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Lucas had been coming up behind me, but now stopped in mid-stride.
"That's okay, Lucas," she said. "I'll stay back here. But if anyone has a spare piece of apparel..."
Lucas already had his shirt half-unbuttoned. He handed it to me and I took it to Elena.
"Always the gentleman," she said as he turned his back. "Thank you. I promise I'll get it back in one piece--Oh." She fingered the bloodied bullet hole, eyes widening. "What happened?"
"Got shot through the heart," I said. "But he's fine now."
"Uh-huh," she said, brows arching. "That must have been some healing spell."
"It's a long story. I'll explain later. So what the heck are you doing here, anyway?"
"Looking for you two," she said as she shrugged on Lucas's shirt. "When you missed your eleven o'clock check-in yesterday morning, I started to worry. I phoned your cell and left messages, then I kept phoning and finally someone answered--a guy who found your phone lying in an alley near here. Not a good sign. So we caught the next flight for Miami."
Elena tugged down the shirt, craning her neck to see how far it fell.
"Everything's covered." I leaned around the corner. "Lucas? She's decent."
"So long as I don't bend over," she said with a sigh. "I really have to start leaving my clothing in more convenient places."
"Or you could buy a big fanny pack," I said. "Strap it around your waist before you Change."
"Don't laugh. I've actually considered that."
"Where's Clayton?" Lucas asked. "I assume you didn't come alone."
"Oh!" I said. "Savannah. Did you--"
"She's with Jeremy at a hotel near here. Very worried and mad as hell about being left out of the search. You should call right away. I have my cell phone..." She grimaced. "...which is with my clothing. Sorry."
"Fanny pack," I said.
"No kidding. Now, Clay..." She looked around. "We split up to cover more ground. I should have howled for him before I Changed back, but I was so surprised seeing you two here that I completely forgot."
"You could howl now," I said.
She fixed me with a look. "No, thank you."
"Can you whistle?" Lucas asked.
"A much less embarrassing choice," she said. "Now let's just hope he recognizes it."
Elena put her fingers in her mouth, but only managed a squeal that sounded more like a stuck pig. A laugh sounded behind us.
"You sure howling wouldn't have been less embarrassing, darling?" Clay asked as he rounded the corner into the alley. He lifted a bundle of clothes. "Forgot something?"
"Thank you." Elena took the pile, rooted into her jeans pocket, and handed me her cell phone. "Just hit redial for the hotel."
I spoke to Jeremy, then to Savannah. I told them we were fine and we'd be there in a few minutes. By the time I hung up, Elena was walking out from an adjacent alley, twisting her hair back in a ponytail. Lucas and Clay were talking off to the side.
"We're too late, darling," Clay said as Elena approached. "They finished without us."
She glanced at me. "Bad guy dead?"
I nodded. "Bad guy dead."
"Damn," she muttered. "Well, that's good, of course..."
