Lucky Break (Chicagoland Vampires #10.5)(12)
Author: Chloe Neill

“Just a flesh wound,” I promised him, thinking, of course, of Monty Python in a time of crisis. “I can barely feel it.”

Something flashed in his eyes. “Shifter or vampire?”

“Shifter. Although I goaded him into it.”

Gabe made a dubious sound. “This is quite a vacation you’ve planned for your Sentinel, Sullivan.”

Ethan pulled two bottles of blood from the fridge and popped the caps. “I had other things in mind. But once again, fate has intervened.”

“Fate’s a stone-cold bitch,” Gabriel said, moving his foot and patting the stool beside him with a wink. I wasn’t about to turn down that offer.

“I see you’ve made yourself at home,” Ethan said, handing me a bottle.

“If we’re here to help you, and by extension the Marchands, might as well take advantage of their hospitality.”

“Can I take advantage of some hospitality?” I asked, taking a drink of blood.

Damien turned, pushed a perfectly folded omelet onto a plate in front of Gabriel, then glanced at me. “You want ham or bacon in your omelet?”

It was the question of my dreams.

“Yes,” I said with a grin.

I can only hope you answer with the same conviction when I propose to you, Sentinel. Ethan had made his intentions abundantly clear, even if he hadn’t formally done the deed.

I reached out and patted his hand, smiled mysteriously. We won’t know until you stop fake-proposing and get to the point, will we?

I enjoyed his responsive growl, then turned back to watch Damien move diced ham from cutting board to pan with a dexterous scoop of his knife. He flipped and sautéed with such adeptness that I wondered if Berna—another shifter who worked in Little Red, the Pack’s official watering hole—had trained him, or vice versa.

“You’ve got impressive skills,” I said.

He smiled almost bashfully. “I like to cook.”

“I can see that. You should try out the Cadogan kitchens sometime. Margot”—she was the House chef—“has a pretty nice setup.”

“Maybe I will,” he said, but his focus was on the pan in front of him.

“So,” Gabriel said, drawing the conversation back. “You’ve stepped into the middle of a feud.”

“Evidently,” Ethan said. “You failed to mention it when I told you we were coming here.”

Gabriel took a drink, shook his head. “Shifters don’t send newsletters when they fight with vampires. The world would be littered with paper. I’m aware of the McKenzies, that trouble likes to find them. I’m now up to speed on the apparent feud. Where’s Nessa?”

“With the Marchands.”

“Is she trustworthy?”

“I think so,” Ethan said. “What did she have to gain from killing him? To further the feud? She could have simply avoided marrying him in the first place.”

Damien turned back, put a steaming plate of eggs, meat, and cheese in front of me. I plucked up a forkful, blew to cool it off. “It could be a long con,” I suggested. “She gets close to him, marries him, kills him. Completes the cycle of revenge for the theft and the jilting and everything that’s happened since.”

Gabriel nodded, crossed his arms. “Sullivan?”

“As plans go, it has a sense of vampire strategy.”

“Immortals love a long con?” I asked.

“Something like that. But it’s not especially efficient. And Taran wasn’t immortal.”

When the eggs were cool enough not to scour away my taste buds, I took a bite, savored the mix of flavors with closed eyes. “Well done, Damien.”

“Don’t get a big head, Garza,” Gabe said. “She says that to all the shifters.”

I opened my eyes, grinned at them. “I don’t—only the ones who cook for me.” I waved the empty fork at them. “What if this wasn’t revenge by the Marchands, but a sacrifice by the McKenzies? What if they killed Taran?”

Gabe frowned. “Why?”

I shrugged, stabbed a chunk of ham. “I don’t know. Maybe to put the heat on Nessa? Maybe they want to frame her. Anger makes people do really stupid things, and Rowan McKenzie looked plenty pissed yesterday.”

Gabriel’s gaze darkened. “Did he give you the bruise?”

“It was Niall. But I gave as good as I got. He shed blood. We’re even, as far as I’m concerned.”

“Your sense of fairness is noted and disregarded,” Gabriel flatly said. “Cadogan and the Pack are allies, and he’s Pack. That’s the only important thing.”

“Technically,” I said, “I drew First Blood.”

Gabriel snorted. “That’s vampire nonsense. You didn’t come all this way to take down a shifter. They threatened; you defended. That puts this squarely at their feet.”

“And are they obliged to recognize your authority?”

Damien and Gabriel froze, turned their gazes toward me, the sizzle of the pan suddenly the only sound in the house.

I cleared my throat nervously at my apparent breach of etiquette. “I didn’t mean they shouldn’t recognize it. I’m just not certain of your, you know, rules.”

Gabriel held up a hand, and the cloud of magic that had crept in at my perceived slight dissipated. “There are, as you know, four Packs in the United States. Colorado is within the NAC’s territory, and that makes the McKenzie family, whether they prefer to admit it or not, part of the Pack.”

“Fair enough. Are you planning to tell them that tonight?”

“I am. Those are words I prefer to say in person, which is partly why I’m here.” He glanced at Ethan. “And what will the vampires be doing this evening?”

“The sheriff asked Nessa to walk through the house, see if anything was missing.”

“In case this was just a robbery gone bad,” Gabriel suggested, as Damien offered Ethan an omelet.

Ethan nodded his thanks, bit in. “I wouldn’t have thought the sheriff that naive, but he rules a town that’s seen more than its fair share of violence. His skills are necessarily suspect.”

“I doubt a man stays in a hidden valley in Colorado in order to advance his career,” Gabriel quipped, sipping beer with a knowing smile. “I’m sure your getting a look at the Clan’s HQ is also on your wishlist?”

“We’ve gotten the basic details,” Ethan said. “Only fifteen members, but Clans are still to be registered with the NAVR, and this one isn’t. I wouldn’t mind giving it a perusal.”