Midnight Hour (Shadow Falls: After Dark #4)(39)

“I don’t know.”

“What does Chuckie look like?” Burnett asked.

“It’s been years since I’ve seen him.”

“What did he look like?” Burnett asked.

“Tall, around six feet. Dark hair, green eyes. He’s older than Jax. Old. Like your age.” She faced Burnett.

Burnett’s shoulders tightened ever so slightly at the insult.

“Yikes!” Chase chuckled.

“Yeah,” Lucas said. “If one of us told him that, he’d probably break our arm.”

Shawn moved in closer to the table, now completely destroying Perry’s view. The warlock spoke up. “So you took the money to get away.”

“No,” she snapped. “You are completely dense. I told you, I was dropping the deposit off like I was supposed to do.”

Burnett spoke up next. “Lily, if you were taking it to get away…”

“Now you, too? I’m not a thief! Wait. I can prove it!” She stood up. “Get my backpack. You’ll find the deposit slip in the bag. All the

money is there except for four hundred and sixty dollars. I took that out because that’s what my check was supposed to be. It’s in my wallet.

Get it. You’ll see.”

Burnett looked toward the two-way mirror. “Someone bring in her backpack from the evidence room.”

“I’ll do it.” Perry took off. He snagged the backpack, then hesitated. What was he going to tell Burnett? The man already wanted to pull

Perry out of investigating his parents’ crimes—and Perry hadn’t even told him what he suspected. That this wasn’t just his father and a few

old friends getting together to pull off a few robberies for extra cash. It went deeper.

Underground deep—where badass gangs wreaked their havoc. He’d heard Burnett say that underground gangs were like supernatural terrorists.

His parents were involved with terrorists.

If Burnett knew, he’d yank Perry off the case. Not just because he worried Perry might not be in control of his powers. Burnett looked at him

as a brother—a baby brother. The vamp had been protecting Perry since he was five. He wasn’t stopping now.

And neither was Perry.

Exhaling to the point of blowing his hair from his brow, he tried to think. He needed to pick and choose what he said, and not lie. Burnett

could smell a lie a mile away.

*

Miranda stared at the two food trays on the bedside table, stinking up the room with a canned soup smell. It was late. The nurse had graciously

brought them a late dinner. Miranda didn’t think she could eat. Where was Tabitha? She’d texted her twice in the last fifteen minutes. No

answer.

Was she still avoiding Miranda? Or had they found something in the MRI?

Voices echoed on the other side of the door. Miranda sat up a little.

“I can walk,” she heard her sister’s less-than-happy tone.

Remembering her sister had left mad, Miranda jumped up and met her the second she stepped into the room. Her sister’s aura was muddy. Unhappy.

Miranda wished she were fae and could offer a dose of calm. A hug would have to do.

Tabitha didn’t fight the embrace, but Miranda had barely wrapped her arms around her when her sister spoke up. “You really have a hugging

fixation.”

“Hugs are happiness,” Miranda said. Tabitha ended the hug way too short. “I don’t want you to be mad.”

“I’m not mad.” Tabitha paused. “At you,” she said. “Your friends, however, are pissing me off.”

Miranda pulled in a short gulp of air. She didn’t need to ask why. Considering what Holiday had told her—that Anthony had denied ever being

at the witch’s house and that Burnett, in spite of the fact that he liked Anthony, was suspicious.

“I’m sorry,” Miranda said, and she was. She liked Anthony, too. But something was amiss here, and Miranda didn’t think it was Della.

“It’s not your fault.” Tabitha climbed into one of the two beds in the room, kicking the covers off with gusto. “I got a call from our dad,

” her sister said. “He and your mom are almost here. And my mom is due to arrive at the same time. Which means, we get front row seats to

World War Ten! I’m not ready to deal with them.”

“Me, either.” Miranda pulled the curtain that stood between the two beds all the way back and then climbed into her bed.

Tabitha sighed. “Everything is crazy.”

“I know.” Miranda almost told her about Perry, but decided her sister had enough on her plate.

“You might be able to help.” Tabitha looked at her with one of those pleading gazes. The same gaze that had led Miranda to the witch’s house

earlier.

“How?” Miranda asked.

“Do you think if you asked Della to … to say she might have been mistaken about Anthony’s scent at the house, do you think that she’d do

it? I mean, I know she wouldn’t do it for me, but … You’re her best friend.”

Miranda’s mind went on hyperalert. She wasn’t just asking Miranda to do something, she was asking Miranda to ask someone else to do

something. “I think Della’s pretty sure it wasn’t a mistake—”