Twice Bitten

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  THE BIG BAD WOLVES

  We drove to Ukrainian Village in silence. When we arrived, Ethan pulled the Mercedes into a slot on the street. We were early for ConPack, but it was still late on a Friday night for the rest of the neighborhood, which was quiet and mostly empty of traffic. We got out of the car, buckled on our katanas, and walked toward St. Bridget's, which was well lit by streetlights and spotlights in the landscaping.

  I stopped for a moment to gaze up at the cathedral.

  "Cathedral" was definitely an appropriate moniker. St. Bridget's was a gorgeous building, with peach-colored stone and a handful of towers topped by turquoise domes that looked like ski hats. A giant stained-glass window was set into the front of the building, its three rectangular panels showing a pastoral scene of trees and butterflies, a fawn reclining peacefully in the middle.

  The church was an architectural jewel in the midst of the working-class neighborhood, like a lost remnant from an ancient fairy tale - a page that history forgot to turn, transported from the deep woods of Eastern Europe to the west side of Chicago.

  It was, however, very much like the neighborhood around it in one respect - it was very, very quiet. It's not that I expected picketers and protests, but from what we'd seen before, shifters weren't the type to go gently into that good night.

  "I maintain it's weird they're meeting at a church," I said.

  "It is unusual," Ethan said beside me, "but it wasn't our call to make. "

  We stood there in silence for a moment, long enough that I glanced over at him. I found his gaze on me.

  "What?" I asked.

  He gave me a flat look.

  "We're here on business. "

  "I want the air to be clear. "

  "The air is as clear as it's going to get. We made a mistake. We've both since remedied it, so let's move on, shall we?"

  "A mistake. " He actually had the gall to sound surprised at my answer, but I didn't buy it. He hadn't used the word "mistake" in his post-Breckenridge guilt party, but that was pretty much what he'd said.

  "A mistake," I repeated. "Can we get to work?"

  "Merit - ," he began, regret in his voice, but I held up a hand. His guilt wasn't going to make me feel any better.

  "Let's get to work. "

  We took the stairs to the slate of doors that spanned the front of the church. I assumed this was where people gathered after services, maybe shaking hands with the clergy, maybe making plans for dinner or lunch.

  The doors were unlocked and opened into a small receiving room, the walls of which bore signs directing parishioners toward children's care rooms and morning coffees.

  We pushed through a second set of doors, and I gaped at the sight before us, walking inside past Ethan to take in the full view. The church's exterior was impressive, but that was nothing compared to the interior. The sanctuary was like a treasure chest, with floors of gleaming stone, walls of stained glass, gold-framed icons, gilded alcoves and frescoes. Gleaming columns and ornate brass latticework marked the church aisles. Robin, Jason, Gabriel, and Adam stood at the front of the sanctuary, but it was Berna who first got our attention.

  "You will eat," she said, stepping in front of us, a disposable aluminum pan in her outstretched arms. The pan was covered with foil, but it steamed with heat, and I could smell what was inside: meat, cabbage, spices - Eastern European deliciousness.

  "You take," she said, and shoved the pan, still hot, into my arms.

  "I appreciate the sentiment, but you didn't have to keep feeding me. " She clucked her tongue. "Too thin," she said, then reached out two knobby fingers and pinched my arm.

  Hard.

  "Ow. "

  "No meat," she said, disapproval in her voice. "No meat on bones, you don't find man. " Then she cast an appraising glance at Ethan, one bottle-blond eyebrow raised. "You are . . . man. " Not that I disagreed, but she was making the wrong match.

  "Thank you, Berna," I said, hoping to draw her attention back to me and distract her from her love connecting. Slowly, as if guessing my game, she glanced back at me, then gave me an up-and-down appraisal that was none too flattering. After clucking her tongue again, she walked around us and disappeared into the lobby.

  I glanced over at Ethan and proffered the cabbage rolls. "Should I just put this in your car while we're here?"

  He blanched, apparently not crazy about the idea that his Mercedes would smell like the back room of a Ukrainian pub.

  "Good evening, vampires. " I turned to find Adam grinning at the pan in my hands. He was dressed simply - plaid button-up over gray T-shirt, and jeans over heavy black boots - but that didn't diminish the wolfish appeal.

  "Good evening. " I held out the pan. "She keeps pushing food at me. "

  "That's Berna. It's her way of showing affection. "

  Not for my physique, apparently. That notwithstanding, I still had a steaming pan to deal with. "Is there somewhere I could put this for a few hours?"

  "You think holding a pan of cabbage rolls will interrupt your vampire mojo?"

  "It will make it a little harder to swing my sword. "

  "Well, we wouldn't want that," he said coyly. "I'll take you to the kitchen and you can drop it off there.

  Also gives you a chance to see a little more of the church. "

  "Thanks. "

  I'll wait here, Ethan silently said. I'd like to talk to Gabriel about Tony.

  Good luck, I offered back, wondering whether the fight at the Brecks' was truly water under the bridge or whether Gabe was going to hold it against us. On the other hand, he hadn't changed his mind about our providing security, so he must have been comfortable enough. Keep your guard up.

  Liege, I dutifully answered back.

  I followed Adam down the aisle on the left side of the church, offering Gabriel and Jason a wave as I passed. He moved through a door and into the side wing Luc had showed us earlier. It was obvious we'd moved from the original architecture to the 1970s renovation. Where the chapel was luxurious, the side wing was straight-lined and kind of sterile. Function had won out over form here, from the industrially carpeted floors to the cinder block walls. But as we passed the nursery rooms, it became clear that the parishioners were less concerned about what the church looked like than what went on there. I stopped at an open door and glanced inside. Drawings and educational posters decorated the walls. Toddler-sized tables and chairs dotted the room, and worn stuffed animals and wooden blocks were stacked neatly on a windowsill.

  "They're a tight community," Adam said beside me.

  "I can tell. "

  When we'd both looked our fill, Adam continued down the hallway, then turned into an industrial-style kitchen clearly meant for preparing meals for a big, hungry congregation. He held open the door of the refrigerator while I slid the pan onto a shelf. That done, he closed the door again, then leaned against one of the stainless-steel islands in the middle of the room.

  I spied a bulletin board on the facing wall and walked over for a better look. A sign-up sheet for an after-church luncheon was posted beside a flyer for a canned food drive. Get a little; give a little, I thought.

  And speaking of getting a little, I decided to take the opportunity to learn a little more about Adam and his crew. I started with the geography.

  "So, I was just curious - why Ukrainian Village? What's your connection to this neighborhood?"

  "Shifters?"

  I nodded.

  "We have roots in Eastern Europe. Our families are tight-knit. You put the two together, you get Ukrainian Village. "

  "Huh," I said. "That's interesting. "

  He arched his eyebrows at me. "Is it interesting, or are you just making nice to do your part for a vampire-shifter alliance?"

  He spoke the words with sarcasm, but there was a thread of so
mething more in his voice. Irritation?

  Anger? Disgust? I wasn't sure if that was animosity toward vampires or toward politics generally. Both were shifter-esque emotions.

  Not wanting to fight it out, I mimicked that negligent shrug he'd given earlier. "Just making friendly conversation. Nothing wrong with that, is there?"

  A twinkle in his eye, he answered back, "No, ma'am, there most definitely is not. " We chatted a little longer, just enough for me to feel him more. I'd anticipated getting some of the

  "youngest brother of a Pack leader" vibe, and while he was quite the smartass, he seemed earnestly concerned about the Pack.

  "I'm nervous about tonight," he admitted as we took the hallway back to the main chapel. "It's not that I think Gabe couldn't handle whatever popped up, but I'd prefer we keep things as violence free as possible. "

  "Any thoughts on a culprit for the bar shooting?"

  He shook his head, his expression tightening. He was holding back.

  "I heard Tony . . . " I wasn't sure how to finish the sentence, so I didn't.

  "His death changes things," Adam said, "but I don't know if that means he was behind the attack. "

  "We had the same thought. "

  Adam frowned. "It's just that a planned assassination isn't a very Pack thing to do. Crime of passion, sure, but not assassination. It's a little, maybe, vampire?" I arched a suspicious eyebrow. Anti-vampire prejudice wasn't really the vibe I wanted right now. I was much too outnumbered. And speaking of prejudice, I asked, "Has Gabriel said anything about the incident at the Brecks'?"

  Adam chuckled mirthlessly. "The incident with Ethan?" I nodded.

  "Well, he wasn't thrilled about the disruption, but I think he was more amused by the whole thing. " I crossed my arms over my chest. "Amused?"

  Adam shrugged. "They've known each other for a while. Gabe knows Sullivan to be cold, calm, calculated. And that was definitely not cold, calm, or calculated. Gabe figures Sullivan has it pretty bad for you. "

  "You'd be surprised," I said dryly. The vibration of my cell phone saved me from further elaboration. I pulled it out of my pocket and glanced at the screen. It was a text message, but not from Luc or Malik or the Cadogan guards. It was from Nick - and it wasn't good.

  "TIP SAYS CONTRACT ON TOP DOG; HIT IMMINENT," the message read. It was signed "NB. " I stopped in the middle of the hallway, my heart suddenly pounding. We'd been right - whoever the culprit, the violence wasn't limited to the attack on the bar.

  Someone meant to take out Gabriel, with or without Tony.

  I glanced up at the door to the chapel in front of me. I needed to tell Ethan and Gabriel, but first I wanted facts. If Nick had information - a source, a time, anything - I wanted to hear it from his lips before I took it to the men who'd doubt its veracity the most. The vampire and shifter who were already suspicious of Nick.

  I glanced up at Adam, who'd stopped a few feet away, his head cocked as he looked at me.

  "Everything okay?"

  I hitched a thumb back toward one of the nursery rooms. "Okay if I use a room for a couple of minutes?

  I need to make a quick phone call. "

  "Something up?"

  I faked nonchalance. No sense sounding the alarms until I had proof in hand. "Not really, but it's time sensitive. "

  It took a few seconds, but he finally nodded. "Help yourself. You can meet us back in the chapel when you're done. "

  I smiled brightly. "Thanks, Adam. And thanks for the chat. "

  "You're very welcome, Kitten. Anytime you want more than chatting, Gabriel knows how to reach me. " For now, the key was reaching Nick.

  Turns out, reaching Nick wasn't that difficult. Once I was in one of the nursery rooms with the door shut, I simply dialed back the number that sent the text message, and he answered on the first ring.

  "Breckenridge. "

  "Nick? It's Merit. "

  "That was fast. "

  "Seemed important, what with the death threat and all. What did you hear?"

  "Someone called the paper's tip line and asked for me specifically. " I frowned. "So they knew enough not to spill the details about shifters to the switchboard guy?"

  "That was my first thought, too. He must have been a shifter, but I couldn't tell who. You know those voice manipulators that kidnappers use in the movies to change the pitch of their voices? This guy had one. "

  "What did he say?"

  "The message was short and simple. " I heard the shuffling of paper, as if Nick were flipping through a notebook. "He said the shots at the bar weren't an accident. He said someone issued a contract on Gabriel, and the second attempt is supposed to take place tonight. "

  "In a church full of shifters? Not exactly a quiet way to take someone out. "

  "Yeah, a tip for the uninitiated - at some point, it'll be chaos in there. I don't think a gunshot, even a hit at close range, would be that hard to accomplish. "

  Well, that information would have been useful before today. "Anything else?"

  "That was it, except for one more thing," he said, then paused. Building drama, I thought, like any good writer.

  "He said to find the culprit, we had to check the top of the Packs. "

  "You heard they found Tony?"

  "Yeah. But that doesn't mean he wasn't involved. He had the opportunity - it was his bike they found.

  And he may have had motive, too. "

  "Such as?"

  "Installing someone else in Gabriel's seat. Maybe attempting a consolidation of the Packs. It wouldn't be the first time. Or maybe the simplest possibility

  - scaring everybody back to Aurora. "

  "Something else is weird, you know. "

  "What?"

  "The tip," I said. "Think about it - someone learned Gabriel was in trouble, and they have the forethought to call you, but they use a device to disguise their voice?"

  "Maybe they were afraid of being caught. "

  "By calling an anonymous tip line?"

  "If you have the information, you're probably close enough to the crime to be part of it. "

  "Or maybe they knew you'd recognize their voice. "

  We both considered that quietly for a moment. "I think it would be better if you didn't tell them the tip came from me," he finally said. I knew why he wanted to remain anonymous - the Brecks were still on the outs with the Pack. They were trying to get back in, certainly, but learning that Nick was the information source about a hit was only going to make Gabe more suspicious. On the other hand, "I'm a vampire, Nick. If someone has information like that, why are they going to tell me?"

  "Because you're the Ponytailed Avenger. "

  "I'm hardly capable of avenging anyone. And as you pointed out, I'm a vampire. It's not like my helping Berna brought everyone into the vampire camp. " I blew out a breath. "I'll tell Gabe it was anonymous.

  But if Ethan asks, I'm not going to lie to him. "

  Nick was quiet for a moment. "Deal," he finally said.

  "Are you coming tonight?"

  "We aren't. We've given proxies to other members of the Pack - it's a symbolic thing, another way to make reparations. "

  "Well, then I suppose I'll see you later. Or I won't," I allowed, in case the vote necessitated a shifter retreat.

  "Good luck," he said solemnly, and the line went dead.

  Information in hand, I trotted back to the chapel to find Ethan. There were more shifters in the pews now, and a few milling about with sound equipment and clipboards. Like the American Pack leaders, they were all men, except for Fallon Keene, who stood at the front of the chapel in a snug, long-sleeved black shirt, a short, pleated black skirt, and knee-high military-style boots, her suspicious gaze on the congregation. I found Ethan in the back of the room with Gabriel, t
he two of them alone in a corner, standing side by side, their gazes on the crowd. They both looked up as my boot heels clacked against the stone floors.

  Sentinel? Ethan silently asked.

  I didn't answer; this one needed to be spilled to both of them.

  I decided it was best to stick as close to the truth as possible. "I got a call," I said when I reached them.

  "There was no caller ID, and the caller used one of those voice-disguising deals. " I looked at Gabriel.

  "He said there was a contract hit on you, and it was supposed to go down tonight. " He closed his eyes for a moment. "It's not that I'm surprised, but that's damned inconvenient timing.

  Violence begets violence, and I don't want more trouble because someone thinks they can best the Apex. I don't want that spilling out and affecting the vote. The Pack needs to be here. The decision needs to be made - and made by them. "

  Ethan frowned, that familiar line of worry between his eyes. "What, precisely, did the caller say?"

  "Just what I said - that there's a hit on Gabriel, and that the hit's going down tonight. Imminent," I added. "I think he said 'imminent. ' "

  "I can't - won't cancel ConPack. The Packs are coming here tonight with shit on their minds. We can't just dismiss that - just send all that pent-up energy back into the universe with no outlet. That would be a very bad idea for the Packs and the city. "

  Given the earnestness of his voice, and the electric buzz that was beginning to stir in the chapel as the audience began to grow, I took him at his word. We didn't need a few hundred frustrated shifters running around Chicago.

  "We understand your position," Ethan said, "and we commend your devotion to your people. But the continuity of the convention isn't the only issue. They take you out, and they disrupt the balance of power. No - completely alter the balance of power. Those implications are equally bad. " If Ethan was being that frank, I guessed he and Gabriel had worked through any lingering tension.

  "What do you propose?" Gabriel said.

  "Given our limited amount of time, as many precautions as we can take," Ethan said. "Not to be morbid, but if they try a hit, any thoughts on likely scenarios?"

  "The debate can get rowdy. It's not impossible they'd try to take advantage of that chaos, make a move in the middle of it. "

  "Then we'll stick by you when the convocation begins. We know you're strong, but you aren't immortal.

  As Merit has demonstrated, we can take hits you can't. "

  "I'm not sure insulting me is the way to go here," Gabriel muttered.

  "You know what I meant," Ethan said. "Who in the sanctuary do you trust?" Gabriel scanned the crowd for a moment. "Fallon. I trust Fallon. "

  "Even though she's next in line for the Pack behind you?" Ever so slowly, Gabriel turned his head toward me, his gaze suddenly menacing. "Are you accusing Fallon of something, Sentinel?" Magic - astringent and sharp - electrified the air.

  I kept my eyes on Gabriel, my expression neutral, as if I were staring down an attacking dog. "I'm accusing no one. I am, however, playing devil's advocate for the purpose of ensuring your safety. Tonight that's my job. "

  It took a few seconds for the magic to dissipate, but he finally nodded.

  Ethan put a hand at my back. "We're going to take a walk around the church, get a sense for whether anything is out of the ordinary. We'll talk to Fallon on the way out. Stay within her line of sight while we're gone. "

  "Is he always this bossy, Sentinel?"

  "You have no idea. "

  "Be that as it may," Ethan said, "do us a solid and keep yourself alive for the time being. " At Gabriel's nod, we walked toward Fallon's corner.

  "Sometimes," Ethan whispered as we moved, "the work of protecting others is in convincing them they need protection in the first place. "

  CHAPYER SEVENTEEN

  POLITICAL ANIMALS

  Fallon didn't look in our direction as we approached, but from the set of her shoulders and scanning gaze, I had no doubt she knew exactly where we were. We stayed at her side, ensuring she had a clear view across the sanctuary.

  "We're going to take a walk around," Ethan told her. "Gabriel suggested he trusted you to keep an eye on him in the meantime. "

  Fallon slid him a glance. "My brother said that?"

  "He did. "

  "Huh," she said, her face suddenly brightening with pleasure. "That makes for a nice change. Feel free to take a walk around. I have things in hand here. "

  From the altered currents of magic around her body - a signal she wore weapons (plural) of honed steel - I bet she did. Ethan nodded at her, then moved toward the sanctuary door. But Fallon wasn't done with us.

  "You're friends with Jeff, right?"

  I stopped and glanced back at her. "He's a good friend, yeah. " She nibbled the edge of her lip. "Is he - does he - what's his status? You know, girlfriendwise. " I had to work to bite back a smile. "Single. You should take a stab at him. " She lifted her nose and looked back at the crowd. "Lots going on tonight. "

  "That is true," I said, then looked over at the doorway to the side wing of the church where Ethan stood, waiting for me. "But having a partner in a crisis can be a big help. Anyway, we'll be back in a few minutes. "

  "Noted. "

  We exchanged a nod, and I joined my own partner again.

  As we moved into the side wing, the air pressure changed. I belatedly realized magic was fully buzzing in the chapel. Much like the frog in the soup pot, I hadn't even noticed until we'd stepped away. I told Ethan about the buildup as we moved down the hallway.

  "Is it just magic," he asked, "or is it steel, as well?" I frowned. "I'm not sure I could separate it out. Probably both?"

  "Probably," he agreed, then pointed toward the doors that led off from the main hallway. "What are these?"

  "Classrooms. Nurseries. "

  "Unlikely spots for the making of assassination plans. "

  "You'd think. If someone's going to make an attempt against Gabe, they've probably done the planning somewhere else. " I pointed toward the last door. "The one on the end is the kitchen. " He stopped, turned in a half circle, and perused the hallway, his gaze tripping over the handouts, children's art, and religious posters. "Anything of interest there?"

  "Does my pan of cabbage rolls count?"

  He made a sarcastic sound. "Only for you, Sentinel. And now that we're out of Gabriel's hearing, is there anything you'd like to tell me about your anonymous phone call?"

  "Are you suggesting I didn't tell you the whole truth?" He gave me a flat look.

  "It wouldn't be incorrect to assume the caller has a journalistic bent. " Ethan opened his mouth to respond, but before he could form words, the exit door at the end of the hallway crashed open. Ethan and I both whipped around, hands on our swords. Two tall men in black suits, shades over their eyes, walked inside. One of the men carried a package wrapped in brown paper, the sides wrapped in black electrical tape. My heart thudded. I'd only seen packages like that on television cop shows - right before they exploded into shrapnel. Vampires didn't care for shrapnel, especially not the wooden variety.

  Steady now, Sentinel, Ethan silently said to me, as if sensing my sudden fear. And since I was undoubtedly throwing magic into the air, he probably could.

  "Can we help you, gentlemen?" Ethan asked.

  Both men arched eyebrows over their glasses, but kept moving forward. Despite the thudding of my heart, I moved to stand beside Ethan, a barricade of vampires. A song from Les Miserables began, however inappropriately, to echo through my head.

  "We have a delivery," said the man who wasn't holding the package. He reached into his suit pocket, but Ethan had his sword up and out before the man could pull out whatever he was reaching for.

  I unsnapped the th
umb guard on my handle.

  "Whoa," said the man with the package, his Chicagoland accent heavy enough that it bled through the single word. "We're only here to make a drop-off, right?" He extended the package in his hands.

  "You hold that," Ethan told him, then looked back at the man whose jugular was currently inches from the tip of his sword. "And you," he said to the other one, "pull that hand back very, very slowly. " The man swallowed, but did as he was told. And when his hand was clear of his jacket, he offered up a black leather wallet. "Just getting the ID, pal. "

  "Open it," Ethan said.

  He flipped it open, then held it out for Ethan to see, then me.

  "I got an import/export business," he said. "I'm just a businessman. "

  "And what's in the package?"

  The two men exchanged a glance. "It's a gift for, uh, the head honcho, if you get my meanin'. " He winged up his eyebrows, as if willing Ethan to understand.

  "For your head honcho?" Ethan asked.

  The men nodded with relief. Apparently, they were members of the North American Central (and good at hiding that fact), and they were relieved not to have to admit it aloud. Maybe living in hiding wasn't as easy as Tony had made it out to be. . . .

  "And what's in the box?" Ethan asked.

  The man with the package leaned forward, moistening his lips nervously. "It's a rather fine vintage, if you get me? A vintage of the red variety? It's a gift from a family that's prominent here in Chicago, to the family of Mr. Keene. "

  "Ahhh," said Ethan aloud, then switched to silent mode. What's in the box?

  I leaned down a little and frowned at it, clearing my mind to block out the extraneous noise and magic.

  But the box was a blank slate - no metal, no magic - so I switched to a simpler sense and took a sniff.

  There it was.

  "It's booze," I said, standing straight again. "Good stuff, too, as far as I can tell. " The man without the package rolled his shoulders and adjusted his tie. "Of course it's good. Who do you think we are? Bit players?"

  Ethan smiled politely, put his left hand at his scabbard, and carefully resheathed his sword. Then he stepped aside. "Enjoy the convocation, gentlemen. "

  We turned to watch them proceed down the hallway.

  "I believe those gentlemen are connected, Sentinel. "

  "They're related?"

  "Connected to something a little more, shall we say, organized?" It took a moment for the implication to sink in - Ethan thought they were mobsters. "And you let them walk into the chapel?"

  "And with alcohol to boot. They're Pack members with bounty in hand. We can't stop every Pack member who tries to walk into the church with booze. " He snickered. "The chapel would be empty. " I chuckled in spite of myself.

  He bobbed his head toward the kitchen door again. "That was the kitchen?"

  "Yep. "

  "I'm going to get something to drink. "

  I followed him inside and waited by the door while he inspected the fridge. He pulled out a bottle of water, unscrewed the top, and took a long drink. When he was done, he tossed the empty bottle and cap in a recycling bin, then nodded toward the door again. I was about to push it open when I froze. The exterior door at the end of the hall had been opened again, and I could hear voices moving toward us down the hallway.

  And this time, a metallic buzz accompanied them.

  It could have been something simple - shifters who carried weapons as part of their normal course of business. But this just felt . . . wrong. Silently, I held up a hand to stop Ethan, then pointed at the door, then my ear, then held up two fingers. He nodded, moved forward, and put his ear to the door.

  "You think you can take him out?" asked one of them.

  "Damned right. The faster we get it done, the faster the money's in hand, so I'm definitely gonna take a goddamned chance at it," whispered another. There was venomous anger in his voice.

  "Huh. I just don't know if we can make this work tonight. Not like he wants us to. There's a lot of goddamned bodies gonna be in that room in a few minutes. " Ethan arched his brows at me. I nodded.

  The footsteps moved closer.

  Weapons, I silently told him. Guns or knives, I don't know. But they're heavily armed.

  Then let's move, he replied.

  Ignoring the nervous flutter in my chest, I went first, pushing through the kitchen door. The two men - both in jeans, boots, and leather jackets - jumped as we appeared, hands moving toward their waists. I assumed they were reaching for guns.

  "Gentlemen," I said, flipping the thumb guard on my katana and lifting it from its scabbard just enough to reveal the gleam of steel. "What's happening?"

  They looked at each other, then at me. "We have business here, vampire. "

  "Yeah, I get that. The problem is, I'm getting the sense your kind of business won't be good for the rest of us. "

  The one on the left - shorter, balding at the edges - took a half step forward. He flipped back the side of his leather jacket, revealing a handgun stuck into the waistband of his 1980s-style jeans.

  At the sight of the gun, I dug my fingers into the handle of my katana to keep my hand from shaking. I'd already been shot twice this week; I wasn't eager for more.

  "Honey, why don't you and your boyfriend here take your little knives and go for a nice long walk, all right? This ain't your concern. "

  "Problem is, hoss," I said, unsheathing my sword and enjoying the widening of their eyes, "it is our concern. It sounds like you have some kind of issue with the leader of the Pack, so to speak, and he's a friend of mine. "

  The taller one - younger, cuter, but just as egotistical - elbowed his friend. "I'll take this one. " Get behind me, I told Ethan, as the younger guy took a step forward. He reached inside his leather jacket and pulled a matte black handgun from an interior pocket.

  "You're cute," he said, "so I'm gonna give you one more chance. " He waggled the gun in our direction.

  "Take a goddamned hike, and we'll go about our business and everyone's happy. Right?"

  I had no doubt he'd pull the trigger. He was the type - brave to the point of stupid; narcissistic in a completely self-defeating way. And although he knew we were vampires, he clearly had no understanding of what that really meant - that a bullet, though it might hurt like a son of a bitch, would be pretty ineffective in taking me down.

  I rolled my eyes and rotated my wrist to turn the sword, then pulled out a threat that Celina had once used against me. "I'll have you down before you can snap off a shot. "

  "Bitch," he said.

  It was the last thing he said.

  He lifted the gun, then raised his other hand to support it. But I was already moving. I rotated my body, bringing my leg around in a sweeping high kick that knocked the gun from his hands. It hit the floor and slid behind me, and I felt the air shift as Ethan reached for it. I completed the rotation, then shifted the weight of my sword and thrust the handle into his chest as hard as I could. In what seemed like slow motion, he umphed and fell backward, hands clawing at his breastbone.

  By the time he hit the ground, I'd righted my katana and held it before me, then glanced over at his shorter friend. "What about you, bud? You wanna try me, too?" Eyes wide and panicked - the air thick with fearful magic - he took a few shaky steps before turning for the exit. But help had arrived - two blondish Keene brothers stood before the door, arms crossed and knowing gazes on the traitors in their midst. They must have sensed the trouble - or Fallon had sent them out here to keep an eye on me and Ethan. Bright girl.

  "Excellent timing," I said, keeping an eye on the man on the floor until they could reach him. Both taller and brawnier than the interlopers, they had them in hand in a matter of seconds.

  "We do what we can," said the Keene brother on the left, a gri
p on the collar of the man I'd knocked down. "It occurs to me we haven't met. I'm Christopher. "

  "Ben," said the other one, who had the neck of the older man beneath his arm. The man struggled in the awkward position, but Ben didn't bat an eyelash. I grinned back. "Lovely to meet you both," I said, then glanced back at Ethan. He stared at me, his eyes pools of quicksilver. I guessed I'd managed to impress him.

  "Not bad for a 'common soldier,' hmm?" I quietly asked, then resheathed my katana and headed back toward the chapel. I could feel his gaze on my back as I walked away, so I decided to play it up. I paused at the sanctuary door, then looked back over my shoulder and smiled vampishly through hooded eyes.

  "Coming?"

  Without waiting, I walked inside.

  Now that, my friends, is what we vampires call a good exit.