“Takata,” I said as we approached, and he came back to himself. “I’d like you to meet David Hue. He’s the insurance adjuster who helped me get to Saladan.”

“David,” Takata said, taking off his glove before extending his thin long hand. “Nice to meet you. It looks like you escaped unscathed from Rachel’s latest run.”

David smiled warmly without showing his teeth. “Pretty much,” he said as he released his hand and rocked back a step. “Though I wasn’t sure when those handguns showed up.” Making a mock shudder, he shifted so his front would be warmed by the flames. “Too much for me,” he said softly.

I was glad he wasn’t wide-eyed and stammering, or squealing and jumping up and down like Erica had done until Kisten collared her and dragged her away.

“David!” Kisten called when my thoughts pulled my eyes to him. “Can I talk to you about my boat? How much do you think it would cost to insure her through you?”

A sound of pain slipped from David. “The price of being in insurance,” he said softly.

My eyebrows rose. “I think he just wants to get someone between him and Erica. The girl does not shut up.”

David pushed himself into motion. “You won’t leave me alone too long will you?”

I grinned. “Is that one of my responsibilities as a member of your pack?” I said, and Takata’s eyes widened.

“As a matter of fact, it is.” Raising his hand to Kisten, he ambled to him, stopping to nudge a log back into the flames with the toe of his boot as he went. Howard was laughing at him from across the fire, his green eyes glinting.

I looked to find Takata’s thick eyebrows high. “Member of his pack?” he questioned.

Nodding, I sat beside Takata on top of the picnic table. “For insurance purposes.” Setting my spiced cider down, I put my elbows on my knees and sighed. I loved the solstice, and not just for the food and parties. Cincinnati dropped all of its lights from midnight until sunrise, and it was the only time I ever saw the night sky as it was supposed to be. Anyone thieving during the blackout was dealt with hard, curtailing any problems.

“How are you doing?” Takata said, surprising me. I had almost forgotten he was there. “I heard you were hospitalized.”

I smiled sheepishly, knowing I was starting to look tired after screaming for two-plus hours at Takata’s concert. “I’m okay. They weren’t ready to release me, but Kisten was just down the hall, and after they caught us, ah, experimenting with the controls for the bed, they decided we both were well enough to be on the streets.” Crabby old night nurse. By the amount of fuss she made, one would have thought we were committing some kind of kinky—well, crabby old night nurse, anyway.