And I also didn’t want the faint connection between Alex and me to bother her. I couldn’t blame her for being upset though. Honestly, I admired her for how she was dealing with it.

The second thing that warned me this trip was going to be full of potholes was the fact that Deacon was out here. Why in the hell he was tagging along was beyond me, but he was not going to be my problem.

“I call shotgun,” Hercules called out.

And there was the third and final giant pain in my ass. I turned around, squinting as I stared into the glare of the morning sun.

“Oh my gosh,” murmured Josie, her wide eyes moving from him to me. She did a double take. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

Hercules was dressed like me. Sporting faded jeans and a gray Henley pushed up to his elbows. He had a cup of coffee that smelled like . . . vanilla and mint?

“We’re wearing the same shirt,” he pointed out with a smirk.

“Except I’m wearing it better,” I remarked.

Josie made a soft choking sound as the demigod tilted his head to the side, expression perplexed. “That’s not possible. You do not have the body that I do. I’m a ten.”

I stared at him, brow rising. “Are you for real?”

“Am I not standing here?” Hercules chuckled, lifting the coffee cup. “I know. I know. Seeing me, the Hercules, is hard to believe, that such a legend could be—”

“I know this part is hard to believe,” I said, reaching down and clasping Josie’s hand. “But I don’t care, and if you could, like, I don’t know, eat shit and shut the fuck up, I’d be forever grateful.”

I pulled Josie around to the back of the SUV, letting go of her hand to throw open the hatch. Slipping her bag off her shoulder, I tossed it into the back and added mine with it.

“I think he likes you.” Aiden leaned against the bumper.

Alex snorted as she walked by.

I snatched the aviator sunglasses off his head and slipped them on. “I’d also like it if you’d eat shit—”

“Seth.” Josie smacked my arm and then smiled apologetically. “Sorry. He’s not much of a morning person today.”

“Would’ve never guessed that.” Aiden folded his arms. “I was thinking we’d stop near Vegas for the night. That’d leave us about five hours and get us to Malibu sometime in the afternoon, depending on when we leave.”

Luke stopped by, his gray beanie pulled low. “We just need to keep our eyes open for daimons. We’ll be super-close to a huge colony out there.”

I nodded.

“We got this.” Alex bumped her hip against Aiden’s. “Nothing like taking out a few daimons to break up the boredom of a long drive.”