“Thank you … Marvin, for accompanying us,” Nick said, bringing the man’s attention back to him.

Ivy stood stock-still in the corner, eyes down as she filled the car with the spicy scent of vampire. Damn, damn, damn! Stinky vampire,stinky witch, and stinky sneakers. Okay, they looked like dress shoes, but Nick’s boots smelled like leather soaked in salt water and left for a year in the back of a closet. This guy had to be on some major allergy medicine to not notice the stink of burnt amber. And how were we going to get out of the residence wing? If we didn’t run into Trent, we’d run into someone who’d just seen him. Maybe we should have hit the man, but then we’d have to run out of here over the pastures. This way, we might get a car.

Looking at the array of buttons, I leaned into Nick. “I don’t feel well,” I whispered, trying to make my voice wispy. “Trenton, I need some, ah, feverfew.”

Ivy stiffened, and Nick turned to me.

“Feverfew?” he echoed as the doors opened to the familiar low-ceilinged, brown-and-gold opulence of Trent’s bar, his living room and wide windows looking out onto the landscaped pool spread out before us. Into the lion’s den. This was not going well, but I lurched out, at least knowing where we were. Ivy came with me, and Nick. And the security guy, of course. Damn it.

“I saw some from the car the other day as we drove into Cincinnati,” I said, babbling. “Please, I need it now.” I put a hand to the belt pack to shift it to the middle as I walked, making a beeline for the kitchens and the garage beyond. “It’s for the baby.”

“The baby!” Nick exclaimed, his pale eyebrows raised, taking my elbow as he paced beside me. “You there,” he said to the faltering officer. “Call ahead for a car!”

Jeez, he was doing it wrong. Trent never demanded anything, unless it was for someone to kill me. Hunching close, Nick curved an arm around my waist, looking like he was leading as he followed my subtle motions, telling him which way to go. My face scrunched up in an ugly mask, and I would have slugged him if I could have gotten away with it. He was being too strong with the staff, thinking power and money meant you had to be a hard-ass.

Ivy stood beside us, blocking us from view from the main room. It was unlikely anyone would notice us under the bar’s low ceiling, but the security officer had paused to talk to someone. I caught, “I thought he was in his office,” and I moved faster.