woman, which they do almost every time they have sex, they have to make her forget the fangs. Immortal females don’t have such problems. We don’t bite. Much.” She winked.

“Good. Because I don’t think I would’ve liked being a pincushion, even for your cute little fangs. Those fuckers hurt.”

“I don’t know about that. Supposedly, the ladies enjoy it very much.” Her eyes lit up the way they did when she was turned on.

Good. Because for some reason, being the one doing the biting sounded way more sexy than being the one bitten. If Sylvia didn’t share his opinion, Roni would’ve felt guilty about having such seemingly misogynistic thoughts. “I hope you’ll find out soon.”

“I do too. But even if you turn tonight, it will take up to six months for your fangs to become fully operational.”

“Bummer.”

She waved a hand. “I can wait.”

Hopefully, she wouldn’t end up waiting for nothing.

“Tell me more about where I’m going. If I’m to spend the rest of my life locked up, at least I hope to spend it in luxury.”

Her smile wilted, but then she put a brave face on. “You will. And the lockup is only temporary. We are building a new place that has large open areas. It’s going to be ready in a couple of months. You won’t have to spend all of your time indoors.”

He chuckled. “You forget who you’re talking to. Hackers are like vampires. We shun the sun and lurk in our lairs.”

“I’m not going to let you do that.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. You’re going to eat right, move your ass every couple of hours, and spend at least an hour a day outdoors. Even if you don’t turn, I’m going to make sure you live long and prosper.”

He loved when Sylvia made Star Trek references, and more than that he loved that she cared. Still, he had an image to protect.

Roni glowered at her, pretending to be mad. “I’m not even there yet, and you’re already bossing me around?”

“Trouble in paradise?” Anandur sauntered into the room accompanied by a freaky looking dude who was more handsome than humanly possible.

“Yamanu at your service.” He offered Roni his hand.

“Roni.” He shook it, hypnotized by the guy’s pale blue eyes and singsong voice. “You’re the thrall master, right?”

“Very astute observation,” Anandur replied. “Get dressed. We are moving out.” He handed Roni a plastic bag.

Glancing at the various tubes and monitoring wires sticking to him, Roni wondered how he was supposed to manage that.

“I’ll unhook you,” Yamanu offered.

With fingers that were much gentler than their size implied, Yamanu had Roni unplugged from everything, while Sylvia took care of the equipment with her special magic, so none of it sounded the alert.

His girlfriend had some impressive skills.

A few minutes later, they left the hospital room. Yamanu and Sylvia stepped out first, with Yamanu making sure no one spared them a second glance, while Roni and Anandur trailed behind with him leaning heavily on the big guy.

Roni would’ve felt better about starting this new phase of his life walking unaided, but in a way, it was symbolic of the future awaiting him. As a hacker, he’d always worked alone, and as a prisoner, he’d lived alone.

But from this day onward, he’d have to learn to work with others while living with an entire clan.