"What time is Saul arriving?" Jonah asked.
Somehow, I'd forgotten it was pizza night at Cadogan House, the food thoughtfully delivered during vampires' prime eating hours. Not that I needed any more food. Dinner at the Merit house had been plentiful.
"Half hour or so," Luc said.
"In that case, I'll walk Merit upstairs," Jonah said. "All this discussion of blood is making me thirsty. I want to grab some before the pizza arrives."
Probably not a bad idea for me, too, since I hadn't had any yet today. And other than the few minutes at Bryant Industries, I hadn't even had a craving for it. The emergency drink Ethan had given me last night must have satisfied the lust.
When Jonah and I were alone in the hallway, I broached the topic I hadn't had time to discuss with my RG partner.
"So, I met Aubrey," I said.
"Yeah? She's great. Relatively new to the House. Not compared to you, of course, but new compared to the rest of us. She was one of the first women sworn in as a special agent in the FBI."
"Neat," I said. That was actually pretty awesome, but I was on a mission here. "The thing is, she seemed to think I'd somehow wronged you."
"Wronged me?"
"Regarding our relationship. Or the relationship that should have been?"
Jonah stopped in the middle of the hallway and blinked . . . like a vampire in headlights. "Oh?"
I screwed up my face. "So, did you tell all your guards that I broke your heart? 'Cause I gotta say, that's kind of awkward."
"No," he said loudly. "No," he repeated, a little softer this time, his stance growing more awkward. "I didn't say that at all."
"We don't need to get into the details; it's just - they clearly have some strong opinions about me, and if we have to work together . . ."
Jonah grimaced. "Aubrey is . . . protective."
"So I noticed."
"In all seriousness, I mentioned you, but also that you weren't interested, and there weren't any hard feelings. Maybe she took my disappointment as, you know, a pretty severe heartbreak. But it wasn't. I swear it." He shrugged charmingly. "Just ordinary heartbreak."
I believed him, especially about Aubrey being the protective type. She was a guard, after all. It was her job to protect her House, including her captain of the guards from all enemies. Living or dead, as the oath went.
"See? This is why work and romance don't mix."
"We're the only RG partners who aren't dating each other."
"And this is why," he said. "See the drama it causes? You just can't win."
"There's drama because we're vampires," I pointed out as we rounded the stairs to the first floor. "Or because we used to be human, or more likely both."
"You mean your life hasn't been simplified now that you're fanged?"
"Ha," I said mirthlessly. "You're hilarious."
We stopped at the first floor. He was headed to the kitchen; I was headed upstairs to find clothes.
"Do you really think McKetrick is involved in this?" he asked.
"I don't know. But I know I really, really don't like having two nights of riots with no suspect at all. He's got the motive. He's got the opportunity. We just have nothing tying him to the crime."
"You have an anti-vampire motive," Jonah said.
"That's true," I said. "So we're thinking, what, that McKetrick tipped someone off about the building, maybe seeded a little anti-vamp rhetoric, and let the chips fall where they may?"
"It's within his MO," Jonah said. "On the other hand, the theory's got an inconsistency. Why half-assed riots? If McKetrick wants us out of town, he's already shown that he's willing to commit murder."
"True," I said, putting a hand on the banister and tapping my fingers on the finial. "And, McKetrick's allegedly got a facility, and we know he's got weapon development capabilities. Molotov cocktails aren't exactly professional."
"Nor were the rioters," Jonah said.
He had a point. The rioters hadn't looked like soldiers - too much facial hair and not enough muscle mass. More like hipsters than soldiers of fortune.
"Since this isn't going to resolve itself in the next five minutes," I said, "I guess I should get upstairs and change."
"Hey, for what it's worth, you do look pretty good in that dress." He winked at me. "You clean up good, Merit. Ethan's a lucky man."
Jonah gave me a nod, then walked down the hallway to the kitchen, auburn hair bouncing on his shoulders.
Luck and dresses were going to be irrelevant if we didn't stop these riots soon.
Chapter Thirteen
UPSTART COUNTRY
I trekked back upstairs, dumped the shoes into the closet, and peeled off the dress. Getting out of it was much less classy than getting into it, without an extra pair of hands to help with the zipper. Many contortions later, I managed, leaving the silk in a heap on the floor while I searched for something to wear.
It didn't take long.
My leathers had taken a beating in the Grey House riot, including the slash across the front of my jacket. But they'd been neatly repaired and were hanging in my closet again. The seams were virtually invisible, and the jacket looked brand-new.
I slipped them on, reveling in the feel of well-worn leather, which felt cloudlike compared to the fitted dress I'd been wearing. Boots and thick socks followed, and then my scabbarded katana, which was belted around my waist. Just in case.
Since I was now all business, I pulled my hair into a high ponytail, which would keep it out of my face in the event of a battle. Unfortunately, the hairstyle also provided a handle for attackers, but other than shaving my head, there wasn't much to be done about that.
I checked my watch. There was time yet before my shift started, so I decided to head to the basement. I wasn't anywhere near hungry, but I could at least say hi to Saul.
The entire basement smelled like oregano and garlic, not that I minded.
The tatami mats in the training room had been rolled up, revealing a hardwood floor that was currently dotted with round tables. A long table had been set up against the far wall, covered with white pizza boxes. Cadogan and Grey House vampires moved through the line, chatting as they selected pizza and sodas from a cooler at the end.
Saul himself, wearing dress pants, a button-down shirt, and a long black coat, chatted with Ethan.
"There she is," he said, patting my cheek when I wandered over. "There's a couple of Saul's doubles under the table for you."
"Thanks, Saul," I said, although I really hadn't done anything to deserve the treat. I'd just asked Luc to ensure my grandfather and the CPD kept an eye on Saul's; they'd done the rest.