Page 12 of Kingly Bitten

It clicked, causing him to release a sigh of relief.

“Excellent,” I said, maintaining my confident tone to suggest I’d expected that to work, and waved him to the side. “You will remain here. I will send the files.”

His eyes narrowed. “I want proof.”

I blinked at him. “Excuse me? You’re not cleared forproof, Officer.”

“None of this is in my handbook.”

I rolled my eyes. “Not memorizing or thoroughly studying yourhandbookdoes not give me jurisdiction to break procedure.”

He huffed in response, his burly chest puffing out with decades of toned muscles.

I merely arched my brow for the third time and gave him a dispassionate look. “Stop wasting my time, Officer. It’s precious”—I lifted my wrist to display the countdown—“as you know.”

His jaw clenched, causing his cheekbones to flex.

I waited, acutely aware of his every move. If he went for his gun, I’d act. He might be trained in combat, but I had over a century of experience on his meager forty or fifty years. And just because I wore a lab coat didn’t mean I couldn’t operate a gun.

Hungry vampires and feral lycans were a job hazard, one I’d been thoroughly trained to handle. After all, Lilith couldn’t afford to lose one of her prized assets.

A rogue Vigil wouldn’t be a problem.

Unless he has serum bullets, I reminded myself.

“Fine,” he finally said. “Hurry the fuck up.”

“Watch your tone,” I countered. “I’m still your superior, Officer.”

He growled something unintelligible under his breath, his irritation palpable.

Good. That meant I’d done my job in making him believe me.

I gestured for James and Gretchen to enter first, then I followed behind them. “The vials you want are in the safe behind that picture,” I said, gesturing to the large portrait of Lilith. She’d put that there decades ago.I’ll be watching you, it said.

But are you watching me now?I wondered.Because I don’t think you are.

I used my password to unlock my computer and found the access revoked.

Hmm, I hummed, entering a secondary code meant to access the back door I’d built years ago. My lips threatened to twitch when the screen sprang to life beneath my command.

This was the benefit to being in charge—I had access to everything, including the security network and database servers.

I’d created these back doors to access my files in the case of a system reboot going haywire. Never had I considered needing to break in because of a mandate that superseded my authority. These codes were meant for regaining control in an erroneous situation, not an intentional one.

Although, I supposed I always knew this might be necessary. It was just one of those strategic moves in my mind, one driven by my need to survive.

Or, I thought, glancing at James and Gretchen as they stood beside the open frame,in the case where I wanted my only friends to live.

I gave the information they needed to open the safe. “There’s a manual inside on top of the case. Flip to chapter four to read the instructions on how to properly release the toxins.”

Chapter four provided details on how to load the guns in the box beside the vials. We were going to need those after I finished my task on the computer.

Settling into my chair, I went to work pulling up the surveillance feeds and queueing all the commands in my mind.

Only, the visuals on the screen snagged my focus, my heart skipping a beat to see the massacre that had occurred in four out of the seven labs.

Oh God…