Hard Bitten - Chloe Neill [120]
“Oh, shit,” I said aloud, half a dozen of the vamps in the room turning to stare at me, finally realizing I’d stepped into the room behind them, probably smelling of kebabbed meats and deep-fried candy bars.
“She was a crucial part,” Tate continued, “of efforts to locate and apprehend Celina Desaulniers. Whatever your opinions of vampires, I ask—on behalf of the city—that you not judge all the individuals based on the actions of a few.”
My beeper began to buzz. I unclipped it and glanced at the screen. It read, simply, OFFICE.
I blew out a breath, then looked up at the vamps in the room and offered a small wave. “It was lovely knowing you,” I assured them, then turned on a heel.
I hustled down the hallway. The office door was cracked, so I pushed it open and found Darius, Ethan, and Malik inside. They were all seated at the conference table—Darius at the head, Malik and Ethan on the window side.
I didn’t like the symbolism there, and my already-raw stomach began to churn again.
“Come in, Merit,” Darius said. “And close the door.”
I did as I was told and took a seat opposite Ethan and Malik. Ethan’s expression was completely blank. My stomach tightened, but I’d already decided I wasn’t going to be afraid any longer. It was time to talk.
“Sire,” I said, “may I speak candidly?”
I heard Ethan’s warning in my head, but I ignored it. There was a time to be meek, and a time to take a stand. At this point, I had nothing to lose.
Darius regarded me for a moment. “Speak.”
“V was moving through the city. It was hurting our vampires, it was hurting humans, and it was hurting our relationship with the city. With all due respect to the concerns of the GP, we have to live here. We don’t have the luxury of returning to another continent, and we couldn’t simply ignore the problem. Shifters and humans were already turning against us. If we didn’t act, we’d be in the middle of the war the sorcerers have predicted. I stand Sentinel for this House, and I acted in a manner consistent with the House’s best interest, even if that interest, in your opinion, does not coincide with that of the GP.”
When I was done, Darius looked at Ethan. “Tonight’s events do not reflect well upon the North American Houses or the Greenwich Presidium. We should not be involved in altercations in a public festival in one of the largest cities in the United States.” He looked up at me. “We do not need the publicity, nor the heroics. What we need is respect for authority, for hierarchy, for chain of command. Assimilation is how we’ve done that for centuries. Assimilation is how we’ll continue to do it.”
His gaze went ice-cold, as did the blood in my veins.
“Merit, consider yourself officially reprimanded by the GP. Your file will be annotated to reflect what you’ve done today. I hope you appreciate the seriousness of that action.”
I actually didn’t have any clue how serious it was, but that didn’t matter. It felt like I’d been slapped in the face, every sacrifice and decision I’d made since becoming a vampire called into question.
I tried to obey the warning look Ethan shot me from across the table, but I was done playing GP doormat and blame magnet.
I stood up and pushed back my shoulders. “Will my file be annotated to reflect the fact that I followed the leads to Celina, and that she admitted spreading V around the city? Will it reflect the fact that she helped arrange the raves so she could institute her new world order—which it sounds like she plans to institute without the GP? Will it reflect the fact that today we closed her down and saved the city and the GP a lot of trouble down the road?”
Darius was motionless. “Celina is a member of the GP and must be afforded the respect due to a member of the GP.”
“Celina put dangerous drugs into the hands of vampires, drugs that could only lead to their destruction