A Vigil in the Mourning (Soulbound #4) - Hailey Turner Page 0,64
Considering how long Rajesh had laid claim to Queens, the NYPD probably had a whole set of rules when patrolling to not piss off the master vampire.
“Let’s—” Jono began but was cut off by his mobile ringing with the set tone that only meant Patrick. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered.
Patrick spoke first. “I need you in Chicago.”
Jono stiffened, all his instincts immediately primed at the tone in Patrick’s voice—flat and distant, as if he were in shock.
“Pat?” Jono asked.
Jono heard him swallow over the line, the wind on both their sides echoing badly through the speaker. “Where are you?”
Jono glanced at Rajesh, who seemed far too interested in the conversation. “Nowhere secure. When do you need me to be in Chicago?”
Emma already had her mobile out, rapidly texting someone. Jono hoped it was Sage.
“Tomorrow.”
“I’ll be there,” Jono promised. “Are you all right?”
Patrick laughed, the sound ruined and bitter in the worst way. “Sure.”
Bollocks. Jono bit his tongue, unwilling to call Patrick out on that lie in the midst of people he didn’t trust. “I’m coming to you.”
The sound of Patrick taking a deep breath wasn’t comforting in the least. “Good. Call me when you’re in a secured location. If I don’t pick up, it’s because I’m working.”
Patrick ended the call, and Jono had to remember to loosen his grip on his mobile so he didn’t break it. He looked over at Rajesh, wanting nothing more than to have Emma drive him to LaGuardia so he could get on the first flight out to Chicago to be by Patrick’s side, but knew he had to finish this first.
“Let’s chat.”
12
O’Hare was a cacophony of noise Jono was glad to leave behind when he got into the taxi. He tossed his leather duffel bag beside him in the back seat and didn’t look at the driver when he said, “Marriott Downtown.”
He hadn’t taken off his sunglasses since leaving the private jet Marek had provided him for his early flight west. He wasn’t about to risk getting thrown out of the taxi because he was god pack.
Jono checked his mobile again, hoping to see another text from Patrick, but the last five filling his queue were from Wade. Patrick had been working all night on a crime scene, though what exactly happened Jono still didn’t know. Jono hadn’t gotten home until around midnight, and Patrick hadn’t been able to find time for a secured call.
Jono didn’t like not knowing what was going on, but at least they were in the same city now. He pressed a hand to his chest as he stared out the window. The distant ache he’d blamed on the knife wound, but which hadn’t been cured by Victoria’s potions, was finally gone now. Jono figured it was the soulbond, no longer stretched so thin over almost half a country, settling back into place.
After the shit week he’d had, Jono would take the little things.
The drive into downtown Chicago was slower than he would’ve liked, but it was absolutely sleeting out. Jono could understand the driver’s caution, but he really just wanted to get to where the rest of his pack was. That took some time, and when the taxi driver finally pulled in front of the hotel, Jono threw a wad of bills at him, letting the driver keep the change.
The doorman was wielding an umbrella like a professional, and while the bloke was shorter than Jono, he still held the umbrella high enough that Jono didn’t bump his head.
“Thanks, mate,” Jono said as he was led to the hotel’s entrance.
He entered the hotel mostly dry and smelled the usual mix of travelers and bleach. Underneath that were distinct, overlapping pack scents that made him grind his teeth. The hotel seemed to have an overabundance of werecreatures working or visiting, and he chalked that up to Patrick’s presence.
Jono pegged at least five of the people in the too-colorful lobby as werecreatures, but the only one who mattered was the tall, slim African American woman who stood from one of the leather sofas. He could see her bright amber eyes clear as day, and Jono reached up to take off his sunglasses, never looking away from her face.
Her stride never wavered as she approached, and she had a calmness around her that reminded him of Sage. She put herself between him and the lifts, which he didn’t much care for.