Unspoken: Shadow Falls: After Dark (36 page)

Or maybe not. He fought the urge to puke again.

Handing Steve his car keys, Chase told the shape-shifter to meet him at St. Mary’s. Face it, in the dark sky, there was no speed limit or rules about driving after one too many drinks.

In record time, he landed to the side of the hospital. He ran a hand through his hair and patted down his suit. Amazing how flying at a hundred and forty miles an hour could sober a person up.

Not that he knew a lot about sobering up or being drunk. Sure, he drank a glass of Eddie’s Scotch when offered, but this had only been his second time to ever drink enough to cause a buzz. And, like the first time, he didn’t like it.

He walked around to the front of the hospital, relieved there weren’t any police cars. God, he prayed they hadn’t already come and taken her away.

Della needs you.
Steve’s words echoed in his head. He’d never heard sweeter words. And hearing them from Steve made them all the sweeter.

He went to the glass doors, picked up the phone, and pushed a button.

“Can I help you?” a male voice asked.

“Yes, I’m here about the situation. The break-in. Here,” he said, looking around for a camera. “I’m holding out my badge.”

The bell dinged and Chase walked in.

He figured he had a snowball’s chance in hell of actually pulling this off without someone calling the FRU office and eventually getting Burnett involved, but Steve had said she’d asked for him, not Burnett. Since her life wasn’t in danger, and no risks were involved, there was no way he was going to disappoint her.

Never mind that she’d disappointed him by trusting Steve with this whole plan without even telling him about it. Chase just hoped the whole date thing had been part of their cover-up.

*   *   *

A knock came at the office door and Della held her breath with hopes that it was her savior. She wasn’t even picky. She’d take anyone. Anyone over a real cop who would call her parents.

“Yes,” Mrs. Applebee called out.

A nurse popped her head in the door. “Someone’s here about the girl.”

Della took in a deep breath. Relief went through her when she picked up Chase’s scent—along with some disinfectant.

“Who called the police?” Mrs. Applebee asked and then glared at the guard.

“She probably did it with her mind,” the guard said.

“I don’t know,” the nurse answered.

“Let them in,” Mrs. Applebee said.

Chase walked in. Della’s heart did a few somersaults. His gaze landed on Della for only a second, then focused on Mrs. Applebee. “Madam,” he said and held out the badge.

The woman glanced at it and looked up as if content, or maybe not content. Nervous.

Chase wore his black suit—it looked a little wrinkled, but the disheveled look fit that of a tired officer. His hair was pushed back, a little mussed as if he were coming off a hard shift. He looked official. His height and shoulder width in the suit, accompanied by his five o’clock shadow, hid all signs of his true age. He looked … wonderful. Like her knight in shining armor.

It hit her then. Hard. She loved him. A knot appeared in her throat and she swallowed.
Not now! Not now!

“I hear you have an intruder?” Chase said. Mrs. Applebee waved a hand toward Della.

“Yes, I wasn’t aware that you were called.”

Chase eyed her. “Looks like a runaway.”

He must have overheard some of the dialogue before he came in.

“She swears she isn’t, but … she’s not talking.”

“They never do,” Chase said. “A night in a real cell usually loosens their tongues.”

“What’s your name?” Chase asked her.

“I’m not a runaway,” Della said, repeating her concocted story of how she’d wandered in and gotten locked in the room. Then, feeling as if Chase might need the ammunition, she said, “He shot at me. With a real gun. Real bullets. And he’s drunk.”

Chase’s eyes brightened. She saw his eyes shift down her body as if checking for blood. Then he turned to the guard. “You shot at her?”

“No! She threw a box at me and the gun went off.”

“I never threw a box. They must have fallen off,” Della said.

“I … I’m aware how this looks,” Mrs. Applebee said. “I apologize.”

Chase turned back to the woman and Della could see his mind ticking on how to play this. “Did she do any damage?” Chase asked.

“Made a mess of our old files,” the woman said.

“She did it with her mind,” the guard said.

Chase glared at the guard and then at Mrs. Applebee. “You realize you could both get in big trouble. This girl could have been killed.”

Mrs. Applebee’s face turned white while the guard’s turned red, or redder. “Fine, I’m a little drunk, but I know what I saw. She was throwing boxes at me and she was on the floor and the boxes were coming from the top.”

“I apologize for him,” Mrs. Applebee said. “We have a service who hires out security. We weren’t aware that—”

“She’s telekinetic or she’s a witch.” The guard shot up and walked out.

Chase looked back at Mrs. Applebee. “Obviously, this could be trouble. For you and for our … runaway. Are you pressing charges?”

“Well, I…” Her gaze moved to Della. “I tried to solve this without getting the police involved. But she wouldn’t give me any information.”

“If I could get this young lady to give me her information and get her home, would you be willing to drop this?” Chase asked.

The woman looked shocked, but relieved. “Why … yes, I mean nothing bad has happened. Right?” She looked at Della and smiled.

“Will you do that?” Chase asked Della in an official tone.

“I just want to go home.” Della tried to sound desperate. Then again, that wasn’t too hard. She was desperate.

She’d broken into a hospital and didn’t have anything to show for it.

Chapter Forty-one

They left the office. Della couldn’t walk fast enough.

The moment they were alone, Chase asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” Her heart pounded and ached. As they made their way to the exit, his shoulder brushed against hers and the touch sent sharp jolts of pain right to her chest.

Chase waved at the guard and the doors opened.

They walked through. The cold air hit Della’s face and it felt and tasted like freedom. Chase kept going until he reached the end of the sidewalk. He stopped and looked out into the parking lot across the street.

“The guard really shot at you?” He continued to look around.

“Yeah, but the box did hit him. It could have been an accident.”

“You threw the box at him?” Chase glanced up and down the street as if looking for something, or someone.

“No,” Della said. “The ghost did.”

He looked about ready to say something, but itching to put miles from this place before Mrs. Applebee changed her mind, she asked, “What are you looking for? Can we leave and talk later?”

“Steve drove my car. He should…”

An engine sounded in the night, and Chase’s car pulled into the parking lot across the street.

“Shit,” both Della and Chase said at the same time. Because the scent that reached them at the same time wasn’t Steve’s.

*   *   *

“What in the hell were you thinking?” Burnett asked as he drove out of the parking lot. Chase had quickly explained that they’d let Della leave without involving the police. Then Burnett told Chase to get back on his own, but to meet him at the school.

The moment Della had crawled into the car, she’d started explaining that this was on her, not Chase, but then she realized that if Steve had been driving Chase’s car Burnett probably knew what had happened.

“I was thinking my dad could get the death penalty.” She looked away, afraid he’d see tears in her eyes. And not because she’d been caught. She’d didn’t give a flying flip that she’d been caught. It was the fact that she still had nothing. Nothing that would help her dad.

After blinking, she looked back at Burnett.

“The files were gone. Someone took them. What if it’s the DA? What if—”

“It’s not,” Burnett said.

“How do you know?” she asked.

His hands tightened around the steering wheel. “Because I’ve already got them.”

Her heart dropped. “You got them?”

He nodded.

“When … But … why didn’t you tell me? I wouldn’t have done this if…” She saw his expression harden. His silence said so much.

“There’s something bad in there, isn’t there?”

Burnett let go of air. “What matters is if the DA does go to look for them, they won’t find them. I destroyed them.”

“What was in there? Did my dad see the murder? Does he know about … vampires?”

She saw Burnett’s Adam’s apple go up and down.

“Damn it! Tell me.”

“He talked about being attacked by what he referred to as a monster, but then … he claimed he killed his sister.”

“What?” she gasped. “He didn’t do that.” She curled her hands into fists and wanted to hit something. Yanking at the seat belt, she broke it.

“Della, I’m not saying he did it. I … I’m saying he told the doctor he did it. But that will never come out. I destroyed the file.”

“You did?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Did he say why he thought he did it?”

“No. He just said he did it. That’s all he said.”

She sat there, hurting. “He didn’t do it. We know this other guy did it. Stone did it.”

“I know. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

She inhaled a shaky breath and they drove in silence for the next fifteen minutes. Her mind continued to race. She tried to understand. She couldn’t.

“Why would he say that?” she muttered.

“Because he was confused,” Burnett said. “Maybe in his mind, not protecting her was the same as killing her.”

It sounded as if Burnett had already tried to rationalize it. But did he believe it? Did he think her father had killed his sister? She remembered Bao Yu and the visions. The accusations.

None of it could make her believe that her father was a murderer.

A few minutes later, another concern hit. “What if his doctor testifies?”

“He passed away last year. Unless they can find a nurse—and that would be hard because I looked, and couldn’t find one—this won’t come out. Like I said, I destroyed the file. This will not come out.”

Della pulled her knees up in the seat and hugged them. Right then, she knew that Burnett was doing this for her. And she’d bet he hadn’t gone through the FRU, either.

“Thank you.” She leaned her head against her legs and gave in to the tears. Silently.

“What happened in there?” Burnett asked. “Did they take your name? Did they call the FRU office?”

Della told him about the ghost, about the guard shooting at her, and how everything played out.

Burnett gritted his teeth. She could actually hear it. He couldn’t jump on her about what she’d done. Because he’d done the same thing. Only he’d been successful.

“You’re lucky that guard didn’t hit you,” he said through tight lips.

“I know.” She looked out the window at the passing terrain and tried not to think.

“We’re going to have to do something about the ghost.”

“She didn’t hurt anyone. She wasn’t throwing the boxes at him, just tossing them out.”
Go ahead, look. Look in every box there is. You won’t find it because the proof doesn’t exist.

“But Della—”

“Give me this, Burnett. Please. She just wants answers.”
We all do
, Della thought. Why would her father think he’d killed his sister? It didn’t make sense. Because she knew, she knew with every ounce of her being, that her father wouldn’t kill anyone. The man had even purchased live traps to catch a rat that had taken up residence in their attic. Then he took it off in the woods and let it free. Her mother had teased him about it, and he’d teased back that the rat had reminded him of her mother.

They drove the rest of the way in silence. When he parked the car, Della looked for Chase. She didn’t see him. She inhaled. His scent lingered. Probably waiting in the office.

“Go get some rest.” Burnett got out.

She started to walk off and then turned back. “Do you believe me now? My dad said he saw a monster. He saw Feng that night and you remember I told you he told my mom that his brother got cold like me. He knows that I’m vampire?”

Burnett exhaled. “We don’t know that.”

But Della did. She knew it just like she knew her own name. Her father thought she was a monster. And this, this was why he didn’t love her anymore.

*   *   *

Della was almost to the cabin when Chase dropped down right in front of her.

She didn’t have time to brush off her tears.

“I’m sorry,” he said and pulled her against him.

She let him.

His scent filled her, and she gave in and cried some more.

She stayed there for several long seconds. His arms around her. Her head on his chest. Her heart breaking.

Her mind ran laps around what she wanted to say.

She loved him.

She hadn’t done anything wrong with Steve.

Her father knew she was a monster.

“It’s going to be okay,” he whispered, close to her ear.

She pulled back. “No, it’s not. He knows, Chase. My dad knows. And in the file, it states that my dad said he killed his sister. Why would he say that?”

“I don’t know.” He brushed tears from her cheeks. “Della, listen to me. I promise, I’ll fix this. Okay?”

She looked up in his eyes. “How?”

“I just will,” he said.

She blinked and there was something in his eyes, something in his tone.

“What are you going to do?”

“Just trust me. Can you do that?” he asked.

And of all the things he could have said this gave her more pause.

“If you have a plan I need to know.”

He stood there, his firm hands on her shoulders. “I haven’t got it all figured out yet, but I’m working on it.”

“Working on what?”

He dropped his hands from her. “I need to go see Burnett.” He started to leave.

“No.” She grabbed his arm. “You know something. What are you not telling me?” He looked away from her. “Don’t lie to me, Chase. What’s going on?”

“I have not lied. I promised you I wouldn’t lie. And I haven’t.”