“We’re not going to hurt you,” Alex reasoned, which was hilarious considering this guy had just seen her singlehandedly take down a guy a foot taller than her. “We’re here to protect you.”

“From what?” He yanked on his arm, but he wasn’t going anywhere.

“From the Titans who want to drain you dry,” Hercules replied, and for a very brief second I entertained the fantasy of dropkicking him upside the head. “They will turn you into a shell of who you used to be.”

“What?” the guy’s voice pitched up, and panic flooded his already pale face.

“Jesus,” muttered Josie, and the scent of the Underworld increased. “We will explain everything. I promise you, but we need to get you out of here.”

“I’m not going anywhere with any of you. I’m going—”

“Yes. You are.” Done with this, I pulled out the gun as I shifted, blocking my hand as I pressed the business end of the Glock against his lower back. “Don’t freak out. I need you to stay calm, but what you feel against your back is exactly what you think it is.”

Josie’s eyes widened.

“Oh God,” the guy gasped with a shudder, and for a moment I thought he might pass out.

“We don’t have time for this. You’ll thank us later, trust me, but right now I need you to start walking.”

The guy didn’t move.

I sighed. “What is your name? Mine is Seth. Queen Kung Fu is Alex. You already know who the steroids guy is. That is Hercules, and the beautiful blonde standing in front of you is Josie. What’s your name?”

A moment passed. “G-Gable.”

“Okay, Gable, we’re going to walk up this beach and then up to the road. We’re going to put you in our car, and then we’re going to leave the place, hopefully without incident,” I explained slowly, clearly. “You don’t want any incidents, do you?”

“No,” he said.

“Perfect. Now you’re going to start walking.” A second later, he started walking. I glanced over at Alex. “Call Aiden and let him know we found him. Tell him we’ll meet them over at the motel.”

“On it.” She reached into her back pocket and pulled out the throwaway phone as she walked ahead, watching the beach as she dialed Aiden’s phone.

Josie worked on assuring Gable of the fact that we didn’t plan on shooting him in the back while Hercules actually became sort of useful as he picked up the surfboard and flanked us.

Escorting Gable toward the trails, I kept an eye out for any strange behaviors. People were watching us, mainly because I was super-close to Gable. No one saw the gun, and we needed it to stay that way.