As Darkness Falls by Riley Storm

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 raise far fewer 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. I liked who 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.

“Yeah? What is it?” I asked.

Her discomfort was plainly obvious. “Um. Where is everyone else?”

I frowned. Why was she–Oh.

“They’re finneee,” I assured her, smiling broadly. “Everyone is alive and well. We just got split up, that’s all. Fred went to get the others. They’ll be back here soon, I promise.”

Jo slumped slightly as she sighed in relief. “Oh, thank goodness. I was worried there when it was just you guys who came back. Even Aaron didn’t look so good.”

“He got hurt,” I told her. “But he’ll be up and about before you know it, trust me. He’s more tired than anything.”

“And you got what you wanted?” she asked, pointing to the Idol on the bed next to me.

“Yep,” I said. “Sure did.”

I’d not had time to study the Idol much. In fact, I’d been so preoccupied with getting back here that I’d not truly examined it at all.

“Is everything okay?” Jo asked, sitting next to me.

I frowned. “Yeah. I think so.”

“Okay. You just seem distant.” Jo fidgeted. “Is there something you aren’t telling me?”

More like I’m not telling you anything.

“Yes,” I said, deciding that even if I wasn’t going to bring Jo into everything, I wasn’t going to lie to her either. “It’s complicated, and I’m not sure if including you would make things better or worse for you, Jo.”

“I see.”

“I won’t lie to you. There’s a lot we’re not telling you,” I said heavily. “You deserve to know that much, at least. But before you ask, no, I’m not going to tell you. Not until I have to. Trust me when I say it’s a lot easier not to know.”

Jo bit her lip, chewing on what I’d just said. “I see,” was all she said.

In Jo’s language, that meant she was upset, but a part of her also understood that I wasn’t doing it to be mean.

“I’m sorry,” I said, not sure what else to say.

“You can always tell me later if it proves okay or necessary,” Jo said tightly. “You can’t un-tell me. Right?”

“Right,” I said. “This is why you’re so great. You get me.”

“You’re so frustrating,” Jo said, but her lips quirked up in a little smile.

“I know,” I said, standing up and swallowing her in a hug. “I’m going to go check in on Aaron. Then I’m going to get some food. Join me?”

Jo smiled. “You never need to force me into having food.”

“Good,” I said, giving her another hug before I left the room. Instead of turning left toward the stairs, I went right, down the doors until I got to Aaron’s room. Now that I was showered and dressed, I felt like I should check on him. It seemed like the right thing to do.

And you want to face your fears as well. To see if you still feel the same now that you’ve calmed down.

Maybe there was some truth to that as well.

“Come in,” Aaron called.

I entered and stopped short at the sight before me.

“Well, isn’t that progressive of you,” I said, closing the door behind me and walking over to the bedside, where someone–presumably Vir–had fixed Aaron up with a blood pack fixed to his arm.

There was an empty pack on the table as well. Despite that, Aaron still looked rough. His feet and legs were mostly blackened, and his fingers were only just now beginning to regain some color.

“I long ago stopped caring about where my blood came from, as long as I can get it,” he said. “The younger vampires only kill because they are wilder and often not restrained by someone older and wiser. Most of us are not murderers but rather beings who would prefer to go about our lives peacefully. Much like the humans we used to be. Unfortunately, that doesn’t apply to all of us.”

“Yeah,” I said. “Same-same. We all have our faults. Including those who prefer death and mayhem.”

A silence stretched between us as I stood near his bed. But not too near. For all my sudden need to check on him, I was still keeping some distance.

“Thank you,” I said. “For what you did. For helping. You nearly died for my parents.”

Aaron smiled at me, a sad thing. “I signed a contract. I honor my contracts.”

“So noble of you,” I said, smiling at him as well. I forced myself to reach out, to take the hand nearest me that was now nearly back to being its perfectly pale self. I didn’t speak. Just let my hand rest there. Proving to both of us that I would get over my initial reaction to seeing his vampire side for the first time.

Aaron frowned. It wasn’t the look I’d expected. He glanced down at his hand and pulled it away from me.

“What is it?” I asked, wondering what I’d done wrong.

“That hurt,” he said, and I gasped as I saw the top of his hand.

It was all red. With the outline of my fingers easily visible.

“What the hell?” I said, looking at my palm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to–I’m so sorry. I didn’t–”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Aaron said, shaking his head.

“What? But those are my fingers? You can see the outlines,” I said.

“I know,” he said.

“How did it happen? I don’t get it.”

Aaron smiled up at me, a facade of happiness covering profound sadness. My heart nearly broke just looking at it.

“Love,” he said quietly.

I stared at him for a long time. “I’m sorry,” I said, feeling bad. “You’re intriguing, and you promise a very good time in bed, but I’m not in love with you, Aaron. Not yet.”

“Not ever,” he corrected, looking at his hand, the marks starting to fade.

“What do you mean?”  I was growing more confused instead of less.

“It means that you care for another,” he said quietly. “That’s why your touch burns. If it were fully realized, I might very well have burst into flames. True love is…powerful like that. My kind cannot bear it. It makes those who are truly in love impossible for us to feed off of.”

“Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say. “I’m sorry.”

Aaron shrugged. “I never had a claim on you.”

“No, I guess not,” I said, wrestling with the implications of this.

If I wasn’t falling for Aaron, and I certainly hadn’t fallen for Johnathan, then there was only one person it could be. Not even a person.

“You should talk to him,” Aaron said quietly. “He’s just as unsure about this as you are.”

I snorted. “I don’t believe that.”

Aaron smiled up at me. “Think about it, Dani. He’s an immortal being. Who has never loved, or even felt love, before. He’s been alone his entire life. Now, he’s been told that he’s mated to a mortal. At last, he gets to feel, and yet, to him, your life will be a fleeting thing, a blink of his eye at best. For the rest of his life, he will have to deal with your loss.”

That was a very good point and one I hadn’t truly considered. Not from Vir’s side, at least.

“This is just as difficult for him as it is for you,” Aaron added. “Though, he’ll never talk about it.”

I snorted again. “Typical men. Unable to process their emotions.”

Aaron stared at me, then looked down at his hand, then back at me. “Are you sure he’s the only one who can’t process their emotions?”

My mouth shut. I really hated it when people threw my own words back in my face and were right about it.

“You’re staying here with Jo,” I said, changing topics abruptly. “While we go get my parents back.”

“You’re avoiding the subject,” Aaron pointed out.

“Yup,” I agreed. “I am. Now, remember, Jo doesn’t have a clue what you are or anything beyond shifters, okay? She doesn’t need to know anything about this. Which means don’t go pulling a Vir and telling her stuff I don’t want her to know. Okay?”

Aaron opened his mouth.

“If you do, I’m gonna let myself fall hard for Vir and then give you the biggest naked bearhug you’ve ever had until you’re nothing but ash, got it?”

Aaron’s mouth shut. Then it opened again.

“That would be quite the way to go out,” he said slowly, his eyes boring into mine with some emotion I couldn’t read. “But I think I’d prefer to live, for now. I want to see what you’re fully capable of, Danielle Wetter.”

“Then watch closely,” I growled, heading for the door, my mind on Lars. “Because you’re about to find out.”