Lucky Break (Chicagoland Vampires 10.5)

“I’m devastated by it,” I said.

“You look it,” Lindsey said. “You could always give Morgan another try.”

I gave her a flat look. “Been there, done that, DNF.”

There was a knock at the office door. We glanced back, found Jeff Christopher in the doorway in a very striking tuxedo. It draped his lean frame perfectly, and he’d slicked back his brown hair, which sharpened his features. He looked a little older, and a little more dangerous.

“Young Mr. Christopher,” Luc said, holding out a hand for him. “You look very official, sir.”

“Very handsome,” I agreed. I leaned over, pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“I’m sorry to hear about you and Ethan,” he said.

Since we hadn’t told all the guards about our plan, only the necessary few, Jeff was playing his part.

“Thank you. But I’d rather not talk about it.”

He nodded solemnly. “Of course. If you need to vent, I’m here.”

“I appreciate that. What brings you downstairs?”

“Balthasar, actually.”

Luc went on immediate alert. “You’ve seen him?”

“No, but I think we figured out who he is. I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner, but we—”

“Whoa,” Luc said, holding up a hand, lips curving into a grin. “You think you found him?”

Jeff nodded. “The Librarian and me, after we started scanning the pages ourselves. He found Balthasar. I found two more names: Carlisle Foster and Julien Burrows. Carlisle’s dead. He became a spy for the British during World War Two, was discovered and executed. Julien, on the other hand, has disappeared.”

I felt the warmth of rising adrenaline. “Disappeared?”

“The ledgers say he escaped after a fight with the human who’d been left to guard him. The guard said Burrows, and I’m quoting, ‘invaded his dreams.’ There’s no trace of him after that, at least under that name.”

The warmth turned into a full-on fire. I squeezed Jeff’s arm. “That is good work, Jeff. Really good work. Can we connect him to Reed?”

“Not yet. But I’ll keep looking. And Catcher’s still looking for a sorcerer.”

Jeff’s phone began to buzz, and he pulled it out, took a look. “It’s Chuck,” he said, waggling the phone. “I’m going to head back upstairs.”

“We’ll see you,” Luc said. “And really well done. I’ll communicate your findings to the team.”

Jeff nodded, then grinned at me. “Save me a dance.”

“I’ll do what I can,” I said, and he winked and headed out.

“That’s a spot of good news,” Luc said. “And it’s not the only one: Reed held up his end of the bargain, signed all the transfer papers during business hours today. Navarre is in the clear, at least with respect to anything it owed the Circle.”

“Morgan must be relieved.”

“Probably would be, except he’s still got Irina to deal with. Word on the street is she’s gunning for his job.”

That made me sit up a bit straighter. “She’s challenged him?”

“Not outright, but it could be coming. Do I think he has a unique chance to get his House in order given the circumstances? Yes. But he’s got to take advantage of that, got to see it that way. Time will tell if he can do it.”

Time would inevitably tell. “Ethan okay?”