Unspoken (Shadow Falls: After Dark #3)(81)

Chase pulled back. Della opened her eyes and looked at him. Her heart raced, and she felt lost in his taste, in the soft feel of his hand behind her neck. The smile in his eyes sobered her. She looked around.

“Where did he go?” she managed to ask.

“Apartment sixteen.” He dipped back in for another kiss. And she let him. Then, realizing what she was doing, she put her hand on his chest and lifted her mouth from his. She didn’t actually push him away, but she thought about it.

“You sure?” she asked.

“Yes.” He brushed his lips against hers again.

“Then we should stop.” She pulled back, just an inch. With his hand still curled around her neck, he moved in and reclaimed that tiny space.

“We don’t have to.” He smiled. His green eyes came so close, she could see his irises—still taste his tongue, still feel his breath on her chin.

“Yes, we do,” she said, a lot more adamantly.

“Why?” He pressed his lips to the corner of her mouth.

“Because Burnett’s standing at your window.”

*

Chase, certain that being caught making out would bite harder than the damn dog that got him last week, stepped out of the car. He felt even worse when he saw it wasn’t just Burnett, but the female agent, Trisha, he’d met yesterday and Shawn, the warlock agent, who had a thing for Miranda, Della’s roommate.

“Have you seen Stone yet?” Burnett asked. “Or have you been occupied?”

“No Stone, but a half were, half human just walked into apartment sixteen. Which was why we were … hiding our patterns.” And it sounded a lot more convincing when he’d suggested it to Della than it did now.

“Oh, that’s what you were doing?” the female agent said and grinned.

Burnett frowned. “Did he get your trace?”

“He never appeared to,” Chase answered.

“Which one is Stone’s apartment?”

“Apartment two,” Chase said. “Right beside the office.”

“Okay,” Burnett said. “You two—”

Burnett never finished. The door to the apartment swung open and four guys walked out.

Their gaze found them and all four shot in different directions.

“See if Stone is in his place or the office,” Burnett ordered and took off.

“I got apartment two,” Trisha said, running.

Chase took off after a different were, and saw Della and Shawn doing the same.

Moving fast, his feet pounding against the pavement, Chase felt his side pinch, reminding him he wasn’t completely healed. He ignored it and kept going.

The guy was fast, but not fast enough. Chase got within a few feet of the guy, his dark hair flipping in the wind. The were’s body odor and scent filled Chase’s airspace. His nostrils flared, as the scent hit as familiar.

Right before he latched on to the guy’s shoulder, he remembered exactly where he’d come across this were before.

This was one of the creeps he’d pulled off Della.

He brought the guy down. Chase landed on top of him. The half were tried to scramble away, but Chase put his hand on the back of his head and pushed his face down just hard enough for the guy to know his strength.

“Don’t move,” Chase seethed. “Or do, and it’ll make my day.” His fury rose now as he became even more certain this guy had been at the park. He recalled with clarity seeing one of the half were’s fists swing at Della, and Chase had to work not to let his eyes grow bright.

Grabbing the guy by the arm, he dragged him across the parking lot to his car.

Burnett met him halfway, with one of the other runaways. Shawn was placing another one in the back of a black sedan. Trisha stood outside apartment two, shaking her head, as if to say Stone wasn’t there.

Chase turned to look for Della. The parking lot was empty.

Where the hell was she?

*

Della moved fast, sniffing the air. The guy had disappeared between apartment buildings. She’d caught the were scent when she’d first leapt out of Chase’s car, but she’d left that behind as she pursued the new scent. What she now tried to follow was vampire and maybe a trace of warlock. Definitely a mixed breed.

She moved around several cars, thinking the guy might be hiding. He wasn’t there.

Then she heard a scream. A child’s scream. Coming from one building away. She took off, completely blowing Burnett’s no-excess-force rule.

The scream stopped. Della kept moving. She saw an apartment door open. And she heard a muffled cry from inside.

She debated for one second to enter or not. The moan came again. Della shot forward.

She stopped as soon as she spotted him. The vampire had his arm around a child, his hand clasped over her mouth. He held a knife in his other hand. The girl, dark skinned, with yellow ribbons in her hair, had tears running down her face. She looked terrified. As she should be.

“Let the child go,” Della said, and fought to keep her eyes from growing bright. Not because of Burnett’s rule but for fear of scaring the girl.

“Get away from the door,” he seethed, his eyes lime green and his fangs out. He moved his hand from the girl’s mouth and pulled her closer. Then he put the knife to her throat.

The girl let out a light cry. Della checked his pattern as she shifted away from the door. She’d been right. Vampire. Dominant vampire with some warlock.