Part 35 (1/2)
”Then to Uck's we go.” He reached over again and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. ”We are going to work this out.”
”Work what out?”
”Everything,” he said. ”Natasha and Liam. You and me.”
Her heart gave a big tug, and all she could do was nod.
He started the car, and for some crazy reason, she heard Steve's voice in her head.
Promise me that before you fall in love with Chase, you'll remember that I loved you first.
Then she heard Holiday's voice. Just be careful.
Oh, h.e.l.l. Was she really falling in love with Chase?
She called Burnett and told him she'd be home in a couple of hours to give him a full report. He started to interrogate her over the phone and she insisted they'd talk later. He wasn't happy, but he accepted it after she told him exactly where they were heading. He obviously felt there was nothing to worry about at Uck's, and didn't mind them going.
What p.i.s.sed Della off was that he was right.
They got nothing at Uck's. But because there were a few vampires there, they ordered c.o.kes and talked about mundane stuff. Stories about his parents and his sister. But for some reason, it didn't feel mundane. She wanted to know all those things.
Then he asked her about her past. Wanting him to know the good side of her father, she told him about how they played chess and even entered a few compet.i.tions. She told him about her father taking her fis.h.i.+ng. About Scrabble night, and how the family would get together and play.
It was sometime during that conversation that she understood why the ghost wanted her to read the diary. When you cared about someone, you wanted to know the little things. Details of their life. Her aunt, Bao Yu, wanted to know the little things of her daughter's life.
At almost nine o'clock, Chase pulled up at Shadow Falls. ”Do you want me to come with you to talk to Burnett?” he asked.
”No,” she said. ”I got it.”
He stared at her. ”Are you going to tell him about the leak in the FRU?”
”I have to,” she said. ”Are you going to tell the council that I know about it and for him to get the h.e.l.l out of there?”
”I already have-when you went to the bathroom right after we got to the restaurant.”
She inhaled. ”At least we're being honest.”
”Working for adversaries doesn't change what's between us, Della.”
It would, Della sensed it. It just hadn't risen to a head. And when it did, she didn't have a clue how she was going to handle it.
But that was only part of her problem. ”I'm not a hundred percent sure what is happening between us,” she said.
He leaned over and kissed her again. She only let it happen for a second. She put her hand on his chest and pushed him back an inch.
”I can clear that up for you,” he said. ”It's called being bonded. And it's a powerful thing. We belong together now.”
”I have to go.” She walked away from him sitting in his car. And she listened to him drive away, feeling the emptiness she felt each and every time.
She went in and gave Burnett a full report. And when she told him about the leak in the FRU, a part of her almost felt disloyal to Chase. Working for adversaries doesn't change what's between us, Della. She reheard Chase's words, and again, she knew he was wrong.
No sooner had Della told Burnett about the leak, he picked up the phone to call someone at the FRU.
He was promptly informed that one of their agents had already cleaned out his office and left a letter of resignation.
”Do you see, I told you the Vampire Council was up to no good?”
Della leaned back in her chair. ”Do you not have agents trying to get their information?”
”Whose side are you on?” Burnett asked.
”The FRU's,” she told him, ”but I'm not sure there should be sides.”
”Tell that to the Vampire Council,” he snapped back. ”They're the ones who refuse to work with us.”
After a moment of him fuming, Della asked, ”Did you get anything else on the bodies?”
”They've found a total of twenty now.”
”No identifications yet?” she asked, almost scared of his answer.
”None.”
She almost told him about Natasha being her cousin. She didn't because she knew he'd discover that her aunt had been murdered. Then he'd discover the connection to her uncle. Maybe she wanted him to discover it? If her uncle killed her aunt, didn't he deserve to be discovered? Yes, he did, but she wanted a little more time to find her own answers before Burnett started stirring up the pot.
And it had nothing to do with her thinking her father was guilty.
It didn't, she told herself as she walked back to her cabin. When she looked up and saw the stars, instead of appreciating the night, she realized another day had pa.s.sed and Natasha and Liam were still trapped.
Or dead. The thought whispered through her mind, and as much as she wanted to deny it, a part of her feared that she believed what Bao Yu wanted to believe. What if her aunt just refused to believe Natasha was dead?
Call it growth, or weakness ... she didn't know which, but Della finally accepted she needed to reach out for help and support. Instead of locking herself away in her room, she went to the fridge, got out three diet sodas, and waited for her two best friends to come home.
About fifteen minutes later, they came in, smelling like smoke. They'd obviously been at a bonfire.
When they stepped in and saw her, then the diet sodas, their laughter halted.
”What's wrong?” Kylie asked, and they both took up their places at the table.
”Everything,” Della said. Her problems spun in her head and she wasn't sure she could fix any of them. Powerless. That's how she felt. Even though she had more now than she'd ever had.
So she started with that truth, the one she should have told them weeks ago. She wasn't just a normal vampire anymore. She didn't tell them that Burnett was a Reborn, but she refused to keep secrets from them anymore.
They sat there and looked at her, then at each other, and then Miranda said, ”Tell us something we don't know.”
”You knew? How?”