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Louis came up to her and must have seen the doubt in her expression, because he said, "It’s teet the new room outfitted downstairs"

E as it all works, that’s what matters," she said

"Oh, it works," Louis assured her "They reeted this assesshed "But they’re some of the best operators in the world Between us, there isn’t a code we can’t crack, or a system we can’t hack"

Emma chuckled at both his laious, and she found her own eagerness growing Finally, she was doing so her funeral and laying her body to restthat had been absolutely necessary, and it was a duty E to see that justice was served on those who’d killed her Tonight, at last, Ein thewhoever was responsible andthem pay

Of course, the first steps down that road involved sitting at a co sorabbed froe, with the idea of deleting them one by one until there were none left An hour later, she’d ed to identify only two of the women, and those were only because she’d met them at a birthday party for Lacey last year Even then, she had only their first names and no idea where they worked or lived But the rest of themShe shook her head There had to be a better way to do this

She pushed back fro drink of water froo She squinted thoughtfully at the pictures There were tens of thousands of young, professional woton, DC Too many So she had to narrow it down somehow First question, how did Victor meet these women? From what Duncan and the others had said about the dead vampire lord and his habits, she deduced he’d had lione to the occasional fundraiser, but he’d attended only those social gatherings where scoring an invitation was a coup of sorts He had given parties of his own, but it appeared he’d only invited legislators and lobbyists None of the usual society doyennes were ever invited, no Hollywood stars, or even the big name media types

Emma frowned So maybe islators themselves, and not lobbyists, either But their secretaries and assistants, young wole with power Woht That was it! And she had a ht

"I’ll be right back," she said to no one in particular, and rushed down the hall to the roo her purse and laptop Hurrying into the frilly bedrooed her enormous purse from under the chair where she’d shoved it earlier She pulled out her co impatiently while it woke up and searched for the house’s Wi-Fi connection It asked for a password, and she swore in frustration She should have thought of that

She shoved her purse out of the way again and had gathered her legs beneath her to stand when sohtly on the door and pushed it open

"Emma?"

She looked up at the sound of Duncan’s voice, her s as he stepped into view She could only stare Sweaty, bare-chested Duncan was gone, and in his placeshe sighed with pleasure Emma loved a man in a tux, but Duncan in a tux took her breath away Lacey would have knohich designer was responsible; Ees of the azine He had a body made for formalwear, with broad shoulders and narrow hips, and the tux was tailored to emphasize that perfection It was simple and black, with narrow, notched lapels and a hint of white cuff His long, blond hair had been pulled tightly away from his face, so that his hair looked al a hand down to her

She sighed and tucked the co her other hand up so he could pull her to her feet This was really too ured out the perfect man and said, "Here, Emma, he’s all yours" Except he wasn’t He was a powerful va for his attention She stifled the irrational surge of jealousy that thought evoked, and rin

"You look very lovely this evening, Duncan," she said, e him knoasn’t the only one who knew proper cotillion-speak

His brown eyes crinkled in amusement "Why, thank you, Miz Duquet You’re very kind"

She pursed her lips thoughtfully "But, obviously, you’re not helping out in the research departh honestly, I’d rather be doing that Unfortunately, I’ve a fundraiser to attend Black tie," he added, gesturing dismissively at his tux "It was on Victor’s calendar, but they’ll be gettingto ation"

Euel going with you?"