“I’m sure it’s fine,” I said, moving to the front seat. “I’m so hungry, I could eat a seat cushion.”

Ivy’s brown eyes met mine from over her sunglasses, and her motion of shaking the spray can slowed. “It’s not the food I’m worried about. I want to be sure it’s mostly human.” Her face went worried. “If there are any Weres, we’re leaving.”

Oh, yeah. Worried, I slumped behind the wheel, but Ivy looked unconcerned, taking a rag from the box and starting to wipe the road dust off the van. I was glad she was there. Sure, I was a classically trained runner, and while subterfuge was a part of that, hiding from large numbers of people out to get you wasn’t. This stuff was what she had cut her teeth on. I guessed.

Nick undid his belt when Ivy edged out of sight. I could hear her work, the sporadic hisses of paint followed by squeaks as she wiped down the bumpers before the illegal paint took. The smell of fixative tickled my nose. I glanced at Nick, and he opened his mouth.

“Hey, a disguise sounds like a good idea,” I blurted, twisting to reach my bag. “I’ve got a good half dozen in here. They’re for smell, not looks, since Weres track by smell and will find us that way long before they see us. They took the ones I had on the island, but I made extra.”

I was babbling, and Nick knew it. He puffed his breath out and settled back while I rummaged for them. “A disguise sounds good,” he said. “Thanks.”

“No prob,” I answered, bringing out a new finger stick along with a handful of amulets. I broke the safety seal and arranged four amulets on my knees. I didn’t know how to treat Nick anymore. We had done well together until it fell apart, but it had been a long, lonely three months until he finally left. I was mad at him, but it was hard to stay that way. I knew it was my need to help the downtrodden, but there it was.

The silence was uncomfortable, and I pricked my finger anew. I invoked them all to make the scent of redwood blossom, then handed him the first. “Thank you,” he said as he took it, lacing it over his head, where it fell to clink against his pain amulet. “For everything, Ray-ray. I really owe you. What you did…I can never repay you for that.”

It was the first time we’d been alone since pulling him out of that back room, and I wasn’t surprised at his words. I flashed him a blank smile then looked away, draping my amulet over my head and tucking it behind my shirt to touch my skin. “It’s okay,” I said, not wanting to talk about it. “You saved my life; I saved yours.”

“So we’re even, huh?” he said lightly.

“That’s not…what I meant.” I watched Ivy spray an elaborate symbol on the hood, her hidden artistic talents making something both beautiful and surprising as she blurred the gray paint into the white of the van to look very professional. Glancing at me in question, she tossed the can to the box and went to the back to change the plate.