Page 7 of Unspoken (Shadow Falls: After Dark #3)

Chapter Seven

Coffee. Della didn’t drink the dark bitter brew, but the waitress hadn’t asked. She just dropped two cups on the table as if it were a requirement.

So Della now held the lukewarm cup and turned it. Lucas sat across from her. He hadn’t touched his coffee, but he’d wolfed down a burger.

Over the phone, Burnett had insisted that Della and Lucas leave before the media showed up and plastered their faces on the news.

“What if Mrs. Chi comes back?” Della had insisted.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned about ghosts since I married my wife is that if they want you, they’ll find you. There’s an all-night diner right around the corner. Go there. I’ll see what I can find out and meet you.”

Della picked up her phone and saw that it was almost two. What was taking Burnett so long? She stared out the window into the dark cold night. Her mind slipped away from the Chis to Chase. Had he come back to her house looking for her? Was she going to tell Burnett about his little bathroom visit?

Determined footsteps moved down the sidewalk. Della looked to the diner door, waiting for Burnett to appear. Dressed in faded jeans, a black shirt, and black leather jacket, he looked like a force to be reckoned with.

She worried he’d consider the Chis’ murder more of an inconvenience than an important case. But the moment she saw his gaze on her, she knew differently. For all his gruffness and even his appearance, there was innate goodness in him.

He dropped into a chair beside her, giving both her and Lucas a nod. The waitress, a thirty-year-old bleached blonde, came swaying over, seductively, with a cup and pot of coffee dangling from one hand.

“Hey there, sweetie.” She slid the cup to him, leaning over as she filled the cup, as if to make sure he got a good peek at her cleavage.

Burnett nodded, and much to the woman’s dismay, he didn’t even offer her boobs a glance.

“You need anything?” she asked. “Anything at all?”

“No, thank you. That will be it,” Burnett’s tone pretty much dismissed her. He wasn’t so much rude as matter-of-fact.

The waitress walked off, a lot less seductively. Burnett’s gaze shifted to Della. “Sorry for your loss.”

Della swallowed a lump in her throat. “She was just a neighbor, but she was… nice. I saw her tonight at Whataburger. She was getting her husband dinner. She told me to be careful.”

“What time did you see her?” Burnett asked.

“A few minutes after seven.”

He picked up his cup. “The food was still in the bags.” He sipped from the rim of coffee where steam swirled up. He made a face and set the coffee down. “Someone could have followed her, pushed their way inside, or they were already in.”

“So no forced entry?” Lucas asked.

“No.”

Della gave her own cup another twist. “If someone knocked, they would have opened the door.”

“Even to strangers and after hours?” Burnett asked.

“Yeah.” Della stared into the cold dark brew in her cup for several seconds. “For that matter if someone asked for the money, they’d probably have given it to them too.” She looked up. “Was it weres?”

“There are mixed signals. It was a bloody crime scene, and I picked up traces of weres, but usually weres like to throw some muscle around this time of the month. Nothing looked overly ransacked.”

“Maybe they were easy marks and didn’t require any muscle.” Della’s stomach clenched.

“Could be. I’ve secured the paranormal mortician for the autopsy. We’ll know more when she’s finished. It probably won’t happen for a few days.” His gaze slipped to Lucas. “What do you think?”

“He’s going to defend his own kind,” Della snapped.

Burnett frowned. “Let him answer.”

“But he’s already told me. He doesn’t think they—”

Burnett cleared his throat. Della realized he was right. It wasn’t Lucas she needed to aim her fury at.

“Sorry,” she said to the were. “I just…” That damn knot appeared again.

“It’s okay.” Lucas leaned in. “It hurts… to lose people we care about.”

Della recalled that Lucas had lost his grandmother not too long ago.

Burnett settled back in his chair. “So what did you get?” he asked Lucas again.

“I picked up six different traces. Three were weak, like half-breeds.”

“Six?” Della asked. She realized what she’d missed. Something important. “The traces I got at the jewelry store, they didn’t… ring familiar. I don’t know if they belonged to the same guys I saw earlier.”

“You saw them?” Burnett asked.

“It was around seven-thirty. I went out… for a bit. I picked up their scent and dropped down. They were walking about half a block from the store.”

“When you got their trace, did it include blood?”

“No,” Della said. Had she even seen the killers? She needed to quit making assumptions.

“How good of a look did you get?” Burnett asked.

“Pretty good. They were around my age, maybe a little older.”

“Were they in gang attire?”

“No,” Della said. “They looked like some young weres out on a Saturday night.”

“That may have been exactly what they were,” Burnett said. “But even if they are innocent, they might have seen something. Do you think you could describe them?”

“Yeah,” Della said.

He had her describe their facial features and typed her answers into his phone.

Pocketing his phone, he turned the cup in his hands as if hesitating to broach another subject. “Did the spirit give you anything?”

“No. She was confused.” Then Della remembered her cat. “Her cat was with her and then wasn’t. I heard someone say the cat was still alive and for someone to get it to a vet.” Della swallowed another lump. “We know weres and felines don’t mix.”

“And the fact that it had any life in it at all could mean it wasn’t weres,” Lucas added.

Della couldn’t argue.

Burnett sighed. “We’ll know more when the autopsies are in.”

“Has the family been notified?” Della remembered that their daughter lived in California.

Burnett looked down at his cup. “The police are taking care of it.”

Della got a vision of Mrs. Chi holding her red tabby. She’d loved Chester. “Can you find out where they took the cat?”

Burnett nodded.

Silence filled the diner. Only a few forks clicked against plates. “I want to work the case,” Della said.

Burnett raised one eyebrow. “You’re already working one.”

“You work two or three cases at a time,” Della countered.

“I’m not seventeen.” He frowned.

“I’ll be eighteen next month!”

Burnett glanced at Lucas. “Why don’t you head back? I’ll see Della home.”

Della rolled her eyes. She didn’t need to be seen home!

Lucas reached for the bill. “I got it,” Burnett said and moved into Lucas’s chair.

Della watched Lucas leave, then faced Burnett. “Your male chauvinist pig is showing again. You might want to suck it in a little bit.”

Burnett’s brows pinched. “What?”

She shook her head. “Lucas has a longer walk to get back to his car than I do to get back to my house. Why didn’t you see him to his car?”

Burnett blinked. “I wanted to talk to you… alone.”

“So that comment about seeing me home was just a ruse? Is that what you’re saying?”

He opened his mouth to answer, then shut it. And she knew why. She heard his accelerated heart rate.

“I thought so.”

“Friggin’ hell. Fine! Kick my ass for wanting to make sure you’re safe.”

“No, kick your ass for thinking I can’t take care of myself. And don’t say it’s because you care. Because you care about him, too. It’s because I’m a girl.”

He raked a palm over his face. “Okay, I’ll admit it. I might be a little more protective of the girls in my life than the guys. Does that make me a male chauvinist pig? I don’t think so. But I can hear Holiday in my head saying it does.”

She smiled in victory. “You should listen to your wife more often.”

His eyes brightened a hue. “I give you permission to call me on it each and every time, but you might as well get used to it. I’m not going to be able to change because I’m not going to stop caring. No more than you or Chase will stop being pains in my ass.”

Della leaned back, respecting his acceptance that she wouldn’t give in. Because hell, yeah, she’d keep… “You’ve seen Chase?” she asked.

Burnett didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to.

“Did he hand over Feng?” she asked, hoping even when her heart knew that Chase would protect Feng, just as she would her father.

“No. He’s saying a man named Douglas Stone killed your aunt.”

“And?”

“And I only got my hands on the file about the guy two minutes before I got your text.”

“A file?”

“The Vampire Council has been looking for him. But they haven’t been able to find him.”

She slumped back in her chair. “Do you believe any of this? It’s kind of convenient, isn’t it? My uncle is accused of murder and suddenly he knows who killed his sister.”

“You’re right. It could be a lie. But he didn’t just remember who did it. The file shows that the council’s been looking for this guy for over fifteen years.”

“Then why, if Feng’s innocent, hasn’t he come out of hiding? Why hasn’t he stepped forward and told the FRU this?”

Burnett rested his hand on the table. “Maybe because he knows if we don’t find this guy, he’ll be accused. Or maybe… he’s hiding something else.”

“What more could he be hiding?” Della asked.

“I don’t know.”

“But you believe Chase?”

“I believe Chase believes it. I’m just not sure if he’s right.”

“So Chase just shows up right before you come here and hands you a file of who he thinks killed my aunt?”

Burnett pulled his cup closer. “There’s a little more to it than that.”

Something in the way Burnett didn’t meet her eyes when he answered told her there was a lot more to it than that.

“Oh, hell. What is it you’re not telling me?”

Burnett looked up. “Chase resigned from the council.”

“He… did? He was so loyal to them.”

Burnett gave his cup a turn. “And… he put in his resume to the FRU.”

She shook her head. Less than a month ago, when Della thought their relationship was actually going somewhere, she had suggested that Chase do this very thing. He’d countered that she should come to work for the council. They’d butted heads.

Then instead of either of those things happening, she’d discovered all his lies, his deceit, and he ran off.

So why was he doing this now? Did he have ulterior motives?

“Are you hiring him?”

“I don’t hire agents.” He paused. “But yes, the FRU is hiring him.”

“But he came to you about it?” she accused. “So you helped—”

“Actually, he went to them first.”

Burnett picked his cup up. “There’s one other thing. Two, actually.”

“Why do I have a feeling I’m not going to like this?”

When he didn’t answer right away, she exhaled. “Just tell me.”

“Chase will be working under me. And living at Shadow Falls.” He set his cup back down. The clank of the white ceramic cup on the table seemed to punctuate his words.

“Well, isn’t that just jim-dandy. Why?” she asked.

“Several reasons.” His eyes tightened. “While I believe Chase when he says he doesn’t know where your uncle is, it certainly couldn’t hurt to keep a close eye on him in case Feng decides to contact him. You have to agree with that.”

Agree with it, yes, but she liked it about as much as she would a punch to the gut. She pulled her cup close, then, almost as if to punish herself, she took a sip.

Damn, it was nasty. She had to work hard not to gag. “What’s the other reason?”

He leaned forward a bit. “Chase infuriates me. He’s arrogant and hardheaded.”

Does he remind you of anyone? Della almost spouted off, but bit it back.

“In spite of being misguided at times, his intentions are good. With some training, he would be a big asset to both the FRU and Shadow Falls.”

Hearing positive things about someone who’d hurt you was like touching a lemon after getting a paper cut. It stung. All the way to the bone.

Burnett cut her a hard stare. “You and Chase, you’ll get along.”

“Oh, sure we will. Like cake and ice cream.” Or fire and gasoline. “Do you know where he is right now?”

Burnett gave her a hard stare. “Don’t think for one minute I’m saying you have to make amends with him. That decision is yours and yours alone. And if he tries to put any pressure on you—in any way—I’ll kick his ass so hard he’ll find himself in France again before he catches his breath.”

“Don’t worry,” Della said. “If he puts any pressure on me, he won’t be breathing.” She stood up. “Is he at Shadow Falls now?”

Burnett frowned. “It’s almost two in the morning. You’re going back to your house. I’ll call tomorrow and speak to your father about you coming back to Shadow Falls. You can interrogate Chase then.”