Authors: C. C. Hunter
Chapter Twenty-one
“There’re a couple of people who want to meet you.” Holiday moved Kylie toward the main office.
“Who?” she asked, hoping that Della was wrong.
“They’re from the FRU.”
She’d heard the acronym several times since arriving at Shadow Falls Camp. This time, however, when the three letters formed in Kylie mind, a new thought hit.
Freaks-R-Us.
“They’re the people who support the camp,” Holiday added as she guided Kylie up the steps.
“Why?” she asked, and stopped at the door. “Why do they want to meet me?” She wasn’t even sure she was a freak.
Holiday’s gaze softened. “Mostly curiosity. They’ve never met anyone they couldn’t read.”
“I thought you said this was common with people who could see ghosts?”
Holiday appeared to be debating what to say. “It’s not just because they can’t read you, Kylie. It’s because what they can see of your brain pattern isn’t common.”
Kylie’s headache resumed its pounding. And the fear that she really could have a tumor stirred in her chest. She envisioned herself with her head shaved and big ugly scars running across her skull. It was horrible.
But so was admitting that she was as much of a freak as the rest of them.
“You’re special, and they sense this. So come on. It’ll only take a minute and then we can have our meeting.”
Holiday’s hand on Kylie’s back grew warm. Immediately, Kylie knew the camp leader had emotion-controlling abilities similar to Derek’s. All Kylie’s reservations about having a brain tumor and about meeting the Freaks-R-Us squad dissolved as the warmth of Holiday’s hand flowed inside her.
“Why are you doing that?” Kylie stepped away.
“Doing what?” Holiday asked.
“Trying to take away my fear?” She shifted out of Holiday’s reach.
Holiday’s eyes grew round. “Wow. You can sense this? That’s amazing.” She touched Kylie again. “That means—”
“Stop doing it.” Kylie backed away again. She didn’t care about amazing, or what it meant, at least not now. She cared about what waited for her on the other side of the door and about possibly having a brain tumor. “It makes me think maybe I should be afraid.”
Holiday shook her head. “You don’t have anything to be afraid of.” She reached out again and Kylie looked at her hand.
Holiday held up her palms. “Trust me.”
“Sorry,” Kylie said. “But I have a hard time trusting people who can manipulate my emotions.” And yes, in a small way she meant Derek, too.
Holiday sighed. “Believe it or not, Kylie, I respect that. But right now, I need you to meet these two men. Nothing bad is going to happen. I give you my word.”
While Kylie still wasn’t convinced, with another look into Holiday’s expression, most of Kylie’s concerns faded. Only this time it seemed to be from her own intuition rather than Holiday’s influence. For some reason, Kylie’s gut told her she could trust Holiday. Then again, it could just be because she didn’t have a choice. In more ways than not, Kylie was a prisoner at this camp.
* * *
The introductions were as awkward as Kylie expected. The two men did their share of eyebrow twitching, which only made Kylie feel more uncomfortable. She wanted to tell them they were wasting their time trying to twitch info from her. She didn’t, of course. The too-nice disease again. So instead, she sat at a table and tried not to fidget under their intense stares.
The bigger man with darker hair was named Burnett James and the other was Austin Pearson. Up close, Kylie couldn’t help but notice how
GQ
perfect the two men were. Not that she was into old guys—or she should say “older” because they looked about ten years older than her—but she could still appreciate perfection.
Kylie also noticed how Burnett kept stealing glances at Holiday when she wasn’t looking. He obviously had the hots for her. Not that Holiday seemed aware of his interest. If anything, Kylie got the feeling the camp leader found both men annoying. Especially Burnett.
“So…” Burnett turned a chair around, straddled it, and sat down.
Holiday watched the man and frowned as if disapproving of his sitting position.
“This is your first time to Shadow Falls Camp, huh?” Burnett asked.
Kylie nodded. Then recalling her mother’s belief that answering without words showed disrespect, she followed up with, “Yes … sir.” The “sir” part of the sentence slipped out as an afterthought and she wished she hadn’t done it, because it came out sounding sarcastic. Not that she meant it like that, but her interrogators might not realize that.
Burnett placed his elbows on the back of the chair, laced his fingers together, and studied her. After very slow passing seconds, he tilted his head slightly as if listening—listening for something that no one else in the room could hear. Like the sound of Kylie’s heartbeat. Just what kind of supernaturals were these two? Were they, like Della, human lie detectors? Somehow Kylie suspected that Burnett had that ability. Which meant Kylie would have to be careful not to get caught in a white lie.
“What brought you to Shadow Falls, Miss Galen?”
Holiday stepped closer. “She was sent here by—”
Burnett held a hand up at Holiday and frowned. “I’d like Miss Galen to answer.” While his words could be construed as non-hostile, Kylie noticed his edgy tone.
Holiday must have noticed it, too. She shot the man a glare that no doubt contained language she probably couldn’t use in the presence of the campers. Kylie got the feeling that this wasn’t the first time these two had bumped heads. Heck, for all Kylie knew, they might have bumped more than just heads. They could be old lovers.
Austin cleared his throat as if hoping to clear the tension in the room.
“Go ahead, Kylie,” Holiday said, then everyone looked back at Kylie.
She sat up a little straighter and tried not to wince. “I was told … by Holiday, that my shrink is the one who got me signed up. I think she convinced my mom that this was a camp for troubled teens.”
“And are you?” Burnett tossed out the question.
“Am I what?” Kylie asked.
“A troubled teen?” His tone rang with accusations.
“Of course she’s not,” Holiday insisted.
Burnett shot a frown back at the camp leader. “As a courtesy, I allowed you to be present, but if you keep interrupting—”
“Bite my ass, Mr. James,” Holiday snapped, obviously mad enough not to care about Kylie hearing the PG-13 language.
“Don’t tempt me,” Burnett retorted.
“Tempting you hasn’t crossed my mind,” Holiday shot back. “You’ve been a class-A jerk since you came to see me.”
Kylie bit her cheek to keep from smiling. The tension between these two could be cut and served up with hot fudge. It was the kind of tension one saw in a romantic flick.
“Maybe it’s the icy reception you’ve given me for no damn good reason. If I didn’t know better I’d think you have a prejudice against vampires.”
So he was a vampire.
Kylie actually felt proud of herself for figuring it out.
“Don’t fool yourself.” Holiday squared her shoulders. “It’s not vampires I have a problem with. It’s men who think something as inconsequential as a badge gives them the right to intimidate others. From the moment you walked into my camp you’ve acted as if we should bow down to you. And if that’s not bad enough, you’re now accusing my kids of—”
Austin cleared his throat again, louder than before. “I think we should get back to Miss Galen here.”
Or not.
Kylie would like to know what it was the FRU was accusing the campers of doing, exactly. However, her curiosity faded rather quickly when everyone’s gaze shot back to her and she recalled Burnett’s question.
“No, I do not consider myself a troubled teen.”
Burnett’s right brow arched. “Have you ever belonged to a gang?”
“No,” she answered, and wondered if he was referring to the Blood Brothers. “I’ve never really gotten into any trouble.”
“Really. Weren’t you just hauled down to the police station during a drug raid?”
Kylie suddenly understood Holiday’s dislike for Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome. He did have a way of making people feel small.
Maybe it was Holiday’s nerve of standing up to the vampire that gave Kylie courage. Or perhaps it was just that with all the other crap slung at her today, Kylie’s ability to play nice had played out. Then again, maybe she had a brain tumor provoking her to do things she normally wouldn’t do.
Tilting her chin up, she let the words roll off her tongue without remorse. “You’d think if you were able to get your hands on that report, that you’d have at least read it. Because I’m sure it stated that I was not doing drugs or drinking.”
Burnett’s eyes tightened in the corners. But Kylie preferred to focus on Holiday’s pleased smile.
“Are you finished now?” the camp leader asked.
“Just a few more questions.” Burnett’s piercing gaze never shifted from Kylie. “How do you feel about our camp, Miss Galen?”
“It’s great.” Kylie’s heart sputtered when she remembered she couldn’t lie. “At least everyone else I’ve met here seems to like it.”
“And you don’t?”
Don’t lie.
“I’d rather be at home.”
“And why is that?” Burnett’s eyes darkened to black.
“Everything is so … new to me.”
“What’s new?”
“The fact that people like you even exist.” It was the truth. However, she didn’t mean it to sound so … derogatory.
“Like me? As in vampires?” he asked, clearly offended.
“Supernaturals,” Kylie corrected.
“And what do you think you are?” he asked smugly.
“I’m not sure,” she answered truthfully. “But I’m hoping I’m nothing. Just me.”
With a brain tumor.
She pushed that thought aside to chew on later.
He stared harder and Kylie’s courage winced. He shook his head and his brows tightened. “Why are you being so close-minded?”
“I’m not. Believing in all this…” It occurred to her that he wasn’t talking about her ability to accept all this, but rather, his inability to read her mind.
“She can’t help it.” Holiday stepped forward. “It’s a condition of one of her gifts. She’s a ghost whisperer.”
Kylie nodded as if to say ditto. Both men’s eyes widened.
“Ghost whisperer?” Austin said, and turned to Holiday, but before he shifted, Kylie spotted something that looked like fear cross his expression.
“Like you?” Burnett glanced at the camp leader.
“You’ve read my file?” Holiday asked.
“It’s my job to know who I’m working with.”
“Funny, you didn’t offer your file to me,” she responded. “And you expect me to work—”
“I’ll have it sent over. If it really interests you,” he countered, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
“On second thought, don’t bother,” she clipped out. “But to respond to your earlier comment, yes, Kylie’s a ghost whisperer just like me.” While Holiday’s tone lacked the earlier attitude, the brief smile that flashed on her lips contained attitude plus.
“You, too?” Austin shuddered. “I hate ghosts.”
“Is she fairy?” Burnett asked, staring and twitching again at Kylie as if attempting to read her once more.
“We’re still trying to decipher that,” Holiday answered.
“So her parents are not registered as supernaturals?” Burnett questioned.
“No,” Holiday replied.
“They could be rogues.”
“Be what?” Kylie asked.
“They would have never sent her here if they were,” Holiday answered Burnett, leaving Kylie’s question hanging.
Kylie’s phone buzzed, but she ignored it, not wanting to miss out on any conversation that centered on her.
“Or maybe that’s why she’s here.” Burnett’s harsh glare focused on Kylie again. “Were you sent here with a purpose, Miss Galen?”
“No, and my parents didn’t do anything wrong,” Kylie insisted.
Holiday took a step closer. “If your hearing isn’t off, you should be able to tell she spoke the truth.”
Burnett nodded. He stood and then focused on Holiday. “You’re right. She doesn’t seem involved. But I want to be updated on her condition.”
Holiday’s expression hardened. “I don’t see why that is necessary.”
“Neither do I,” Kylie blurted out, not liking how they discussed her as if she wasn’t here.
Burnett ignored Kylie and focused only on Holiday. “You’ll comply with my wishes, Miss Brandon, or I’ll see to it that my boss finds a camp leader who will.”
For the first time, Holiday flinched, telling Kylie the camp leader cared more about her job than she did her pride. “I’m simply curious as to why you’re interested in her.”
“In addition to watching over this project, I’m in charge of tracking any anomalies in our alliance. Miss Galen qualifies.”
“I’m an anomaly?” Kylie blurted out in disbelief.