I stared up at him knowing I should do everything I could to get the hell away, get to my dad, my dad being the person who would make me safe in a way that was safe for me, just as I knew I wasn’t going to do that.

I was going to take a shower, put on his tee, and try to get some rest.

Because I had a feeling he was not wrong.

And there was the not-so-insignificant part of the whole night where I knew he was in danger, reacted to it violently, and led Chen to him without knowing how I did it.

I’d come to Serpentine Bay on a quest and I had a feeling I’d found my Holy Grail.

It was just that my Grail was scary as shit.

“I need to call my dad,” I said quietly.

He moved away three inches, reaching in his back jeans pocket and pulling out his phone.

He handed it to me.

I took it, tipping my head down to stare at it in my hand because this surprised me and made me feel a lot more protected and a whole lot less of a kidnap victim.

“It’s after two in the morning,” he stated, and I looked up at him.

“Right,” I whispered.

“You call him, you’re gonna freak him. You two close?”

“Very.”

“Can he take care of himself?”

“Absolutely,” I answered firmly.

“You want reinforcements.” Although a statement, it was also a guess.

I nodded.

“I hear that,” he said. “But I’ll ask you to give me the rest of the night, see if the boys got that wolf, see if we can get anything out of him, this meaning you’ll have more information to give your dad so he knows what he’s getting into.”

The idea of telling my father I’d hooked up with a werewolf vampire and was unexpectedly under attack during my vacation quest to Serpentine Bay was not one I relished.

The good part of this was that Dad would totally believe me. I knew that sounded screwy, but he would. He was just that kind of guy.

And he loved me that much.

The bad part of this was that Dad would totally lose his mind, rally his brothers, and ride on Serpentine Bay ready for a fight and willing to go down in order to take out any being, natural or supernatural, who was a threat to me.

“I’ll wait until morning,” I said.

“Good,” he murmured. “You keep that phone. It’s good you have one, just in case. I’ll get Jian-Li’s before I find the boys.”

I nodded, though I did this ignoring his “just in case” comment.

“Where’d you leave your purse?” he asked.