I blinked. “Because Pierce can’t drive for crap.” I started to list, and Ivy sat me back upright. “You have beautiful eyes, Ivy,” I said, my words spilling out without thought.

She stared, a surge of vampire incense wafting through me as her eyes dilated to a sudden full black. Swallowing, she took her hands off me. “What did they hit you with?” she asked as she stood and backed away. “Will coffee help or make it worse?”

“I don’t know.” A soft, contented hmmm slipped from me. She looked so sweet standing there with six pixy girls in their pastel silk dresses hovering around her head. Pixy princess. Pixy Princess Ivy with a pretty, pretty cast.

Jaw clenched, Ivy turned to a thumping in the hall. Pixies rose up, scattering. It was Lee, looking as if he had a right to be here, but unsure as to how Ivy might feel about it. Smart man.

“You’ve got three seconds to explain,” Ivy said, spots of red appearing on her cheeks. Not bad, considering what she’d done to Nick.

The black-haired man gave her a toothy smile and ducked his head. “Hey, hi, Ivy. No hard feelings, huh?”

“Oooh, pretty, pretty shiny eyes,” I said, finding Pierce pushing me back down when I tried to get up. A tingle spread from his hand on my shoulder—the man just leaked power. His coat was on the table along with his vest and my stuff. He must have brought everything from Nick’s when he came looking for Bis. What a great guy. Even my bag was there.

Ivy was wire tight. “Time’s up,” she intoned, starting for Lee.

Lee stepped back, hand raised. “You try getting through Hollows traffic with a stoned redhead hanging out the window shouting, ‘I’m king of the world!’”

I didn’t remember that, but a glance at Pierce told me it was true.

“You summoned her! Like a demon!” Ivy accused.

“She is a demon,” he said, and Ivy’s face went hard. But if I was one, then Lee was one, too. “I had to,” Lee added, his voice softer. “I had a gun at my head. How many things have you done when someone held a gun to your head or said the word ‘duty’? Give me a break, will you? I helped her escape.”

“You locked her in a boat primed to explode!” Ivy shouted.

Lee’s expression lit up in understanding. “That was over a year ago!” he complained as I gave Bis a bunny-eared kiss-kiss. He was atop the fridge doing his lurking gargoyle thing with the pixies. Some of them were getting pretty good at mimicking him, and I smiled.