Page 42 of Lucas
When the bodyguards returned, shaking their heads to confirm the rest of the suite was empty, Romero nodded toward the door. They exited, closing the door firmly behind them. They would station themselves in the hall to detract any unwanted visitors.
Bella waved Romero to the sofa. He unbuttoned his suit jacket and stretched out. His entire posture shouted sedate. She wasn’t fooled. There was tension behind his eyes and a throb at his temple.
“Is there any update on Lucas?” Romero asked.
“No. The last we heard he was in Maryland.”
“Maryland? There’s no library there.” Romero considered it a moment. “Is the book the only item Lucas is searching for?”
“He’s also searching for Philipe Renaud.”
Romero closed his eyes. “That makes sense. I wish he’d come to me first.”
“Do you know where Philipe is?”
“He never gives his location.”
“So he’s not dead?”
Romero shrugged. “Not that I’m aware of, but I haven’t heard from him for several months.”
“Do you know how to reach him?”
“In a way.”
Bella itched to get up and pace. The back-and-forth subtleties weren’t her forte. She preferred the direct approach but didn’t want to push a House leader. Perhaps a different angle.
“Would the House Renaud send vampires to protect their secrets?”
Romero’s gaze searched the room before he refocused on Bella. “Every House has its secrets.”
“Lucas has gathered information that points to someone in the Renaud Family who’s not following the House’s primary mission in the protection of all vampiric knowledge.”
“That’s a rather dangerous supposition. What led him to that conclusion?”
“Someone has been tampering with the inventory.” She explained the fake book for theDe første dageand its presence in the card catalog system at several libraries, including the home library in New Orleans.
Romero’s color faded. “You’re positive about this?”
“The first location the cadre checked was the Los Angeles branch. This was a couple of months ago, but, as you’re aware, the House has since been distracted with other issues.” She didn’t have to mention the Boretsky incident since Sergi had visited Romero and Lafitte at the time. “Lucas recently visited the San Francisco annex where the fake book reflected the actual book was out for restoration but, according to the curator, the book had been moved to Los Angeles at the time of the 1906 earthquake. Besides the fact the Los Angeles library wasn’t built until 1930, we know the book was in San Francisco in 1925.Lucas has since discovered the same fake book in Boston and New York.”
Romero shot off the sofa and paced along the windows that reflected the bright lights of the city against the backdrop of the dark Mississippi River. He ran a hand through the thick black hair, giving him a tousled bedhead look. When he turned back to Bella, he looked like a vampire who had finally come to a stark realization. “It’s taken decades, but apparently Philipe’s concerns were well founded.”
Bella glanced at Jacques, who had shifted in his seat, more acutely attuned to the discussion. Now, they were getting somewhere.
“What secret is Philipe hiding? It has to do with whatever’s written in that book, right? Something that could create a disturbance within the Council?”
“He never told me what was in the book. He claimed it was too dangerous for anyone to know. That just the idea of it could be enough to spur a civil war.”
“Did it ever occur to you it might be the ravings of someone who’d spent too much time in the stacks and not enough time in reality?”
Romero laughed. “A sentiment from someone not comfortable with books?”
“I’m more of an action-oriented vampire.”
“Devon always did prefer diversification in his cadre. Do you have anything to drink?”
Bella nodded to Jacques, who stood and went to the bar.
