Smiling and appropriately chastised, the vampires dispersed, offering good-byes to their Liege as they passed. Margot, the House's brilliant chef, squeezed my hand, then headed down the hallway toward the kitchen.
Malik, Luc, Lindsey, and I stepped inside Ethan's office. He looked over his staff.
"We have a brief reprieve," Ethan said, "but the city may come knocking again."
"The House is ready," Luc said. "Lakshmi, however, is still on her way. We couldn't convince her to delay."
That was another sticky situation. Cadogan was no longer a member of the Greenwich Presidium, the organization that ruled North American and Western European vampire houses. Monmonth had been one of its members. The GP was no friend of Cadogan House, and they apparently weren't willing to ignore the fact that we were now responsible for the deaths of two of their members. While we were no longer concerned about their opinion of us, they made powerful and dangerous enemies.
Lakshmi, one of the remaining GP members, was traveling to Chicago to render its verdict. It probably helped that she was one of the more commonsensical members of the GP, but it was odd that she was traveling while Darius West, the GP head, stayed under the radar in London. He'd been a political nonentity since an attack by a vampire assassin relieved him of his confidence, or so we surmised.
As it turned out, Lakshmi also was a friend to the Red Guard, the secret organization that kept watch on the Houses and their Masters. I was a new member, partnered with the guard captain from Grey House, Jonah. Lakshmi had provided insider information about GP shenanigans; in return for her help, I'd offered an unspecified favor. It was inevitable she'd attempt to collect; vampires were particular that way.
"Keep her out of the House," Ethan said. "We aren't members of the GP, and she has no business in our domain. She may have a legitimate claim to reparations, but that can be dealt with when we've dealt with the city."
"I spoke with Lakshmi's majordomo," Luc said, "tried to winnow information out of her. She wouldn't budge."
"We'll deal with it when we deal with it," Ethan said. "This entire situation is fraught with hazard."
Malik nodded. "It all comes down to who blinks first."
Ethan's eyes flattened. "Whatever happens, Cadogan House will not blink first."
• • •
We lived in Chicago, which meant off-street parking spots were hard to come by and the objects of envy. The House's coveted underground parking lot was accessible through the basement, so we headed downstairs. Ethan keyed the security pad at the door and stepped inside the basement but, when the heavy door closed behind us, dropped his duffel and grabbed my hand.
"Come here," he said, voice heavy with desire. He didn't wait for my response, but caught me by surprise, his mouth on mine, his hands at my waist, suddenly insistent.
I was nearly out of breath when he finally released me.