Reaching out, I touched his hand. “I love you,” I whispered. “But letting you bite me would tear everything apart. Ivy couldn’t take it.” Jenks would say that my saying no to Kisten had more to do with the threat of his biting me being a bigger turn-on than the actual bite might be. Whatever. But if Kisten found a closer relationship with me when Ivy couldn’t, it would hurt her, and he loved her, too, with the fanatical loyalty shared abuse often engenders; Piscary had warped them both.

From my bag came the trill of my phone, but I let it ring. This was more important. The light changed, and Kisten pulled into traffic, his grip more relaxed. Ivy had always been the dominant one in their relationship, but he was willing to fight for me if I was ever tempted enough to give him my blood. Trouble was, saying no had never been my strong suit. I courted disaster every time I slept with him, but it made for great sex. And I never said I was smart. Actually, it was pretty stupid. But we’d been over that before.

Depressed, I let my arm hang out the window and watched the Hollows turn from homes to businesses. The sun glinted dully on my bracelet and its distinctive pattern of links. Ivy had an anklet in the same pattern. I’d seen a few others around Cincy here and there, earning shrugs and smiles when I tried to hide mine. I knew they were probably Kisten’s way to show the world his conquests, but I wore it nevertheless. So did Ivy.

“Skimmer won’t hurt you,” Kisten said softly, and I turned to him.

“Not physically,” I agreed, relieved he was handling this as well as he was. “But you can be sure she’s going to put extra love in her petition to get Piscary out.”

He sobered at that, and quiet filled the car at the thought of what might happen if she succeeded. We’d both be up shit creek. Kisten had been Piscary’s scion, betraying the master vampire the night I’d beaten Piscary into submission. Piscary was ignoring that right now, but if he got out, I was sure he’d have a thing or two to say to his ex-scion, even if Kisten had been the one keeping Piscary’s business ventures intact, since Ivy wouldn’t, her scion status aside.

My phone rang again. Digging it out, I looked to see that it was an unfamiliar number before I set it to vibrate. I was with Kisten, and taking the call would be rude. “You aren’t mad?” I offered hesitantly, watching the emotion on his face shift from worry about his physical being to that of worry for his emotional state.