“Yes.”
“And we don’t know if Bennett will live at typical demon hunter lifespan, or if he’s gained a vampire’s immortality, or somewhere in between. Even if he is immortal, well, he’s Bennett, and doesn’t really stop to think about whether he’ll survive the fight.”
Lips bit tight together, Adair nodded.
“It must be so hard, losing so many over so long. I would be afraid to get close, too. I can’t convince you to risk yourself like that, but if anyone is worth the heartbreak? It’s Bennett.”
“I know.”
The front door swung open, sunlight casting an expansive glow on the entry. Bennett strolled in, sporting a fresh haircut. His hand played with the short sides before rustling the longer bit up top.
Lana snuck out of the kitchen, leaving Adair to her pathetic ogle. Damn, he looked good all cleaned up. Slick and timeless, the cut suited him. Didn’t hurt that it accented the strong angle of his jaw.
She nodded as he came closer. “Nice.”
He grinned and reached around her, pulling out a coffee cup, taking advantage and leaning down to brush his lips over the pulse of her neck. “Thanks,” he said. He filled the mug from a pint in the fridge and stood shoulder-to-shoulder while his drink heated.
Ryan appeared in the kitchen a minute later. “Your darkened carriage awaits.” He winked.
“What?” she said as she scooted away from Bennett before she combusted.
Vann came in from outside. “All packed up.” He caught her confused scowl. “You missed the morning scheming. We’re traveling.”
Wandering in from the bedroom, Quinn had Skye in her arms. “Everyone but Skye and me. We get to be the command center. Or at least, that’s what I’m calling it, so I don’t feel left out.” She winked, then ruffled her hand over Bennett’s hair. “I can’t believe you went so long without a cut. Isn’t this better?”
He smiled sheepishly, then stood at Adair’s side, lacing his arm around her waist while they both sipped on their blood-laced brews. “I hinted a few times, but you were busy growing that little one.”
Astrid walked by with a box of throwing knives, then ducked outside.
“Um, where are we going?” Adair asked. The commotion was nuts. Everyone was moving with a purpose or was transitioning between tasks. All grinning and thrilled, as she suspected they always were when walking into the fray.
Bodie filled up his travel mug and finally answered her question before trotting back downstairs. “Astrid and I are heading to Eastern Europe. Vann and Lana are off to Bangkok. Ryan’s for Alaska and the Coast Guard. And you and Bennett get a romantic getaway to Paris.”
“Okay…”
Quinn took pity on her. “Astrid re-read the passage about the demon that created vampires again this morning, and Vann remembered something he had read that may relate. There was mention of a river city. Impossible to narrow it down, but based on some of the vampire history in Bangkok and Paris, they were obvious choices. Bennett’s parents have the apartment in Paris, so that made sense for you guys to start there, and it’s pretty central to some other possibilities like London, Verona, Cologne. Vann dibs’d Bangkok as he’s always wanted to go, and it has a solid history of vampire activity. Ryan really needs to get back to work anyway, and as we discovered last year, there was a tear in the veil off the Aleutians so it’s a bit of a demon hotspot, plus there are a lot of river towns, so a good place to start. And Bodie has some werewolf family in the Urals he’d been planning on meeting soon anyway, so he and Astrid will consult with them before hitting Moscow.”
“With so much burned down in the Great Paris Fire and the Hausman destruction of nearly all the medieval structures, I’m not sure we’ll be able to find much prehistory.”
Bennett released her long enough to rinse out his mug and put it in the dishwasher. “Notre Dame has a lot of preserved history inside, the catacombs, and some of the other older buildings may hold some secrets. Astrid and Bodie will fly with us to Paris, where they’ll catch a flight east. With Calloway and Blayk likely hot on are on our trail, we shouldn’t stay in the same place for long, so we’ll have the jet and can keep moving until we find a more solid lead. We’re at a standstill here.”
“Wow, okay. I guess I can’t exactly go home until Calloway’s out of the picture anyway.”
“Not even a little excited to visit Paris?” Lana asked.
Shaking her head, perhaps too vigorously, Adair nodded. “Of course, it’s a favorite of mine.”
Rinsing her mug, she dashed downstairs and packed her few borrowed belongings in the paper grocery bag and found Quinn waiting for her at the top of the steps. “They’re all loaded up. Come on, you can go through the mudroom to the garage.”
“Thanks. Really. I’m sorry to have intruded like this.”
Quinn’s brow tipped down and her midnight blue eyes went all melty. “Don’t for once think you’re not welcome here. Especially now. If you hadn’t come? Bennett wouldn’t have made it.”
Adair’s throat tightened. She breathed through the sensation and shook her head. “He’s solid. He would have found a way.”
“It’s more than that.”
What was it with these people? Why couldn’t they be like other demon hunters and treat her like the demon she was? Adair cringed as the spasm clenched in her throat. “You’ll let us know if you find anything else in your research?”
