They weren’t exactly secrets, just investments left to prosper and grow. But many of them required constant attention, like this property and its close proximity to the beach. There were also gardens out back that Luc kept meticulously groomed.
This home resembled peace to the very old Hydraian.
At least it used to prior to Aidan’s death.
Balthazar sighed and closed the fridge before venturing through another seating area toward the back of the estate. Luc’s den would have the supplies needed to touch base with those at home.
He pushed through the double doors and paused to admire the furniture. It’d changed since his last visit. No more wood and oversized chairs. Instead, there was a glass table, a single executive seat, and a wall of tech.
“Well, you’ve been busy,” Balthazar murmured, admiring the giant touch screen. It was over seven feet tall and took up the entire wall to his left. The surface behind the desk was all tinted glass that overlooked the patio, pool, and beach beyond it.
Meanwhile, the other two walls were boring in comparison—stark white. Luc probably used those to focus while delving through his thousands of years of knowledge.
“Where did you put the phones and cash?” Balthazar wondered out loud, searching the area for signs of a safe. It used to be behind an old Italian oil painting. But now that was a computer screen.
Balthazar considered it for a moment before walking over and pressing his palm to the center.
Nothing happened.
Not surprising. Unlike Luc and Jay, Balthazar didn’t really care for fancy technology.
Sighing, he returned to Luc’s empty desk. No drawers. No pens. No phones.
“All right.” He left the office to head toward the back staircase and took the steps two at a time upward to check out the bedrooms.
Most of them were the same—minimal decorations, beds, dressers of clothes, and fully stocked bathrooms.
However, Luc’s door was locked, causing Balthazar to arch a brow.
His oldest friend never locked anyone out, yet it felt oddly appropriate given his recent behavior.
They really did need to have a talk soon.
Which requires a phone,Balthazar thought, heading back to the third bedroom, which belonged to Jay.
If Luc were to move the safe anywhere, it would be to somewhere in here, as Jay was the emergency preparedness expert.
And sure enough, there was a safe lodged into the back of the closet.
Balthazar grinned as he keyed in the code he knew his fellow Elder would use—a seven-digit joke of a number that only the Hydraian Elders knew.
A hiss sounded with the unlocking of the door.
“Voilà,” Balthazar said, grinning as the safe revealed an extended section of the closet that was essentially the size of another room.
Unlike Leela’s safe, this one had guns, knives, and a myriad of fake passports and falsified visas. There were a few charged tablets as well. And, of course, an array of burner phones.
Right beside the bookshelf of cash in various currencies.
It all looked exactly the same as what he’d anticipated finding in the den downstairs, which suggested Jay had helped Luc move all this up here.
Although, it was odd he hadn’t mentioned it to Balthazar. So perhaps Luc had done this on his own. All he’d really done was partition off the walk-in closet by inserting a reinforced wall guarded by a high-tech entry system. That sort of project certainly suited Luc.
However, it left Balthazar wondering about the purpose of the screen downstairs.
Selecting a burner phone, he shot Luc a text in an ancient language his friend would be able to read—one that roughly translated to,It’s B. Call me back at this number.
He left the safe behind, closing it along the way, and took the phone with him to the bedroom he typically used while staying here.
