the stairs to my apartment. I figured we had an hour until dawn. I stopped her when we got to our floor.
"Okay, here's a test for you. What do you smell?"
Penny inhaled and wiggled her nose. "Geez. First, front and center, are the rats. I'm getting them out of here Sunday night. The animal rescue people told me of a place and I'll see if Mr. Blade will let me use his SUV to drive them over there."
I kept my snark to myself. Like Jerry would trust his very expensive vehicle to my fledgling who could put a ding on a car just by looking at it.
"Okay, that one was obvious. Now see if you can figure out who's inside. And there's more than one entity there." I had picked up on that before we'd reached the landing.
Penny grabbed my arm. "Oh, God, the demons aren't back, are they? I know I put on a brave front, but they freaked me out, Glory."
"No, not demons. The Cookie Monster reek would be too easy and there's not a whiff of it." I smiled. "Come on, use your nose. Didn't Trey get around to those lessons?"
"He tried, but there were too many mortals in the club and I was fighting my fangs. What can I say? I'm still all about the bloodlust. That's why we went to the park." Penny shrugged, then wiggled her nose again. "I think Trey's here! I recognize his scent." She grinned. "How cool is that!" She grabbed the doorknob and turned it. "Not locked. I wonder how he got in."
"Jerry's here too. And Rafe. They both have keys." I put my hand over hers. "Listen before you go inside."
"No crashes. Guess the coffee table's safe. And I hear the TV. Buzzing. Motorcycle races maybe?" Penny shook her head. "At four thirty in the morning?"
"That's cable for you." I stepped back and let Penny open the door. No crashes. That didn't mean Rafe and Jerry hadn't already demolished my new living room. But the scene we walked into was surprisingly civilized. Of course the three men had heard us approach, heard us talking in the hall too. They were on their feet and facing us as we walked in.
Jerry and Trey stood in front of the couch. Jerry had commandeered the remote and now turned off the TV. Rafe lounged in the doorway to the kitchen where he'd obviously unearthed yet another package of Twinkies left from when he'd lived here. They all stared at us like we'd made them wait. I just dropped my shoes by the door and stared back, not about to make excuses or rush into explanations. Penny and I had obviously survived and I needed a drink. I eased past Rafe and headed for the refrigerator.
"Trey! What are you doing here?" Penny rushed forward, not shy about getting right into it.
"I found your purse in the break room." Trey picked up the black clutch from the coffee table. "I knew you'd want your stuff, at least your cell phone."
"Sure. Thanks." Penny glanced at Rafe. "I guess Rafe showed you where I live."
"Sure did. When we got here, I ran into Blade and he told me what you two were up to. I decided we'd just stick around and see how things shook out." Rafe stuffed a Twinkie into his mouth, chewed and swallowed. "Looks like you survived MacDonald." He stopped me in the doorway with a hand on my shoulder as I twisted the top off a bottle of synthetic. "You could have told me where you were going, Glo. Maybe I could have shaken loose. Done backup for you."
"Not necessary, Rafe, but thanks. I knew you were needed at the club and this was just a quick meeting." I smiled at him. "Ian was a perfect gentleman. He and Penny talked and I visited with Ray. It was no big deal."
"See? No big deal. Which means you can get the hell out of here, Valdez." Jerry inserted himself between us, practically shoving Rafe out of the way. He tugged me into the living room while he examined me with narrowed eyes, like for wounds or signs of abuse.
"Hold on. Don't take off yet, Rafe." I gave Jerry a look that said to quit manhandling me and he let me go. "I think it would be nice if we could all just sit down for a minute or two. Make nice." I smiled, deciding I really didn't like Jerry making my arrangements for