Jenks stepped into the van, lurching for Jax and missing. Mumbling almost aloud, he began arranging things so we’d all fit, all the while keeping a tight watch on his son.

“What is it, Rachel?” Ivy asked warily, watching me through the rearview mirror. “You don’t look happy for someone who just finished a run, even if it was pro bono.”

Jenks dropped my suitcase onto a box and opened it up. “It went great,” he said, his youthful face eager as he sifted through my things. “By the seat of our pants, the way Rache works best.”

“I hate it when you work like that,” Ivy said, but I felt better that Jenks, at least, was thinking about me not having hands.

“They caught us, but Rachel worked out a deal to fight their alpha for Nick.” Jenks held up a pair of my panties so everyone could see. “I’ve never seen a Were go wolf that fast. It was incredible, Ivy. Almost as fast as Rachel’s magic.”

I felt a spike of worry, remembering their savagery when they were bound under a common cause and one Were. It still had me on edge. Ivy went still, then turned in her seat to look at him. My tail swished in an apology, and a faint wrinkle showed in her brow. “Deal?”

Jenks nodded, hesitating between the long-sleeve T-shirt and the skimpier tank top. “If she pinned their alpha, we got Nick. I didn’t see it all ’cause I was looking for crap for brains, but the sound of the fight brought in a real wolf pack. The alpha Rachel was fighting ran away. I say that means Rachel won.” I breathed easier when he put the tank top back. “Wasn’t her fault their alpha got chewed by real wolves.”

Ivy took a breath in thought, holding it. I met her eyes, knowing she had figured out the real problem, and I winced. A quick shot of adrenaline shivered through me. “They know who you are?” Ivy said, her gaze following mine to the island behind us.

Hearing the concern in her voice, Jenks straightened until his head brushed the ceiling. “Aw, hell,” he said. “We can’t go home. They’ll follow us, even if we don’t have Nick. Damn it all to Disneyland! Where’s crap for brains? Jax! What did you two steal, anyway? How are we going to convince four Were packs that we don’t have it or that Nick told us where it is?”

Jax was gone. I’d seen him zip out of the van three pixy heartbeats after his dad had started using Disney’s name in vain. Angry, Jenks jumped into the parking lot and headed for the showers, arms moving and face red. “Hey! Crap for brains!” he shouted.

I rose, stretching, before I loped after Jenks. He skidded to a halt when I stopped in front of him and leaned into his legs to try to tell him it was okay, that we’d find a way around this latest problem. Jenks peered down at me, his shoulders stiff. “I’ll be nice,” he said, his jaw tight. “But we’re leaving, and we’re leaving now. We’ve got to get under the leaves and hope spiders spin webs above us before they start looking.”