Chapter Thirteen
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AMAROS WAS GLAD HE had a task to keep himself busy.
Zoe had come too close to being shot back at the café.
He’d assumed they would be okay when he hadn’t sensed anyone close by.
The old woman he’d seen sprawled on the floor had seemed too frail to hurt a fly.
It just proved everyone who’d been left behind was dangerous to some degree.
“Is this going to hurt a lot?” Grace asked, already wincing in anticipation when he ripped open the protective foil from a scalpel. He’d torn a larger hole in her tights to give himself access to her wound.
“Yes,” he said honestly as he pulled some latex gloves on.
“Maybe you should use local anesthetic first,” Zoe suggested. He waited for her to find a bottle in a fridge.
“Give me that,” Grace said when her friend looked at the syringe and needle she’d found doubtfully. “I’ve got lots of experience with needles,” she added.
Amaros arched an eyebrow at that news. “You’re an addict?” he asked.
“Not me,” the teen denied as she deftly poked the needle into the lid of the anesthetic and withdrew some of the liquid. “My mom was the druggie,” she explained. “She taught me how to shoot her up when I was little. My hands were always steadier than hers.”
Zoe flicked him a pained look. He knew she’d seen the kid’s past, but neither of them had spoken about it. “I’m sorry you went through that,” he said. “No child should be at the mercy of uncaring parents.”
“Yeah, but far too many are, or were,” Grace said glumly.
She expertly injected herself near her bullet wound.
“I’ll give myself a bit more, just to be sure,” she said.
Using more than a human would have required, she numbed all around the wound.
“That should do it,” she said, then tossed the vial and syringe into a trashcan across the room.
“Ten points,” Zoe joked.
Grace did a fist pump, then gestured at her leg. “Go ahead, doc. Patch me up.”
Amaros was glad for the modern tools as he carefully cleaned the wound, then sliced into her leg.
She tensed and looked away. Zoe took her hand, watching with her nose wrinkled.
Trying not to think about how adorable she looked, he used long tweezers to dig around. Finding the bullet, he pulled it out.
“Gross,” Zoe said when blood began spurting from the wound again. She placed gauze over it and held down on the cut firmly until the gauze was soaked.
“It should be slowing down soon,” Amaros said after a few minutes had passed. He’d let Zoe take over and was watching the door. His soiled gloves and scalpel had been deposited in the trash.
“The anesthetic is wearing off already,” Grace said with a grimace. “It lasted just long enough for most of the damage to heal.”
“Do you want to keep the bullet as a souvenir?” Zoe joked.
“Sure, why not?” Grace said. “I might clean my blood off it first, though.”
Zoe removed the fresh gauze to see the cut was closing. “I’ll put plaster on it until it heals completely,” she decided.
Grace patiently waited for Zoe to clean her skin and the wound with antiseptic and stick a plaster on it.
“Thanks, guys,” she said in gratitude. Her leg was already feeling much better.
She picked up the bullet and rinsed it off in the sink, then slipped it into her pocket.
“Do I have time to use the bathroom and change my tights?” she asked.
“Sure. I need to transfer our stuff into the tank,” Zoe said.
“What tank?” Amaros asked.
“That pickup truck isn’t normal,” she said, brushing past him to leave the room. “I think I know why you have such an abnormal attachment to oversized things,” she murmured.
His dong instantly reacted when she glanced meaningfully at his groin. Luckily, Grace had limped into the bathroom and hadn’t witnessed their exchange.
Smirking, Zoe stepped outside and began grabbing their gear from her tiny car. “Did you see any clothing stores?” she asked when he moved closer. “We’re going to need warm clothes for winter.”
Amaros remained vigilant for any threats as he helped her move her gear.
“A place that sells snow gear is a bit further down,” he said.
He’d found the black truck in the parking lot.
The keys had been in it and the gas tank was full.
A pile of clothes had been on the seat and shoes were on the floor, which meant the owner had been raptured.
“We should stop in there and load up,” Zoe suggested. “We’ve got plenty of room in the truck.”
Willing his stubborn erection to fade, Amaros wished he didn’t react to her so easily.
Her scent was intoxicating to him. Just a glance from her chocolate brown eyes was enough to set his blood on fire.
Her lush curves and toned body called on him to claim her.
He didn’t just want to make her his, he needed to.
“Earth to Amaros,” Zoe said, snapping him out of his daze. “What’s going on with you?” she asked in concern.
“He’s besotted with you, Zoe,” Grace said as she joined them. “Look at the poor dude. He’s got stars in his eyes.”
Amaros glowered at the snickering young cambion. “I do not have stars in my eyes,” he denied. “I was just thinking about the supplies we’ll need.”
“Sure you were,” Grace agreed with an eyeroll. “Speaking of which, I need to grab some stuff from a pharmacy. I don’t want to run out of girly supplies.”
“How do you dye your hair three different colors?” Zoe asked.
Grace flicked her bangs with a finger. “That was a lucky accident,” she said sheepishly. “I was trying to dye it pink, with green and blue streaks. Instead, it came out in blobs.”
Her eyebrows were blonde, which had to be her natural hair color. “Dye will be in short supply soon,” Amaros warned her.
“It’s time for a change anyway,” she figured, eyeing the truck. “I’m going to need a boost to get into the back of this thing.” Now wearing fresh tights, there was no sign she’d ever been shot. Even her limp was gone.
Amaros opened the back door, but the cambion climbed in without assistance. “Are you riding in the front or back?” he asked Zoe.
“Is Grace’s blood all over the seat?” she asked after tossing their bags into the back. Grace was busy stuffing them into the cargo area behind the seat.
“I put a shirt I found on the floor on the seat to protect it,” Grace said.
Amaros opened the front passenger door and tossed the soiled shirt into a dumpster in a nearby alley. He also disposed of the shoes and other clothing he’d moved from the driver’s seat. Zoe was already seated with the door shut when he returned.
Grace sat between their seats, hunched forward as usual. “I bet my legs are too short to drive this monster,” she said enviously when he slid behind the wheel.
“Mine should be long enough,” Zoe said smugly.
Amaros glanced at her shapely legs that were encased in tight denim. Tearing his attention away, he took off, willing himself to think about anything other than Zoe’s enticing body.
He returned to the parking lot behind the sporting goods store and parked facing the exit. Amaros wanted to make sure they had a quick getaway if anyone tried to ambush them again.
All three of them paused to peer inside the wide glass doors. It was dark at the back of the store where the sunlight didn’t reach. “I can’t sense anyone,” the warrior said.
“Me either,” Zoe agreed.
“Do you want me to pick the lock, or are you going to kick the door open like a caveman again?” Grace asked.
“Go ahead,” he invited her. “The door is alarmed, so get ready for some noise.”
“Maybe we should look for another way in,” Zoe said. “A single gunshot can be ignored, but an alarm blaring constantly might draw too much attention.”
Preferring to remain unnoticed for as long as possible, Amaros escorted them around to the back lot again.
They found a small, high window that didn’t seem to be alarmed.
Smashing it with a rock, Amaros pulled himself up to peer inside.
“It’s a storeroom,” he said. Unfortunately, the window was too small for him to fit through.
“Lift me up there and I’ll find the alarm and switch it off,” Grace offered.
Amaros pushed the window open with one hand, then dropped to the ground. Zoe’s face was slightly flushed as she stared at him from the corner of her eye. It was gratifying that he affected her as much as she affected him.
“Up you go,” he said, then picked the tiny cambion up. She climbed in through the window and disappeared into the building.