We were just talking about you,” he tells me as he steps back from the door, invitin’ me in.
Alder is leanin’ against the desk, his yummy forearms and downright sinful body on display. His arms are crossed over his chest, and he looks stern as ever in his T-shirt and jeans. I just want him to whisper good girl in my ear and then bend me over that desk he’s perched against, but I chase that thought away with a bat because that’s the kind of thing that got me into this embarrassin’ mess in the first place.
I want to drop my head in my hands and peek at them through my fingers as I beg them to forget what happened last night. The show of desperation they both witnessed will probably be hard to forget, but with time, maybe it could be left behind us.
Instead of slinkin’ into the room with shame floatin’ in my wake, I choose not to cower in the face of my mortification. Instead, I hold my head up high and take it like a woman.
“Did you sleep well?” Alder asks me, his eyes quickly dippin’ down my body and back up.
“I did. Very well, thank you,” I reply, ignorin’ the vision of a drenched pillow that pops up in my head. I hope they didn’t check on me last night and see that. “And you?” I ask politely in return.
“Tossed and turned,” he says with a casual shrug, his gaze droppin’ to my lips for a second before lookin’ away.
I pause for a moment, not sure how to take that. I look at Flint and then back to Alder. They don’t look sheepish or uncomfortable like they’re embarrassed for me and aren’t sure how to act. They look...hungry.
“We were just talking about the Ophidian,” Flint tells me, and all thoughts of the needy glint in their eyes gets put on the back burner as I think through what happened last night and the safety of my parents.
“You think he’ll send more people to try to get to me or my parents?” I ask with concern.
“Maybe. We’re not sure how extensive this Ophidian’s network is,” Alder answers.
“And you’re sure that my parents are safe?” I ask, worry hikin’ up my tone.
“Yes,” Flint answers without hesitation. “This Morax was counting on Mickey bringing you to him. If he’d had backup, we think they would have intervened to help when things went south for Mickey,” Flint explains. “But it was just Mickey, and we quickly got your parents to a secure location where they can’t be traced. No one saw. Alder shifted them out of here very quickly.”
“You think it’s better for them to be away from me, but not at our trailer,” I guess.
Flint nods. “Exactly. Demons can sense demons. It’s why we were worried that you’d be attacked in the first place. You put off an aura of power that they’ll be drawn to. But your parents don’t. They’ll be safe where we have them.”
Alder goes on. “By now, Morax knows his plan didn’t work, and he’ll probably have another one in place. Which is why we think it’s best we steer clear of the safe house for now. The wards and security will keep almost anything out, and we’ll be able to get there quickly if an alarm is tripped to make sure everything is fine.”
I take a deep breath and try to calm my anxious heart.
“You can call them of course,” Alder tells me, pullin’ his phone from his pocket. He opens it and hands it to me, and I have a Homer Simpson doh moment as I reach for his phone and look down at the contact that says SH. Here I was, worryin’ that I wouldn’t be able to talk to them at all, and Mama and Daddy would be forced to stew and wonder if I was okay until we can get this Ophidian fella sorted.
But hello, it’s the age of the technology, which somehow just slipped right out of my mind like one was oil and the other water. I click on the call icon, and the phone rings twice before a grunt sounds on the other end. I pull the phone away and stare at it for a moment before pullin’ it back to my ear.
“Daddy?” I ask cautiously.
A curse sounds off, and then I hear the distinct sound of movement like he dropped the phone before my daddy comes on the line. “Hello?” he greets warily.
“Daddy, thank