Awake at Dawn (34 page)

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“Will there be a trial … or something like that?” Would Kylie have to testify?

Burnett looked right at her, as if remembering his promise that the guy wouldn’t go unpunished. “Not really a trial. The Vampire Council basically decide his fate, but … they have assured me that they don’t take lightly the killing of normals.”

She didn’t want to think too hard about what his fate would be. That might remove some of the relief of knowing that she would never have to face that rogue vampire again. But how relieved could she be? Was this incident tied to the ghost’s warning? Was someone she loved still in danger?

She stared down at her hands to try and digest the information and sort out her questions. When she looked up, she saw Burnett’s eyes locked on the computer screen.

“What’s that?” he asked in a dark voice.

Not wanting him to suspect Della of such a horrific crime, she grabbed the mouse and hit the red X. “Nothing.” Too late she remembered he could tell when she was lying. And even if he hadn’t, her clumsy attempt to get the screen cleared would have told him the truth.

His gaze shot back to her eyes. “Kylie, don’t do this.”

“Do what?” she asked, unsure what he thought she was doing.

“Tell me you aren’t investigating car accidents looking for Code-Red incidents.”

Code Red. Kylie remembered that was what the FRU called a staged car accident to mask a death at the hands of a supernatural. Kylie looked back at the blank screen. “So … one of those accidents was a Code-Red case?” Maybe to cover up a vampire kill? Like Della had feared may have happened when she turned?

He turned his head and studied her, reading her. “If you’re not investigating it, who is?”

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Oh crap, Kylie thought.
What to say? What to say? It couldn’t be a lie
or he’d know.

“Della?” he asked.

“No,” Kylie lied again without thinking.

He closed his eyes.

“Please,” Kylie said, not even sure for what she was pleading.

His dark eyes opened and he looked at her.

“She couldn’t have done that,” Kylie said. “She’s a good person.” Burnett glanced toward Della’s bedroom door. He placed a hand on Kylie’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze, then he walked out without saying another word.

Two seconds after he left, Della walked out of the bedroom. Kylie had tears of guilt in her eyes.

“It’s okay,” Della said, but she looked scared. “I was going tell him about it anyway.” She started to leave as if to find Burnett.

“You couldn’t have done that,” Kylie said.

Della looked back over her shoulder. Tears brightened her eyes. “I hope you’re right.”

* * *

Kylie sat there for about thirty minutes, numb with guilt. If she hadn’t been reading the screen when Burnett came in, this would not have happened. That’s when she realized she couldn’t just sit here. She had to do something. She tore out of the cabin, running with everything she had to the office where she expected Burnett would have Della.

Because everyone was either in a class or a meeting, the trail was empty. Kylie hadn’t gone too far when she felt it—that feeling of being watched—but her heart and mind weighed too heavy on Della to care.

Kylie made it to the opening of the trail when she saw Burnett’s car, with Della in it, pull out of the front parking lot. “No.”

“It’s okay,” Holiday said from behind her.

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Kylie looked back, and because the same worry she felt was etched on Holiday’s face, she knew that Holiday had been informed about what happened. “It’s my fault.” Guilt filled her lungs, making it hard to breathe.

Holiday guided her to the office where she gave Kylie a hug. “It’s okay,” she repeated, sending a surge of calm into Kylie.

“Where’s he taking her?” Kylie swallowed a lump of emotion.

“To the FRU office to do some tests. DNA and bite-mark imprints.”

“So one of the accidents was a Code Red?” Kylie asked.

“Both,” Holiday confessed.

Kylie’s heart felt like it folded over onto itself.

“Is everything okay?” a male voice spoke from the doorway.

Lucas leaned on the door frame. Worry filled his eyes.

“It’s fine.” Holiday waved him out.

He didn’t move. “You okay?” he asked Kylie as if he needed to hear it from her.

She had yet to speak to Lucas since he’d been back and for some reason, her voice box refused to work now. All she could manage was a nod.

He walked away, leaving a wake of genuine concern.

Holiday pulled Kylie over to the sofa and they sat down. “It’s really going to be okay.” She pressed a hand on Kylie’s back and sent comforting warmth washing through her.

But the image of Della with fear in her eyes filled Kylie’s mind. Della and fear didn’t mix. Della was strong, and bold, and way too kind to hurt someone. “She didn’t do this,” Kylie told Holiday. “It’s stupid to put her through the tests.”

“Della wanted to do this. She needs to know.”

“But she didn’t do it,” Kylie said again, realizing Holiday hadn’t agreed with her.

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“That’s what we’re hoping, Kylie. But if she did, there are extenuating circumstances. She was undergoing the change. The FRU will overlook it, I’m sure.”

Kylie inwardly flinched at Holiday’s words. She didn’t know what bothered her more—that Holiday could believe Della could do this, or that new vampires could kill innocent humans and not be held accountable.

* * *

Holiday called three hours later and told Kylie that Della would be returning. She gave permission for Kylie and Miranda to take the rest of the afternoon off and wait for her. And that’s just what Kylie and Miranda did. They sat at the kitchen table waiting. Kylie turned a Diet Coke around in her hands. Miranda didn’t even move.

“She didn’t do this,” Kylie kept saying. “How can they think it’s possible?”

Miranda groaned as if tired of Kylie’s litany. “This isn’t the same world you used to live in. Shit happens here. Bad shit. Teenage girls die. Cats get turned into skunks. Werewolves come into your cabin and try to kill you. And when a vampire turns for the first time, they can … do things that they wouldn’t do in their right minds.”

“You think she did it!” Kylie accused.

“I don’t know,” Miranda said. “But if she did, it wasn’t her fault and I won’t stop loving her. And damn it, Kylie, you shouldn’t, either. She thinks you walk on water. If you turn your back on her, it’ll kill her.” Tears filled Kylie eyes at even the suggestion that Della could’ve done something so terrible. But deep down she knew, even if it was true, she wouldn’t turn her back on her friend.

Ten minutes later Della, eyes red, walked into the cabin and dropped into a chair. “The bite marks weren’t mine. None of the fingerprints, either.”

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A smile spread across Kylie’s face and her heart. “I told you.” Tears slipped from Della’s dark eyes and rolled down her pale cheeks.

“They think Chan did it.”

Miranda looked from Della to Kylie. “Who’s Chan?”

“My cousin,” Della told her, no longer caring about keeping the secret.

“He helped me through my change. He didn’t have to do it. But he did.”

“Oh,” Miranda said.

“Now they want to me to find out if he did it,” Della went on. “To go undercover and get the proof of his guilt.” She hiccupped. “But he was there for me when no one else was, and now I have to—”

“Just tell them no,” Kylie said.

“You don’t tell the FRU no.” Della took in a deep breath. “Besides …

they showed me the pictures.” Sorrow filled Della’s dark’s eyes. “There was a baby. It was awful. If he did do this, he has to be stopped before he does it to someone else. I don’t think I could live with myself if I let that happen.”

* * *

That night Kylie attended a mandatory camp meeting because somebody had tampered with the security alarm again. According to Burnett, the alarm was being shut off—what he didn’t know was if it was by someone on the inside or outside, but he was determined to find out.

Kylie wondered if her feeling of being watched coincided with the security alarm being turned off. Because now that the alarm was guarded, she didn’t feel a thing, except safer.

After the meeting, she had headed back to the cabin alone and had taken the first step up onto her porch when a noise startled her.

So much for feeling safe. Her heart pounded and she turned. Her thoughts shot to Fredericka.

“How long do you think you can avoid talking to me?” Lucas leapt up on her porch.

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Kylie shifted a bit closer to the light fixture above the front door, where insects buzzed, and looked at her watch.

“Obviously only about twelve hours,” she said, noting it was nine o’clock on the dot. Today when she’d seen him in the office, she’d been too concerned about Della to worry about her Lucas issues with the dreams. But not tonight. She stepped out of the light, hoping he wouldn’t see embarrassment color her cheeks.

“So you admit you’ve been avoiding me?” Humor laced his deep voice.

Humor she didn’t appreciate. She met his eyes before looking away.

“I’d deny it, but you wouldn’t believe me.”
Besides, avoiding things that
make me uncomfortable is my specialty.

Instantly, she recalled confessing to Holiday about how confronting her dad had made her feel better. Was it too much to hope that confronting Lucas would have the same effect?

One more peek at her cabin door and she knew she had to do this.

Face him and get it over with.

“So, if you’re not going to deny it, dare I hope you’ll explain the reason you’re doing it?”

She raised her gaze again and while she wanted more than anything to believe he didn’t know about the dreams, she couldn’t believe it. Obviously, she was much better at avoidance than denial.

“Reasons,” she said.

“What?” He stepped closer and his scent, woodsy and rich, invaded her air.

“I have more than one reason.”

“Okay.” He caught the end of a strand of her blond hair and rubbed it between his fingertips. “Tell me the reasons.” She pulled her hair from his hand and took a step back. “Tell you? And take all the fun out of your trying to figure it out yourself?” She had meant for the words to sound curt, but she must have missed her mark because he chuckled.

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She frowned.

His humor faded. “Okay, my first guess is that you’re beginning to realize at least some of your gifts. Dreamscaping, for example?” She flushed but didn’t look away this time. “Now that I understand it, it won’t be a problem.” She prayed she was right. Holiday had said Kylie would get more control over it, hadn’t she? Surely that meant she could shut it down. God, she hoped it was true.

He studied her. “That’s a shame.” His tone came out flirty again.

She glanced back at the door. She’d said what she needed to, hadn’t she?

When she reached for the doorknob, he caught her arm. His touch wasn’t rough, not even a little bit. It was tender and that gave her more pause. She’d had a hell of a day and could still recall how he’d seemed genuinely concerned for her in the office.

“Give me a few more minutes. Please.”

She continued to stare at the door, so aware that he didn’t drop his hand from her arm. So aware that his touch sent feel-good tingles down her arm.

“So what are the other reasons?” he asked. When she didn’t answer, he continued. “Why are you so angry with me, Kylie? And don’t deny it. I might not be able to feel your emotions like … some people … but I see it in your eyes.”

Kylie didn’t question who he meant by “some people.” He must have heard about her and Derek. Good, she thought. But then, whatever he’d heard was history. Derek had ended it.

His hold on her arm tightened slightly. “Tell me what you’re upset about so we can get past it.”

One word sat on the tip of her tongue.
Fredericka.
But admitting she was upset about his being with Fredericka meant she cared about him in a boy-girl kind of way. She didn’t want to admit that to Lucas. She hadn’t 290/375

liked admitting it to herself. And it wasn’t even really true. She was just confused.

“I’m tired.” She risked looking at him.

His blue eyes looked brighter in the golden hue of the porch light. He still had his hand around her arm and his thumb started brushing against her skin. “You got my letters, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Is it the dreams that have got you upset, because I didn’t—”

“I know—it was me, not you.” She pulled her arm away.

He raised his eyebrows as if contemplating. “It wasn’t all you,” he said as if it cost him a lot to confess it. “Not the first dream. I mean…” When he hesitated, her mind took over. “So you were doing it? You came into my dream?”

“No, I don’t have that ability. But when you came into my dream the first time, I was already dreaming about you.” He shrugged as if to knock some of the guilt off his shoulders. “At first, I didn’t realize you were really there. Not until it became so vivid and real. And I didn’t say anything later because I could tell you didn’t understand what had happened.

If that’s what you’re upset about. I probably should have stopped it but …

It was a dream. And oh, hell, I didn’t want it to stop.” Even if she had to give him credit for being honest, she was still upset.

He should have stopped it. Or at least told her so she wouldn’t have gone back the second time. Then again, she didn’t know how she’d have reacted if he’d told her this then. A lot had happened in these past weeks.

She’d accepted things now that she probably wouldn’t have been able to accept then.

“The second dream, however, that was all you.” His eyebrows rose as if the thought made him happy.

Caught off guard by the blue twinkle in his eyes, she said the first thing that came to her mind. “I bet Aunt Stella dreamed about Tom Selleck, too.”

Chapter Twenty-seven

Confusion filled his expression. “What? Tom Selleck?” Embarrassment filled her chest. Had she really said that? “What I’m trying to say is I don’t think it will happen again. So let’s forget it, okay?”

“Why won’t it happen again?” His gaze became heavy, and he lowered his face an inch closer from hers. “It’s obvious that you feel the same about me as—”