“It’s only been two weeks, and you agreed using the pet transport company was better than trying to sort out all the paperwork. They’d guaranteed he’d be safe, and he is. He’s already in Tuscany, darling, soaking up the Italian sun and no doubt stinking up whichever room contains his litter box.”

Lisa laughed. “Yeah, he can be a smelly cat, but I love him.”

“So do I.”

The flight attendant stopped by, flashing a quick smile before she topped off their champagne and then went on her way.

“Well, now that we’ve got Ruby and Xi sorted, I’d like to talk to you about your brothers,” Bennett said, picking up her glass.

“My brothers? What about them?”

Bennett took a moment to get her thoughts in order. “Recently, and quite by accident, Max discovered a common thread amongst daywalkers. His scientists can’t explain what this thread actually does. They simply know the only vampires who have it are daywalkers. Centuries ago, it was implanted in our genome, and since you’re a daywalker, that means if Finn and Gunnar were to be turned, they would also be.”

“Gunnar’s already made his choice, and what do you mean, it’s in our genome?”

“First, this is between you and me. I’m only telling you this because I’d like your opinion on how to proceed. All right?”

“Sure.”

“Good,” Bennett said, setting down her glass. “So, about this thread. It’s actually a marker that appears in our DNA, and by its existence, it proves that generations ago, someone in our families contracted and survived the Black Death. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on the way you look at it, whatever that disease left behind or whatever changes occurred in our ancestors when they bested that disease is unknown.”

“So, you’re saying Max only knows the who and not the why?”

“Precisely, and my conundrum is whether to tell Finn and Gunnar.”

Lisa took a sip of her champagne while she mulled it over. “That is a loaded question, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is. Lisa, you didn’t know you’d be a daywalker. You made your choice based on what you wanted for yourself, accepting your limitations when it came to sunlight. Luckily, that didn’t come to fruition, but if I don’t tell your brothers, I’m denying them something they may want if they knew the truth; however, it also feels like I’d be dangling a carrot. Does that make sense?”

“It does.”

“And as if that’s not enough to ponder, there’s also this,” Bennett said, pulling an envelope from her inside jacket pocket.

“What’s that?”

“Let me preface this by saying I do not agree with what he did, but Max took it upon himself to run the DNA of all the people staying at his house whilst we were off fighting Napoleon’s army.”

“He did what?”