Friday Night Bites (Chicagoland Vampires 2)

I looked up into baleful eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Sure."

Uncomfortable silence fell again until Morgan offered, "I guess I should get going and leave you two to your... business." His tone was petulant, as if he wasn't entirely convinced Ethan was here for Cadogan-related reasons. God only knew why Ethan had decided to darken Mallory's door. If he needed me, why hadn't he just paged me?

"I'll walk you out," I said.

Ethan, Catcher, and Mallory turned to their sides in the hallway, allowing us egress from the kitchen. Morgan walked out, me behind, both of us ignoring Ethan as we passed him.

I walked him to the door and resumed my position on the stoop.

"It's not your fault," Morgan said, his eyes on the house. There was no doubt about that - it's not like I invited Ethan over - but I wondered if he really thought me truly blameless. I'm sure he mostly blamed Ethan, but Morgan had raised questions before about my relationship with my Master. This probably wasn't helping.

Whatever his thoughts, he shrugged off the gloom and gave me a cheery smile, then bobbed his head toward the brownstone. "I suppose being an omnipotent Master has its advantages: having people at your beck and call."

"Don't you have people at your beck and call?" I asked, reminding him that he was one of the Masters he'd been referring to.

"Well, I do have them, but I don't think I've officially becked or called them yet. And I suppose this is the price of dating the hot shit Cadogan Sentinel."

"I'm not sure about hot shit, but the Sentinel part is true enough." I cast my own dark glance at the doorway; Ethan and Catcher communed in the hall. "Although I have no idea what this is about."

"I'd like to know."

I looked back at him, hoping he wasn't about to pump me for information. That concern must have shown on my face; he shook his head. "I'm not going to ask, I'd just like to know." Then his tone went flat - Master vampire flat. He must have been practicing. "I hope that if it's something that affects us all, he'll fill us in."

Don't bet on that, I thought.

After we said our goodbyes, I shut the door behind me and found everyone still standing in the hallway. Catcher and Ethan were in identical poses - chests back, arms crossed, chins dropped. Warriors in concentration. This was serious, then, and not just a means for Ethan to further irritate me.

When I joined them, they expanded their semicircle to let me in.

"I've learned," Ethan began, "that a rave was held earlier tonight. We need to check it out. We also need to hope that we're the only ones who've heard about it."

How Ethan had learned about the rave, given that his usual source for such things was standing beside him, was an interesting question.

Catcher and I were apparently on the same wavelength. "How'd you find out?" he asked.

"Peter," Ethan said. "He received a tip." That made sense, I thought, since Peter was known for his contacts. "A friend of his, a bartender at a club in Naperville, heard two vampires discussing the fact that they'd received the text message announcing the rave."

"Alcohol loosens the lips of the fanged?" Catcher sardonically asked.

"Apparently so," Ethan agreed. "The bartender didn't recognize the vampires - they were likely drifter Rogues. By the time Peter heard from his source and contacted Luc, the rave was long since over."

"So we can't stop it?" I asked.

Ethan shook his head. "But we have an opportunity to investigate with significantly less political maneuvering than might be required if we were crashing the party." Ethan looked at Catcher. "And speaking of political maneuvering, can you join us?"

Catcher gave a single nod, then looked at me. "Is your sword in the car?"

I nodded. "Will I need it?"

"We'll know when we get there. I've got some gear stashed here, flashlights and whatnot." He glanced at Ethan. "Did you bring your sword?"

"No," he said. "I was out."

We all stood silently, waiting for Ethan to elaborate, but got nothing.

"Then I suppose I'll play vamp outfitter. And I need to call Chuck," he said, then whipped his cell phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. "We're supposed to be a diplomatic corps," he muttered, "not the Hardy Boys. And you can see how well that's working out for us."

Mallory rolled her eyes at the mini-tirade. I figured it wasn't the first time she'd heard it.

"I'll get dinner cleaned up," she offered.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Catcher said, stopping her escape with a hand on her arm. "Sorry, kid, but you're coming with us."

"With us?" I repeated, Mallory and I sharing the same deer-in-the-headlights look. I knew he wanted to foster her learning, but I wasn't sure this was the time for that.

"She needs the experience," Catcher answered, his eyes on Mallory. "And I want you there with me. You're my partner, my asset. You can do it."

There was a tightness around her eyes, but she nodded.

"That's my girl," he murmured, and pressed his lips to her temple. Then he released her, put the cell up to his ear, and trotted down the hallway toward the back of the house.

"Sullivan," he called out, "you owe me one big f**k of a favor. And Merit, you might want to change your shoes."

"Noted," Ethan replied. "On both counts."

Mallory and I looked down at my pretty ballet flats. Red or not, I probably didn't want to wear them to investigate a bloodletting.

"I'll grab a pair of boots or something," she said. "I know you left some here." Although I undoubtedly had a better sense of where my remaining clothes were, Mal walked away, leaving me to babysit Ethan. Not that I could blame her for taking the out.

We stood there silently for a moment, both of us making every effort to avoid looking at each other. Ethan's gaze lifted to the photographs along the hallway wall, the same wall I'd been pressed up against a couple of hours ago.

"Why me?" I asked him.

He turned back to me, brow arched. "Excuse me?" His voice was frosty. Apparently, he was fully in Master and Commander mode. Lucky me.

"Why are you here? You knew that I had plans tonight; you saw me leave. Luc was at the House when I left, as were the rest of the guards. They're all more experienced than I am. You could have called one of them. Asked for their help." And given me a break, I silently added. Given me a chance to get over the training session, to have a break from Celina and my father and vampire drama. To just be me.