Page 92 of As Darkness Fall
Especially after Aaron’s vamping out. I was positively uncomfortable now.
“No,” Aaron said as if sensing the chasm that had appeared between us.
“Good,” I said and fell into my wolf. This time I embraced the pain of the shift, because it meant I was no longer naked. We were no longer vulnerable.
Following Aaron’s directions, we hurried through darkened passages of the massive building we had emerged into. Our senses were alert, but our attention elsewhere. We had the Idol. Now we had but one focus.
It was time to get our parents back.
Chapter Forty-Five
“Enjoy the show,” I muttered, looking up at the camera as we finally entered the elevator to take us to Aaron’s condo.
I held the Idol of Amunlea across my chest, using it to hide my body as best I could. Ridiculous didn’t begin to describe it, but Vir had made a very good point. A naked woman being escorted to Aaron’s apartment would raisefarfewer questions than a giant white wolf in the elevator.
So, I sucked it up one last time, vowing that I would find some way to be naked a lot less in the future.
“You’re sure he’ll be okay?” I asked nervously. “I’d hate for them to get caught.”
“Yes, he’s fine,” Aaron grumped from where he was supported by Vir’s arm.
I glanced past Vir–the shifter god had conveniently placed himself between myself and the vamp as we entered the elevator–and gave him a long look. “Okay, good.”
We had returned to earth sans-Fred. The mysterious member of Aaron’s team had gone back into the Underworld to fetch the rest of the team and bring them home. I’d argued that we all should have gone, just in case, but Fred had assured me it would be best if we went to Earth and let him do it.
The elevator dinged, and I rushed out of the little box, just as anxious to get dressed as I was to get away from Aaron. I still couldn’t get rid of the image of his teeth shooting out, trying to snag my wrist.
I shivered. The last thing I wanted was to be turned into a vampire. Ilikedwho I was. What I was. I didn’t want that to change.
“Dan?”
“Hi, Jo!” I said, scooting past my best friend as she came down the stairs to greet us.
“Are you naked?”
“Yup!” I called back without stopping, darting into the room that had been proclaimed as mine while we used the penthouse condo as a base of operations.
I dropped the Idol on the bed and jumped into the shower, eager to be clean before I got dressed. The warm water felt blissful, and I slowed my pace, taking my time to enjoy it while I washed off all the grime from our mission.
Once that was done, I got dressed, pulling on a pair of black pants, a white t-shirt, and some dark grey socks. It wasn’t my most coordinated outfit ever, but it all fit, it was comfortable, and it was all thick enough that nobody would be seeing my goodies anytime soon.
There was a knock at the door.
“Dan?”
It was Jo again.
“Hey,” I said, still patting my hair dry with a towel so it didn’t soak the back of my shirt.
“Are you okay?”
“Much better now,” I said, flopping down on the bed. “How are you?”
“Glad that you’re back,” Jo said. She was so much shorter than I that even sitting on the bed, I was almost eye-to-eye with her. Her green eyes glittered with concern for me.
“Same,” I said with a sigh. “Same.”
“Dan,” Jo said, shifting awkwardly on the spot. She glanced behind her, out the door.
