Midnight Hour (Shadow Falls: After Dark #4)(19)

He paused. “We can help each other, Perry. With your power and your mom’s and my connections, we can be rich. We can make things right.”

Perry could only nod. Because right then another vision of Miranda hit. She was lying very still in what looked like a hospital bed.

His father exhaled. “When you meet Jax, you can show him what you can do. He’s gonna be impressed. We’re gonna be running this team in no

time. You and me. We’ll make your mama so proud.” He slapped his hand on Perry’s shoulder.

“Yeah.” He moved away from his father’s touch. “I need to go check on my girl.” If he left right now, he could be there and back before

eight in the morning when Caleb held his mandatory morning meetings. And if he didn’t make it. Screw Caleb. Miranda needed him.

“You can’t go anywhere,” his father snapped. “If Caleb finds out he’ll get all up in arms. He might fill Jax’s head with a reason not to

like you.”

“Then it’s your job to make sure Caleb doesn’t find out.” Perry started his morph into a falcon.

“Damn it! Where are you going?”

“Houston,” he said, remembering that’s where his father thought he’d lived before. His form changed. Spreading his wings, he flew up.

Before he found a good momentum, he saw Caleb walking to the back toward his dad.

Perry didn’t turn back. If there were consequences, he’d pay them later.

*

“Is she trying to escape the hospital?”

Miranda had just stepped out of the hospital-room door and turned down the hall when she heard the familiar sassy voice. She turned to see her

two best friends in the world hurrying toward her. Kylie, blond, perky, and pretty, and Della, almost black hair, exotic looking, and generally

grumpy.

“Are you okay?” Kylie hugged her cautiously.

“Fine.”

“You scared us!” Kylie said.

“Do you know what’s going on?” Miranda asked.

“You don’t remember?” Della asked. “You were almost blown up in a drug house. How hard did you hit your head?”

Miranda rolled her eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with my head. I meant what’s wrong with Holiday. She snatched Burnett out of my room as if

something was wrong.”

Della looked over her shoulder. “They walked outside. They didn’t say anything was wrong.”

“Well, it is. Holiday’s aura was clouded with worry. Are you sure my sister’s okay? Where’s room six?”

“Six?” Della asked.

“That’s where Tabitha—”

“I’m right here.” The voice came from behind her.

Miranda swung around to see the nurse—the part-witch nurse—wheeling Tabitha down the hall in a wheelchair.

“You can’t walk?” Miranda ran toward her sister, who sported a bandage on her forehead.

“I can.” Her sister looked at the nurse. “She won’t let me.”

“Doctor’s orders.” The nurse took a step back.

Miranda knelt down. “Thank God you’re okay.”

“Me?” Tabitha said. “I just banged my head. You broke an arm.”

“Heads are more important.” Miranda hugged her sister, hugged her tight. Her chest ached from the thought that she could have lost her.

“You’re cutting off my air,” Tabitha said.

“See, I’m not the only one who thinks that,” Della said moving with Kylie.

Tabitha glanced up at them. “The FRU thinks I’m a drug dealer?”

“They really don’t believe that,” Miranda said, even if she’d worried about it herself.

“Yeah, they do,” Della said.

Miranda pretty much accepted Della’s outspokenness, but occasionally it still scraped across some raw nerves. “Not really.” Miranda graced

Della with a don’t-go-there expression.

“Yeah, really.” Obviously, Della didn’t read the look. “They were ready to arrest your asses.”

Miranda cleared her throat in a way that said, Shut the crap up!

The vamp’s eyes widened as if she finally got it. “Not us. We don’t believe it. The police … think it. Burnett had to call the big dogs to

stop it from happening.”

“And Burnett’s going to clear this up,” Kylie added. “We’re just glad you’re both okay. Right?” Kylie, forever the peacekeeper, directed

the question at Della.

“Duh, that goes without saying.” The vamp looked at Tabitha. “We’ll get to the bottom of this. We’ve got your backs.”

The honesty in Della’s voice had Miranda pushing aside her aggravation. The vamp meant well.

“Burnett’s already assigned Lucas and Chase to the case,” Kylie said.

Della frowned. “He said I was too close to you, but Chase will keep me updated.”

Tabitha squirmed in the wheelchair. “Do you know why they took Anthony down for questioning?”

“They took Anthony down?” Miranda remembered bits and pieces of Shawn’s conversation.

Tabitha sighed. “They said they wanted to question him.”