Gabriel acknowledged that with a nod and didn’t look surprised at the identity of the troublemaker.
“Emma stood up for your family, for the Pack,” I said, smiling at Tanya. “And did a good job of it.”
“She’s got a good head on her shoulders. Entire family does, of course,” Gabriel added, smiling at Tanya. He brushed fingers across her cheek.
“She’s also got a great right hook,” Ethan said.
“I taught her that,” Tanya said, smiling up at Ethan. “We only look delicate.”
“That is truth if I’ve ever heard it,” Gabriel said, tickling Connor until the baby hiccupped with delight. “Any leads?”
“Not yet,” Ethan said. “But we have a plan. Just need to touch base with the House. It would be helpful to get Pack feedback on anything we do find.”
Nick stepped into the room, acknowledged us with a nod. “No one’s put forth a challenge yet,” he told Gabriel.
“It will happen or it won’t,” Gabriel said. He bobbed his head toward us. “They need to talk to their team in Chicago. I think you can oblige them with the technology?”
It was posed as a question, but his tone made the order obvious. Nick nodded obediently.
We followed him down a long, window-lined corridor to the western wing of the house, which had never been occupied, as far as I knew. This part of the house was utterly silent, and it was easy to imagine ghosts lurking in the darkened ends of corridors and inside wardrobes.
Ethan looked at me, and I shrugged. Whatever Nick had planned was a mystery to me.
He finally came to a stop in front of a nondescript door. On the wall beside it was a small wooden plaque with a brass plate. But the plaque was a ruse. He lifted it, revealing a digital screen recessed into the wall. He pressed his palm to it, and a red line of light passed back and forth along its surface, scanning for a signature.
When the scan was finished, there was a heavy metallic click within the doorframe. Several locks disengaging, I guessed.
“A biometric lock,” I said, impressed by the tech. “Does Jeff know about this?”
“He should,” Nick answered, pushing open the door. “He designed it. And the rest of this.”
It was like we’d stepped into a time machine.
There, in the Jane Eyre–esque hallways of the Breckenridge mansion, was a room that held the highest tech I’d ever seen in real life. The floors were of the same hardwood as other parts of the house, but that was where the similarities ended. The room was dark, the better to view the massive screens that covered the three facing walls. There were no visible computers, but glass panels were placed around the room, their surfaces spinning with text and images, including the travel receipt we’d seen on Aline’s computer. A long, gleaming white conference table and chairs sat in the middle of the room, and Aline’s cardboard box was propped upon it, an anachronism amid modern technology.
Jeff and Fallon stood in front of the closest screen, on which two horses and riders in full armor galloped across a plain toward a huge stone tower.
This was Jakob’s Quest, Jeff’s favorite video game. And it seemed he’d found a partner in Fallon.
“Having fun?” Nick asked.
Jeff and Fallon turned back to us, both wearing headsets.
“Oh, hey,” Jeff said with a smile. “Figured you’d make your way in here eventually. Thought we’d kill some time while you did.”
I smiled at Fallon. “He’s convinced you to join him?”
She grinned. “Other way around, I’m afraid. I introduced him to Jakob’s Quest.”
“She did,” Jeff said with a smile, pulling off his headset.
I bobbed my head toward the screen. “I assume Jakob’s the male rider. Who’s the chick?”
The female character was impressively dressed in a jointed suit of armor much like Jakob’s, but shaped for her curvier and more petite form. Her hair was long and golden, pulled into a complicated braid down her back, and her eyes were blue. A tattoo on her left cheek looked like a Celtic knot.
“That’s Adriel,” Fallon said. “She’s the kingdom’s crown princess, but she gave the throne to her twin brother and sister so she could keep the land safe.”
Jeff reached out his hand and she took it, and they shared a look of such intimacy and love that I turned away, not wanting to intrude on it.
Ethan touched the back of my neck, acknowledging the love that swirled in the room.
“Now that we’ve covered the software,” Ethan said lightly, “the hardware looks equally impressive.”
“That’s what she said,” Jeff muttered. Love or not, he was still Jeff. I bit back a smile at Fallon’s eye roll.
“We put it in a few months ago,” Nick said. “After the incident involving Jamie.”
The incident had been an unfortunate attempt at blackmail that Papa Breck believed was our fault. That was at least some of the reason for the strained relationship between us.
Nick walked to a freestanding screen, swirled a hand across the glass and, when a keyboard prompt filled the screen, typed in a password. The screen shifted, throwing up images of the house, the grounds on the right side. The left side showed news channels, newspaper headlines.
“It’s impressive,” Ethan said. “Have you had much cause to use it?”
“Not until this weekend,” Nick said. “And unfortunately, not until after the fact.”
I heard the guilt in his voice, the regret they hadn’t been able to stop the harpies or elves ahead of time.
“Security cameras do not afford the gift of premonition,” Ethan kindly said, hands behind his back as he stepped forward to review the screen. “You’ve heard about Scott Grey?”
“We have,” Nick said. “The mayor doesn’t seem eager to let up on you.”
“No,” Ethan agreed, sliding his hands into his pockets. “She does not, although I suppose that’s not entirely surprising considering her past actions.”
Jeff swiped the screen again, and Jakob and his trusty steed disappeared, replaced by a mock-up of the dry-erase board from the House’s Ops Room.
“You made a whiteboard for us?” I asked with a grin.
Jeff shrugged adorably. “We’ve kind of become a team. It seemed like the thing to do.”
“And with that,” Nick said, moving toward the door, “I’ll let you get to work.”
He disappeared, closing the door behind him.