Page 37 of As Darkness Fall
I blushed at the unexpected compliment, staring hard at the door. I didn’t want to turn around to see if anyone else had heard. Now was not the time for banter like this. We needed to focus on getting Jo out of there, not on how my body continued to tingle even though I was dressed.
Was it from the looks Vir had given me? Or was it that I knew the suit was riding up a bit high and Aaron was getting a nice view of my ass? I couldn’t decide.
“Ready,” Vir growled.
“Do it,” I commanded, snapping back to reality.
Though the metal door was locked, that didn’t stop Vir. Golden spear in hand once more, he inserted it into the space between the top of the door and the frame. Since this was a prison cell, the door was designed to swing outward so that nobody inside could hide behind the open door.
Now, Vir used that against the Aldridge’s, digging his spear in and thrusting, using the stone wall as leverage. The metal door groaned, and bit by bit, it bent down. Vir repeated the act several times, inserting the spear farther each time.
Once he’d created a large enough opening, the spear vanished.
“Stay alert,” I muttered. “If they didn’t already know we were here, they’re going to soon.
Vir grabbed the opening on the door, and with a deep, powerful grunt, he tore the door out of its frame.
I charged past him while Aaron’s team guarded the hallway behind us. There was no time to stop and look. Lars could be waiting with a dozen guards in there, but my priority was Jo. She was my friend, and I wasn’t about to let anyone else go first.
“Jo!” I gasped, finding my short, stout friend hanging forward limply from the chair she was bound to.
Stopping by her side, I felt her bindings. Solid silver, just as I’d suspected.
“Pieter,” I snapped. “Get in here and get these off her. Now.”
The smallest and possibly least sane crew member hurried into the room, removing metal shears from his gear and going to work. In seconds, Jo was free and falling into my arms.
“Come on, Jo, wake up,” I said, giving her a gentle shake before feeling for a pulse.
“It’s still there,” I said. “We’re leaving.”
Although the plan had been for Vir to carry Jo, I hoisted her into my arms and headed for the door. She felt dangerously light to my touch. Was that because she’d been mistreated so badly? Starved, perhaps? She was filthy, clad in the torn remnants of a shirt and pants, but she didn’t look like she’d been majorly deprived of food for a month.
“Dani?”
I stumbled, my heart nearly breaking at the weakness in Jo’s voice.
“Hi,” I said quietly.
“I like that shade of blue on you,” Jo said, staring at my hair. “I’m glad you still have it.”
“Thanks,” I said, chuckling, trying not to let that bounce the precious cargo in my arms. “I’m Dani Wetter. I’m here to rescue you.”
Jo sighed, lucidity returning to her as we moved through the exit, Aaron and his team waiting patiently for us. “You are so lame. You always quote movies at the most serious of times.”
“Keeps me from getting too nervous,” I muttered.
“Dani?” Jo asked in a strange voice.
“Yeah?” I replied, glancing down to see her staring at Aaron and the others.
“Who are all the men?”
“That,” I said with a chuckle as we hit the stairs, “is a long story.”
“I’ll bet,” Jo said. “You were single when you left town for Kellar. The city has changed you.”
I sputtered while someone on Aaron’s team snickered at the sexual implications of Jo’s comment, up to and including her tone.
