“Bastards won’t be happy until they’ve thrown us all in kennels. You watch your ass, Isaac.”

“You do the same.”

He chuckled. “I’d rather watch Helen’s. You ever romped naked in the woods? You and Lena ought to try it one of these days. Just check for ticks when you’re done.”

“I’m serious, Jeff. The governor and attorney general are both dead. Whatever heat you’ve been dealing with up there is about to get a lot worse.”

“Good to know, thanks. I’ll call you if I hear anything.”

“Thanks.” I hung up. “Jeff and Helen don’t know the late Mr. Boyle.”

“Have you checked in with Nicola yet?” asked Nidhi.

“I’m sure she’s dealing with enough right now. I can follow up with her tomorrow.”

Lena and Nidhi glanced at one another.

“When we make it to the highway—” I began.

“Head toward Detroit,” Lena said. “Got it.”

“How’d you know that?”

It was Nidhi who answered. “You told the police and the FBI Sandy Boyle’s thoughts had been manipulated, but I could tell you knew more than you were saying. I thought maybe it was another Porter who’d done it and you were trying to protect them, but if so, you would have called Nicola first.”

“That narrows it down to the handful of inhumans on your friends list who can mess with people’s minds,” Lena continued smoothly. “Deb DeGeorge is the closest, and she’s definitely not above a stunt like this. With her being an ex-libriomancer and former friend, you’d want to investigate personally rather than handing her over to the authorities. Is she still living over on Benson?”

“I think so, yah.” So much for my dramatic announcement.

“Try to relax, would you?” Lena said without looking back. “I can feel your tension from here. I like being attuned to my lovers, but you’re making my neck tighten up.”

“Sorry.” I rubbed my eyes and leaned back in the seat. Between the hearing, the attack in Lansing, and the amount of magic I’d burned through, I was spent. Sleep would help, but magic tended to leave you hyper and insomniac. It also destroyed the appetite. Not a healthy combination. I grabbed a protein bar from my jacket and forced myself to start eating.

“It’s not just you.”

Nidhi snorted. “It’s been a rough night for everyone. My job has given me plenty of practice at feeling powerless. That doesn’t mean I like it.”