you’re disappointed in me,” he said. “Or angry.”
“Or furious?”
He grinned wickedly. “I’m not sure I’m possible of infuriating you, Sentinel.”
“Liar,” I boldly said.
“The point is, I hardly think your feelings for me will suddenly evaporate because you’re angry.” He wrapped his arms around me. “Fear, on occasion, rises up. As does anger. By me and by you. But they are the enemies. And as you might say, love battles them back.”
How could a girl not succumb to words like that? So I basked in the warmth of him, in the crisp smell of his cologne.
“Stay the day,” he said. “Stay with me today, and let me be still.”
How could I possibly refuse that request?
We prepared for bed. Brushing our teeth side by side in the bathroom seemed strangely intimate, and not just because I was spitting in front of him.
I gave him an update on what I’d learned from Mallory and the issues I’d asked Catcher and Jeff to investigate. I also told him that I’d visited Claudia again. He clearly wasn’t thrilled, but he managed to hold in his irritation that I’d put myself in danger.
“Going alone isn’t the best course of action,” he gently chastised. I could work with that.
“I know. I should have taken a partner, but time was of the essence. I thought I had a string to pull, so I took a chance. I got lucky, and next time I’ll use a partner.”
He looked amazed that I’d answered so logically.
“I really do like being alive and in one piece.”
“All evidence to the contrary,” he muttered, and I punched him—deservedly—in the arm.
Since we seemed to be on relatively solid footing again, I delved into the other crisis.
“How were your meetings with Darius?”
“Full of numbers,” he said. “Ours is the second-strongest House in the country. Navarre is first, possibly because Celina wasn’t entirely conscionable in her selection of investments. Our funds are well diversified, our debt-to-income ratio is low, and our credit rating is high.”
He splashed water on his face, then tamped it dry with a towel. “We are in good financial shape.”
I leaned against the doorjamb. “Why do I have a sense Darius couldn’t care less about our financial shape?”
Ethan pushed his hair behind his ears and gestured toward the bedroom. He followed me out, then turned off the light behind us.
“Because the majority of the American Houses are superbly good at managing their finances. If he wishes to rearrange the American system, that’s not the best point of contention.”
I sat down on the bed and pulled a pillow to my chest.
Ethan flipped off the bedroom lights, leaving us in momentary darkness until our eyes adjusted. I slung the pillow behind me and pressed into his body.
“Darius talked to me,” I said.
“Did he now? What did he have to say?”
“He’s confident any and all crises in Chicago are our fault.”
“So par for the course, then.”
“In that respect.” I hesitated to add more, but Ethan pressed on.
“Tell me the rest, Sentinel.”
“He isn’t sure who you are. I think his meeting with me was just to get dirt on you. He’s not thrilled with our relationship, halted or otherwise, but he wanted to know more about you. About your weaknesses. About whether you’d changed after Mallory brought you back.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That you are who you are…and you’re too stubborn to be anyone different. I think he’s afraid of you. Not for who you are, but for what you might do if the House is excommunicated.”
“We will find out soon enough.”
“That sounds ominous.”
Ethan nodded. “He’s called a House meeting: tomorrow at midnight. If you’d stayed in your room, you’d find a note to that effect on your door tomorrow evening.”
“You wouldn’t let me stay in my room.”
“No, Sentinel, I would not. For now, let us sleep. We will undoubtedly face new dangers tomorrow.”
That seemed undeniable, but for now, I had his body to protect me.
Some hours later, we woke to a pounding on the door.
“That better be breakfast,” I said.
“Margot is rarely so loud, and I am hardly dressed. Perhaps you better answer the door.”
I flipped off the blankets and sheets and, as the knocking sounded louder, jogged to the door and pulled it open.
Juliet stood at the door, a furious expression on her face, and I could hear yelling downstairs. “It’s a raid—the cops think Dominic is here.”
Dominic wasn’t, but I’d have bet his twin brother still was, and I didn’t think Mayor Kowalcyzk or her storm troopers would much care about the difference.
Think fast, I