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I blinked. "Um, only to stay away from them?"
Luc blew out a breath, ran his hands through his hair. "Training, then. Jesus, you're green. Ballet and grad school to Cadogan f**king Sentinel. It'll take time." He nodded, then released his hands and scribbled something on a notepad that lay on the table in front of him. "You're going to need weapons training, strategy, cleaning and safety, all of it."
He was quiet for a moment, flipping an occasional page as he made notes. In the interim, Lindsey offered me another hunk of jerky, which I gratefully accepted.
"Now that we've done the tea party," Luc said, pushing back the notepad and settling into his chair, "it's time for our annual review of Rules You Disrespectful Bastards Never Follow."
A unified disgruntled groan filled the Operations Room. Luc ignored it. "I'm explaining these rules for Merit's benefit, but since you people rarely obey them" - he gave Lindsey a pointed glance, to which she responded with a stuck-out tongue - "I'm sure you'll appreciate the refresher."
He tapped the panel in front of him. The Cadogan logo disappeared from the wall screen, replaced by a bulleted list entitled Cadogan Guards - Expectations.
Luc leaned back, crossed his hands behind his head, and kicked his booted feet back onto the table. "Number one, you're always on call. I don't care where you are, who you're with, or what you're doing. Sleeping, showering, making inappropriate advances toward still-pink vampires." That earned a grunt from Lindsey. "If your beeper sounds, you're on your way to the House, to the action.
"Number two, you will review the Web site, and you will learn the security protocols. If the worst happens - if there's a direct attack on Cadogan - I want everyone in place, knowing their positions, knowing their responsibilities, knowing whether you're guarding zone or man-to-man."
Lindsey leaned toward me. "He's obsessed with college ball," she whispered. "Expect him to channel Coach K whenever he thinks he can risk the analogy."
I grinned.
"Twice a week," Luc said, "we will review said protocols, focusing on developments, strategies, whatever burr I happen to have up my ass at that particular time. Every day that you are on duty, you will review the dailies, and you will review the dossiers that are placed in your particular file." He pointed at a line of hanging folders mounted to the wall, each a different color, each labeled with one of our names. The label on the bottommost folder read Cadogan Sentinel.
"These documents will keep you informed as to any threats, any changes in the management of this or any other House, any guests in Cadogan, any particular instructions given by your Liege and mine. Four times a week you will train in accordance with the manual you'll find on the Web site. Train here, train with your comrades, train outside the House. I don't care. But you'll be tested periodically - strength, speed, stamina, katas, weapons. You're a Cadogan guard, and you owe your life and health to this House. You will be prepared to pay that debt, in full, if necessary."
A weighty silence fell over the room, and I watched the guards nod solemnly, some touching the Cadogan medals that lay at the base of their throats.
"Number three," Luc continued, pointing at the screen. "You're an employee of Cadogan House. That means you screw something up in the process of doing your duty - injuring bystanders, pissing off humans - and you risk drawing unwanted attention to the House, our getting sued, an increase in our insurance premiums, and your ass on the streets, where you'll end up following goth wannabe Rogue vampires around the Windy City. To use Merit's words, no one wants that, least of all Ethan. And you sure as shit don't want aspen drawn because you were careless.
"Number four, while this isn't a hard and fast rule, and Ethan would never admit to it, you should be . . . circumspect in your relations with other sups. That includes vamps from other Houses, sorcerers, shifters, and perhaps most relevant today" - Luc looked to Peter and tapped the tips of two fingers on the table - "nymphs. Malik is the only Cadogan vamp authorized to enter into alliances on the House's behalf without Ethan's stamp. Friendly is fine - we don't need to make enemies by acting like pricks from Navarre." A chuckle flowed around the room; some of the tension faded. "But alliances are for our Liege and his Second to arrange. Use your common sense. And if you lack common sense, talk to me." He grinned slowly, wolfishly, and directed that smile at Lindsey. "I'll be sure to point you in the correct direction."
She rolled her eyes.
"Number five. You work four days on, one off. On working days, unless I've assigned you elsewhere, you're in the Ops Room when you report. You'll either work here, or you'll patrol - the House, the grounds. At least one day a week, you'll guard Ethan personally, travel as his body man." He looked at me. "Technically, as Sentinel, you'll set your own schedule. But I'd suggest you work with us, learn the ropes in here, at least until you're familiar with our processes."
I nodded my agreement.
Luc's brows lifted. "Well, you're a little more biddable than we thought."
That earned another chuckle around the room. I blushed in response, but smiled at my colleagues. Luc dished it out to everyone, and I knew I needed to - and could - take it.
"I await your pleasure," I drily said, which earned an appreciative snort from Lindsey.
Luc tapped the screen again, and the image on the wall disappeared. "I'm going to give Merit the grand tour. Lindsey, since you're mentoring Merit - and my advance apologies for that, Sentinel - you'll take over babysitting when the tour's done. Everyone else who's scheduled, get to work."
Luc rose, but the vamps stayed obediently seated until he threw out, "Dismissed." Then they murmured thank-yous and rose, grabbing jerky from the tub Lindsey had placed on the table. Lindsey and Kelley both moved to the computer workstations at the edges of the room. Peter left the room; I guessed it was his day off. Juliet grabbed her jacket and headed for the door. "I'm on grounds," she announced, then touched a finger to the buff- colored shell of a device that fit around her ear. "Check."
"Check that," Kelley said. "Audio in. Dialing in RDI." There was a pause before she said, "Kelley, Cadogan House, on duty." She nodded, then looked over at Juliet. "Security transferred. Juliet on. You're good, Juliet."
She looked at me, winked jauntily, then made for the door. "Tell me about it."
His guards set to work, the next task on Luc's list was the full House tour. We began in the basement, which held the Ops Room, the sparring room, a gym, and the steel-lined arsenal that housed Cadogan's weapons - modern crossbows, bladed weapons of every shape and type, aspen stakes and pikes, and although Catcher had suggested vamps didn't use them, an entire cabinet of guns. Rifles, shotguns, handguns - weapons I could only identify after years of faithfully watching Law & Order.
