Livy never had before. She knew a lot of artists who did. Who, no matter how successful or not they were, always felt sorry for themselves. Complained about anything and everything. Made everyone around them miserable. Livy had always prided herself on not being like that. She was too focused on her work. Too lost in her photographs to bother with any of that unnecessary bullshit.

But these days . . .

Still, Livy knew she had to get over herself. Everybody kept trying to say it was the loss of her father, but she knew better.

More like the loss of her career. Her soul.

Dragging now, Livy reached her apartment building. She went up the stoop, opened the door, and walked to the elevator. A few minutes there and down the hallway until she reached her place. She put the key in the lock and walked inside.

That’s when she stopped. She had to. That python had slid right over her feet before disappearing behind a large pile of books she’d placed against the wall a few weeks before and hadn’t bothered to do anything else with since.

Because Livy lived in a building filled with full-humans, she didn’t have snakes in her house. Ever. They could disappear into your walls and set up a nest and the next thing you knew, you’d have snakes all over the damn place.

Livy headed down the hallway until she reached her kitchen. But she stopped right at the doorway . . . and gawked.

“Livy!”

Misleadingly skinny arms wrapped around Livy’s neck and she was hugged tightly. Something that anyone who knew her knew she hated. She was not a hugger. Nor did she like to be hugged. By anyone. Even her mother didn’t hug her.

“What are you doing here?” Livy demanded.

“Don’t worry.” The skinny arms slipped off and went back behind a narrow back. As always, her visitor looked like a little girl. But she wasn’t. “I didn’t break out. I’m here legally.”

“Prove it.”

“Livy—”

“Prove it or I’m calling the cops.”

Feet stomped over to the kitchen table and an already rumpled document was pulled out from the front of a backpack and held out for Livy.

Livy looked at it. A Certificate of Release from New York prisons. Where her cousin Melanie “Melly” Kowalski had been living for the last ten months. She’d been given eighteen months, and why she was out early, Livy didn’t know. But she had a bigger issue.

“Why are you here, Melly?” Livy asked, handing the certificate back to her cousin.

“I need a place to stay. Your mom said you wouldn’t mind.”

“Oh,” Livy said. “Okay.”

Then Livy turned and headed toward the front door.

“Hey,” Melly called after her. “If you’re running out, pick me up some vodka, would ya?”

Livy reached the sidewalk outside her building and stopped. Shelooked around. Didn’t see anything right away, so started walking.

Maybe she could stay over at Toni’s. Because she couldn’t stay at her apartment. She refused to stay at her apartment.

“What is happening to my life?” Livy asked the air. “What is happening?”

As they walked down the full-human airline ramp toward the plane, Shen announced, “We’ll need a good company name.”

Vic sighed. “We’re still not partners.”

“Why not? We make a good team.”

“Do I actually have to state that I work alone? Because I work alone.”

“You work with me all the time. You worked with me just yesterday. You’re working with me now.”

“See? The fact that you argue everything with me makes it impossible for us to be partners.”

They reached the entrance to the plane, but before Vic could bend down to get through the opening, Shen gave him a quick shove from behind. Vic stumbled forward, his head banging into the body of the plane.

“Ow!” Vic barked. “What the holy hell—”

“Are you okay?” Shen asked, his arm around Vic’s shoulders. “You poor guy.”

Shen pressed his hand to the back of Vic’s head, lowering it enough so he could get into the cabin.

The two flight attendants helping passengers rushed forward.

“Sir, are you all right?”

“He’s fine,” Shen said. “But a little ice pack for his head would be great.”

“Of course,” one attendant agreed as she rushed off.

“Come on, buddy,” Shen said, patting Vic’s shoulder. “Let’s go force those long legs of yours into that economy middle seat.”

“Oh.” The remaining attendant leaned in. “You know, we have some seats available in first class.”

“That would be really nice. He gets so uncomfortable in those small seats.”

Smiling at Shen, the attendant led the pair to seats in first class. Once they were settled, the attendant went back to her work.

“See?” Shen asked Vic.

“See what?”

“See how helpful I was. I got us in first class.”

“Unless the plane is booked completely, I always get first class. All they have to do is look at me. But I’ve never had to ram my head into a plane to get first-class seats.”

“You know, you’re very unappreciative of what I bring to the table.”

Vic leaned over, searching the aisle for a flight attendant. “I wonder if I have to wait for takeoff before I can get a vodka . . .”

Sitting at the kitchen table in the apartment Toni shared with her mate, Livy rested her head on her crossed arms. “Maybe I should go to Europe.”