I rubbed my temples, thinking that actually this was a lot easier than what we’d originally planned. “Ivy—”

“No!”

Nick made a frustrated noise, gesturing at nothing. “I’m not going to kill Rachel!” he exclaimed. “I love her, but if the only way to make her safe is to run her over with a Mack truck, then I, by God, am going to be the one to do it!”

Ivy looked at him as if she had eaten a pile of crap—or maybe she was looking at him as if he was a pile of crap. “You don’t know the meaning of love—Nick.”

I was shaking inside. Having Nick run into me instead of Jenks wasn’t what I had planned, but it would work. Swallowing, I turned to the kitchen. He could use the regular disguise charm already made up. Oh God. What was I doing?

Ivy took a deep breath. “Rachel. I don’t trust him.”

“When did you ever?” I sat at the table before everyone saw me shake. “I’ll be fine. Putting me with Peter will ensure they believe the statue burned with the truck. This is the best plan we have. I don’t want to have to do this again if they realize that the statue wasn’t destroyed.”

Nick shifted from foot to foot and ran a hand over his stubble. “I’ll fix the air bag,” he said, apparently deciding I was going to get my way. “And the NOS,” he added.

Suddenly I was a lot more nervous. “Are they watching?” I asked, meaning the Weres across the street.

Jenks made a soft chirp of a whistle, and Jax came out of hiding to land on his shoulder.

“Yeah,” Nick said, head down. “But from the conversation Jax has been catching, they think I’m modifying the NOS tanks in case I need to leave in a hurry.” He swallowed to make his Adam’s apple move. “I rigged it to explode on impact, but I’ll disengage that too. I’ll set up a button for you to push after you get out.”

Jenks looked at Ivy, then stood up, heading for the door. “We’ve got four hours. I’ll make sure it’s not going to explode until you want it to,” he said.

Nick’s expression clouded. “I know what I’m doing.”

“Jax?” Shoulders hunched, Jenks never slowed down on his way to the door. “Come on. You should know how to rig a radio signal.”

I felt better knowing Jenks was good with explosives too. Nick jiggled on his feet, looking as if he wanted to give me a hug but knew better, then followed Jenks out. The door opened, and I saw three street Weres across the way, yawning as they leaned against their little tricked-out car with wax paper cups of coffee in their grips. It had been cold this morning, but they looked warm enough now that the sun was high, and sun glinted on their bare shoulders and multiple tattoos.

Ivy scowled at them before looking at Nick’s retreating back. “If Rachel gets hurt, you won’t have to worry about Weres killing you because I’ll find you first, little thief.”