I sat there and ate my blackberry cobbler for several minutes. Mab Monroe’s house was the very last place I’d want to do a hit. The Fire elemental wouldn’t take too kindly to my stiffing someone within the confines of her own home. Not to mention the fact it would seriously undermine her own security and standing in the Ashland underworld. Killing someone at Mab’s mansion was the kind of thing people would talk about for years. Mab would do everything in her power to find out who killed the dwarf in her own territory. Who had the audacity to thumb her nose at the Fire elemental like that. She’d have to just to keep the challenges to her power base to a minimum.

But if that’s where Tobias Dawson was going to be, then that’s where I’d have to do the job—whether I liked it or not. I just hoped I was up to it.

“Tell me the rest of it,” I said.

Finn cut himself a piece of the chocolate chip pound cake. “Officially, the party is a business mixer. Mab’s invited all her business associates, and everyone else she wants to do deals with in Ashland and beyond. Lots of bigwigs expected to attend. Security to get in is going to be very, very tight.”

“So?” I asked. “We’ve crashed lots of parties before. Surely, Jo-Jo can get us in.”

Finn shook his head. “I already called her and asked. You know she can’t stand Mab. Jo-Jo declined the invite two weeks ago. You can’t use her invitation now and kill Tobias Dawson.”

“Because it’ll look too suspicious and point Mab in Jo-Jo’s direction,” I finished his thought. “Okay, so how do we do it? There has to be some way to get into Mab’s mansion so I can get close to Dawson.”

Finn hesitated. “Well, there’s something, but you’re probably not going to like it.”

“Spill it.”

He stared at me. “First of all, you have to realize it’s not enough for you to just get into the party. You can’t go into Mab Monroe’s mansion as you, Gin Blanco. Jonah McAllister’s on the guest list. He’d spot you in a minute.”

“So I’ll wear a disguise. Not like I haven’t done it before.”

Finn polished off his cake and cut another slice. “True, and I have an idea about that. As part of the evening’s festivities, Mab has arranged for a variety of… entertainments for her guests.”

My gray eyes narrowed. “What kind of entertainments?”

Finn cleared his throat. “Hookers. Men and women. Humans, giants, vamps, dwarves. Her guests pick out who they like, do whatever they want, and she foots the bill for the whole thing.”