“Unlikely to happen.”
“And there you are.”
We stood there for a moment, and I caught the hint of a smile on his face. If he could manage to work through his anger, I could manage to have a good attitude about it.
I headed for the door. “You’re such a comedian.”
“I try, Merit. I really do.”
“Good night, Morgan.”
“Only for an hour,” he reminded me as I closed the door and walked back to the stairs.
When I reached the first floor, the cadre of vendors still stood in the lobby, milling impatiently about as they waited for their turn with Nadia. I hoped they had more patience with the Navarre House staff than I did.
When I returned to the House, Ethan and Luc met me at the door.
I looked at Ethan, prepared to tell the tale one last time. Frankly, being a proactive Sentinel involved repeating the same information over and over and over again. But the tale needed to be told, so I sucked it up and did my duty.
“Paulie Cermak is probably involved in the drug trade, and he’s not especially shy about it.
He says he’s only a bit player. His digs are in pretty bad shape, but there’s a shiny, vintage Mustang in the garage.”
I almost spilled out the rest, but thought ahead enough to glance at Ethan, a question in my eyes: Could I tell him? Could I implicate a member of the GP after the tongue-lashing I assumed he’d received from Darius? Or was I putting him in an even worse position?
“At this point,” he said quietly, “there’s no harm in candor.”
“In that case, I went to Navarre House and showed Morgan the picture of Cermak. Six months ago, Morgan saw Paulie coming out of Celina’s office. She called him a ‘vendor.’” I watched Ethan’s expression carefully, and I’m still not sure whether I saw relief or anxiety there. The news was equally bad and good—we had a witness who could link Celina to the man who sold V, but it was Celina. She was hands-off as far as the GP was concerned.
Luc glanced around warily, then lowered his voice, as if expecting Darius to come waltzing in at any moment, receivership papers in hand. “So Celina and Paulie are acquaintances,” Luc said.
“That makes it more likely Celina was the
‘Marie’ seen by the human, and the woman in the car.”
“But we can’t prove that,” Ethan said, tucking his hands into his pockets. “And as much as it pains me to say it, that Paulie and Celina had a meeting half a year ago doesn’t mean she’s actively involved in setting up the raves or distributing V.”
“And it’s unlikely she’s going to come forward and offer the evidence on a platter,” Luc said.
“True,” I agreed, a plan already forming.
“Which is precisely why we need to draw her out.”
Ethan’s gaze snapped to me. “Draw her out?”
“Prove that Paulie and Celina are connected.
Use him to get to Celina, to draw her out, and to prove that she’s involved in distributing V and organizing the raves to help that endeavor.”
“And how do you propose to do that?” Ethan asked. “What bait could we offer that would entice Celina?”
The answer was easy. “Me.”
Silence.
“You have certainly grown into your position,” Ethan dryly said. “And your willingness to take risks on behalf of the House.”
“I’m well aware that she can thoroughly kick my ass. That makes it less a risk—if more of an inevitability.”
“You are stronger than the last time you met,” he pointed out. “You’ve bested shifters since then.”
“She knocked me out with a single kick to the chest,” I pointed out, my ribs aching in sympathy. “But that’s not the point. For whatever reason, as we’ve discussed, she’s fascinated by me. If Paulie tells her I’ll be waiting, she’d probably take advantage.”
Ethan frowned. “That is probably true.”
“I have to do it,” I told him. “We’ve identified Paulie, and we know he’s involved with Celina.
But we can’t close down V—halt the distribution —until we have proof, at least enough evidence to take to Tate. We don’t have to take it to the GP,” I reminded Ethan. “We only need to give Tate enough information to nail Paulie and Celina so the CPD can close the loop. If we can’t rely on the GP to bring her down,” I quietly added, “then let’s help Tate do it.”
“She has a point, hoss,” Luc quietly agreed.
“She’s our best means to pull Celina out.”
After a moment, Ethan nodded. “Work your plan, Sentinel.” He tapped his watch. “But first, go get dressed.”
I only just realized that he was already prepped for dinner in a slim-fit black suit and narrow black tie. That meant he’d be waiting on me.
“I’ll go change,” I agreed. I was also going to head upstairs and use the phone number Jeff had given me to send a message to Paulie Cermak.
One way or another, I was going to find her.
GP be damned, I was going to bring her down.
Much to my surprise, I found no dress hanging on my door when I returned upstairs. The last couple of times I’d had to make social appearances with Ethan, he’d given me decadent couture gowns, presumably so I wouldn’t embarrass the House with my usual jeans and tank tops. At first, I’d been offended by the gesture. But even a girl who cut her fangs on denim and Pumas could appreciate good design when it presented itself.
This time, the door was empty of all but its small bulletin board, and the closet bore only the usual pieces of my wardrobe.
Oh, well. It was probably for the best. I didn’t really have time to be the girl who needed Lanvin just to leave the House.
Without a new option, I cleaned up and stepped into one of the other dresses Ethan had supplied. It was a knee-length, black cocktail dress, with a sleeveless bodice and swingy skirt, the fabric tucked into horizontal pleats from top to bottom.
I opted for the black heels Ethan had provided with the dress, as well as a holster that went beneath the skirt and held my dagger in place against my thigh. My Cadogan medal was my only accessory, and I left my hair down, my bangs a dark fringe across my forehead.
When I was made up, I sent a message to Paulie Cermak.
“TELL MARIE I’M READY TO MEET HER.”