Biting Cold: A Chicagoland Vampires Novel (CHICAGOLAND VAMPIRES SERIES)

to force the issue sooner rather than later.
    I checked the blade of my katana, ensuring the steel was clean and ready for action, then climbed into my battle-worthy leather pants, a thin, long-sleeved shirt against the chill, and my leather jacket. The leathers were, ironically, gifts from Mallory for my last birthday. It seemed appropriate and sad that I was donning them to take arms against her again tonight.
    When I was ready, I watched Ethan dress—jeans and a leather jacket covering his long, lean form—and recalled my current to-do list:
    Stop and secure Mallory.
Stop and secure Tate.
Get the hell back to Chicago.
See Ethan naked under more auspicious circumstances.
Repeat, ad infinitum.
    Tasks four and five were, like Ethan, alluring. But for now, we had a sorceress and a something else to deal with, so I belted on my katana. Thinking we were ready to head downstairs, I put a hand on the doorknob, but Ethan stopped me.
    “Merit.”
    I looked back, eyebrows lifted in question.
    He moved forward, as swift as a cat, stopped mere inches from me, and stared down at me with hooded emerald eyes. Even in jeans and a jacket, he was so handsome, this blond warrior, with ferocity in his eyes and a sword at his side.
    “You’ll be careful.”
    “About what?”
    “About this mission.”
    “As careful as possible,” I promised. My tone was lighthearted, but that wasn’t enough for him. He put a hand on my arm. “And if she’s a threat to you?”
    I looked up at him, my heart suddenly pounding.
    “She may be a threat,” Ethan said. “Mallory has attempted, and likely will attempt again, magic that has no purpose but to harm others, including you.”
    The fierceness in his eyes made my stomach clench with nerves. The protectiveness was thrilling, but I was afraid it boded poorly for Mal.
    “If it comes down to you or her . . .”
    I was silent for a moment. “What?”
    He didn’t finish the sentence; he didn’t need to. He was warning me, apologizing for what he might do to Mallory if— when —she popped into our lives again. But I didn’t want to have this conversation.
    “She’s my best friend. She’s practically my sister.”
    “And she’s put you down with her magic. She tried to destroy the third-biggest city in the country, and she tried to turn me into her servant because she thinks she has the right to unleash evil on the world.”
    I swallowed down fear and a fierce bolt of sudden anger at Mallory, and I made myself face him. “I can’t let you hurt her, Ethan.”
    His gaze went fierce, and he lifted my chin with his finger and thumb. “I know you love her. I have no doubt of it. But if it comes down to a choice between you and her, my choice is already made.”
    “Ethan—”
    “No,” he said, crystalline green eyes boring into me. “ You are my choice. I told you before—you are mine, by blood and bone. I won’t let her come between that, no matter how sick she is.”
    Maybe seeing the panic in my eyes, his expression softened. “I don’t wish it,” he said. “I don’t want it to come to that. But the decision is made. It is and will be.”
    “We’re not doing this to punish her,” I reminded him. “This is a rescue mission. We find her, and we bring her home, safe and sound. All three of us, safe and sound. She brought you back to me, Ethan. I can’t forgive her for what she’s done, but I can’t forget that, either.”
    He wrapped himself around me, his mouth on mine so suddenly it took my breath away. Then he captured my face with his hands and kissed me with an insistence that left no room for question, or doubt, about who I was to him.
    We began as enemies, Ethan and I. He saved my life but was unwilling to accept me for who I was—or I, him.
    We grew as colleagues but fought our attraction to each other. And when I was ready to give in to his advances, he let fear lead him away.
    He gave his life for me, and I finally admitted the depth of my feelings for him.
    And by a miracle—a miracle by a blue-haired girl intent on destroying the world around us—he was back again . . . and she was still the obstacle between us.
    Paige’s voice echoed up the stairs. “Ready if you are!”
    Ethan stepped back and rubbed a hand across his jaw. “We should get downstairs.”
    I nodded back at him, unsure how to begin again.
    Worry heavy in my heart, we met Paige on the first floor. She looked ready for work in heavy pants, black boots, and a short plaid coat with a