The walk up the trail wasn’t as fast as I’d hoped. Gable stared at Josie as she continued to talk softly with him, explaining what was happening. I don’t think anything was getting through to the guy. Every so often, his arm trembled.

At the top of the hill, the SUV came into view, and still no sign of a shade. Josie placed her hand on Gable’s other arm. “Everything is going to be okay. We’re going to take you to meet our friends. They’re . . . um, excited to meet—”

Gable suddenly spun on me, twisting so that he could work his arm out of my grasp as he dipped low, muscles tensing. He shot back up, aiming his elbow for my nose.

Awesome defensive move. Boy took some classes. That move would’ve taken me down.

If I weren’t the fucking Apollyon . . .

My movements were too fast for him to track. Blocking his arm before it could connect with my face, I knocked his elbow away and then slammed my hand into his shoulder. He fell back into the side of the SUV. His eyes flew wide, and before he could recoup, I was in his face, gun shoved into his side.

“That’s not possible,” he said, chest rising and falling rapidly. “No one can move that fast. No one—”

“No one who is mortal,” I said, getting my face all up in his. “I’m going to be a nice guy for once and pretend you didn’t just try to break my nose, but you get one free pass from me. That’s it. After that, I don’t give a fuck who you are or how important you are. I will lay you out and it won’t be pretty.”

Gable’s chest stopped moving. On the other side of the SUV, Alex opened the door. Hercules was at the rear, eyeing the vehicle and the surfboard he carried.

“Seth.” Josie leaned into me, and I inhaled deeply, catching the scent of the shampoo she’d used this morning. Shea butter. There was something calming about that. “He’s scared. He has every right to be.”

I met Gable’s stare. Very little of the bluish-green eyes was visible. “He should be scared.”

“That’s not helping,” she replied, and then she faked a smile like only she could. “Gable, I really need you to calm down and work with us here. We’re not going to hurt you. If we were, he would’ve already done it.”

Gable’s frantic gaze swung to Josie. “Are you holding me for ransom? Because if you need money, I can get it. You don’t have to do this.”

“Gods,” I grunted, shaking my head. “We’re not holding you hostage.”

“Hey!” Gable jerked as his focus shot over my shoulder.