“Yeah, so you say. Yet under your watch, I was nearly assassinated if I believe your own words. Don’t mind if I stack my odds of survival with a few trusted friends, do you?”

He wanted to trust John. But everything he’d said was fantastical. Nobody at Scanguards had ever heard of the King of Louisiana, nor had the name John had given him—Cain Montague—yielded anything during a web search. During his time with Scanguards Cain had learned that it couldn’t hurt to have backup. And judging by the sound of footsteps on the stairs, it seemed that his backup was arriving this instant.

Cain glanced at the open door and watched as Thomas, followed by his blood-bonded mate, Eddie, entered the fuselage. The two blonds wore their usual biker outfits, consisting of leather pants, jackets, and black T-shirts.

“John, meet Thomas and his mate Eddie. They’ll be joining us on our trip.”

John’s eyebrows twitched for a short moment. Clearly, where John was from, gay vampires, and ones who were mated on top of it, seemed out of the ordinary.

Thomas appeared to notice John’s hesitation and stiffened visibly. “Cain,” he said with a nod. Then he waited.

“Nice to meet you, Thomas,” John quickly said, extending his hand.

Thomas shook it briefly. “Likewise.”

“Hey,” Eddie said lightly and shook John’s hand. Eddie had always been the more laid back of the pair. Maybe because he was a good hundred years younger than his partner and didn’t carry the emotional baggage Thomas did.

“Eddie,” was John’s reply. “I assume you two are working for Scanguards?”

“Bodyguards, yeah.” Eddie grinned. “I hear you’re a guard, too.”

“The king’s personal guard,” John corrected, pulling his shoulders back.

Cain heard the prideful tone in John’s voice and couldn’t help but feel that if John was indeed telling the truth, then Cain would be lucky to have such a loyal man in his service. But he was getting ahead of himself. First, he’d have to confirm John’s story. The rest would follow.

“Is anybody else coming?” Cain asked. “Samson wasn’t sure who else could be spared when I spoke to him.”

Thomas squeezed his hand luggage into one of the compartments underneath the windows, before turning to him. “He’s shifting assignments. Of course, not knowing how long we’ll be gone means we can’t take Amaury, Zane, or Oliver, since they’re blood-bonded to humans and won’t be able to go without their mate’s blood for long. And Gabriel and Samson need to stay put.”

Cain nodded. He was aware of that fact. “So who does that leave us with?”

“I’m afraid you’re stuck with me,” a gravelly voice came from the door.

“Maybe an ex-vampire hunter isn’t too bad a choice.” Cain grinned at Haven, as the witch-turned-vampire entered the cabin. He was bonded to Yvette, a vampire, and therefore able to consume any human’s blood despite the bond. Haven’s beefy frame filled the entire door. He’d been strong even as a human, fighting vampires most of this life after his mother, a witch, had been killed by one. Only after he’d fallen in love with Yvette and realized that not all vampires were bad, had he switched camps and sacrificed his human life to save the vampire world from certain destruction at the hands of an evil witch.

“You might change your mind once you hear who I brought,” Haven answered and motioned to a spot behind him.

The moment he cleared the door, Cain saw what he meant.

“A human?” John asked, before Cain could say anything. “You’re bringing a human?”

“Hey, guys!” Blake greeted everybody, a broad smile on his face. “This is great! How cool! I’ve never been to New Orleans. We’re gonna have a blast.” The dark-haired clothes horse, who generally meant well, was a dufus, but he was family.

“This is not a sightseeing trip,” Cain admonished.

John tossed him an annoyed look. “He can’t come with us.”

Blake fisted his hands at his hips, puffing up his chest. “Why not? I’m a bodyguard, too.”

John took a step toward Blake, who to his credit didn’t flinch. “Because no humans other than blood donors are allowed in the palace or its grounds. So unless you want to turn into food, I’d suggest—”

“He’s coming with us,” Cain interrupted, though a moment earlier he himself had wanted to deny Blake a seat on this plane. However, he couldn’t allow John to think that he could be easily influenced. It would undermine his authority. Even though he wasn’t keen on having to keep an eye on Blake, he now had to take him to New Orleans just because John didn’t want him there. “And nobody is going to turn him into food.”