Sweet Peril

I groaned. “I suck at all these games. It can’t possibly be fun for you to play against me.”

“Why not? That means I always get to win. I love winning.”

I laughed again. “Fine. I’ll play whatever you want.”

The next morning. I got a text from Dad:

Something’s going on. Mammon has summoned Flynn to Vegas.

My gut twisted. I thought about how Mammon had acted toward his son in Australia and texted back: Maybe he just wants his company?

Maybe. Maybe not.

Stay alert.

That afternoon we waited in the car outside the arrival gates until Zania, Kope, and Kai exited the airport.

Zania let out a sob and ran to me.

“It’ll all be okay now,” I whispered.

She clung to me. My eyes darted around the skies, paranoid about stray spirits who might’ve left the Dukes for whatever reason.

I reached up with my free hand and stroked Kaidan’s smooth face, glad to see his blue eyes again while he drank me in. I sent a smile to the somber Kope as we made our way to the car. Everyone was okay. It would all be fine now. The more I thought about it, the more I was certain Mammon called Flynn to Vegas for entertainment purposes. He liked to show off his son, and Flynn provided him protection as well. Dad was just being cautious. That had to be it.

When I climbed into the backseat with Zania, Blake called shotgun. Kope and I sat by the windows, with Zania between us.

“Where to?” Kaidan asked.

“The convent,” I told him.

Zania pressed herself close to me and whispered in a shaky voice, “I need a drink. Just one. Please. It will help.”

Her plea sent a pang of empathy through me, but I didn’t answer. Kaidan gave me a look of warning over his shoulder. I had a feeling this wasn’t the first time she’d asked. When she let out a weak groan, I put my arms around her. She slumped into my lap and cried, trembling.

Kopano watched a moment, sadness in his eyes, before turning to stare out his window.

I ran my fingers through her hair, just as Patti did to mine when I was hurting. I hoped the women at the convent would know how to handle this.

We were nearly there when my phone rang. Dad.

“Hello?”

“Are they back?” He sounded on edge.

“Yeah, they’re here.”

“I need all of you to get out of L.A. Get as far away as you can right now. Understand?”

All three guys turned to me with wide eyes.

“Okay,” I told him, my heart rate quickening.

“A few of the Dukes are headed to LAX in Pharzuph’s jet with some women they picked up in Vegas. Mammon and Flynn are with them. Everyone scattered before I could get any straight answers. At best, they’re just gonna play around in Hollywood for a day or two, but I want you out of there. Text me your location and I’ll send someone to let you know when it’s clear to return.”

“Yes, sir.”

He disconnected, and the air in the car thickened with worry. Zania sat up.

“Where can we go?” I asked everyone.

“Mexico isn’t far,” Kaidan said.

“Nah.” Blake shook his head. “We don’t have time to mess around with the border stops. Let’s get off the mainland. Head to the port.”

Blake started scrolling through the GPS.

Kopano leaned forward. “You suggest we go to sea? We could be out there for days.”

Kaidan’s eyes rounded as he looked to Blake. “The island?”

“Yup,” Blake said with a grin.

“What island?” I asked them.

“Blake’s father owns one of the Channel Islands,” Kaidan explained. “Never uses it. Total waste.”

He owned an island? I shook my head. Wow.

“Have you been there?” I asked Kaidan.

“Once.” He got quiet and shifted in his seat. Blake burst into laughter.

“He got so seasick! Puked his guts out the whole way there.”

Kaidan reached over and smacked Blake’s head. “The water was bloody choppy!”

This made Blake laugh harder.

“For real, though. We can stay there as long as we need,” Blake said. “The whole island is a nature preserve, so there’s not much there. But it’s got one of those green-economic houses. I’ll charter a boat for us when we get to the docks.”

“But is the island far enough away from the mainland?” I asked.

“It’s fifteen miles out from Santa Barbara—even farther from here. No worries. They’ll never know we’re in the area. Think of it as a mini vacay.”

Zania slumped into my lap again as a vicious tremor shot through her. I held her while Kaidan wove through traffic, eliciting honks from surrounding cars. He stopped before the docks to buy enough food and drinks for a few days. He also bought motion-sickness bracelets and pills. Zania refused to take the offered pill or drink any water. She just moaned and curled herself smaller on the seat. I looked around at the guys, helpless, but they could only offer sympathetic glances in return.

At the port, Blake rented a luxury speedboat. More like a small yacht. I didn’t know anything about boats, but judging from the others around us, ours was big. And shiny. My hair blew in the breeze and the sun shone down as we climbed aboard. I might have felt like a rock star under better circumstances.

As Blake pushed away from the docks, I remembered Dad. I sent him a quick text saying, Melchom’s island. Then I called Patti.