Wild Things: A Chicagolands Vampire Novel (Chicagoland Vampires) (25 page)

After a moment, Andrew directed him to stop and faced the camera. With his broad shoulders and intense expression, Andrew looked more like a soldier or bodyguard than a lawyer. But either way, and whatever the reason, he commanded their attention. They quieted immediately.

“Ethan Sullivan is innocent of the various accusations—political, criminal, and otherwise—that have been leveled against him. He is being targeted because he is a vampire, and the mayor’s office, respectfully, is targeting him because she’s looking for a scapegoat. The citizens of Chicago know better, and I’ll be glad when we can put this entire matter to rest.”

The tension in my chest eased just a little. Thinking I’d seen as much as I needed to, I turned to walk away, but the sudden gasps behind me had my heart pounding, and I turned back to look.

“Altercation at Daley Center,” read the screen now, and the footage showed Ethan being escorted into a small room, a table and chairs visible through the door. But there was a bright bruise blooming across his left cheekbone.

Sometime between his arrival at the building and his reaching the interview room, he’d been assaulted. Punishment, maybe, for his refusal to come in earlier, to acquiesce to Kowalcyzk’s request that he sacrifice himself for her political agenda. And if they were knocking him around before he even got into the room, what more did they have planned?

Fear bubbled and spilled over, and I strode from the room before the tears tracked down my face. I made it as far as the stairway, stopping to knuckle away the tears, hoping no one had seen my quick exit or the reason for it. The last thing they needed was to see their Sentinel bawling in fear. There was a place for tears; it wasn’t here, when the House needed its officers to be strong.

An arm wrapped around my shoulder. I looked up, surprised, into Malik’s eyes.

“Are you all right?”

He was so quiet, so reserved, I wouldn’t have expected him to offer physical solace, which made the fact that he had offered it even more meaningful. I had, over the last year, gathered up an assemblage of weird and wonderful friendships. They all had their ups and down, and some of the downs were pretty miserable. But sometimes, times like this, I could just be grateful.

“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.

THIS MAGIC MOMENT

T
he 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 fucks 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?”

“He did not. Said they put him in the dark room during the day, but they kept him up after sunrise and roused him before the sun set again. Rendition tactics—they’re trying to make him slip up, change his story, give them some doubt to pin an arraignment on.”

Grim as that sounded, it made me smile. As Luc had noted yesterday, there were few as stubborn as Ethan Sullivan. And while he did his unenviable job as Master, I had to do mine.

“Do we have anything on the carnival?”

“Nothing else so far.” He took in my zipped-up jacket, my belted sword. “You going to the hospital?”

“I am. I have my phone if you need me. And I checked in with Jonah—he said things are calm at Grey and Navarre, all things considered.”

Luc nodded. “So we have a momentary lull, at least until we come up with something.”

I took that as a dismissal. “Do me a solid,” I said, heading for the door. “Find me a carnival.”

•   •   •

The amount of grinning I did at the basement door as I typed in my code, heard the hearty
click
of the tumblers shifting, was probably inappropriate. But I was from Chicago, and I had not only an off-street parking spot, but a heated, indoor parking spot. It was a luxury few of us even bothered to imagine. Like Moneypenny, it was another silver lining from the rioters’ beating of my poor, departed Volvo.

Moneypenny sat, sleek and silver, in her appointed spot. The “Visitor” designation had been painted over, and “Sentinel” stenciled over the white rectangle in vibrant blue.

“This does not suck,” I murmured, and pulled Moneypenny into the cold Chicago night.

The Ops Room had been my first stop en route to visit my grandfather, but I had one more errand before heading south. My grandfather had a sweet tooth and a favorite cookie, and I could only imagine that the food he was served by the hospital didn’t offer much in the way of sugary treats. I grabbed a bag of Oreos from a quick shop along the way and drove to the south side hospital where he was being treated.

I was half surprised my father hadn’t yet transferred my grandfather to their home in Oak Park, the neighborhood where my parents lived. That’s where he’d recuperate when he was discharged. But they hadn’t moved him yet, so I pulled into a visitor’s spot in the garage and followed the stream of families with balloons and flowers into the hospital.

The hospital smelled the same as it had when he’d been admitted a few days ago: like disinfectants and flowers.

My grandfather was muttering when I stepped into the doorway, a remote control in his hand, his eyes on the small television that hung on the opposite wall. He looked like I expected many grandfathers did—caterpillar eyebrows and a halo of hair that didn’t quite cover the bald spot on the top of his head. He usually preferred plaid shirts and thickly soled shoes, but tonight he wore a blue hospital gown.

At the sound of my knock, he glanced up and smiled, then held out his arms. “Come on over, rover.”

I did, offering him a gentle hug. “I’m glad to see you’re up and awake.”

“Awake, anyways,” he said. “Up’s going to take a little longer. My gams aren’t going to be the same.”

I nodded. “Probably no stilettos for you for a while. But you’ll manage.”

“I will,” he agreed.

I sat down on the edge of the bed, atop white sheets, and put a hand over his. His skin was thin and bruised, although I wasn’t sure if that was from his injuries or the tubes and wires that still ran from his body to machines at his sides.

“I brought a present.” I presented the bag of Oreos and loved the sudden, wide pitch of his eyes.

He slid open the drawer on the nightstand beside the bed. “Hide ’em,” he said at the sound of footsteps in the hallway. “Nurse’ll be in here to check in, in a few minutes.”

Sure enough, a nurse peeked in—ponytailed, fresh faced, and wearing blue scrubs.

“You all right, Chuck?”

“Good, Stella. Thanks,” he said, with a little wave.

She smiled and wandered off, and my grandfather sighed.

“She seems nice,” I offered.

“They’re all nice. But they’re nice constantly. Every hour when they check in, every time they open the door in the middle of the night and let the light in. And I’m a cop. Former, maybe, but still a cop. I don’t need to be checked on like a child.” His tone was growly and irritable, and it made me feel infinitely better. Growly and irritable seemed like a stop on the journey toward healing.

“I’m looking forward to a night’s sleep in a dark and quiet room.”

Noise erupted from the television set, drawing our gazes.

“News,” he said. “I was hoping to catch the Blackhawks score.”

I didn’t know much about hockey; the only time I’d been to a game was when Grandpa had gotten tickets from the family of a grateful citizen. He’d been a fan ever since.

“Did they win?” I asked.

He used the bedside remote to turn the volume down. “Not even close. Three to one.”

That seemed close enough for me, but hockey was its own weird world, and I didn’t feel qualified to point out the difference.

“How are you feeling?”

“Today, a little achy.” He shifted uncomfortably.

“Do you need something for the pain? I could call Stella.”

He gestured to the electronic drip at the side of the bed. “Got it,” he said. “But I don’t like to use it. Dulls the mind.”

And a cop, former or otherwise, would not want a dulled mind.

“How long are you going to have to stay here?”

“Doc thinks forty-eight more hours. They want to make sure everything’s in the right place—and going to stay there—before they send me to Oak Park. Your father has hired a slew of nurses and doctors.”

“You sound resigned,” I said with a smile.

“They’re being very generous,” my grandfather said, very diplomatically. He might not have agreed with the decisions my father had made, but he wasn’t much for criticizing.

“Have you thought about where you’ll live when you’re up and running again? Will you stay on the south side?”

Chicago wasn’t a city without problems or violence, and the south side bore much of the weight of those issues. As a cop, Grandpa decided the south side needed him more than the north, so that’s where he and my grandmother had made their home. That was undoubtedly part of the reason for my father’s lifetime quest for money and power.

“I haven’t quite gotten that far,” he said. “Although I’m thinking I’m done with stairs for a bit.” He put a hand on mine. “Catcher told me about Ethan. How are you?”

“I’ve been better.”

He nodded. “You’ve been dealing with a lot lately. The riots, now the mayor. I didn’t think she’d actually resort to violence. If I didn’t think
another
demonically possessed mayor was seriously unlikely, I’d say she was under the control of darker forces.”

“Yeah. It was odd enough when the first mayor split into two. I’m not sure she’s got enough brains to make two.”

“I wish there was something I could do. A call I can make. But she’s pulled this one away from the police department, probably because she knows they have sense and pay attention to rules of evidence. But these terrorism folks?” He shook his head. “They have to justify their existence. Vampires are a new threat? Great. They now have a basis to request a budget for next year.”

“Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of pieces to play in this one. We can’t use magic against her. She’ll just call us enemies of the state, and we’ll never see the light of day again. Figuratively,” I added. We already were biologically barred.

“You could always ask your father,” my grandfather carefully said, which earned him a look.

I certainly could ask my father to put in a word, to use his significant capital to convince Kowalcyzk to back off. I was sure it wouldn’t be the first time a bribe was offered or taken in Chicago. But I didn’t trust my father’s motives, and I certainly wouldn’t want to owe him a debt.

But my father was still my grandfather’s son, and I actually respected him. So I answered politely. “I don’t think that’s the best option.”

“Well, I’ll tell you one thing,” my grandfather said. “I don’t really care to be in here when this city is falling down around us.”

Unfortunately, being out there wasn’t proving all that helpful, either.

“Is it time for you to think about slowing down?” I asked the question out of obligation, even though I knew the answer—and predicted the flatness of his expression.

“Caroline Merit. You know better than that. I’m a cop. Always was, always will be.” He looked down at his blanket-covered legs. “And it’s going to take more than a bump to make daytime television look good by comparison. Especially when you’re out there. You’re still mine to protect, baby girl.”

I leaned over, pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I love you, Grandpa.”

“I love you, too, Merit. And now that you’ve cleared your conscience,” he said with a grin, “what did you really want to talk about?”

I smiled. He read me better than nearly anyone. “Aline and Niera,” I said, and he nodded.