and my eyebrows rose as we waited for the elevator, Ivy fidgeting in tells so small that only someone who’d lived with her would have noticed.
“You’re not going to get in trouble for this, are you?” I said, and Ivy started, the brown rim around her pupil shrinking.
“No,” she said flatly, but I wasn’t convinced, and I faced her accusingly, hand on my hip.
“Then what is bothering you?” I demanded.
Ivy took a breath, her shoulders stiff. But they slumped when Jenks rasped his wings, reminding her he could see her aura flare when she lied.
“It might be nothing,” she said as she hit the call button again in a tapping staccato that was almost a hum. “Nina and I got a courtesy call from one of the upper vampire camarillas in DC. Cormel isn’t effective anymore, and they’re talking of recalling him to DC permanently and dropping a new master vampire into Cincinnati to replace him.”
My lips parted, and I quashed a flash of fear. “Someone out of state?” Jenks asked for both of us. “And they want your advice, right?” he added.
Ivy’s brow furrowed in an unusual show of worry. “I won’t know until she gets here.”
“She as in the new master vampire?” I said, trying to keep my voice from squeaking. Crap on toast, this wasn’t good. It wasn’t just the new master vampire but her entourage that was going to descend into Cincy and the Hollows, bringing with them the need for a slew of new blood ties to be made. Ivy might be exempt but for the courtesy bite now that she was Nina’s scion, but there would be hundreds of minor disputes as things resettled into the new power balance an unfamiliar vampire brought.
“I don’t know why,” I said, fully understanding Ivy’s twitchy mood. “Sure, Cormel has been less than useful since fixating on his lost-again soul, but there haven’t been any major issues in the last two months. You and Nina—”
“It’s not me and Nina keeping the peace that’s bothering them,” Ivy interrupted, her eyes on the numbers counting up from the basement. “Exactly . . . ,” she added reluctantly as the elevator dinged and the doors opened. “Which is probably why they’re sending someone.”
I followed her in, lips pressing when she hit the button for two floors up. Jeez, we could have walked it. “I thought we were going to interrogation.”
“I can’t get you into interrogation,” she admitted as the doors closed.
“Then where we goin’, tall, svelte, and sexy?” Jenks asked from my shoulder.
Ivy glanced at the folder in her hand. “The accused is likely finishing her post-interrogation interview. She’ll stop at medical on her way to lockup to give a blood sample and patch up any scrapes. Get a physical baseline in case she claims brutality behind bars.”
“You want me to interview her in medical?” I asked, no longer comfortable with this. No way did I want to get Ivy in trouble to satisfy my curiosity.
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened onto an empty hallway. “How is your nurse speak?” Ivy asked, looking both ways before nodding for me and Jenks to come out.
“Lovely.” Hands in my pockets, I followed her. But it was actually pretty good. Fourteen years in and out of the hospital had left a mark. I could even draw blood.
“How are you doing working belowground again?” I asked as the pheromones of the multiple old undead wafting up from the lower levels of the I.S. tower made my neck tingle.
“It’s okay,” she said, and when her pace slowed, I caught up. “Nina has the office beside mine. It helps.”
“You got a real office,” Jenks said. “Nice. What was it you had, Rache? A cubicle?”
“I’m touched you remember,” I said. “Get off my shoulder, and I’ll touch you back.”
He laughed, but the easy camaraderie reminded me of Thanksgiving. Family wasn’t just those you grew up with, but those you grew better with. “Hey, Ivy, you mind if I invite Ellasbeth over for Thanksgiving?” I said, and Jenks snickered, knowing where this was going.
“Sure,” she said immediately as we rounded the last turn. “What’s one more plate?” she added as she pushed open a hall door that led to medical.
I licked my lips. “And maybe Quen and Jon?” I said, and Ivy sighed. “I’ll help with the cooking,” I offered, trying not to plead. “I make a mean sweet potato side dish.”
Ivy grimaced. “I’ll ask Nina.”
“Ellasbeth is wanting Thanksgiving at Carew Tower,” I said, knowing I was pushing