Ash looks at me like I just said something odd. “And he never talked to you about a city that had underground meeting spots?”

I shake my head and stare back at him, trying to decipher his expression. “You know what this means, don’t you?” I say, and I don’t need to wait for his answer because I recognize the confirmation in his eyes. “Why do you know what this note means and I don’t? That doesn’t make sense.”

“It does if this note wasn’t intended for you,” Ash says with confidence. “And if it wasn’t intended for you, then it was meant for the Strategia who searched this place.” He rolls it up and puts it back where it was.

I chew on my thumbnail as I try to sort out his logic. “I know I’m the one saying this note doesn’t make sense, but how can you be so sure? Scratch that. I need you to be without-a-doubt positive, because it would be a complete and total mess if we disregarded a message we shouldn’t have.”

Ash nods, like he understands my objection perfectly. “There are series of underground crypts, catacombs, and streets all over Europe that Strategia use to meet. But your father wrote the city, and given the fact that he’s a Lion, that most likely indicates London. And in London there’s an underground pub that’s used by all the Families—a popular spot for trading information and meetings. You don’t know that, but any other Strategia would know what it meant instantly.”

I consider his explanation. “Okay, I see your point: Why would he bother leaving me a note that everyone but me would understand?”

“Exactly,” Ash says.

I exhale. “Even though it’s not for me, I’m relieved you found it. If my dad left a decoy note, then there’s definitely a real one. And if you’re correct that someone has already searched my house, then we need to find it fast.”

“Agreed,” Ash says. “Have you found anything?” He glances at my dad’s bedroom window and he doesn’t need to say what he’s thinking. This late in December, the light’s already dimming.

My stomach knots up as our opportunity to search fades with the sun. And I’m not willing to risk another day here, not with my dad in who knows what kind of danger in Europe and with a potential Strategia lingering around my property.

I shake my head. “No clues yet.”

“Let’s think about this,” Ash says. “If the note was a decoy, then whatever he left for you has to be drastically different in order to avoid the possibility of another Strategia finding it.”