Also standing in wait with them were Brock and Darion. Gabrielle, Savannah and Jenna occupied the chairs and sofa in the study’s sitting area near the floor-to-ceiling bookcases.

Lucan grunted and glanced to Gideon’s Breedmate, Savannah. “You think your ability can help us determine where the box is located?”

Her dark brown eyes glittered with confidence. “I’ll know the key’s history when I touch it. I’ll see whoever handled it, and where they were when they used it.” She nodded. “Yeah, I can figure out where the key will take us.”

“Good. I’ll tell Mathias to have one of his team hand-carry the bloody thing over from London ASAP.” Lucan rubbed a hand over his tense jaw. “What I’d prefer to do instead is strangle the answers out of Riordan with my bare hands. How soon before you’re comfortable that we can move in on that son of a bitch, Gideon?”

“Not long. I’m trying a new approach with his network protocols. I should know if I’m in or not in a matter of hours. Maybe a day.”

“Too fucking long.” Lucan felt the heat of his anger flash in his eyes. “Now that Ivers is dead, we’ve lost part of our window of surprise. Riordan’s either going to get nervous or he’s going to get bold. Either way, we need to be ready. We need to hit the bastard before he decides his next move. We know he’s Opus, damn it. We have him directly linked to the assassinations in Italy last week.”

“Only on the word of a dead man,” Brock cautioned.

Gideon nodded. “We’ll need more proof than that if we go in and take Riordan out on our own.”

Lucan’s fangs punched out of his gums. “If we need to answer any GNC or JUSTIS inquiries, I’ll present his rotting corpse as evidence.”

Gabrielle gently cleared her throat from across the room. “The GNC is already looking for reasons to remove you from the council, Lucan. The Order needs you there. The GNC needs you there as well, but they’re too blind to see that right now.”

He grumbled, but his mate had a valid point. As much as he despised the bureaucracy of the human/Breed governing bodies and their frequently inept—or corrupt—law enforcement arm, it was crucial to preserve some amount of trust and cooperation between them and the Order. Especially while the Order was covertly dealing with other threats unknown to any but the warrior members seated in the room now as well as in the various command centers around the world.

“Get us what we need to make our move on Riordan,” Lucan said. “I don’t know if my patience has another day left.”

As he finished speaking, a chime sounded in the foyer of the expansive mansion.

Gabrielle’s brows rose. “Was that the doorbell?”

It was. At barely six in the morning. At the Order’s heavily secured world headquarters.

Lucan tapped a monitor on his desk and a visual of the front door filled the screen. “What the fuck?”

A tall, muscular man stood outside, wearing a loose, white linen shirt and faded jeans. Shoulder-length, golden-blond hair shot with copper crowned the face that filled the camera’s eye. Despite his angular cheekbones and squared jaw, his features were fine. Elegant. Not quite human. But since he was standing outside in the full light of morning, the odds of him being Breed—even a daywalker—were slim to none.

Lucan shot a glower in Gideon’s direction. “How the hell did someone get past the gates?”

“Without getting roasted by close to a hundred thousand volts of electricity, even if he tried to jump all eight feet of the perimeter fence?” Gideon shook his head. “Impossible.”

“Then how do you explain him?”

Outside the door, the stranger held his hands behind his back, waiting patiently. Politely, for crissake.

Lucan didn’t possess quite the same set of manners, especially when things were going from bad to worse in his domain at the moment. He jabbed the speaker button on the security system. “You wanna tell me who the bleeding fuck you are, and what you’re doing here?”

The man’s expression barely changed. “I’ve been summoned. My name is Zael.”

~ ~ ~

Carys’s mood was so light, she could hardly feel the floor beneath her feet as she strolled through the Darkhaven that morning. Grabbing an apple from a bowl on the kitchen island, she bit into the juicy red flesh and followed the muffled sounds of Jordana and Nova’s voices coming from outside on the courtyard patio.

The two women turned from their breakfasts to glance her way as she headed out to join them. Carys knew her grin was practically ear-to-ear, but there was no dimming it as she flopped onto the nearest chair in her loose pajama bottoms and camisole tank top.

Jordana’s pale brows lifted. “You look exceptionally happy this morning.”

“I am.” Carys took another bite of the apple, slurping the sweet nectar. “I had an amazing night.”

Jordana smirked. “That goes without saying.”

“I had a date.”

“With Rune?”

“No, with Hector from accounting.” Carys rolled her eyes. “Yes, with Rune. He came to the museum to take me out for dinner.”

“He what?” Jordana gaped. “Rune came to see you at the MFA? To take you out on an actual date?”

“Uh-huh. In front of Andrea and everyone else working late on the exhibit last night.” It was probably going to be the talk of the workplace for the next week or more.