Almost Midnight (Shadow Falls: After Dark #3.5)(64)

“I don’t know where they went,” Shawn growled. Miranda cut him a quick look. Pain still hardened his expression, and he had one fist pressed low on his waist.

His gaze shifted to Miranda and she mouthed the words, I’m sorry.

Only concern marred his expression as he nodded. Then, taking a step away, he pulled out his phone and she heard him say Burnett’s name.

Remembering the fireball, she realized someone else besides the vampires was gone. Breath held, she did a visual search around the park.

“Where’s Tabitha?” Miranda voiced her concern and did a full circle hoping to spot the red-haired witch.

“She was right there,” Kylie said.

Finally, Miranda spotted her about a hundred feet away. The girl sat on the ground, still clutching her middle, her head down.

Miranda started over.

A low sound reached Miranda’s ears as she got closer to Tabitha. The girl hummed. The tune hit a familiar melody in Miranda’s head. “Yankee Doodle.” The same tune she hummed to help deal with stress. An odd nervous habit she’d picked up from her dad.

Had Tabitha picked the habit up from Miranda when they were in preschool? Miranda wasn’t sure, but where else would Tabitha have gotten it?

“It’s okay,” Miranda said when she got closer.

With spittle on her chin, the redheaded witch glanced up. Fury filled her eyes. “You. I should have known you were behind this.”

“I wasn’t—”

“What happened?” A voice rang out to Miranda’s right. Sienna ran up and dropped to the ground and threw her arms around Tabitha for a quick hug.

“She happened,” Tabitha seethed, pushing out of the hug and looking up at Miranda.

“Bullshit!” Della appeared at her side with Kylie. “You might not have noticed, but Miranda shrank a fireball that was targeted at your ass.” Della looked at Miranda. “You should have let it take her out. The world would have been a better place.”

Tabitha started to raise her hand. Miranda jumped in front of Della. She’d just saved Tabitha’s life, but no way would she let the girl do any harm to one of her best friends.

Della pushed Miranda aside and let out a deep hiss. “You even think of twitching that pinky at me and I’ll break it off and feed it to some unlucky Parisian frog. I’m not nearly as good-natured as my friend here.”

Tabitha, not as dumb as she acted, dropped her hand, but she wasn’t completely backing down. “I’m reporting this to that FRU agent.”

“Who, me?” Shawn asked, appearing at Miranda’s side. “If you—”

“Or do you mean me?” Another deep voice sounded as a quick shadowy flash stopped right beside Shawn. Miranda didn’t have to see the owner of the voice to know it was Burnett.

“Or perhaps you could explain why you two went against my orders and left the hotel.” He directed his question to Sienna and Tabitha.

“We’re not prisoners,” Sienna snapped.

“No, you’re not. But someone wants you dead.” Burnett’s tone was deep and angry. “Would you rather be dead?”

When Sienna didn’t answer, Burnett added, “Does anyone want to tell me what happened here?”

“I think she’s trying to kill me,” Tabitha said, glaring at Miranda.

“Why would I want to kill you?” Miranda snapped back.

“Would you quit acting as if you don’t know?” Tabitha snapped and got to her feet.

“Know what?” Miranda blasted back and felt Kylie take her by the arm as if to calm her.

Tabitha didn’t answer, and started walking away.

“Stop her,” Burnett said to Shawn. “Everyone goes back to the apartment until I figure out what’s up.” He turned to another agent. “Start collecting cameras from the crowd. Take them to the office and start downloading them, tell everyone they can pick them up in a few hours.”

Would you quit acting as if you don’t know? Miranda kept hearing Tabitha’s parting comment. She started to walk with Shawn, wanting answers from Tabitha, but Burnett caught her by her arm. “No. Now’s not the time for female drama.”

Miranda stopped, but frowned in the redheaded witch’s direction. Why did she get the feeling that there was more to Tabitha’s little show than just female drama? What could have happened almost fourteen years ago between their moms that could still be worth fighting over?

*

Four hours later, on her first night in Paris, Miranda sat beside Kylie on the apartment’s sofa. Della had been released to go to DeVille with another agent. Before she left, Miranda had apologized for being a bitch. Della had half-smiled and said she’d already forgiven her. Miranda had insisted on a hug, and of course, Della relented, but made it a short one.

That was the thing about the vamp: she might get mad in a flicker of a second, but she was almost as quick to forgive. And Miranda knew that beneath her friend’s prickly attitude was a heart of gold.

Sienna and Tabitha sat on the love seat. Tabitha hadn’t stopped frowning at Miranda, and it took everything she had not to jump up and demand the girl explain her parting comment from earlier.

Burnett had confiscated all the cameras from the tourists and downloaded the images and video to a laptop. After interviewing, or rather interrogating everyone, he’d connected a projector and they were watching the attack via photos and video on the white wall.