Hard Bitten - Chloe Neill [63]
Malik’s lip curled. “Someone is using our place to hit on humans.”
“That appears to be the case.”
There was only one word for the look in his eyes—determination. “And what’s your plan?”
“Well, in a perfect world, the plan would be not pissing off the GP. But as we know, this is clearly not a perfect world.”
There were general grumbles of agreement around the room.
“Darius wants us safe and sound inside Cadogan House—where, for now, he can keep an eye on us—not stirring up trouble outside the House. But there’s already trouble brewing out there, and if we don’t get a handle on it, things are going to go south very quickly. We can’t just sit here and watch the city fall around us.
“I know I’m young,” I continued, “but I also have an obligation to do the things I think are necessary to protect the House. Even if Darius doesn’t approve . . . and even if Ethan doesn’t know about them.”
I let that implication sink in for a minute, and then dropped my voice. “I’ve given him a general heads-up, but I’m not giving him details, and he’s not going. The less he knows—”
“The less Darius can use him as a scapegoat,” Malik said.
I nodded in agreement. “Precisely. The short of it is, he gave me a thumbs-up to make the best decision I could, and I want to give you all the same courtesy. The GP is putting enough pressure on the House without me adding to it. If you want to know what I’m doing, I’ll tell you. If not”—I held up my hands—“no worries. You can deny you knew anything was going on, and hopefully that will shield you from Darius if worse comes to worst.”
My piece said, I glanced around the room again.
Luc kicked a booted foot onto the tabletop. “Are you seriously asking us if we’re not going to take your side against the GP? Seriously, Sentinel? I thought I taught you better than that. We are a team—and you’re a member of it.”
“And you’re getting better at the speechifying,” Lindsey said. “I think Sullivan’s going to your head. Oh, and I’m totally in.”
Juliet and Kelley smiled at each other, then at me.
“We’re obviously in, too,” Kelley said. “We’ve known Ethan a lot longer than we’ve known Darius. He may not be perfect, but he’s concerned about the House, not just the politics.”
“Agreed,” Juliet said.
We all looked at Malik, the only one I wasn’t quite sure of. It was not that I doubted his allegiances, but he was quiet enough that I wasn’t entirely sure where I stood with him.
“Your heart is in the right place,” he said. “That’s all I need to know.”
I smiled at him, then nodded at the group. “Okay, then. Here’s the plan.”
Fast-forward forty-five minutes to a gaggle of vampires emerging from a cab into the dark, muggy street in front of Temple Bar, not far from Wrigley Field. Me, Lindsey, and Christine—Christine Dupree, before she lost her name to join the House, another vamp from my Novitiate class—dressed to the nines in chic shades of black, gray, and red and makeupped within an inch of our immortal lives.
We probably looked like the new cast of Charlie’s Angels. I was the spunky brunette, Lindsey was the sassy blonde, and Christine—formerly a brunette—was now rocking a sleek bob of russet hair.
Christine wasn’t a guard, and she and I weren’t exactly close friends. Since we were bringing her into something that could get her in trouble—and demanded her loyalty—Luc gave her a lecture on duty. We didn’t give her all the details about the raves; she only knew that we were looking into bad acts at Temple Bar. She seemed eager to help, which was good enough for me.
As for the bar itself, I’d decided on a new plan—playing the bait.
The Cadogan vamps knew me as Sentinel and Lindsey as guard. But they also knew that Christine was the daughter of Dash Dupree, a notorious Chicago lawyer, and that I was the daughter of Joshua Merit, Mr. Chicago Real Estate Bigwig.
I’d realized at the Streeterville party that I could fake party girl pretty well, so I was going to try it again. And with creds like mine and Christine’s, no one was going to question