Page 19 of Unspoken (Shadow Falls: After Dark #3)

Chapter Nineteen

Kylie led Della to the table, then pointed to the chair. Della dropped down and set her phone in clear view.

Normally, Della didn’t mind the Diet Coke round-table discussions. She’d learned that sharing helped a little. And commiserating over her two best friends’ problems reminded her that everyone’s life sucked too. Fate wasn’t just picking on her. It was an equal-opportunity abuser.

But right now on top of feeling as if she were drowning in her problems, she was pissed. And… worried sick over the pisser. She should have followed him, but no, his little don’t-hang-out-with-Steve bit had left her shocked. Who did he think he was, telling her who she could hang out with?

Still, she worried. Not by choice. Damn bond! She cut her phone a quick glance.

The temptation struck to call Burnett and tell him what Chase was doing. The only thing that stopped her was knowing that if he did that to her, she’d raise holy hell. But if Chase lived through this, she might just have to kill him. That’d teach him to take stupid risks, wouldn’t it?

“Who’s going first?” Kylie pulled the tab of her soda, sending a fizzy noise into the room.

“Let the witch,” Della said. “I’m curious to why she’s tossing dried herbs and doing the hokey pokey.”

Miranda rolled her eyes. “You should be thanking me, not poking fun at me.”

“I wasn’t poking, just calling it like I saw it.”

“No arguing at the round-table talks,” Kylie insisted.

Miranda opened her drink.

The fizzy sound actually brought a sense of calm to Della’s nerves.

But obviously not for Miranda, who glared at Della. “You scared the pee out of me,” the witch bellowed out. “Since I got back this afternoon, I’ve been feeling an invader. And then I find—”

“Find what?” Della asked.

“An invader.”

“Like a spirit?” Della asked. “Because, you know, between Miss Ghost Whisperer here,” she nodded at Kylie, “and now me,” she frowned, “there might be a few hanging around.” She looked up at the ceiling. “Just not five.”

“Not ghosts,” Miranda said. “Just a strong intuition that something—or someone—is spying on us. Like when I felt that Mario creep here trying to kill Kylie.”

“Have you told Burnett?” Della gave her phone another quick check.

“No, I… want to make sure I’m right before I get him all worked up. You know what he’s like when he gets… worked up.” Miranda frowned. “Plus, I could be wrong.”

Della popped open her own soda. The sound tickled her ears and created a bit more calm. “Have you had these feelings before and were wrong?”

“Of course.” Miranda pulled the soda up for a sip.

“How many times?” Della asked, wanting to calculate the odds that something really existed, or if Miranda was just a paranoid twit.

“I don’t know exactly.”

“Estimate,” Della snapped.

“Ten maybe.”

“Two out of twelve.” Paranoid twit. “Good to know. Let’s move on.” Della glanced back at Miranda. “So what other issues do you have?”

“It feels real,” Miranda insisted.

“We’ll all stay on guard.” Kylie looked at Miranda, and then added, “So how was your weekend?”

“I hate going first,” the witch whined.

“Fine, I’ll go.” Kylie leaned in a bit. “My mom is dating a new guy. He’s five years younger than her. Which means he’s only fifteen years older than me. It feels weird. And get this, she met him at the grocery store. What kind of guys really go to the grocery store to pick up chicks?”

“A lot of them, from what I hear,” Miranda said.

Kylie shook her head. “What kind of pickup lines do they use? Hey look at the size of those melons?”

Della glanced at her phone again. “As long as it’s not the cucumbers he’s interested in, she’s safe.”

“Ugh,” Kylie said. “Then my dad comes over, and I swear he’s flirting with my mom. When is he going to move on? It hurts to see him all gooey-eyed for my mom when I know all she’s got eyes for is Mr. Meet-Me-in-the-Produce-Aisle.”

“Do you think he still loves her?” Miranda asked.

“Yeah, I do. And I know he deserves to be a little miserable because he’s the one who got caught playing pin the assistant to the elevator wall.”

“Ew, they did it in an elevator?” Della asked.

“I don’t know. I’m just saying that because he works in a high-rise. But I wouldn’t doubt it. My point is that it’s his fault, but he needs to let go.

“Oh, and Lucas came over and we went out on Saturday. Which brings me to my big complaint about you two.”

“Us two?” Miranda asked.

Della pulled her phone a little closer. “What did we do?”

“You didn’t notice something.”

“You got another hickey?” Miranda turned her head to the side to check out Kylie’s neck.

“No.” Kylie reached up to swipe her hair from her eyes.

Which Della noticed was the third time. That’s when she spotted it. And it only meant more change.

“Are you talking about the fact that you’re wearing an engagement ring?”

Kylie’s face lit up and she wiggled her fingers. “It’s just a promise ring.”

Miranda snagged Kylie’s hand. “It’s a pretty big promise.”

“I know, isn’t it beautiful?” Her smile widened.

“Yeah. It’s great.” Della did another check on her phone.

“What’s that mean?” Kylie asked.

“What does what mean?” Della looked up.

“The tone. And don’t deny it. I heard it.”

Nothing,” Della said, not liking that she was wearing her emotions on her sleeve. “I’m happy for you.” And deep down it was true. It was just… change.

“But?” Kylie asked.

Oh, hell, why not be honest. “But it worries me that you and Lucas are going to end up getting married before we three get to go off to college. The three musketeers is gonna become two. And then one, because one of us,” she pointed to Miranda, “will end up killing the other.”

“I just said it wasn’t an engagement ring. And just because I’m wearing a promise ring doesn’t mean it’s going to happen any faster.”

“I’ll bet Lucas has other thoughts.”

“No, he doesn’t. He knows we’re planning on going to college together.”

“And what’s Lucas doing?” Della asked.

“He’s going to go wherever we go. Like you, he plans to work for the FRU, and he’s pretty much a shoo-in, so where he gets his education isn’t all that important.”

“I just think—”

“Then quit thinking,” Kylie said. “Or I should say, overthinking. Just because we have boyfriends doesn’t mean we aren’t going to always be together.”

“Yeah.” Even as confident as Kylie sounded, Della didn’t completely buy it. Everything in life changed. Most of the time, a person just had to accept it. And she was friggin’ tired of accepting shit.

Kylie looked at Miranda. “How was your weekend?”

“Terrible,” Miranda said. “Dad invited Tabitha over to the house and her mom came to drop her off. My mom had a conniption and wouldn’t open the door. The way my mom acts, you would think Tabitha’s mom was the other woman and not her.”

And from the way Miranda said it, it was clear the witch was having a hard time coming to turns with her home issues. Della supposed learning you had a half sister and that your dad was still secretly married to your sister’s mom would take some getting used to.

Miranda took a big sip of soda. “Then Mom and Dad argued. Dad spent the night as a donkey. Oh, but it gets worse. I had to explain to Shawn why I had a donkey in my living room.”

“Shawn?” Della and Kylie said at the same time. Shawn was a warlock, Miranda’s childhood crush, and now the new cute FRU agent who had a thing for the witch.

“You’re seeing Shawn?” Kylie asked. “I thought you were going to see how things went with Perry first.”

“I… well, I…”

While Miranda spit out random words that didn’t make sense, Della took another sip of soda and then checked her phone to see if she had a text from Chase. She didn’t. Damn him.

“He came over,” Miranda said. “He even said he knew I was trying to make a decision and he wanted to give me space. But not so much space that I’d forget about him.”

“He’s too cute to forget about,” Kylie said.

“But so is Perry,” Miranda said. “I saw him tonight and he was… sweet and said he’d be patient. But… if he’d known I was out with Shawn last night, he’d have a cow.”

“Well, let him have a cow and a couple of bulls while’s he’s at it,” Della said. “No one should tell you who you can spend some time with. I mean, who the hell does he think he is? You didn’t ask to be bonded to him! And if he goes off and gets himself killed, that’s his fault!”

Confusion appeared on her friends’ faces and she realized what she’d said. She dropped her forehead down on the table.

“I think the vamp has some explaining to do,” Miranda said.

“Yup,” Kylie chimed in. “Start talking.”

***

Chase landed in the back of the abandoned building on the outskirts of Houston, where the Hell’s Pit was hidden in some underground tunnels. Pulling his phone out to see who’d texted him, he saw Della’s number and almost didn’t read it.

Then, refusing to be childish, he read the message. “Text me that you’re okay.”

He gritted his teeth, fighting back the sense of betrayal. He felt like an idiot for being jealous. He’d always thought jealousy was a fool’s emotion. If people wanted to be with someone else, it simply meant they didn’t want to be with you and they weren’t worth hurting over.

Yet, here he was… hurting. Feeling insecure. Another emotion he wasn’t accustomed to feeling. The last time he remembered feeling like this was with Tami, when he’d been fourteen.

Was this what it was like when you really cared about someone? Damn, he cared about Della. And the thought of Steve putting his hands on her did a number to his gut.

Realistically, he knew the guy probably hadn’t had his hands on her. Chase hadn’t smelled Steve on Della. The shape-shifter’s scent had just been on Baxter. But from the look in Della’s eyes when he mentioned Steve, he knew the two had been together.

He had started to text her back when he heard someone in the distance. Putting his phone away, he listened. Was Burnett still having him tailed?

When the noise came from the shed, he relaxed and pulled his backpack off.

He moved toward the small building that he knew was the back entrance of the prison. Then Leo stepped out of the small door.

“Hey?” Chase walked up. The African American man, ten years older than Chase, stood about four inches taller than him and had the body of a football player.

Leo shook his head. “I don’t know if I think you’re stupid or if I’m impressed.” He opened the shed’s door, where a staircase led down.

“Let’s go with the first one.” Chase followed the guy down. The smell of unwashed bodies permeated the air. Leo got halfway down and turned, his eyes a brighter blue. “Is that O blood I smell?”

Chase nodded. “One for you and a couple for bribes.”

Leo smiled and continued down. Their footsteps echoed through the concrete halls as they made their way to the small office. There stood a huge metal door with some serious locks on it.

“You been here before, right?” Leo asked.

“Yeah.” Once. At the time, they’d only had two prisoners locked up.

“We supply soap and water, but they don’t bathe. They know the smell gets to us.”

“I’ll deal with it.”

“We lock ’em in their cells, but those bars are cheap metal and don’t hold up to some of those prisoners. We’re supposed to get upgraded bars next month.” He looked at a small screen. “From what I can see, no one has gotten loose. But every time I go down, I go with the notion that someone is loose. It’s saved my life.”

Leo reached over to the desk. “This here’s a Taser. You ever work one?”

“No,” Chase said, tempted to tell him he wouldn’t need it. His hands, with his Reborn strength, could cause plenty of damage. But he decided to take it. He wasn’t afraid, but he wasn’t stupid, either.

Leo pulled off the tip of the gun to show him how to load it. “Just pull the trigger.” He grabbed a few extra cartridges. “Put these in your pocket. Whatever you do, don’t let them get their hands on it. It hurts like a mother. I learned the hard way.”

“Got it.” Chase tucked the extra cartridges in his pocket.

“Be extra careful of the weres. Tomorrow’s their night and they’re at their strongest. If one gets out, don’t hold back. They are planning on killing you and you best be planning to do the same. They’re all on death row anyway.” Leo shook his head. “Seriously, kid, we’ve lost two guards and a visitor this year. You sure—”

“They have visiting privileges?” Chase asked.

“Yeah. The visitors sign waivers and pay for their burial before they go down. And it’s nonrefundable. I always take my wife something nice when we get anyone stupid enough to visit.”

Chase smiled. “Then I’m sure she wishes there were a lot more stupid people in the world.”

Leo nodded. “Didn’t you say it was Douglas Stone you were looking for? The same one the council is looking for, right?”

“Yeah,” Chase said.

“Then you are wasting your time, they already checked out that lead.”

“What lead?” Chase asked, unaware there’d been a lead.

“One of the guys had a cousin come see him. He put his last name down as Jones, but I heard the prisoner call him Stone. After he left, I recalled a Stone on the wanted list. I called it in, and was told they would look into it. Later, when the same dude came back, I called again and they said this guy had checked out and wasn’t our guy.”

“Really?” Chase asked. “Who did you talk to on the council?”

“I don’t know for sure, but maybe the blond guy?”

“Kirk Curtis?” Chase asked.

“Yeah, maybe. It’s been a while.”

Chase tried to wrap his head around that information. If Kirk had a lead, he would have told Eddie. Or maybe he didn’t because it didn’t check out. Still, something about this didn’t feel right.

“How often does this guy come to visit?”

“Not that often. He came a couple weeks ago, though.”

“What’s the inmate’s name?”

“Edward Pope,” Leo said. “He’s in cell number eleven. Ugly bastard. He likes to bite.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

“There’s one main corridor. Cells on both sides. Stay in the middle, some of those guys are like octopuses and have tentacles with a long reach. They get you, they choke you to death if they don’t have a makeshift knife to do the job.”

“In the middle,” Chase repeated.

Leo exhaled. “Don’t get me wrong. I’ve heard you’re badass, kid, but there’s nothing but mean sons of bitches down there.”

“I’m told I’ve got a mean streak in me too,” Chase said.

Leo put his hand on a lever. “You step in; as soon as I lock this door, I’ll unlock the second gate. To get out, you have to lock the second gate. I have a peephole here.” He waved to the metal flap. “When I confirm it’s just you behind the gate, I’ll open this exit.”

“Got it,” Chase said.

Leo frowned. “I’ve got cameras, but I’ll have to cut them off or I’ll get my ass in a jam for letting you in. So I won’t know if you’re in trouble. You’re on your own.”

“Don’t worry.”

The door groaned as if it weren’t accustomed to opening. Chase moved in and a wave of cold washed over him. A chill ran up his spine. Was this just the normal cold, or the deadly kind of cold?

The iron door closed with a loud, bone-chilling clank. He supposed this place had seen its share of deaths. But even the dead weren’t going to stop him.

The noise rang louder. The second set of bars creaked as the last gate slowly opened. The smell of filth filled Chase’s nose and he had to concentrate on not gagging.

Leo’s voice echoed from the peephole. “Welcome to Hell’s Pit.”