“No.” He lightly punched her in the arm, then shoved his hands in his pockets and looked back to Bennett. “Can we talk?”
Shoving her hand against Blayk’s sternum, Adair pushed him away. “Shove off. This is between Bennett and me.”
Backing away, Bennett moved to check on his dad, but found him looking remarkably healthy and hale. Dammit. Well, not dammit that he was okay, but Bennett needed to get the hell out of here. Yeah, allies were a good thing… but, fuck, she’d shattered him enough times. He wasn’t about to let her rub it in, and not in front of his parents or the asshole responsible for his situation. “Look, Adair wherever you stand on this whole thing, stay out of it. I’ve got work to do.”
Adair pursed her lips together, her scowl forming a deep crease between her eyebrows. “As if you’d accept help anyway.”
Bennett caught his parents’ attention and met them outside.
Close behind, his dad asked, “Adair isn’t coming?”
He crossed the street and unstrapped his gear. “Nope.”
Lizzy stormed behind them. “I can’t believe you’re letting that fellow live.”
Jaw clenched tight, Bennett refused to answer. Something was up, and his instincts were screaming that Blayk was involved. Killing him might be premature. His father was alive and well. He wouldn’t kill Blayk today. But he wouldn’t make any promises about tomorrow.
More? He really, really didn’t want to see how deeply Adair’s feelings for the guy ran. His parents kept quiet on the drive to the airport. To stay under the radar, he booked the next available commercial flight.
At the terminal, his mother grabbed him before they went their separate ways. With a fierce hug, his mother’s voice warbled, “You be careful. We’ll be ready… in case you need backup. I have faith in you.”
Letting out a long sigh, Bennett squeezed her back. “This is what you trained me for since before I was old enough to hold a sword.”
She released him and wiped a cluster of tears from her cheek, Lizzy nodded. “Please don’t push us away again. We’re here for you. No matter what.”
“I won’t.”
The flight was miserably long. He’d flown coach to keep under the radar, knowing Calloway was probably watching for his jet. As much as Calloway would know his destination, a hint of a head start would be helpful. For a spell, he’d tried to close his eyes and work in a quick nap, but even the banter of high schoolers behind him couldn’t drown out the image of Adair and Blayk making out in front of his father and a couple dozen vampires while agreeing how happy they were to get back together.
Bleary eyed as he deplaned, he trudged through customs. He slid one of his rarely used passports across, describing how happy he was to be meeting some old friends for a wedding. The customs agent smiled and nodded, then regaled him with a few stories of his daughter’s wedding last year and the sites few knew about.
Straightening his posture, Bennett said, “It has been my dream to come here. I’ve heard such incredible stories about Oia. Can you recommend any unique stops around the caldera? Anything off the beaten path?”
The agent grinned, looking around as if it were the best secret. “If you have access to a boat, jet across the way and to the outer edge. There’s this spot that looks like a hull-crusher so most folks won’t risk it, but once you get around the rocks, the beach is snow white and completely empty.”
Bennett tapped his passport against the counter and grinned, “I’ll check it out, thanks.”
“Keep it to yourself, right?” The customs agent winked with a conspiratorial smile.
“Of course.” Bennett flashed a friendly wink back and picked up his bags. “Have a nice day.”
He adjusted his backpack, wishing he’d been able to fly with his sword and shield, he felt naked without the gear. Yeah, he’d enjoyed brawling with his newfound speed and senses, but hell, he was old fashioned. Apparently, too old fashioned for a modern-day vampire.
From out of thin-fucking-air, scaring the shit out of him, a bodyless hand grasped him by the shoulder, and in an instant, static electricity prickled over his skin. Like being sucked through an underwater wormhole, he gasped to find air, blindly lashing out at his captor.
Suddenly back in the world, salty wind rushed over him. Dropped to his knees, he pulled air into his lungs and held his gut so he didn’t lose his poor excuse for a breakfast.
Ryan stood in front of him, chuckling with that massive ego. He teased his hand in his hair, he grinned, “Sorry about that. I was going to warn you first, but I thought I saw one of Calloway’s goons.”
Bennett rose to his feet, swallowing the lump of nausea as he steadied himself. He shook his head. “Fuck, Ryan. I was about to break your neck.”
“I was more worried about you puking on me.”
Finding his first smile all damn day, Bennett rubbed his hands over his face. “I, uh, I guess I didn’t know you could do that. Pull someone through the veil like that.”
“I’ve been thinking on it for a while, how the creepy things pulled Quinn through the veil to Typha. Pulling myself through is one thing, but to bring someone that wouldn’t survive if I took you too far across? Honestly, we’re lucky you didn’t end up a melted pile of hybrid in the demon realm.”
“Lucky.” He adjusted his bag on his shoulder and looked around. This must be the boat Astrid found for them. They were standing in the middle of a sitting area, a dining area was attached, and there was a door to a galley behind them. There were huge windows that overlooked the mystically blue ocean, Oia barely visible in the distance, and with his vampire sight, he could make out white and blue dome-shaped buildings. “How’d you find me? I know you can find Quinn through the veil, but I didn’t think that extended to anyone else.”
