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“It would hurt if you got stung, yes.”

“Could you die? Like if you ran into one of the highly poisonous ones?”

“It would depend on how quickly the poison acts. If it can kill you before your body repairs itself, you could. It’s not something that’s really come up, as most people are in the ocean during the day. The daylight drug has been a recent discovery, and as you know, most vampires aren’t on it.”

I hum an acknowledgment, looking across the water. There are several brightly lit yachts out there, and the faintest strains of music drift from one of them.

“And besides,” Noah continues, “I don’t think the highly toxic jellyfish are commonly found in Florida.”

“Where do they live?”

“Australia, most likely.”

We walk for about an hour. When we’re almost back to the hotel, Noah gets a call.

“It’s Harold,” he tells me before he answers.

I wait, slipping my foot out of my flip-flop and running my toes through the warm sand near the hotel’s beach entrance.

I’m not sure what Harold says, but Noah goes tense. “Where?”

I look up, not liking the sound of the conversation.

Noah hangs up, looking…eager. “They found Ethan, and they followed him back to his hotel.”

“Does that mean they’ve found Alfred?”

“Probably. We need to head back to the NIHA office.”

I glance down at my swimsuit and shorts, hiding my disappointment. “Can I change first?”

“Yes.” He startsjoggingback to the hotel. “But we need to hurry.”

13

Noah hiredbabysitters to keep an eye on me.

Okay, not really, but there are a couple hunters here at the office with me, along with what appear to be the regular night guards.

Erin is Asian, with long black hair pulled back in a braid. Her skin is flawless, making me think she’s either a vampire or was blessed with amazing genes. She’s not very tall, but there’s a gun on her hip, and she looks like the type who might have a few knives hidden away.

You know those girls in the urban fantasy shows who kick butt? The kind I told Noah I am most definitely not? Erin is that girl. She’s intimidating, but so far, she’s been nice.

My other guard, Adam, is well over six feet tall and approximately three hundred pounds of muscle. He looks like he lifts cars in his spare time, one-handed, while on the phone.

I feel very safe.

And also very bored.

If Noah was going to assign hunter bodyguards, couldn’t we have stayed at the hotel?

Erin sips tea in the break room, scrolling through her phone. Adam paces, checking the hall every few minutes, looking likehe’s hoping for some kind of action. I’m on a couch that’s not very comfortable, waiting for Olivia to text me back. I was hoping she was going to entertain me for the next two hours, but Max must be over now because she’s not answering.

“So,” I say to my companions, needing to break the silence. “How’d you end up in Miami?”

Adam looks over. “I grew up just south of Fort Lauderdale.”

“I relocated here after my training,” Erin says. “The city is so hot, they have trouble keeping hunters here. But I’m not a vampire, so I don’t mind it. And the pay is higher than in Minnesota.”