John’s head whirled to him. “With all due respect, that’s unwise. Your friends here at Scanguards may live side by side with humans, but I can promise you, your subjects won’t like it.”

At the word subjects Cain wanted to shake his head. Did he really have subjects?

“Blake isn’t just any human. He’s the grandson of a vampire.”

John tossed him a quizzical look, then sniffed at Blake. “He’s not a hybrid.”

“No, he’s not,” Cain agreed. “But he descends from a vampire, who started the line when he was still human. But that’s beside the point. We need a human with us to give us flexibility during daytime hours. My decision stands.” Cain held John’s gaze until the other vampire lowered his lids in acquiescence. “It’s settled then. Blake, take a seat. We’ll be leaving shortly.”

Cain turned to the open cockpit door while the others took their seats and put on their seatbelts. “Are we ready to leave?”

The co-pilot looked over his shoulder. “Ready when you are.”

“Good, then let’s close the door and get this show on the road.”

The co-pilot acknowledged his request with a nod. “Yes, Cain.”

Cain walked to one of the empty seats and noticed how Thomas and Eddie had taken the two seats in the back of the plane. Thomas’s hand lay on Eddie’s thigh, and the two were talking quietly, their heads close together. They looked happy, and the fact that they were a blood-bonded couple could only help while checking out John’s story: Thomas and Eddie could communicate telepathically via their bond, and it was possible that they would encounter situations in which such a skill could come in handy.

Cain sat down and fastened his seat belt when the co-pilot exited the cockpit and pulled on the door handle in order to lift the stairs and shut the door.

“Wait!”

The panicked request was echoing from the outside of the plane and the co-pilot cast a puzzled look over his shoulder.

Cain rolled his eyes and looked at Haven, who sat across the aisle from him. “Really?”

Haven shrugged and lifted his arms in surrender. “I didn’t tell him.”

“Wait!” the voice called out again, this time closer. A moment later, Wesley appeared on the stairs and stepped into the plane. He was out of breath and had clearly rushed to catch them. He was a little shorter than Blake, but a few years older, though not any wiser than his fellow Scanguards trainee.

He set a large bag on the floor.

“Phew! That was cutting it close!” he said.

Before Cain could show Haven’s overeager brother the door, John leapt from his seat and pinned Wesley against the nearest wall.

“Fucking witch!” John snarled, flashing his fangs at him.

Cain reacted within a split second and was out of his seat in the same instant as Haven jumped up, too. They both reached John and Wesley at the same time.

Haven snatched John by his collar and pried him off his brother. “You harm a hair on his head and you’re dust!”

“What the fuck?” John growled, glaring at them.

“He’s my brother.”

Disbelief spread over John’s face. “A witch?” He turned his head to look back at Wesley, looking him up and down before turning to Cain. “You can’t be serious! What is this? Scanguards employs humans and witches? What kind of vampires are you guys? How can you consort with witches? They’re our enemies.”

“They’re not,” Cain said. “Maybe where you come from, but we’ve found that witches can be our allies.” He motioned to Wesley. “And Wes is family.”

“And he isn’t a real witch anyway. Half his spells don’t even work,” Blake piped up from his seat.

“Watch your mouth, Blake!” Wesley yelled back.

“Oh, yeah, or what?” Blake asked, leaping from his chair.

“I’m gonna turn you into a—”

“Nobody is gonna turn anybody into anything,” Cain interrupted, glaring first at Wesley, then at Blake. “Sit down, Blake, or I’m gonna boot you off the plane.”

Quickly, Blake took his seat again, keeping silent, though Cain could tell that he had a response already sitting on his tongue. Whenever Blake and Wesley were together, trouble wasn’t far behind. The two Scanguards bodyguards-in-training couldn’t help themselves; they always had to compete with each other. Inevitably, quarrels would ensue. There was no way in hell he’d take both of them on the same mission.

Cain lifted the bag Wesley had set on the floor and shoved it at Wesley. “Now take your stuff and leave.”