Unspoken Page 19

  Burnett cleared his throat. “What matters is that both of you are safe. If either of you sense danger, I want you to pull back and call me.”

  Chase nodded.

  Burnett stood up. “You two go over the vision and meet me at the office in an hour.” Burnett left, and after about a minute, Chase started laughing. “Sausage and meatballs?”

  * * *

  They spent thirty minutes recounting the vision. It led nowhere. Chase offered nothing that Della didn’t recall. Frustrated, and feeling as if time were running out, she got up and started for the door.

  “Della?” Chase said, trying to stop her.

  “I’ll meet you at the office.”

  “Where are you going?” he asked and came to stand beside her.

  “I need to think,” she spouted out.

  He put his arms around her. And she let him. But when she felt herself about to cry, she pulled away and shot out.

  She ran. Once. Twice. All the way around the Shadow Falls property, hoping to work off some of her emotions. It didn’t help, but at least she wasn’t in danger of crying anymore.

  She arrived at the cabin a few minutes early. Perry stood on the office porch.

  Having not really spoken to him since he’d returned, she offered a quick “Welcome back.”

  He shrugged. “What a welcome.” He frowned. She got the feeling he was talking about his cousin.

  “Are you coming with us to talk to him?” Della asked.

  He nodded. “Maybe I can talk some sense into him this time,” the shape-shifter said. Pausing, he glanced down, and then added, “I’m sorry. You know I haven’t seen him in over twelve years. I wasn’t aware of any of this.”

  Della recognized the guilt in Perry’s eyes. “I know. Nobody blames you.”

  He dropped his hands into this jean pockets. “I still feel bad. But…” he paused. “I don’t think Sam’s all bad. I think he’s afraid, and not just of Burnett, but of that Stone character.”

  “Maybe he should have thought about that before he went to work for him.” She instantly regretted her gruffness and recalled how she’d felt about Chan, her cousin. He’d tiptoed close to the line of going rogue, but she’d still loved him. His death continued to haunt her.

  “True,” Perry said, and got quiet.

  “He’s still your cousin. This doesn’t change that.”

  Perry exhaled. “I know. And it feels … weird. Seeing him. Crazy, how I recognized him right away. I never thought I’d see any of my family.”

  Miranda had confided in Della about how Perry had been abandoned when he was young. No doubt that had to sting. The only thing worse was being abandoned by your family when you were seventeen. But this wasn’t about her.

  “That has to suck,” Della said.

  “Yeah.” Perry stared into the woods. “He knows where my mother and dad are.”

  Della heard his emotions, but was unsure what to say. “Are you going to go see them?”

  He shrugged again. “I don’t know. They sure as hell didn’t want me then. Why would they want me now?”

  She sensed the emotion stirring inside him. She couldn’t say he had tears in his eyes, but his eyes looked brighter.

  “Better yet,” he said, sounding angry, “why would I want to see them? I don’t care about them!”

  She heard his heart jump the tune of his lie. She knew all about caring when it felt wrong. She gave him a nudge with her elbow. “You might want to see them because you’re curious. Or maybe because you want them to know they were wrong about you. That you grew up to be someone they would have been proud of.” She inhaled. “Or maybe you just want to call them mo fos, shoot them the finger, and then moon their asses as you walk out. Not that you’d have to do that. But you could.”

  He grinned, but when his gaze met hers again she saw a sheen of tears in his eyes. “Thanks,” he said.

  “For what?” Della asked.

  “I don’t know. Listening, maybe. Saying the right thing.”

  She frowned. “I pretty much suck at that.”

  “Nah,” he said. “Actually, you’re not that bad at it.”

  “You know who’s better at it?” she said.

  “Who? Miranda?” he asked.

  “Uh, well, I was gonna say Kylie. She’s like a little Holiday. She says all the crap you don’t want to hear, but she’s right, and while you don’t like it, you need to hear it. But I’ll bet Miranda is good too.”

  He shook his head. “I wish I could talk to Miranda. She’s still playing hard to get.” Shuffling his feet, he looked out at the sky. At almost five, the sun was a big ball of yellow.

  “Do you know if Miranda’s seeing that FRU agent?”

  What could she say? Yeah, she saw him last weekend and wanted to kiss him.

  Shit. Shit. Shit. Della so didn’t want to get in the middle of this. But in a way she was. Smack dab in the middle, too. Worse than being in the middle, she’s been the cause of it.

  For the first time she felt guilty for encouraging the witch to give the warlock a chance. Perry would totally hate her if he knew that.

  But at the time, the shape-shifter had practically dumped Miranda. And as good a friend as Perry was, Miranda trumped him.

  “Is she?” Perry asked again.

  “I…” As a shape-shifter, Perry couldn’t sense if she lied, but lying to someone she liked gave her stomach cramps. But damn, this was why she didn’t like listening and being someone’s commiserating buddy.

  Right then, Burnett landed on the porch. Saved by the vampire. Relief spiraled through her. Temporary relief, but at this point she’d take it.

  “Where’s Chase?” Burnett asked.

  “Here,” Chase said, walking up.

  “Then let’s go get some answers.”

  * * *

  They had all walked into the observation room with a two-way mirror. Through the mirror Della saw Sam sitting at the table, looking lost and scared. Before anyone spoke to Sam, they were waiting on another agent, who’d briefly interrogated Sam. She hadn’t arrived yet.

  Another agent stuck his head into the room.

  “If he”—the man pointed to Chase—“is working this case, you need to get him to sign a contract now.”

  “Let’s get this over with.” Burnett led Chase out, leaving Della with Perry. Before the door closed, Shawn—Miranda’s Shawn—walked past.

  After staring at his cousin for a few seconds, Perry started toward the door. “I’ll be right back,” he offered. He was almost out the door when Della realized what he might be doing.

  “Hey,” she said.

  He looked back. “What?”

  “Don’t go looking for trouble.”

  “I’m not,” Perry said. “I just want some air.”

  “There’s plenty of air in here.”

  “I’ll be back.” He walked out.

  Della stood alone in the room, then looked back at Perry’s cousin.

  The door opened, making Della realize the room was soundproof. She hadn’t been able to hear anything outside the walls. She looked back, expecting Chase or Burnett, but in walked a woman, a young woman, only a few years older than Della. Her fitted black suit identified her as an agent. Della automatically checked her forehead and noted she was half vampire and half fae.

  “Oh, hey, I thought Burnett was in here,” she said.

  “He went to sign some of Chase Tallman’s paperwork,” Della answered.

  “I’m Trisha.”

  “I’m Della—”

  “I know who you are,” the woman said.

  Della studied her. “Have we met?”

  “No. I’ve just heard about you. That you’re planning on signing on with us.”

  “From Burnett?” Della felt a touch of pride.

  Trisha nodded.

  “Don’t believe half of what he says,” Della said.

  “Oh, he had nothing but good things to say. He told me just enough to make me feel sorry for you.”


  “Sorry for me?” Della emotionally flinched. What the hell had Burnett told them? About her parents?

  “Okay, that was a bad way of putting it. I meant I heard enough to know what you’re up against.”

  Della still didn’t understand, and her expression must have shown it, because Trisha continued, “When I first came to work here, I was assigned under Burnett.” She smiled. “I requested a transfer.”

  “Oh, you mean about him being a male chauvinist pig?”

  The woman grinned. “That might be a little strong.”

  “No, it’s not,” Della said. “I tell him that all the time.”

  She laughed. “Sounds like he met his match with you. But when you get here, if you’d like to train under me, I’d be honored.”

  “Thanks,” Della said. She hadn’t really considered the training period of becoming an agent, and for some reason it sent a thrill through her. As if that part of life was closer than she expected. With all her problems of late, she’d kind of lost the excitement of where life could lead.

  She glanced back up at Trisha, who appeared to be waiting for Della to say something else. “But I’ll probably just stick with Burnett. He’s a pain in the ass, but I’m told I can be the same. So we’re a pretty good pair.”

  She laughed. “Well, it sounds like you two belong together. To be honest, I’ve regretted my decision as well. He’s a good agent.”

  “So the other agents here aren’t as overprotective as Burnett?”

  “Well, they all have a little bit too much testosterone—just not as much as Mr. James. But after meeting you, I think you have enough estrogen to put them in their places.”

  All of a sudden, in the other room, Sam stood and banged on the door. “Are you gonna keep me in here all day?”

  Della and Trisha both glanced at the boy through the two-way mirror. “Looks as if he might be frustrated enough to talk now. Burnett asked me to soften him up earlier, but he wasn’t responding.”

  “He has to talk,” Della said, thinking of her father, and the ticking clock. In two weeks he could be sent to prison.

  “I read him when I was in there,” the agent said, and Della assumed she was referring to her fae ability to read emotion. “He’s not a bad kid, mostly scared. But we’re all scared, aren’t we?”

  “Yeah.” The woman had probably read Della’s emotions. But could she read her enough to know Della wasn’t afraid for herself—only for her father?

  Two weeks.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  “Just go in and be honest,” Burnett told Perry.

  Chase stood by Burnett as he spoke to the shape-shifter.

  “What are we doing? Good cop, bad cops? I’m nice to him, and then you two beat him up?” Perry asked.

  Chase heard concern in Perry’s voice, and obviously so did Burnett.

  “We’re not treating him as a hostile … yet,” Burnett said. “If he talks, we’ll go extra easy on him.”

  Chase wasn’t sure he agreed with that, but he didn’t think he had the right to argue.

  “Okay,” Perry nodded at Chase. The quick duck of the head didn’t come with any friendly pretense. The way Chase saw it, Perry was probably friends with Steve.

  “Go with Trisha.” Burnett motioned to the agent who walked up. “She’ll show you the way.”

  “Congratulations,” Trisha said, meeting Chase’s gaze.

  “Thank you.” Chase shook the agent’s hand, a real sense of pride filling his chest. He’d signed the papers. It was official. Chase Tallman was an FRU agent. He’d even be given a badge and a couple of black suits. Not that Chase wanted to wear them. But the badge, yeah, he kind of liked having it. It felt nice to … belong to something.

  Sure, he’d belonged to the council, but it hadn’t been so much his decision as it had been Eddie’s. This was his own doing. This was, Chase realized, his first real job.

  Not that he needed money. His parents had left him with more money than he knew what to do with. But then again, this wasn’t just a job. It was a career. It was something that would probably define his life from now until he was ready to retire.

  It hadn’t been anything like a ceremony, but in a small way it had felt like it to him. Part of him wished Della had been there. Because she should have been. Their lives were connected.

  He recalled the conversation with Steve, and the one with Della earlier. You still have a choice. He hadn’t lied to her, she did, but damn it, it was his mission in life to make sure she chose him.

  “Welcome to the team,” another agent called out.

  Chase nodded, but realized the one person who hadn’t congratulated him was the one walking at his side right now: Burnett.

  Was he still thinking about their earlier conversation about Chase’s trip to Hell’s Pit? The conversation had stuck with Chase, too. As much as he hated admitting it, Burnett had been right. Chase did feel invincible. No one had been more shocked than him when he’d felt that makeshift knife slice into his back. If it hadn’t been for the ghost, Chase wasn’t sure he’d have gotten out alive.

  “I plan on making you proud,” Chase said to Burnett.

  “Do that by staying alive,” Burnett said, confirming that Chase had been right about the man’s thoughts.

  “I will,” Chase said as they walked back into the room where they’d left Della.

  Della, phone to her ear, looked back at them and then down, as she held up one finger. “Yes. I shouldn’t be too late. I’ll stop by.”

  Chase tuned his ear to listen, hoping to hear who Della had made plans with and fearing it would be the good doctor, Steve.

  “Great,” a feminine voice answered. “Bring Chase with you.”

  He recognized Della’s cousin’s voice. Chase really liked Natasha and her boyfriend Liam. And remembering Perry’s cold shoulder, he was glad to know he had friends.

  Della looked up at him. He nodded at her to let her know it was a go for him, but she still said, “We’ll see.”

  What the hell?

  “Look, I’d better go now,” Della continued. “I’ll see you in bit. Oh, and again, I’m thrilled things worked out.”

  “Me too,” Natasha said. “Don’t forget to come by; I can’t wait to see you.”

  “I’ll be there.” Della hung up.

  “You ready to do this?” Della motioned to Sam behind the window.

  “Perry’s going in first,” Burnett said. “Then Chase and I.”

  “Not me?”

  “I think we have this,” Burnett said.

  Chase saw Della flinch, but she tried to rein her frustrations in. She was constantly doing that. Except with him. She didn’t hold back with him. At least not with anger.

  “Perry stepped out for air,” Della said.

  “Just met him in the hall.” Burnett paused and glanced back at Chase. “Meanwhile, Mr. Tallman has just made it official. He’s an agent. Got his badge, suits, and everything.”

  Della smiled at Chase, and it looked genuine—the kind of smile that reached her eyes, and made them twinkle a little brighter. He wanted to see that a hell of a lot more. See her happy, worry-free.

  And he would, his gut told him. Just as soon as the problems with her father were resolved.

  “Congratulations, Mr. Tallman,” Della said, her voice sounding sincere.

  “Thank you.” If Burnett weren’t in the room, Chase would have moved in for a kiss, because he’d learned that whenever she allowed herself to smile, it meant her guard was down. And only then did she let him close.

  What he wouldn’t give to knock that guard down for good. While he knew he needed to be patient, he couldn’t deny growing frustrated.

  “It feels nice,” he said, and held out his hand, hoping a handshake would curb his desire for a kiss.

  It looked as if she wasn’t going to accept it when he literally saw her guard go back up. But she slipped her hand into his. He took advantage of the moment and gently ran his thumb over her knuckles, hoping she felt
that same spark of something wonderful that he did. Touching her was like sticking his finger into a happy socket. Nothing made him feel more alive.

  From the quick way she retrieved her hand and the way her eyes widened, he knew she felt the electricity too. So why the hell was she fighting it?

  Then through the two-way mirror, Chase saw Perry walk in and sit down across from his cousin, Sam. The two of them looked enough alike to be brothers.

  “They send you in here to soften me up?” Sam asked.

  “Maybe,” Perry said. “Look, you gotta tell them what you know, or you’re going to go down for a lot of shit.”

  “I didn’t do anything but break into that school. What? Is that gonna get me sentenced to life?” Sarcasm rang from the guy’s voice.

  “Don’t you get it?” Perry asked, his eyes turning gold. “You were helping that Stone guy, and that means you’ll be responsible for everything he did too. And from what I hear he’s a murderer.”

  “Whoa. I didn’t hurt anyone. And hell, yeah, he’s a badass. And if I talk, he’ll come after me.”

  “Then tell them what they want to know and let them catch him. If you go to jail, you know this guy is gonna think you’ll crater and talk. If he’s half as bad as you think he is, he has friends in low places. He’ll have you killed. Do you want to die?”

  * * *

  Thanks to Perry, it only took Chase and Burnett a few minutes to get the shape-shifter to spill his guts.

  “I met the guy at the Get-Along Bar. It’s known to be friendly to half-breeds such as myself. He was vampire, but had a slightly weird pattern like … he had a bit of something else in him. He said his name was Michael Higby, but someone else told me he also went by Stone. I heard he hired a lot of down-on-their-luck bar patrons to do grunt work for him. That’s how I got here. But rumor had it he has a gang called the Bastards.”

  “What kind of gang is it?” Burnett asked.

  “I don’t know. Like I said, he was … vampire … Mostly, anyway. He approached me and said he needed a shape-shifter to break into a school. I was to spy on a—” He looked at Chase. “You. He wanted to know what you were doing at that school. It didn’t sound illegal. I thought you were like his long-lost kid or something. I was just trying to reunite a family, you know?”