Midnight Hour (Shadow Falls: After Dark #4)(84)

it was owned by a corporation, he’d decided to move forward.

Perry looked out the window in the back of the van. The gated neighborhood had no streetlights. Night had settled in. The golden hue of

tungsten lights spilled from the home’s windows. The scene looked like a page out of a fairytale book—a happy place where children played,

laughed, and were loved.

Perry saw through it. Knew it for what it was. A fa?ade. A mask to hide evil.

Burnett swiveled in his seat and commenced with outlining his plan.

“Why can’t I just shift and go in?” Perry asked. “I can give you a count of how many are in there.”

He really thought Burnett was making this more complicated than it should be. Dressed in orange jumpsuits with the gas company’s emblem on

them, seven of them were in the van: Burnett, Kylie, Della, Hayden Yates—a chameleon and teacher at the school—Chase, Perry, and Stephanie

Tobler, the vampire agent who saved his ass at the bar.

Their objective wasn’t to go in with guns blazing.

Not that they didn’t have guns. At least the official agents were armed.

Burnett made it clear that until they knew for sure that this was Jaxon’s home, and exactly what they were up against, they weren’t storming

the house. If there were more than four perps, Burnett was calling for backup from Houston FRU.

While Perry had been cleaning up and visiting with Miranda, Burnett ran his half brother through the system. Burnett wasn’t happy with what

the system turned up.

Jaxon Bowen was on the most-wanted list of the FRU. Only twenty-two years old, he had more felony offenses than he had years. He’d been the

leader of three unscrupulous gangs in the Houston and Dallas areas that the FRU had managed to shut down. Jax had ultimately escaped all three

times. And whatever he was involved in now, Burnett suspected it was equally devious.

No one said it, but everyone thought it. If Anthony and Tabitha were somehow mixed up with Jax, chances were the only thing they’d be bringing

home were their bodies. Perry couldn’t imagine how much that would hurt Miranda.

“I could be in and out in no time,” Perry continued.

“But Kylie and Hayden can go in invisible,” Burnett said.

“I’m practically invisible when I shift.”

Burnett’s jaw tightened. “Jax is a shifter, and a damn good one. The first thing he’ll look for is another shifter. Everyone else,” Burnett

said, “will stay in the van, unless I call you. Got it?”

Perry nodded. It made sense, but he didn’t like being put on standby when he’d been the one to give them the lead. It fed his insecurity.

Burnett still didn’t trust him.

Burnett continued. “There’s a pipeline easement in the back of the house. About five minutes ago, someone called and let the residents know

that there was a report of a gas leak in the area, and that we’ll be out checking. I’ll ask whoever opens the door to let me into their

backyard. Kylie and Hayden, invisible, will search the house while I’m out back. I’ll give them a few minutes and then I’ll knock and let

the homeowners know all is well, Hayden and Kylie will come out with a report. They’ll never know we were there.” He slipped a baseball hat

on his head. His pattern now hidden.

“And what if there’s another vamp or were inside and they get your scent?” Perry asked, now turning into the one with concerns.

“Houston has a large vampire population in the city. Just being a vampire shouldn’t set off any red flags. If trouble strikes, I’ll call.”

Kylie and Hayden went invisible. Burnett walked out, leaving the door open long enough for them to follow.

Perry gazed back to the window. The curtain in one of the downstairs rooms fluttered. “They know we’re here. They’re watching. Should we…?

”

“We wait until he calls us,” Agent Tobler said.

The door to the house opened and Burnett disappeared inside.

“I don’t like this.” Perry’s gut said something wasn’t right. He held a gulp of oxygen in his lungs. Before he let it out, a blast of

gunfire exploded in the night.

*

Miranda was almost to Holiday’s cabin when her phone beeped with a text. Tabitha? Snatching it out of her pocket, she felt her hopes die when

she saw Holiday’s number.

Can you come over?

Instead of texting back, she bolted up the steps and knocked.

The sound of a baby’s cry reached Miranda’s ears. The door to the cabin swung open.

“That was fast,” Holiday said.

“I was coming to see you.”

Holiday nodded. “Can you take him?” She handed Miranda the baby. “Dealing with two kids is a job.”

Using her casted arm, Miranda pulled the wiggling baby close. Holiday went to get a whimpering Hannah out of her high chair.

Miranda pushed the door closed, but not before noticing how the trees seemed to move in the breezeless night. She’d been aware of them all the

way over here. When had she gotten paranoid of trees?

Holiday pulled Hannah into her arms. “It’s okay,” she whispered and then looked back at Miranda. “I texted you because I remembered