Page 25 of Amaros
“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.
