He shook his head, glancing at the vampire who was holding me upright. “Help me get her outside. This is fucking weird.”

“Bad, bad mouth,” I slurred, my eyes closing again. “Watch your mouth.”

A giggle escaped me, and it turned into a delighted shriek when someone picked me up to carry me cradled in his arms. I shivered as the noise lessened, and my head thumped into someone’s chest. It was warm, and I snuggled closer. The thundering beat softened to casual conversation and the clatter of china. A heavy blanket covered me, and I made a sound of protest when someone opened a door and cold air hit me.

The music and laughter behind me subsided into an icy silence broken by twin steps crunching on grainy snow and the chiming of a car. “Do you want me to call someone?” I heard a man ask as an uncomfortably cold draft made me shiver.

“No. I think all she needs is some air. If she isn’t right by the time we get there, I’ll call Ivy.”

“Well, take it easy, boss,” the first voice said.

I felt a drop, and then the cold of a leather seat pressed against my cheek. Sighing, I snuggled deeper under the blanket that smelled of Kisten and leather. My fingers were humming, and I could hear my heartbeat and feel my blood moving. Even the thump of the door closing did nothing to stir me. The sudden roar of the engine was soothing, and as the car’s motion pushed me into oblivion, I could have sworn I heard monks singing.

Twelve

The familiar rumble of driving over railroad tracks woke me, and my hand shot out to grab the handle before the door could jiggle open. My eyelids flashed apart when my knuckles smacked into the unfamiliar door. Oh yeah. I wasn’t in Nick’s truck; I was in Kisten’s Corvette.

I froze, slumped and staring at the door with Kisten’s leather coat draped over me like a blanket. Kisten took a slow breath, and the volume of the music dropped. He knew I was awake. My face warmed, and I wished I could pretend I was still passed out.

Depressed, I sat up and put Kisten’s long coat on the best I could in the tight confines of the car. I wouldn’t look at him, gazing out the window to try to place where in the Hollows we were. The streets were busy, and the clock on the dash said it was nearing two. I had passed out like a drunk in front of a fair slice of Cincinnati’s upper-middle-class vampires, high on their pheromones. They must have thought I was a weak-willed, skinny witch who couldn’t hold her own.

Kisten shifted in his seat as he eased to a halt at a light. “Welcome back,” he said softly.

Lips pressed tight, I subtly felt my neck to make sure everything was the way I’d left it. “How long was I out?” I asked. This is going to do wonders for my reputation.