Free Biting Bad: A Chicagoland Vampires Novel by Chloe Neill

with the charred remains of a building.
    “Forty-seven rioters,” Luc said. “The Bryant Industries building sustained damage to sixteen percent of its square footage, including damage to its electrical and HVAC systems. They’ve got backups for the utilities, but the physical repairs are expected to take a few weeks.”
    “I’ve spoken with Detective Jacobs,” my grandfather said. Arthur Jacobs was a well-respected CPD detective, and one of the few city officials who didn’t have a vendetta against us.
    “They’ve arrested twenty-three rioters, but no one’s talking. They all asked for lawyers.”
    Luc looked at me. “Do you want to press charges for the damage to your car?”
    “There was damage to your car?” my grandfather asked. I guess he hadn’t gotten all the details from Catcher.
    “Relatively minor. Gabriel’s got a guy, and he offered to arrange for the repairs when I dropped Mallory off. And I definitely don’t want to press charges. That would make Cadogan House a specific target. There’s no need to make it personal. The rioters were chanting ‘Clean Chicago,’ and they made it pretty clear they believe we’re the thing that needs cleaning.”
    “As if there’s anything clean about hatred,” Lindsey said. “But that gives us a place to begin the mocking. What rhymes with clean? Jean? Green? Scene? Bean?”
    “‘Mean Chicago’ works intellectually,” Jeff said. “But it’s not that snappy.”
    “Nope,” Lindsey agreed. “And we need something snappy to put the little shits in their places.” She chortled. “Can you imagine how pissed they’d be if they knew vampires were sitting around mocking them?”
    “Very pissed, I imagine,” I said.
    “And this conversation is no longer productive,” Luc ruled. “Moving on.”
    “They went very violent very quickly,” Ethan said. “I find it unusual we hadn’t heard anything about this Clean Chicago group before today.”
    “Have we seen anything on the Web?” I asked, looking around at the vampires at the table.
    “Not that we’ve found so far,” Kelley said. “If they’ve got a Web presence, it’s pretty well hidden.”
    “Point of order,” Jeff said. “There’s no such thing as ‘well hidden’ on the Web. If you put something on the Web, it’s out there and it’s available. ‘Hidden’ is just an issue of skill.”
    “We’re all aware of your particular prowess, Mr. Christopher,” Ethan said with a smirk.
    “Damn right,” Jeff said, and I could hear the smile in his voice. “Anyway, I looked, too, and I didn’t find anything else. Which says to me they’re new, or they’re insular. They stay off the Web and keep to themselves.”
    “Staying private isn’t necessarily unusual for hate groups,” Luc said. “It depends on how unpopular they think their hatred will be. But there’s usually some effort made to get new members and spread the word. Remember that organization in Alabama a few months ago?”
    Lindsey nodded. “We’ve seen hatred and protestors before. But Molotov cocktails? That steps it up a bit.”
    “Molotovs are a hell-raiser’s best friend,” Luc said. “Not that I have any experience with anything like that.”
    “Chicago ’twenty-four?” Ethan asked dryly.
    “That was a long time ago,” Luc said, “if I was to admit I did anything in 1924, which I am not so admitting.”
    “They planned ahead enough to pick a vamp-related target and assemble bombs,” I said.
    “Maybe it wasn’t just the vampire connection,” Juliet said. Her hair was down today, waving softly across her shoulders, and she pushed it behind her ears with her fingertips. “Maybe there was something in the Bryant Industries building? Or some personal animosity against the owners?”
    Lindsey nodded. “Maybe they’ve got enemies. Someone who wanted to put a little hurt on.”
    “Actually, I’ve got something,” Jeff said. “We got an employee list from Bryant Industries.”
    “That was fast,”