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lots of humans, and lots of potential for violence.
I didn t see the kind of violence Tate talked
about while we were there but we pulled the
plug as quickly as we could. We know humans
are being pretty severely glamoured, maybe
helped in part by a drug being passed around.
And we think the human invites are originating
from the House bars.
The room went silent, everyone exchanging
looks of concern.
Your evidence? Malik asked.
The phone that got the text about last night s
shindig was left at Benson s, the Grey House bar.
And another human told us she found out about
the party when she met a short man and a woman
named Marie outside Temple Bar.
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 two
socialites mixing it up at Temple Bar, asking
questions about new kinds of excitement.
There was a line outside the door. Although
humans hadn t been allowed in the House, Tate
hadn t extended the ban to the bars. Colin and
Sean had gotten creative, installing neon signs
above the door to help visitors keep track.
Tonight, the HUMANS and CADOGAN lights
were lit, which meant vamps from Navarre or
Grey were out of luck.
The human part was fine by me, as it would
help us accomplish part one of my Temple Bar
Infiltration Plan, or T-BIP. Unfortunately, the
ban on Grey and Navarre vamps wasn t going to
help. I d hoped I could use the night to get info
from the other Houses about the raves and drugs.
Oh, well. Jonah could get me into Grey House.
As for Navarre, I d cross that bridge when I
came to it.
Christine, Lindsey, and I sauntered in like we
owned the place, then stood in the front of the
bar for a moment . . . to see and be seen.
I took a moment to appreciate the locale.
Temple Bar was practically a shrine to the Cubs,
my favorite sports team. The walls were lined
with uniforms and pennants, and Cubs
memorabilia covered every free spot in the bar.
The bar was run by two redheaded vampires, also
brothers, Sean and Colin. They kept all things
Irish and Cubbie alive and well in Wrigleyville.
First stop in T-BIP, I told my accomplices,
identifying humans who might have gotten an
invite to a once or future rave so we can identify
the host.
Or hostess, Lindsey added. Let s not forget
the Celina possibility.
Can we please stop calling it T-BIP?
Christine put in. I get that you enjoy acronyms,
but that sounds ridiculous.
Unfortch, Lindsey said, I have to agree.
Unless the acronym is a helluva lot more rugged.
Like DANGER or KILLFACE or STUN
GUN or something.
I slid her a questioning glance. And what,
exactly, would DANGER stand for?
Um. She looked up at the ceiling while she
made up an answer. Dedicated, angsty
Novitiate girls examining risk ? Or maybe, drugs
are never good entertainment, right?
Lame, I muttered.
Aw, sadface. I came up with that totally off
the cuff. No props for off the cuff?
Ladies, Christine said, holding up a hand.
Let s act our ages and stay on target.
Lindsey and I exchanged a guilty glance. I m
honest enough to admit that sarcasm and silliness
were my preferred methods of dealing with
stress. But I had a lot of it, and it wasn t like I
could just break out a Mallocake mid-katana-
fight.
Coolly, Christine surveyed the crowd like a
lion eyeing a herd of water buffalo dedicated to
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