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He looked at my grandfather first. "The situation is contained?"
"It is, Mr. Mayor. Things at the bar are in hand, and Merit came in and provided us with a very detailed statement so we can get a handle on the issue."
"Which is?"
"We're still figuring that out, sir. You'll have my report as soon as I can type it."
Tate nodded. "Appreciate that, Chuck." He glanced at Ethan. "Is this related to the problem I asked you to address?"
"It may be," Ethan vaguely said. "Merit is spending most of her free time investigating it, including this evening."
Tate's expression softened and went all-politician. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate that."
Oh, I could tell, I blandly thought. You probably appreciated it ten to fifteen points in the polls.
Tate reached out and shook my hand, and then my grandfather's. "Merit, let's stay in touch. Chuck, I look forward to your report."
He reached out to shake Ethan's hand, but instead of a simple shake, he leaned toward Ethan and whispered something in his ear.
Ethan's shoulder's stiffened, and he stared blankly ahead, barely controlling his anger, when Tate walked away.
Ethan's car was parked in a secured lot beside the station. I barely made the short walk. The drama was beginning to take a collective toll; for all my extra vampire strength, I was tired. My brain was fuzzy, my body was exhausted, and my temperature was that strange deep-seated cold that you get before the flu starts up.
Ethan opened the door for me and shut it again when I was inside. I checked the clock on the dashboard; it was nearly five forty-five, about twenty minutes before dawn. Another late night - and another race against the rising sun.
Silently, Ethan climbed into the car and started the motor.
I made one final play at being the dutiful Sentinel. "Do you want to debrief now?"
He must have seen the exhaustion in my eyes, because he shook his head. "Luc filled me in on the major points, and the morning news programs are already on the case. Rest for now."
I must have taken the direction literally, because I remember nodding in agreement - but not the rest of the ride home. As soon as he pulled out of his parking spot and began spiraling back down through the parking garage, I dropped my head onto the headrest. I woke up again as the car descended into the Cadogan parking lot.
"You are tired," he said.
I put a hand over my mouth to hide the burgeoning yawn. "It's nearly dawn."
"So it is."
We sat there awkwardly for a moment, like a couple at the end of a first date, neither quite sure what's expected of the other.
Ethan made the first move, opening his door and stepping outside. I did the same, wobbling a little as I exited the car, but staying on my feet. I could feel the tug of the sun, my nerves itching with exhaustion, my body screaming that it was time to find a soft, dark place to wait out the day.
"You going to make it upstairs?" he asked.
"I'll make it." I concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, blinking to keep my eyes focused.
"The sun does a number on you," Ethan said as he typed in the code to the basement door, then held it open while I walked through like a near zombie. I was conscious enough to realize that he didn't seem to have the same trouble.
"You're less affected?" I asked as we walked to the stairs.
"I'm older," he explained. "Your body is still adjusting to the genetic change, to the differences between being diurnal and nocturnal. As you get older, you'll find the pull easier to manage. More a gentle suggestion than a grab-and-go."
I was capable only of muttering a sound of agreement. By some miracle I made it to the second-floor landing without falling over.
"We'll talk tomorrow," Ethan said, and headed for the stairs. But I called his name to stop him. He glanced back.
"What did Tate whisper in your ear?"
"He said, 'Fix this, goddamn it, or else.' We'll talk about it tomorrow."
He didn't have to tell me twice.
Chapter Fifteen
ALL THAT GLITTERS
As Ethan had pointed out, one obvious downside of being nocturnal was the fact that the sun exerted more power on me than I cared to admit.
On the other hand, I didn't need caffeine to wake up. I might have spent a few minutes being groggy, but the haze blew off quickly enough, leaving a wideawake (and usually starving) vampire in its wake.
I started the evening with a bowl of crunchy cinnamon cereal and as much blood as I could stomach. I'd done a lot of fighting last night, and my stress level had been pretty high. Fighting and stress generally tripped my hunger trigger faster than anything else.
Well, maybe other than Ethan. I could confirm the bagged stuff didn't compare in taste to the real thing, but that didn't make it any less satisfying. Nutrition was all well and good, but the emotional comfort also paid off.
I showered and dressed in my Cadogan black.
I wasn't sure what the night held in store, but I was confident that after last night's escapades Darius would be involved at some point. It was probably best to dress a bit nicer than I had been the last time he'd seen me.
I brushed my hair until it shone and added my Cadogan medal and Mary Jane shoes. I'd been so busy with vampire drama that I'd forgotten about Mallory's sorcery drama, so before I went downstairs I flipped open my phone. I found a message from my father, probably another entreaty to allow him to help Cadogan House.
Joshua Merit was nothing if not persistent.
I sent Mallory a message checking in, and got back a quick response: "BETTER TONIGHT. PRACTICUM ON HEALING MAGIC. FUN!"
I wasn't sure if her "Fun!" was sarcastic, but "healing magic" sounded a lot better than dark magic.
My phone buzzed again just as I was shutting my door. This time, it was a text from Lindsey, and not a promising one.
"WE NEED TO TALK," she'd texted.
I hated hearing that. My fingers were fast on the keys. "HOUSE TRAUMA?"
"BOY TRAUMA," she replied, and my shoulders unknotted a bit. "DRAMA OF MY OWN MAKING."
I wasn't entirely sure how she'd managed to have boy trauma or drama. She'd been with me last night, and it wasn't yet an hour after sunset. I couldn't resist asking.
"HOW COULD YOU HAVE BOY DRAMA THIS EARLY IN THE EVENING?"
"JUST FIND ME LATER," she responded.
"THE DEVIL'S IN THE DETAILS."
Wasn't that always true?
A potentially distressing conversation with Lindsey on my agenda for later, I made my way downstairs to Ethan's office. I found him alone, the door open, adjusting the knickknacks he'd salvaged from the battle on his new bookshelves.
