Chosen at Nightfall (A Shadow Falls Novel) (12 page)

Burnett frowned. “I am the authority here. And I ran a background check on you. Everything states that you are half vampire, half fae. You are even registered as such.”

“I am,” Hayden said.

“But it’s not true.”

Hayden didn’t blink. “It is how I choose to live my life.”

Burnett shook his head, as if trying to understand. “But according to my research, Kylie’s grandfather is listed as human by the FRU. And the few chameleons I saw outside the compound wore the human pattern. I thought that’s what all of you let the world think. For that matter, why do you choose not to live in the compound with the others? Are you rogue?”

Hayden’s posture tightened. “Are you rogue because you do not live within a community of vampires? One should live their life as they choose, is this not so? I simply prefer to live on my own and I chose to live it as a supernatural and not a human.”

“So you just picked a species and fake that pattern?”

“I haven’t done anything wrong to be judged by you,” Hayden said.

Burnett still looked confused. “How many like you exist? Living as a different type of supernatural?”

“Not enough for us to feel comfortable with coming forward,” Hayden said. “Not when history has proven what can happen.”

Kylie saw Burnett try to absorb what he was hearing and file it away. “So when you saw I held no threat to Kylie, why didn’t you come forward then?”

“So you could send me packing, or worse, have me arrested?”

Burnett might throw his weight around more than Hayden, and even outweigh him by quite a bit, but verbally Hayden held his own. And that fact wasn’t appreciated by Burnett.

“You work for Kylie’s grandfather?” Burnett asked.

“Work for him? No. Was I assisting him? Yes. As you know from the checks you ran on me more than once, I worked as a regular high school teacher for three years in Houston.”

“Are you still assisting him?” Burnett’s question hung in the air as if the answer would decide something.

“Depends on what you mean by assisting. Am I trying to go against you to cause Kylie any harm? No. But am I still keeping a watchful eye on her and answering the concerns of her worried grandfather? Yes.”

“The same worried grandfather who had planned to kidnap her?”

“My grandfather wasn’t behind that,” Kylie said before Hayden could answer. “And I don’t want you to send Hayden away, either. Please, Burnett, do this for me.”

Burnett looked at Kylie. “I don’t know if I can work with someone who doesn’t know where his loyalty lies.”

Kylie rolled her eyes. “You mean like you and the FRU?”

Burnett’s eyes tightened. “My loyalty has always been to protect you.”

“But you still work with them, too. Because as you say, you see the good the FRU does. Well, Hayden is the same. He wants to protect me, but he understands my grandfather has good intentions. Why can’t you accept this?”

Burnett frowned, but Kylie could see her point had hit home. “I will take it under consideration and discuss it with Holiday.”

Hayden nodded, his expression saying he wouldn’t beg to stay on. Not that Kylie blamed him for not wanting to plead, but she didn’t have so much pride that she wouldn’t. Her life would just be easier with Hayden here, and it would help with her connection with her grandfather. She really, really needed Hayden.

“My rules, however, still stand,” Burnett continued. “No matter what I decide with Mr. Yates’s future at Shadow Falls,” Burnett said, focusing on Kylie, “you are not to run off to see your grandfather. You will have shadows, and if I have to personally guard your cabin every night to prevent you from going against the rules, I will.”

Kylie nodded, accepting she’d have to earn his trust back.

Burnett shifted his attention back to Hayden. “And if I choose to let you stay on at Shadow Falls, I will expect you to abide by my rules and help me keep Kylie in check. And assist me in learning how to cope with a rogue of your own kind.”

“If you decide I can stay on, I’ll consider your offer,” Hayden said, the edge in his voice stating he obviously hadn’t warmed up to Burnett’s demeanor. Not that Kylie could blame him. It had taken her a while to warm up to the vamp. Until she learned how much he cared. “But I can tell you this, Mr. James, I refuse to be treated with disrespect.”

“Disrespect?” Burnett growled.

And then everything went to hell.

Burnett and Hayden exchanged colorful verbal blows. According to Hayden, Burnett was a prick, and according to Burnett, Hayden was an overconfident jerk who had lied.

She didn’t know if she felt confident the tension wouldn’t elevate to physical blows, or if she was simply too tired to care anymore. If they broke each other’s noses, so be it. She didn’t think they would kill each other. Then again, she could be wrong.

But she was suddenly too tired to try to stop them.

Her knees wobbled and her eyes grew heavy. She had to sit down before she fell down. Ignoring the two arguing men, she walked across the room and plopped down on Hayden’s sofa.

Feeling a chill wash over, she hugged herself. She was so tired it took a minute to realize the cold wasn’t just a natural reaction from being exhausted. It also took a second to realize the men had stopped arguing and were staring at her.

Kylie ignored the men to deal with the spirit. “Not now,” she muttered, and stared right at the coffee table in front of her, not wanting to have to face the ghost and her nonsense talk of murder. And not really wanting to face Burnett or Hayden, either.

“Not now, what?” Burnett asked.

“Nothing,” Kylie said, and the ghost stepped in front of her. Her pale pink dress hung heavy, soaked in blood. Lots of blood. At least it looked like blood.

Kill or be killed.
The spirit’s words wiggled through Kylie’s mind.

Kylie leaned back and looked the spirit in her cold dead eyes.
Right now, I’ll have to go with “be killed.” I’m just too tired.

“Are you ready to go back to your cabin?” Burnett glanced around as if aware they had a visitor, but he couldn’t see her. Not that he really should be able to see her ghost, but he had been able to see Hannah, Holiday’s sister, so Kylie wasn’t sure.

“Can you see her?” Kylie asked.

“See who?” Hayden asked.

“A ghost,” Burnett answered Hayden.

“Shit!” Hayden mouthed, and took a step back.

“No, but I can feel her,” Burnett said, and his concerned gaze stayed locked on Kylie. “You’re not going to pass out, are you?”

“I don’t think so,” Kylie answered.

“Good. Are you ready to go back to your cabin?” Burnett asked again.

“Yeah,” Kylie said. As she went to stand up, she saw Hayden’s phone on the coffee table. Recalling she wanted to call her mom, she picked it up and shot Hayden a glance. “I’m gonna borrow this,” she told him. “I left mine with my granddad.”

Hayden frowned. “Just don’t call my girlfriend like the last time you borrowed my phone.”

She moved over to him, ignoring the spirit who she felt standing by the door, and hugged Hayden. Maybe she shouldn’t have, because he stiffened.
What is it with men and hugs?
she wondered.

“Thank you,” she said, pulling away.

“Yeah,” he answered.

She glanced at Burnett. He looked upset, as if she’d just hugged the enemy. “You know, the problem with you two is that you are too much alike.”

Both of them made some scratchy noise in their throat as if to deny it. Kylie just rolled her eyes and started out. And her ghost, carrying a bloody sword in one hand and … and somebody’s head in the other, cut in front of Kylie. The head, apparently freshly severed and still pouring blood, dangled and bounced against her hip as she moved.

Kylie gasped and came to an abrupt stop. The spirit turned around, and smiled. Then, holding the body part up by a handful of dark hair as if it were a trophy, she gave it a good shake.
I told you, killing is a piece of cake.

She shook the head. The eyes wobbled as if loose in their sockets, and blood squirted out of the neck. Kylie let out a frightened squeak.

Swinging around, Kylie slammed into Burnett and buried her face in his shoulder and hung on. “I’m too tired to handle body parts,” she muttered. “Make her go away. Please, make her go away.”

Chapter Eleven

Five minutes later, the ghost gone, Kylie walked up her porch steps and turned to say good-bye to Burnett behind her.

He studied her with compassion. He hadn’t apologized for being so hard on her, and he probably wouldn’t. No doubt, he thought she deserved it. And in a way, she guessed she did.

Burnett reached around her and opened the door. “Promise you’ll go to bed and not try to wander off again?”

“I promise,” Kylie said.

“And try to trust me,” he said.

“I do.”

“No, you don’t,” he said, sounding defeated. “If you trusted me I wouldn’t just now be finding out about Hayden.”

“Someone made me promise not to tell,” she said. “If you had promised someone something, wouldn’t you try to honor that?”

He sighed, probably offering her the best understanding he could. “But you need to be careful what you promise people.” He glanced around, looking a little leery. “Is she still gone?”

Kylie knew who he meant by “she.” She looked left and then right. “I don’t see her anymore.” But deep down she worried the spirit wouldn’t stay away too long. Tomorrow she needed to confer with Holiday about how to get rid of the ghost permanently. Holiday was right. Kylie had no reason to help someone so evil.

“Do you know what she wants? Or who the head belonged to?” Burnett asked.

“I don’t know. It could have happened years ago for all I know. But as for what she wants, yeah, I sort of know.”

“And that is?” he asked.

“She wants me to kill someone for her.” Kylie was too tired to put the sarcasm in her voice.

Burnett scowled. “Who?”

“She hasn’t made that clear yet,” Kylie said.

“They don’t ever ask too much, do they?” he said, but sarcasm rang in his voice. Obviously, he wasn’t as exhausted as she was.

Kylie shrugged. She went to step back, but this time it was Burnett who surprised her, when he moved in for a hug. It was short, but sweet, and she realized she needed it.

“Do you want me stay a while?” he asked, looking awkward after the show of affection.

“No,” Kylie said, letting him off the hook.

“Do you want me to get Holiday?” he asked. “I will.”

“No, I’m fine. I just want to go to bed.” Her gaze cut to the sky; it was almost morning. She really needed some sleep. And she was exhausted, physically, but the walk back had kick-started her brain again. Touching Hayden’s phone in her pocket, she remembered she also wanted to call her mom. She moved up the porch, looking back once to see Burnett standing at the steps, gazing at her with parental concern.

She remembered her grandfather saying Burnett had stepped into the role of a father, and in a way she supposed he had.

“I’ll be fine,” she assured him. Not that she felt all that certain.

“Promise me you won’t leave the cabin,” he said again.

“I promise.” She shot him a half-faked smile and shut the door.

Once she heard his footsteps leaving, Kylie leaned against the door and just stood there. Then something caught her eye at her bedroom door. Her heart sank when she saw the steam billowing up from the slit at the bottom, telling her she had company.

Oh, boy. Had she brought more show and tell? What body part had she dragged along this time?

But damn, Kylie didn’t want any company.

Or at least not that kind of company. She needed a friend. She needed one of her best friends. She looked over her shoulder at Miranda’s door. No steam was billowing out from the bottom.

Turning around, she opened her friend’s door. It was early, but something told her Miranda wouldn’t complain.

*   *   *

A much-needed smile bubbled up inside Kylie at the sight of the sleeping witch wearing her smiley pajamas and spooning a huge teddy bear like it was her lover. Kylie took in the witch’s blond hair with streaks of pink, green, and black scattered over the pillow, and just like that she felt her heart lighten at the sight of her good friend.

As she took another step, the wood floor creaked as if announcing Kylie’s presence.

Miranda’s shoulders twitched, but she didn’t roll over. “I thought we were going to wait to have sex,” she muttered.

Kylie’s smile widened. “I think that might be wise. I’m not sure our relationship could handle it right now.”

Miranda swung around, bringing the teddy bear with her. Her sleepy eyes now popped wide open.

“Besides,” Kylie added, “I think you and the teddy bear might have already done the deed.”

Miranda squealed, threw the bear at Kylie, and bolted out of the bed. “I thought you were Perry.” Giggling, the girl wrapped her arms around Kylie extra tight. “I can’t believe you’re home. I’m sooo glad you’re back.” She released Kylie, took a step back, and looked at her as if half afraid she wasn’t real. “You
are
home, right? This isn’t a dream?”

“It’s not a dream,” Kylie said, though part of her wished most of the night had been.

The witch’s smiled faded and she stomped her foot. “Do you have any idea how miserable I’ve been? First you up and leave me and then Della runs off to play superhero! I should be furious at you and not happy to see you.”

“No, don’t be mad. Let’s just be happy that I’m back.” Kylie snagged the three-foot bear from the floor and tossed it back on the bed.

Miranda gave her an evil look. “Are you back to stay? No more running off on me?”

“No more running off,” Kylie said.

“Pinky promise?” Miranda asked, and held out her pinky.

What was it with everyone wanting promises? Kylie looked at the girl’s little finger, which was a witch’s weapon. “I don’t know if it’s safe to pinky promise you when…”

“It’s safe. It’s a promise between witches. And since you are part witch, it’s the most unbreakable promise you can make.”

“Fine. I promise.” Kylie held out her pinky to make the promise valid. And in spite of it being a silly gesture, the moment their little fingers locked, a surge of emotion filled her chest. Maybe pinky promises between witches were more than just a childish gesture. Or maybe she was just so damn happy to be home.