My eyes narrowed. “I’m never the beggar.”

“Guys.” Kat tucked her hair back behind both ears. “So what do you not like about this Hunter guy?”

“Let’s see.” I pretended to think about that. “He’s an Arum for starters.”

Her gray eyes rolled. “Other than that?”

“Does there need to be another reason?” To me, that was good enough for my rabid dislike of the guy.

Luc nudged Kat with his arm. “It doesn’t matter if he likes Hunter or not. The Arum owes me a favor, and if anyone knows where all our natural-born killers are currently holed up¸ he’ll know.”

“And we can trust him?” she asked.

I snorted. Trusting an Arum? Yeah. Right.

Luc ignored me. “He wouldn’t dare screw around with me, not when he has so much to lose.”

Something ignorant was on the tip of my tongue, but it faded away like a memory just out of reach. I thought about the woman I’d seen with him at the club—a human woman. There had most definitely been a relationship between the two.

I about vomited in my mouth at the thought of that.

“I’ve already talked to him,” Luc said, stretching his arms above his head like a cat in the sunlight. “He’s gonna meet us in Atlanta.”

“Atlanta?” Surprise colored her voice. “And how are we supposed to get there?”

“Probably gonna have to drive.” He shrugged. “There’re no planes in the air, not since ET phoned home and then shot down a commercial jet.”

Kat paled. We hadn’t heard that news yet.

“So, yeah, I don’t suggest flying the unfriendly skies. I’ve already looked it up,” he continued. “It’s gonna take about thirty hours to drive, so it’s going to be an epic road trip. Hunter will meet you at the airport, though—domestic side.” He smiled then, like something about that amused him.

I leaned against the dresser. “So how is Hunter going to help us go after the Arum? Didn’t realize he’s that important of a dude.”

“Hunter’s important but not that significant.” Luc kicked his feet up so his legs were straight. I had no idea if the kid could ever sit still. “He’s your ticket to the Arum playground. He knows where they’re all cooling their feet. Getting Hunter to take you to his leader—master—whatever—isn’t going to be the problem.”

I arched a brow.

“It’s going to be getting the Grand Poo-Bah to go along with it. The Arum are kind of like you guys. All they need is a leader, and then they’ll follow him right off a cliff.” He paused, scrunching his nose. “Never met the guy. Have heard some stuff about him.”

“What stuff?” Kat asked.

He shrugged a shoulder. “Doesn’t matter.”

Kat’s brows knit when she frowned.

“Anyway, I’m going to have to stay behind. Pretty sure my presence is needed to keep Nancy from doing something that will upset the balance of the universe. Archer will go with you guys. Both of you, right?” Luc glanced between us. “I seriously doubt either of you will stay behind.”

“Not likely.” I scrubbed my hand down my jaw. Thirty hours in a car with Kat could get interesting, real fun, but with Archer? I thought I might hurt myself.

“Speaking of Nancy . . .” Kat looked at the closed door before she continued. “You can’t let those kids go back to her, no matter what you promised.”

The corners of his mouth rose in a wide smile that was a tad bit on the creepy side. “Don’t worry. She’s not a problem. The whole thing with her will most definitely work itself out in the end.”

The following morning, I sat at a white rectangular table that reminded me of a school cafeteria. I wasn’t sure what to think about that. Did I miss school? Not really. Did I miss life before this crap, when it was just me, my trusty pen, and Kat sitting in front of me?

Yeah. Sometimes.

But it wasn’t like anyone could go back in time.

Dawson sat across from me, scooping scrambled eggs from his plate onto Beth’s. The chick was definitely eating for two, considering the amount of food she just put down, and she was still going strong.

Pregnancy was weird.

Kat sneaked a slice of bacon off my place.

She had no reason to eat that much other than loving food . . . and bacon. She grinned at me as she snapped it in two, dropping half of it back on my plate.

“I really think you need to stay here,” I said, turning my attention back to my brother as I picked up the slice of my measly share of bacon.

Dawson frowned as he toyed with the bottle of chocolate milk. I knew what he was thinking. I could read him like an open book with big words and pictures.

“Look, you need to be here.” My gaze flickered over to Beth, who had a huge forkful of eggs. “This is where you need to be. It’s too dangerous out there for you or for Beth.”

Beth glanced up. “Isn’t it dangerous for you and Kat?”

“It is.” Kat glanced at me, chewing on her lower lip. We hadn’t told Dawson or Beth yet what Nancy told us about not being connected in the way they were. Kat took a deep breath, opened her mouth, and then Archer seemed to pop out of thin air.

He dropped down on the other side of Kat. “These two,” he said, gesturing at us with a flick of his hand, “aren’t connected—not like you and Beth.”