been treated. He supposedly went on for ten minutes about the injustice of being a cop behind bars.”
I rolled my eyes. “Then maybe the cop shouldn’t have helped beat the crap out of four people.”
“I believe that was Chuck’s point. But I’m sure he said it more diplomatically.”
“Probably so. I guess the lawyers will find out soon enough about Tate’s ‘desk riding.’ If you’ll send me the article, we’ll see what we can do from this end.”
“Will do,” he said.
“Thanks, Jeff. We appreciate it.”
“No prob, Merit. I’m sure we’ll talk later.”
The e-mail came almost immediately. The article was lengthy; someone had done an in-depth review of the cops involved and their attorneys’ unsurprising friendships with Mayor Kowalcyzk. That certainly explained the early release, and it might very well have been enough to trigger another burst of angelic retribution.
I hung up, grabbed a shower, got dressed, and ran upstairs to Ethan’s bedroom.
He opened the door in nothing but silk pajama bottoms, and I nearly wept at the sight. Long, flat abdomen, ridges of muscle at his hips, his hair loose around his shoulders. It was almost cruel to see and not be able to touch.
“Is everything okay?”
I told him about the article Jeff had found. “This could always be a trap,” I warned. “Maybe one of the Tates wants another run at us and left the article at the crime scene so we’d find it. But we have to take the chance. The attorneys aren’t listening, the mayor has dismissed the Ombud’s office, and there could be hundreds of people at the press conference.”
Ethan nodded. “If we’re the only ones who see the threat, I suppose we’ll be the ones to handle it. And I agree—the risk of collateral damage is too high to ignore. I’ll get dressed. Get your sword and meet me in the office.”
This time, I did as I was told.
Luc, Malik, and Ethan were already in Ethan’s office when I arrived, the blade of my katana impeccable, my body clad in head-to-toe leather for the impending fight.
I’d finally remembered to grab the worry wood from my room. It was a small ridge in my jacket pocket, a comforting reminder that magic wasn’t all bad, that it could even be helpful. That was a lesson I was fighting hard to remember lately.
They were seated around the conference table. I joined them.
“The officers are scheduled to be released within the hour,” Ethan said. “I contacted Nicholas Breckenridge.” Nick was an old family friend and a former flame; he was also a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist. “He said the cops are planning to make a statement, and the lawyers have invited the media to cover it.”
“There will definitely be a crowd, then,” Malik said. “Everyone will be fighting for sound bites—those who think vampires are evil, those who think cops aren’t limited by rules and regulations, the family members of the humans assaulted.”
“Collateral damage,” Ethan murmured, as Luc spread a satellite image of the lockup onto the table. The building wasn’t huge, but there was a span of long concrete steps across the front bounded by a couple of columns on each side.
“Perfect place for a Law and Order–style shooting,” Luc said.
Malik nodded. “And there’s more poetic justice if Tate takes them out on the steps. What’s the plan?”
“Merit and I will take positions here and here,” Ethan said, pointing at the columns. “Our goal is to keep Tate away from the cops and limit the amount of damage he causes.”
“How are you going to do that?” Malik asked.
“I’m still working on it,” Ethan said, eyes scanning the map.
“I do have one small objection to the plan,” I said.
“Which is?” Ethan asked.
“Your participation. You aren’t going.”
Luc and Malik instantly froze, and Ethan’s eyebrow perked upward. “I’m not going?”
There was no denying I was afraid of the coming fight—Tate was a monster beyond all I’d had to fight before, and I didn’t even know of a way to fight him now—but fear wasn’t going to help me, and it certainly wasn’t going to help Ethan. I opted for logic, instead.
“Protecting these cops might mean throwing ourselves in front of them. You can’t do that. And as Sentinel, I can’t let you do that. We’ve already lost you once, and the House is in too much political chaos for you to be at risk again. The House needs stability. They don’t need a Sentinel.”
“And if I say no?”
“My job is to protect this House, even if that means disagreeing with you.”
Ethan sat back