Midnight Marked (Chicagoland Vampires 12)

I’d had it there for only a moment when a voice rang clear behind me.

“Kitten, I’m going to have to ask you to move that sword.”

• • •

Gabriel Keene had walked into our war zone.

I glanced back at what had remained of the gate, found my grandfather assembling and organizing CPD teams. Luc was also there, his shirt ripped and bloodied, pointing to spots where the House had been attacked, where the shifter had tried to destroy us. They’d let Gabriel in. But why?

Before I could even think to warn Ethan, he flew across the yard, slammed Gabriel to the ground.

“You son of a bitch!”

They rolled once, then twice, before Ethan flipped him over, pounded a fist into Gabriel’s jaw. Gabriel’s forearm deflected some of the blow, but not much of it. Ethan’s fist still knocked pretty hard, sending Gabe’s head flying back. Gabriel roared, as much in insult as pain, and kicked up, sending Ethan flying into the grass ten feet away.

Ethan wasn’t deterred. He scrambled to his feet, made another run at Gabriel, who’d climbed to his feet again.

The shifter on the ground tried to take advantage of the chaos, slowly lifting his head, probably hoping he could roll out from under my katana.

I snapped my gaze back to him, pressed the point farther into his neck. “I can see you moving, moron. And given what you’ve done to our House, I doubt running to Gabriel is going to help you much.”

“This is the second goddamn time your people have attacked our House!” Ethan said, touching the back of his hand to his face, drawing back blood. “This time, you’re going to pay for it.”

“Hold on a goddamn minute,” Gabriel said, rising and spitting blood. “I didn’t authorize this attack or request it. I don’t know what the fuck it’s about.”

“Look at my House, Keene! Look what your people have done!” Ethan stepped toe-to-toe, and there was war—and worse—in his eyes. “She was in the front room, Gabriel. The front goddamn room. And if you had hurt her, a split lip would be the least of your concerns.”

Gabriel changed tactics, raised his hands. “All right,” he said. “All right. I didn’t know anything about this. Your Sentinel, who looks to be healthy at the moment, has a sword pointed at one of my soldiers. Can we ask him what the hell this is about?”

I nodded toward the shifter. “He had the gun, was screaming about vampires taking out shifters.”

“May I?” Gabriel asked, and I glanced back at Ethan for the all-clear.

When Ethan nodded, I lifted the katana.

That made the shifter brave. “Bitch,” he said, and would have crawled to his feet had Gabriel not put a boot in his balls. His face turned green; he turned to his side, moaning.

“His name’s Kane,” Gabriel said, crouching in front of him. “What the fuck have you done, Kane?” Every word was bitten off like a bitter pill.

“They’re killing us.”

Gabriel’s eyebrows lifted. “Caleb Franklin wasn’t killed by this House.”

“Killer was a Rogue, paid by Cadogan.” Kane squeezed his eyes shut, probably as pain rolled through him. “Same Rogue did Kyle Farr tonight.”

“Farr’s dead?”

“Fucked up,” Kane said, opening eyes that had gone watery with pain. “Vampire fucked him up.”

“We paid no Rogue, or anyone else, to harm anyone,” Ethan said. And yet we knew a Rogue who’d murdered, and probably wouldn’t feel much reluctance about lying.

“What did the vampire look like?” Ethan asked.

Kane moved to sit up, huffing through his teeth. “You know what he looks like. He’s one of yours. He said so.”

“Kane,” Gabriel said. A request, an order.

“White. Dark hair. Lean. Muscles.” He moved a hand across his jaw. “And had a beard. Big, thick beard.”