Unspoken (Shadow Falls: After Dark #3)(7)

Della slipped her phone into her back pocket and stared out at the night—feeling alone.

The moon, almost full, hung in the dark sky. Her instinct nudged her a warning—giving more credence to Burnett’s caution. Weres were gathering strength from the lunar glow right now.

While she no longer hated the species as a whole, her vampire predisposition would never let her trust a stray she might stumble upon. They could be rogue.

But it wasn’t a were that worried her now, or what caused the empty spot in her chest. Nope, that would be her father and a conniving, lying vamp.

Where are you, Chase? What kind of game are you playing this time?

Why had he come and then disappeared? Why had he seemed so dad-blasted elated to see her? Did he know her uncle had killed her aunt? Did he know that she, Burnett, and the FRU were searching for the man? The same man who’d helped Chase survive being Reborn. Was Chase protecting him?

He had to be, didn’t he? Why else would he have disappeared out of the blue after she texted him the photo of him and her uncle?

She pressed her forehead to the cold glass pane, remembering their brief kiss, and fought the yin and yang emotions that came whenever she allowed herself to really think about Chase. Sentiments she spent a lot of energy denying, but that in brief moments, like right now, she couldn’t refute.

That damn bond had emotionally tied her to him. Not that it changed anything.

Was Chase smart enough to know that no matter what feelings she might harbor for him, given the choice between him and her father, her father would win? It would probably be like ripping her heart out. But who needed a heart? The dang organ just caused problems.

*

Chase walked into a house in one of Houston’s middle-class suburban neighborhoods. Eddie had recently rented it under the name Jacob Mackey. He’d taken a month off from his position as a research scientist—a job the Vampire Council provided him. The position had saved not only his own life, but Chase’s, and Della’s, and those of about twenty other vampires who had gone through the rebirth stage in the last five years. Eddie was the doctor and scientist who had discovered the transfusion treatment, along with numerous lifesaving procedures that had helped their kind and others.

Not only was Eddie dedicated to providing better health care for the vampire species, but he’d been Chase’s surrogate father since the plane crash. Then when Chase went through the rebirth, he’d willingly bonded with him. Chase owed him. And more importantly he loved him. Not that they expressed endearments, but actions spoke louder than words.

Which was why this was all going to be so difficult.

Chase moved into the living room, where Eddie sat in his old brown recliner—the only piece of furniture that he moved with him whenever he relocated. On the end table was the framed photo that also went with him. Kirsha. Eddie’s bond mate that had died only a year after they’d been together.

Baxter came running and nudged Chase’s leg with his nose.

Eddie held a newspaper in his hands, and only when Chase dropped down on the sofa did Eddie look up.

He studied Chase. Eddie could read him so well, it was pointless to try and hide anything. Not that Eddie hadn’t ever had secrets from him. Until Della had told him about Bao Yu, he hadn’t known about the murder.

“What’s got your eyes so bright, son?”

“Chao Tsang, your twin. Perhaps you have it wrong. Maybe he did kill your sister.”

Eddie sat up, lowering the recliner with a firm thump. His expression was serious. “That’s ridiculous. I told you what happened. We find Douglas Stone and we’ll have our proof.”

“You said you didn’t see the murder. And the more I get to know your twin, the more—”

“Stop,” Eddie said. “Why would my brother do this?”

“Why would he treat his daughter with such disrespect? Do you have any idea how much he’s hurting her?”

Eddie took a deep breath, and emotion filled his eyes. “You feel for her. She’s your bond mate, so that’s understandable, but don’t toss out harmful statements. Chao is already facing charges.”

“As are you,” Chase countered. “The FRU are looking at you for this! This whole thing is a mess. Leave. Don’t tell me where you’re going, don’t call. Let me do what I have to do. When Douglas Stone is found, and the FRU is no longer hunting you, I’ll let the Vampire Council know and they can contact you.”

He shook his head slowly. “No. You do what you have to do. Don’t worry about me.”

Chase ran a hand over his face. Damn, this was hard. “We need the FRU’s help.”

“The council is on this,” Eddie insisted.

“You, yourself, told me that you’ve had the council looking for Douglas Stone for over sixteen years. They haven’t found him. What makes you think they’ll find him now?”

“They realize the urgency now that this has escalated.”

Chase stared up at the ceiling trying to find an easy way to say this, but there wasn’t one. He looked at Eddie. “I’m resigning my position with the council.”

To his credit, Eddie didn’t look surprised. “To work for them? The FRU?”

Chase nodded.

“The bond you have for her is that strong?” Eddie asked, only the tiniest amount of hurt in his voice. What Eddie was really asking was if the bond he shared with Della was stronger than theirs. It wasn’t any stronger. He was indebted to Eddie, in so many ways, but what he felt for Della was different.