Midnight Hour (Shadow Falls: After Dark #4)(32)

the room like a trapped lion. Right now, she squirmed in the chair, worry marring her pretty face. Not that he felt bad—well, a little about

her getting shocked—but she needed to fret. He ran his tongue over his swollen lip and watched her lift her restrained hands and set them on

the table. She let out a deep exhale of frustration then dropped her forehead on her locked, fisted hands.

He’d deactivated the cuffs but hadn’t removed them. He already had two blows from her, three if you counted the chip off his pride.

How had he let the girl who barely weighed a hundred pounds get the upper hand on him? He could understand it if she were full vampire. She

wasn’t.

He heard her first soft sob, and his chest tightened. Why the hell was he feeling sorry for her? She’d brought this down on herself.

The door behind Shawn swung open. Burnett, Chase, and Lucas all walked in. Chase, a vampire, and Lucas, a werewolf, were the boyfriends of

Miranda’s two roommates, and both of them worked for the FRU. So Shawn spent a lot of time with them, even considered them friends.

“Damn it!” Lily Chambers muttered, rubbing her tears off her cheek with her shoulder.

“Whatcha got?” Burnett’s gaze lingered on the girl behind the glass. He frowned as if seeing the girl cry didn’t suit him, either. It made

Shawn feel a little better.

Then Burnett looked at Shawn’s face. “What the hell happened to you?”

“It’s nothing.” Shawn touched his busted lip. He hadn’t taken the time to look at it yet. Was it that noticeable?

“Nothing? Half your friggin’ face is blue.”

Shawn pointed to the two-way mirror. “She got me with her foot.”

“You got beat up by a girl?” Chase snickered. Lucas did the same.

Shawn could swear he even heard Burnett hold back a chuckle.

“She’s tougher than she looks. She tried to run after I put the cuffs on her and got herself zapped. It barely fazed her.”

“You shocked … her?” Lucas asked, his blue eyes widening.

“I didn’t do it. She kicked me in the face and ran.” Shawn pushed away his annoyance, his thoughts turning to Miranda. “Have you got

anything about who blew the house up?”

“Nothing other than proof the cops are right,” Chase answered. “We found all kinds of drugs in what was left of the house. Meth, cocaine,

marijuana.”

“And Anthony?” Shawn asked. “Did you figure out why he was there?”

“No,” Burnett answered this time. “I had another agent question him. Someone who doesn’t know him.”

“And?” Shawn asked, not wanting to believe Anthony had any involvement, but if he was wrong, he’d personally like to teach his new French

friend a lesson.

“He told the truth on most things.”

“Most things?” Shawn asked.

“That he’s not dealing drugs and wouldn’t hurt Tabitha.”

“But?” Shawn asked.

“He’s hiding something. He’d answer the question about why his trace was there with another question.”

“But you got his trace there for sure, right?” Shawn asked.

“I didn’t,” Burnett said. “Della did. She got to the scene before I did.”

“Could she be wrong?” Shawn asked.

“Not Della,” Chase said, quick to defend his girlfriend.

Burnett nodded. “If she says she got it, she got it. The boy’s hiding something.”

“What could he be hiding?” Shawn searched his mind for clues that told him Anthony was dirty.

“I think he’s protecting someone,” Burnett answered.

“Protecting who?” Shawn asked. “He’s been here less than a month. He spends all his time with Tabitha.”

“I know, but he’s living with an uncle. And he has two cousins. As soon as I’m done here, I’m going to go see his family.”

“You want me to question Anthony?” Shawn asked. “He might—”

“No. I let him go,” Burnett focused again on the two-way mirror.

“You what?” Shawn asked, certain he’d misunderstood.

Burnett looked back at him. “I’m having him followed. If my instincts are right, he’ll lead us to someone who knows something more than he

does.”

“Who do you have on him?” Shawn asked.

“Agent Brown,” he said. “They’ve never met so his trace won’t be familiar. And Brown just texted me. Anthony went back to the hospital.”

“I’ve met the guy several times,” Lucas said. “He seems to care about Tabitha.”

“I liked him,” Chase said. “I can’t believe he’s up to no good.”

“I know,” Burnett said. “I don’t believe he’s behind this, but he knows more than he’s telling.”

“Is he our only lead right now?” Shawn directed the question to Lucas, knowing he’d been working the case.

“Right now, yes,” Lucas said. “I’ve got a meeting in an hour to speak to the landlord of the drug house. Chase is going to canvas the