House Rules (Chicagoland Vampires #7)(74)
Author: Chloe Neill

"Merit and I will go," Ethan said, standing.

"You need more bodies than that, especially if there are two wounded vamps," Jonah said. "I’ll get permission from Scott to go, too."

Ethan was quiet for a moment, debating the offer. "I’m in charge," he finally said. "What I say goes. No heroics."

"I hadn’t planned on it."

"Excellent."

"Glad to hear it."

Jeff whistled, and they shut up. "Vampires, please. It’s going to take time to get the scanners in place. I can do it, but I’ve got to finagle a satellite, and that’s going to take a phone call and some security clearance."

"You can find it while we drive," Ethan said.

"Working on it. Hit the road and I’ll update you as soon as I can."

"Luc, technology?"

"On it." Luc jogged to a nearby cabinet, then brought out some of his prized possessions – incredibly small earpiece-and-microphone combos that would allow us to talk to one another inside the building.

"One for each of you," Luc said, handing them to me and Ethan. "There’s an extra there for Jonah. We’ll coordinate the comm here, and keep Jeff and Catcher patched in."

Ethan nodded, slipping the earpiece into his ear, and I did the same.

"We find him, we get Darius and Lakshmi out, and we take out Michael," Ethan said. "Any objections to that plan?"

My instinct, in times of stress, was to be sarcastic, but I managed not to ask if we’d get mission T-shirts after we were finished, or maybe a group photo op as at so many other Chicago attractions.

"No objections," Jonah gravely said.

Swords at the ready, earpieces in place, we headed upstairs and walked outside. Great white flakes of snow were falling across the city, and they’d already collected into a white blanket that covered the lawn.

"Snow is coming," I said.

"Indeed," Ethan agreed, as we walked through the gate. Ethan was driving the two of us, and Jonah would meet us there.

As Ethan and I buckled up, Luc’s voice rang through our ears. "Audio working?"

"It’s working," Ethan said. "We’re leaving now. We’ll get this done."

I certainly hoped he was right.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

GIVING CHASE

Ten minutes later, we were zooming down Lakeshore as fast as the Volvo could go. Luc had patched Jeff and Jonah – who didn’t yet have his earbud – into our connection system so we could make final arrangements on the way.

"Guys, I’ve got good news and bad news. And since we don’t have time for debate, you’re getting the bad news first: The Comstock building’s scheduled for demolition tomorrow morning. The Web site I’d found was an old one; the building changed hands, and the new property manager decided to go in a different direction with the property."

My heart throbbed in my chest as fear overwhelmed me. Murderous vampires were one thing. Exploding buildings? Something altogether different.

"The building will be guarded," Jonah said, "but there’s a good chance some of the explosives and wiring have already been placed."

"If there are guards," I said, "Michael’s probably already taken them out. He won’t think twice about taking out humans."

"Agreed," Ethan said. "You said you had good news, Jeff?"

"Two parts: Catcher and I are on our way. I had to let him drive, you know, since I’m working my keyboard magic, but we thought you could use some help. And also, helpfully, the building’s now a husk. Drywall, interiors, everything’s been cleaned out in preparation for the demo."

"Which makes the thermals operate a lot more effectively," Jonah said.

"Precisely. The satellites are queued in – you can thank Big Brother and some lovely white-hat hackers for that – and I’ve got thermal. But there aren’t any vampires in the building yet."

"Shit," Ethan muttered. "Does that mean he isn’t there yet, or he’s on his way?"

"I don’t know. I’m still working on it. I’m logging into the security feeds I can find between the Dandridge and the Comstock."

"Shit," Ethan muttered again, cracking a fist on the dashboard.

"Hey," I said. "She’s the only transportation we’ve got at the moment."

Ethan looked around, eyeing an exit, doubt in his eyes. "We could go south back to Roseland. He could be there."

"He wouldn’t be there yet," I said. "You thought Comstock first, and I agree. It’s closer to the Dandridge, and it’s the murder he wants. He can do it faster if he goes to the Comstock."

He didn’t look convinced, so I pushed on, just as he had for me. "Remember what you told me? Trust your instincts."

Ethan’s gaze intensified, and he pushed the Volvo’s engine even more . . . zooming past the exit that would have given him a chance to get to the other building.

And thank God for that.

"I’ve got it!" Jeff suddenly exclaimed.

Ethan blew out a breath in relief.

"I’m matching security footage and imaging," he said. "We’ve got a black SUV across the street from the building, three vampires inside . . . and they’re moving."

"You got it," I said, squeezing Ethan’s hand. "Now get us there."

* * *

Ten minutes and multiple moving violations later, we pulled up across the street from the Comstock building, or what remained of it. It was only a concrete skeleton, its plastic walls flapping in the breeze. The block had already been fenced off, the neighborhood prepared for the destruction to come.

On the upside, parking was abundant.

We met Jonah outside the building; Catcher and Jeff hadn’t yet arrived. I gave Jonah his earbud, and we belted on our swords as snow fell around us. We saw no guards to speak of, but the smell of blood was in the air. It seemed likely the guards had been sacrifices to Michael’s evil intent.

"Jeff?" Ethan said, touching his earpiece. "What can you see?"

"Two vampires on the roof. One on the sixteenth floor."

"He wouldn’t separate them," I said. "That can’t be right."

"Oh, crap," Jeff said. "The color of the one on sixteen is changing."

"Changing?" Jonah asked.

"Cooling," Jeff said. "Dying."

My stomach fell, tears blossoming at my lashes. We were so close.

"We go in now," Jonah said. "Ethan, take the vampire on sixteen. Merit and I will take the roof."

"No way," Ethan said, but I shot him a glance.

"I’m not letting you within five feet of an aspen gun," I said. "No arguments. Find whoever that is. They aren’t dead yet. Save them."