Unspoken: Shadow Falls: After Dark (38 page)

But it was time.

For Bao Yu and for Della.

*   *   *

“What is it?” Chase asked when Burnett hung up and started for the car.

“Your girlfriend,” Burnett said.

“My … Della?” No one had called her that, and Chase liked it.

“Yes. Or do you make out with any girl while you’re on a case?”

“No.” Chase smiled. “Just her.” Then he noticed Burnett’s expression. “Is something wrong?”

“Yes. She took the school’s car and is going to confront her dad.”

“About the murder?”

“Probably about everything.”

“It was bound to happen sooner or later. She’s pretty sure he knows she’s vampire,” Chase said.

Burnett shook his head. “Yeah, and her biggest fear is that he thinks she’s a monster. She doesn’t need to know how right she is.”

Burnett dialed a number. “Della’s on the loose, she’s trying to go see her father. Do you have him in your sights?”

“Yes,” Shawn said on the line.

“Della’s in a 2013 silver Corolla. Don’t let her talk to him. I’m heading that way just in case.”

Burnett hung up. “Let’s see if the little spitfire will answer me.”

Spitfire,
Chase thought. Yeah, that was Della.

Chase heard it go to voice mail. “Della, I need to talk to you. Now!” Burnett growled. He looked at Chase. “Do you think she’d take a call from you?”

Considering their last few conversations, Chase doubted it, but he pulled out his phone. He left almost the same message.

He met Burnett’s gaze. “What do you know?”

Burnett started walking to Chase’s car. “I know that Della’s father is an idiot. And I know Della has a pissed-off ghost following her around.”

“What else?” Chase asked, knowing there was more.

Burnett frowned. “When I called to tell her father that Della needed to come back to school, he informed me that he didn’t want her coming back to his house again. Ever.”

Burnett raked a palm over his face in frustration. “Then yesterday he sent an anonymous email to the police naming Della as a suspect in the Chis’ murder. He gave the cops the name of the school.”

“Goddamn him!” Chase seethed, his eyes growing hot.

“So far they haven’t contacted us,” Burnett said, “but if the Chis’ case doesn’t get wrapped up quickly, they will.”

“Someone needs to teach him a lesson!” Chase said. “And I volunteer! Let’s go.” Chase stopped at his car. “Maybe that bastard did kill his sister!”

Burnett shook his head, and opened the locks but didn’t get in. “He didn’t. Something happened that night, however, that makes him think he did.” He exhaled and blinked as if trying to control his own anger.

“Believe me, I’ve looked under every rock, every leaf that man ever walked past. I’ve searched everywhere, hoping to find the smallest reason to beat the holy shit out of him!”

“How he treats Della isn’t enough reason?” Chase snapped.

“Yeah, but the kicker is that he’s a decent man. He’s a good husband, and until Della got turned, he was practically up for the father of the year award. Why else do you think she loves him so much?”

“But what about how he treats her now?”

“I know. I’d like to knock some sense into him too. But the only thing that makes sense is that her being turned somehow brought back all of these terrible memories. I think until then he either managed to forget or believe it was a dream. Now he’s scared. And not for himself, but for his family.”

“Then let’s not beat the crap out of him, let’s just talk to him.”

“Not now,” Burnett said. “We need to get this trial over with. If he loses it, he could hurt his case. And we both know if he gets convicted Della wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

*   *   *

Della walked to the door. Put her hand on the handle.
I love you, Daddy. I just need to understand and you need to understand.

She’d practiced what she’d say on the ride over here. Now she took a deep breath and, holding it, she walked inside. She walked past the booth where her dad had told her he had done his homework every evening. She walked past the huge lion that her dad claimed he used to climb on as child. She walked past the picture of her grandparents that still hung on the wall.

Finally, she plopped her butt across from her dad.

She saw his paper stiffen. And only then did she breathe.

Only then did she realize her mistake.

The scent of vampire filled her nose.

“Hello, Della,” her uncle said.

Chapter Forty-three

Della sat frozen as her uncle lowered the paper. His eyes, his face, all his features were a dead ringer for her dad. Every reason she disliked this man ran through Della’s mind, but her heart recalled how in the beginning she’d longed to know him. Longed to have a family member who would understand, who wouldn’t look at her like a monster.

She couldn’t speak.

He studied her. “You thought I was your father, didn’t you?”

Unable to lie—literally unable—she simply nodded.

“Sorry to disappoint you.” He smiled. “Would you like some tea?”

She shook her head, still trying to figure out what to say. Hell, what to feel.

“Does your father come here?” he asked.

She nodded.

“It brings back memories.” He looked around. “It hasn’t changed that much. That booth over there is where we did our homework. You father and I would climb on that lion. Mother used to scold us and say the lion would get one of us one day.” His gaze landed on the photo. “You know that’s your grandparents.”

His voice even sounded like her dad’s. Her chest tightened more.

“Why?” she forced that one word out. “Why didn’t you come to me earlier? Why did you send Chase and not come yourself? Why didn’t you save Chan?” Tears filled her eyes. “Why didn’t you go to the FRU when my father got arrested for murder? And why … why did you let Chase go see his parents in the morgue?”

He stared at his cup. “That’s a lot of questions.”

She brushed away a tear. “I deserve answers.”

He inhaled. “Where do I start?” He paused. “I did not come to you because you were connected to the FRU. I have reasons not to trust them.” He looked down again. “I wanted to save Chan.”

“Then why didn’t you?” Della sensed a decrease in the room temperature. She ignored it to listen.

“The last time I attempted to bond with someone, they died. My blood is no longer useful. Understand, it would have been unfair of me to ask Chase to bond with either of you. And I didn’t. One should only bond with someone you care about. You give up powers. You give up a part of your soul.”

Della recalled Chase telling her about Eddie’s wife, but she held back her words of sympathy and waited for him to continue.

He added a pack of sugar to his cup. Bits and pieces of tea leaves swirled on top. The spoon clinked against the cup. “I asked Chase to prepare you and Chan to face it on your own. Chase said Chan was too weak to survive even if someone bonded with him. It hurt Chase. He found you were strong. He felt you might survive it. But you intrigued that boy.” Her uncle smiled. “He would tell me some of your antics. I heard it in his voice. I knew he would do it, even before he knew.” He held up his cup. “He said going in that you were going to fight him. He had you pegged.”

Her uncle paused again. “Let’s see, what was your other question? Oh, yes. The morgue? Now there is a question I did not expect. But I like it, because it tells me you have stopped fighting the bond.”

“That is yet to be seen,” she said, remembering how Chase had pulled away again.

“Okay, how can I explain the morgue?” He looked up. “Not my brightest idea. But as someone who had to walk away from my family, I had no closure. So I offered him this choice.”

Feng picked up his tea and took a sip. “There, are you happy? Now I’d like to hear about—”

“You forgot one.”

He arched a brow.

In the corner of her eye, she saw Bao Yu sitting in the booth. The one they had done homework in, staring. Just staring. She was young, and had some books with her. Did she recognize Feng?

Pushing her aunt from her mind to focus on her uncle, she leaned forward. “Even if you don’t like the FRU, when my father got arrested for murder, why didn’t you step forward? All of this would have gone smoother. Instead of wasting our time looking for you, we could have been looking for Stone.”

“I told Chase that if it appeared my brother would be convicted, I’d come forward and confess to the crime myself. To the police, not the FRU. I’ve already figured out how to make it believable.”

Della sat there, her heart aching. “It would have been nice if Chase would have shared that with me.”

“He probably didn’t because he swore that wouldn’t happen.”

Della shook her head. It didn’t matter why. It was just another secret he’d kept from her. Another lie.

She met her uncle’s gaze. “What is Chase hiding from me now about his meeting with Kirk?”

Her uncle sat back. “What meeting with Kirk?”

Della looked at her uncle. “He really hasn’t spoken with you? You don’t know, do you?”
At least he hadn’t lied about that.

“Know what?”

“Douglas Stone is Councilman Powell’s son. The whole council has known this for years.”

“No,” Feng said. “They wouldn’t … Kirk wouldn’t.”

Della saw the sense of betrayal in his eyes. They grew brighter.

“Why would I lie about it? And it gets worse. I think Kirk is trying to get Chase to do something. And I don’t like it.”

Her uncle threw a five-dollar bill on the table and shot up. He took one step and looked back at her. “You coming?”

“Where?”

“You want answers or not?”

*   *   *

Almost an hour into the drive, Della broke the apparent code of silence and asked, “Where are we going?”

Her uncle drove a gold Malibu. Nothing flashy, but it still smelled new. He’d been quiet, and for some reason it disturbed her. As had Bao Yu in the backseat.

Della cut her eyes back to her aunt. Still a young girl, still silent.

The insides of Della’s palms started to itch. Hadn’t her mama always told her not to get into cars with strangers?

This man driving might be her uncle, but he was still a stranger. Considering Chase had told her that he’d lost most of his Reborn powers, she could probably take him.

But laying a hand on a man who looked so much like her dad wouldn’t be easy. Not that it was really him she was afraid of. It was what he planned on doing that scared her.

“I told you. To get answers.” He put both hands on the wheel and stared straight ahead.

Della noticed the window starting to fog up. “Can you elaborate?”

He finally glanced at her, and the hurt in his eyes told her that he was thinking of his friend’s betrayal. “First we’re going to go have a chat with Powell. Then I figured we’d go see my pal Kirk.”

And that’s what she was worried about—seeing Kirk. “Why don’t you just call Chase? He’ll tell you everything.”

“He asked me not to call him, or contact him. He didn’t want to have to lie to you.”

And how did that make her feel? Chase had purposely cut off contact with someone who might have helped her father’s case. She pushed that aside.

“How about if I give you permission to call him? You can tell him we’re together, so he wouldn’t have to lie.”

“I’d rather get the whole story. I expect they’ll tell me more than they told Chase.” He leaned in and turned on the defroster.

“You think they’ll just tell you?” She saw steam leave her lips and she tried not to visibly tremble.

“With some convincing,” he said.

“Okay,” Della said. “I’m just gonna be honest here.” She stuck her hands between her legs to keep them warm. “I want to know the truth, but in the last twenty-four hours I’ve committed breaking and entering and grand theft auto. And assault and battery might be included, but that wasn’t me. Not that anyone will believe it. Anyway, I’m at my limit for committing crimes. I mean, if I do any more, I’m gonna go down. It’s a Murphy’s Law kind of thing.”

He looked at her. His eyes were bright and serious. Then he laughed.

And God help her, but it was the first time she’d heard her father’s laugh in so long that she laughed with him.

“You really haven’t done all that, right?” he asked when the humor faded.

“Yeah, I kind of have.” She gave her aunt a quick glance and then looked back at Feng.

He frowned. “Okay, not to worry. I think I can get you through this without being arrested. And if I can’t, I’ll say I forced you.”

She wasn’t sure if he was joking, but she said, “Okay.”

“Now, can I ask you a question?” He swiped his hand over the windshield. “Who the hell is in the backseat with us?”

*   *   *

“Come on, let’s go finish what we started,” Burnett said to Chase.

Chase looked away from the house and back at Burnett. It was after five. Della’s father had returned to his house. Briefcase in hand, as if he’d been working all day and not hanging out at Starbucks.

“What if Della comes back?”

“My agent will stop her. And I’ve got someone combing the streets. Our time is better spent finding Stone. And we need to go by another address that we have on our expensive-tennis-shoe wearer. If we catch him, the police can’t suspect Della for the murder.”

“Since this guy was in the gang, he might be with Stone,” Chase offered.

“The others who we are pretty damn sure participated in the murder got left behind. I’m following my gut that he got left behind too. I’m thinking Stone had people around Della’s house, and a couple of his guys lost it and committed the murders. This might even be why they got left behind. Stone doesn’t want to draw attention to himself right now.”

“Okay,” Chase said, seeing logic. “But why don’t we separate? We’ll get more done.”

“Too dangerous.” Burnett started walking back to Chase’s car.

“I’m not one of your students anymore. I’m an agent.” He pulled on the label of his jacket. “In case you haven’t noticed the suit.”

“You think I’d send a junior agent out alone on a case?”

“I’m not a junior. I worked two years for the council.”