“Cincinnati?” Ralph looked at me in surprise. “You mean Rachel Morgan?” His gaze went to Ivy. “You’re Piscary’s girl. What are you doing this far north?”

“Getting my partner’s boyfriend killed,” she said, and the man took her ugly look as dark humor. Officer Ralph already had his cuff key out and was getting them off her, frowning when he realized Jenks wasn’t in his. I held up my wrist with my little black strap, and he snipped it off with a special pair of clippers on his key chain. I wanted one of those.

“Where are you staying?” Ralph asked as Ivy rubbed her freed wrists. “I’m going to want to talk to you before you go home.”

Ivy explained while I stared at the water. Nick wasn’t dead, and the shock of seeing him go over the edge was evolving into a nasty feeling of satisfaction. I had beat him. I had beat Nick at his own game. Knees shaking, I stumbled away. Ivy hurriedly finished up with Ralph, and with her on one side and Jenks on the other, I started to chuckle. I didn’t know how we were going to get to the room. Three of us wouldn’t fit in Kisten’s Corvette very well.

“Tink’s daisies,” Jenks whispered to Ivy behind my back. “She’s lost it.”

“I’m fine,” I said, cursing myself and laughing. “He’s fine. The crazy bastard is fine.”

Jenks exchanged a sorrowful glance at Ivy. “Rache,” he said softly. “You heard the man. I read the place mat about how many people they lost building the bridge. He wouldn’t survive hitting the water. And even if he did, he’d be unconscious and drown. Nick is gone.”

We passed the news crews, and I took a shallow breath, finding comfort in that my ribs hurt. I was alive, and I was going to stay that way. “Nick knew that too,” I admitted in the dimmer light. “And yeah, he’s gone, but he’s not dead.”

Jenks took a breath to protest, and I interrupted.

“Jax was here,” I said, and Jenks pulled us all to a stop in the middle of the closed northbound lane. People swirled around us, but we were forgotten.

“Jax!” Jenks exclaimed, yanked into silence by Ivy.

“Shut up,” she snarled.

“He had an inertia-dampening amulet,” I said, and Jenks’s face went from hope to a heartbreaking look of understanding. “Jax was here to fly it down to the water before the tow truck hit.”

“And the NOS,” I continued as Jenks paled. “It never exploded. He used the charges to blow the tires, knowing the truck was heavy enough to go through the temporary railing.”

Ivy’s face was empty, but her eyes were starting to go black with anger.

Shaking my head, I looked away before she scared me. “I’ll give Marshal a call, but I bet he’s missing some equipment. I never looked to see what Nick had in that truck locker he’s got. He’s swimming out of here, and I bet Jax is with him.”