Adam pulled a c.o.ke out of the cooler and popped the top. He absently flicked the metal tab back and forth for a moment, trying to decide what to say.

'Come on, what's on your mind?' Jason prompted.

'That speedboat was really tricked out,' Adam said.

'And?'

'And it would have taken some serious, serious bucks to do it. That boat shouldn't have been able to keep up with the Wally at all. And the scopes and cameras they were using? I know you didn't see them, but trust me that stuff is not exactly standard issue,' Adam went on. 'I think that maybe those guys weren't just . . . guys.'

'You mean they were . . . rich guys?' Jason joked, but he felt his belly go cold. He was pretty sure he knew where Adam was headed with this.

'I didn't want to say anything in front of Belle, but I think there's a possibility that those guys are hunters. Tamburo-type hunters. The last time I searched "vampire hunter" on the web, there was this billionaire who was offering a two-million-dollar reward for anyone who bagged a vampire,' Adam said.

'Unbelievable,' Jason muttered.

'It could be total bull,' Adam replied. 'The net is full of trash. But . . .'

'Yeah.' Jason leaned close to the huge windows of the lounge and peered out at the stretch of ocean behind them. 'They're gone for now at least.'

'But we-'

'Hey, Adam, are we going to watch Heathers or not?' Belle called from the c.o.c.kpit.

'On my way,' he called back. He turned to Jason. 'Like you said, they're gone now. We'll just have to keep our eyes open, see if they show up again.' Jason nodded. 'For now, the giant plasma and Belle are calling my name,' Adam said. He took off for the stateroom. Belle went with him.

Sienna joined Jason in the lounge. 'Weren't we in the middle of something too?' she asked in a throaty voice.

'I think I was in the middle of my Snickers pie,' Jason joked.

'Well, if you'd rather eat than dance with-' Sienna began.

'No,' Jason interrupted her. 'No, no, no.' He took her hand, and they walked back out on deck, pausing by the CD player for Sienna to get their song playing again. The Wally powered on as they began to dance, the ride smooth even though they were up to almost fifty knots. Glimmering blue-green water all around them. Hot sun on their shoulders. The teakwood deck rocking gently beneath their feet. Nothing better, Jason decided as he wrapped his arms around Sienna's waist, pulling her closer, her silky hair brushing against his cheek, the curves of her body warm against him. Absolutely nothing better. He'd be happy to stay here, in this moment, for the entire next year.

But the yacht suddenly gave a sharp turn, ruining their dance. A moment later footsteps sounded on the stairs leading below decks. 'Did we hit an iceberg or what?' Adam asked as he and Belle emerged on deck.

Sienna frowned, looking around. 'We turned back toward sh.o.r.e.'

'We're heading home?' Belle asked. 'Adam and I barely started the movie. I thought we were staying out for a few more hours.'

'We are. I told Oz we wanted to be on the water for the sunset,' Sienna said. 'I'll go check with him.' She headed for the c.o.c.kpit. Jason tagged along to see what the deal was.

'Hey, Captain!' Sienna called when they reached Oz. 'What's going on? The sun doesn't go down for hours.'

Oz gave an apologetic shrug. 'Your father just radioed me. He said I had to get you back.'

'Why?' Sienna demanded.

'No explanation given,' Oz told her. 'He just said to return to the marina immediately. And he didn't sound happy.'

'Great. Just great!' Sienna fumed, her dark eyes blazing. Jason got the feeling she wasn't happy, either.

Four.

'WHAT'S THE DEAL?' Belle asked when Sienna and Jason returned to the deck.

'My dad ordered us back in,' Sienna explained, her voice filled with anger.

'Why?' Belle exclaimed.

'He didn't give Oz a reason, but . . .' Sienna glanced at Jason.

'Oh,' Belle said.

'Oh?' Jason repeated. 'What does that mean? Am I missing something?'

Sienna looked away, biting her lip.

'Did he know who we were out here with?' Belle asked.

'I just told him you and a couple of other friends,' Sienna admitted. 'Which he should have no problem with. Brad and I used the yacht tons of times.'

'Oh,' Jason said again. He got it now. The difference between him and Brad? Brad was a vampire. Jason, not so much.

'I thought it was supposed to be the other way around,' Adam joked. 'I thought the human parents were supposed to disapprove of their kids dating the undead.'

Sienna and Belle stared at him.

'Is "undead" not the PC term?' Adam asked. 'I just meant . . . vampires. They don't even usually have parents around. Angel no parents. Dracula no parents. Not that they didn't have parents at some point, but their parents have usually all been dead for . . .' Adam shoved his hands through his s.h.a.ggy sand-colored hair. 'I'm making it so much worse, right?'

'Right,' Jason told him.

'I'll shut up now,' Adam volunteered.

Belle laughed and patted his arm. 'I get the verbal diarrhea sometimes too.'

'Who I'm with might not even be the issue,' Sienna said. 'Maybe Dad got his credit-card bill. I did spend a teensy bit more on that Balenciaga bag than my approved clothing allowance for the month.'

'Would he really be so p.i.s.sed about the bill that he'd have the captain turn the boat around?' Jason asked dubiously.

'I don't know. But I'm going to find out,' Sienna seethed. 'My father's spoiled everything!'

She hardly looked at Jason or Belle or Adam on the way back. As soon as the yacht pulled into the marina, she stormed down the gangplank onto the pier. Then she turned and blew Jason a kiss. 'Sorry. I know I've been awful,' she called. 'I just need to get this straightened out.'

Sienna turned and headed down the boardwalk, her dark hair whipping in the breeze.

Belle rushed after her. 'Bye, guys!' she called over her shoulder.

Jason and Adam stared after them for a moment. Then Adam turned to Jason. 'Thanks for inviting me. I had a lovely time,' he said solemnly. They both cracked up as they walked down the gangplank.

'I hope Sienna's dad is ticked about the shopping, and not about my, you know, being a human,' Jason said as they walked past a couple of more ordinary-looking yachts.

'I believe the word you're searching for is "humanity",' Adam said. 'Or possibly "humanosity". Or is it "huma.n.a.liciousness"?'

Jason just looked at him.

'Oh. We're being serious,' Adam said. 'OK, well, maybe he just found out Sienna was socializing with somebody from the wrong side of the DeVere Heights gates. You and Belle are acceptable company. But me?'

'Yeah, the slums of Malibu, where you live, are known to produce some pretty dangerous characters,' Jason said.

Adam grinned. 'But seriously. Really seriously your parents would probably not be so happy if they knew you were going out with a V, am I right?'

'You mean after their parental heads exploded?' Jason answered. 'It's not so much the going out part as the vampires-existing part that would, uh, agitate them.'

'Good point,' Adam agreed. They climbed down the pier steps and started across the beach. 'When I first put the whole vampire situation together, I was freaked. Now I spend part of every day researching vampire hunters like it's totally normal adolescent behavior. I mean, I hardly ever get time to even look at Mys.p.a.ce these days. I'm just too busy doing searches on vampire killers.'

'It's a good thing you are, though,' Jason said. 'You're right about us needing to stay watchful. I wanted to think Tamburo was an aberration, but we can't be sure of that.'

'So I'll keep doing the research, and we'll both keep our eyes peeled for any weirdness. Any weirdness that isn't our regular DeVere Heights weirdness, that is,' Adam clarified.

'Right.' Jason pulled out his cell. 'How long before I can call Sienna and find out what the deal is?'

'Ten minutes for her to drive home unless the Spider gets temperamental. Then a parental fight mine usually last from two minutes to an hour and a half, and girls are more verbal than boys,' Adam hesitated, calculating. 'I'd say you need to give her at least two hours. More if you want to factor in some recovery time, which I would.'

'OK, so what are we going to do for the next two hours or so? I need distracting,' Jason told his friend.

'Pool table? McGuire's?' Adam suggested. 'I could whip your b.u.t.t a few times?'

'Pool table. McGuire's,' Jason agreed. 'And maybe I'll let you beat me once.'

Three games later all lost by Jason Adam replaced his cue in the rack at McGuire's. 'Call her already,' he told Jason. 'You're at an hour fifty-four. And you suck so bad that winning has lost almost all meaning for me.'

Jason pulled out his cell and hit speed dial. After three rings Sienna's voicemail picked up. 'Hi, this is Sienna. Do what you've got to do when you hear the beep.'

'Hey, it's me,' Jason said into the phone. 'Just checking in to see if you've been nabbed by the shoe police. Call me.'

He tried Sienna again before dinner. Same deal.

And after dinner.

And before he went to bed. Same old, same old.

After he'd lain in bed for an hour, not being able to sleep, he tried her one more time. No Sienna. Just her voicemail message. What was going on?

'What's going on? What happened yesterday?' Jason asked Sienna when he caught her at her locker between second and third period the next day. This semester they didn't have any cla.s.ses together except European History last of the day.

Sienna rolled her eyes. 'Parents.' She slammed her locker door. 'I'm almost eighteen. I'll be in college this year. And they're trying to tell me how I should spend my time!'

'So it wasn't about the clothes?' Jason asked, even though he already knew the answer.

'They didn't like it that you and I were out on the yacht together. They acted like it was some kind of floating motel or something. I mean, yes, it has bedrooms, but we were hardly alone. And it's not like the yacht is the only place we could . . . if we were doing that. We could be doing it in your car for all they know.'

'The Bug is a little small,' Jason joked, trying to lighten the mood. 'We'll figure something out. Maybe I could talk to them, or you could invite me for a family dinner or something.'

Sienna smiled. 'We'll strategize tonight. We're still going to the movies, right?'

'Definitely,' Jason promised as the warning bell rang.

Sienna gave him a quick kiss. 'Can't wait,' she said.

Jason couldn't wait until it was time to leave that evening. He had a little more than an hour. He headed to the bathroom for a hair check and spotted Dani coming down the hall from the opposite direction. 'Just give me one second before-'

Too late. Dani had slipped into the bathroom in front of him. 'You better go downstairs. I have a lot of girly stuff to do,' she told him. 'I'm going out.'

'I'm going out too,' Jason complained. 'And it'll take me less than five minutes.'

'All my make-up and everything is in here.' Dani tossed him his hairbrush and deodorant. 'There. You're good to go. Use a different bathroom.' She shut the door.

'Guys don't care that much about make-up anyway,' Jason advised. 'So your hot date or whatever isn't even going to notice.'

'Guys like you don't notice,' Dani answered. 'Other guys do.'

'Who is this enlightened guy, anyway?' Jason asked.

'I don't want to talk about it.' Dani opened the door a crack and peered at Jason. 'I like him . . . a lot. And I'm pretty sure he likes me. I don't want to mess it up by talking about it. It always messes things up if you talk about them too much.'

'I doubt this guy has the bathroom bugged. If he does, you have bigger problems to worry about,' Jason told her.

'I'm getting in the shower now, so if you keep talking, you're going to be talking to yourself,' Dani announced, closing the door again.

'Fine,' Jason muttered. He took his brush and deodorant and headed back to his room, wondering about the guy Dani liked so much. He hadn't noticed her hanging around with any one particular guy at school. But she had gone to the movies with Ryan Patrick that time. Well, Ryan and a bunch of her other friends. Was Ryan the guy his sister was falling for?

Ryan did make a point of telling me to invite Dani to his Valentine's Day party, Jason remembered. So maybe Ryan is falling for Dani too.

Jason wasn't crazy about that idea. Not when he was almost positive that Ryan had fangs. Jason didn't have anything against the vampires. How could he? He was totally, insanely in love with one of them. But he knew it could be dangerous to be around them. h.e.l.l, it was dangerous just to know they existed! Jason had almost been killed twice since he'd learned the truth about the popular crowd at DeVere High.

But Dani couldn't be in love with a vampire, Jason told himself. Not yet, anyway. Ryan if Ryan was even the guy she'd been gushing over had only been back in school for a few months. Surely that wasn't long enough for Dani to get really serious about him.

Yeah, like you didn't fall for Sienna the first time you saw her, a voice in Jason's head mocked. That first day at school, in the cafeteria line, when she teased you for being clueless about what a green Borba was you were gone. Do you think Dani is so-?

Jason was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of a text message arriving on his cell. The message was from Sienna: GOT TO GO TO CHARITY THING WITH THE RENTS. SORRY, SORRY, SORRY. TALK IN THE A.M. XXOO.