Wild Things (Chicagoland Vampires #9)(63)
Author: Chloe Neill

“I’m fine,” I said with a half smile, still swiping at tears. “Long night.”

“No argument there,” he said, but his eyes continued to track my face, as if he wasn’t quite sure I was telling him the entire truth.

“How are you?” I asked. “This can’t be easy, this back-and-forth Masterdom.”

He chuckled, his green eyes crinkled with amusement. “Musical chairs aren’t my preferred method of serving this House.”

“At least you get to keep your rooms,” I said. “And don’t have to move in and out of the Master’s suite.”

“That is some consolation,” he agreed. “Although you have better closets.”

I hadn’t actually seen Malik’s closet, but as Ethan’s was the size of a room in itself and outfitted with lush wood and thick carpet, he was probably right.

“Ethan would be lost without his suits.”

“He would,” Malik agreed, and patted my arm. “He would be lost without many things, including you. Go upstairs. Get a good day’s sleep. This will be over tomorrow, and you and Ethan can enjoy a reunion.”

I thanked him, walked upstairs, and hoped he was right. But I feared in my heart of hearts that we were all underestimating the depth of Kowalcyzk’s ignorance.

I kept to the plan I’d laid out for Lindsey, snagging a bottle of blood from the tray Margot had left in the apartments and both of the cellophane-wrapped Mallocakes, my favorite processed snack. Chocolate and blood didn’t sound appealing, but it might have been the pinnacle of vampire comfort foods.

I changed into pajamas, nabbing one of Ethan’s button-up shirts, the trace of his cologne lingering even after a wash, and buttoning it on. I turned on the fire in the onyx fireplace with the flick of a switch, and sat down on the rug in front of it, the bottle in hand.

My phone beeped, and I snatched it up greedily, hoping for good news about Ethan. It was Lakshmi, with another favor to ask.

KEEP HIM SAFE, she messaged.

I wanted to call her back, rail at her for standing by while Ethan bore the blame for acts by her colleagues. But vitriol would do no better now than tears. I put the phone aside, but the sting of her words stayed with me.

Wasn’t I trying to keep him safe?

I stared at the fire until the sun rose, watching the forks and tendrils rise and shift and move, letting it blank my mind and send me to sleep.

Chapter Sixteen

THIS MAGIC MOMENT

The sun set again, and I awoke on the floor beside the fire, curled into a ball with the crook of my elbow as a pillow, the fireplace still crackling, the empty bottle beside me. I sat up and stretched, working out the kinks of spending ten hours asleep on a hardwood floor, then flipped off the fire and put the bottle on the tray the kitchen staff would eventually collect.

“Another night in paradise,” I mused, and turned to the shower.

As part of the miracle that was Cadogan House, I found my leathers clean and shiny and ready to wear again. I dressed for war, belting on my katana, my hair in a ponytail, and the new Cadogan pendant around my neck. It felt differently than the last one had, the medal colder and thicker. But no less meaningful, and I was glad the tradition was under way again.

Now that I was back in Chicago and back on the clock, I grabbed my phone, texted Jonah. ALL WELL AT GREY HOUSE?

SO FAR, SO GOOD. MORGAN ON A TEAR ABOUT NAVARRE RAID.

That thought actually made me smile. Although Navarre was the origin of most of our troubles, the House rarely had to deal with the unpleasant consequences. Maybe now Morgan would appreciate the spot Celina had put us in all those months ago by announcing our existence to the world.

WORD ON ETHAN? he asked.

NOT YET. I’M ABOUT TO HEAD DOWNSTAIRS. ALSO GOING TO VISIT GRANDFATHER. MAY NEED YOU ON MISSING SUP CASE.

ROGER, Jonah responded. KEEP ME POSTED.

Taking Luc’s advice, I called the hospital, confirmed visiting hours, and prepared to head out. But I had two quick stops to make before I left.

The first was to the Ops Room. It seemed only fair that I’d check in with Luc before leaving campus, even though he’d given me permission the night before.

I made my way downstairs, and Helen stopped me on the first floor, a scrap of paper in hand. She extended it with perfectly manicured fingers, a silver charm bracelet dangling from her wrist.

“What’s this?” I wondered.

“Your garage code,” she said, smiling mirthlessly. I guessed she wasn’t thrilled that a peon so far down the chain of command had won access to the garage. Helen was adept and capable at her job. But she was the growly sort, and she had very specific opinions about who deserved the spoils of Cadogan House . . . and who did not.

But I wasn’t going to look a gift Helen in the mouth. I glanced at the code, memorized the numbers, and tucked the paper into my pocket.

“Thank you,” I said. “I appreciate it.”

She grumbled something about “waiting list” but headed down the hallway at a brisk clip.

I walked downstairs to the Ops Room, found Lindsey, Luc, and Kelley, another permanent House guard, at the conference table. Juliet, the last of the permanent guard crew, was gone, still taking it easy after her run-in with McKetrick.

The television wasn’t on, but the mood was as grim as it had been in the parlor last night.

My stomach flipped. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing in particular, Sentinel. Just the usual bullshit. City’s on our case. Shifters are on our case. GP’s on our case. I’m knee-deep in complaints and I’m running out of f**ks to give.”

I glanced at Lindsey.

“That’s not from Die Hard,” she said. “He’s just improvising.”

I smiled, took a seat at the table.

“Why are you so chipper this morning?” Luc asked.

“Oh, I’m not. But I had my first day of sleep in three days without sups pounding on my door or alarms ringing me awake. It made a nice change. Did you see Ethan’s bruise last night?”

“On his cheek? Yeah,” Luc said. “Wasn’t thrilled with it, but he’s in Andrew’s hands now.” He smiled. “I’ve seen him in action. And trust me—Law & Order has nothing on this guy. I will guarantee you he’s making a note of every time Kowalcyzk’s people so much as look at Ethan the wrong way. And he’ll nail them for it.”

“He might have a long list by the time Ethan gets released. Did he give you an update on when that might be?”