Awake at Dawn (Shadow Falls #2)(88)

"She didn't do this," Kylie kept saying. "How can they think it's possible?"

Miranda groaned as if tired of Kylie's litany. "This isn't the same world you used to live in. Shit happens here. Bad shit. Teenage girls die. Cats get turned into skunks. Werewolves come into your cabin and try to kill you. And when a vampire turns for the first time, they can ... do things that they wouldn't do in their right minds."

"You think she did it!" Kylie accused.

"I don't know," Miranda said. "But if she did, it wasn't her fault and I won't stop loving her. And damn it, Kylie, you shouldn't, either. She thinks you walk on water. If you turn your back on her, it'll kill her."

Tears filled Kylie eyes at even the suggestion that Della could've done something so terrible. But deep down she knew, even if it was true, she wouldn't turn her back on her friend.

Ten minutes later Della, eyes red, walked into the cabin and dropped into a chair. "The bite marks weren't mine. None of the fingerprints, either."

A smile spread across Kylie's face and her heart. "I told you."

Tears slipped from Della's dark eyes and rolled down her pale cheeks.

"They think Chan did it."

Miranda looked from Della to Kylie. "Who's Chan?"

"My cousin," Della told her, no longer caring about keeping the secret.

"He helped me through my change. He didn't have to do it. But he did."

"Oh," Miranda said.

"Now they want to me to find out if he did it," Della went on. "To go undercover and get the proof of his guilt." She hiccupped. "But he was there for me when no one else was, and now I have to-"

"Just tell them no," Kylie said.

"You don't tell the FRU no." Della took in a deep breath. "Besides ... they showed me the pictures." Sorrow filled Della's dark's eyes. "There was a baby. It was awful. If he did do this, he has to be stopped before he does it to someone else. I don't think I could live with myself if I let that happen."

That night Kylie attended a mandatory camp meeting because somebody had tampered with the security alarm again. According to Burnett, the alarm was being shut off-what he didn't know was if it was by someone on the inside or outside, but he was determined to find out. Kylie wondered if her feeling of being watched coincided with the security alarm being turned off. Because now that the alarm was guarded, she didn't feel a thing, except safer.

After the meeting, she had headed back to the cabin alone and had taken the first step up onto her porch when a noise startled her. So much for feeling safe. Her heart pounded and she turned. Her thoughts shot to Fredericka.

"How long do you think you can avoid talking to me?" Lucas leapt up on her porch.

Kylie shifted a bit closer to the light fixture above the front door, where insects buzzed, and looked at her watch.

"Obviously only about twelve hours," she said, noting it was nine o'clock on the dot. Today when she'd seen him in the office, she'd been too concerned about Della to worry about her Lucas issues with the dreams. But not tonight. She stepped out of the light, hoping he wouldn't see embarrassment color her cheeks.

"So you admit you've been avoiding me?" Humor laced his deep voice. Humor she didn't appreciate. She met his eyes before looking away.

"I'd deny it, but you wouldn't believe me." Besides, avoiding things that make me uncomfortable is my specialty.

Instantly, she recalled confessing to Holiday about how confronting her dad had made her feel better. Was it too much to hope that confronting Lucas would have the same effect?

One more peek at her cabin door and she knew she had to do this. Face him and get it over with.

"So, if you're not going to deny it, dare I hope you'll explain the reason you're doing it?"

She raised her gaze again and while she wanted more than anything to believe he didn't know about the dreams, she couldn't believe it. Obviously, she was much better at avoidance than denial.

"Reasons," she said.

"What?" He stepped closer and his scent, woodsy and rich, invaded her air.

"I have more than one reason."

"Okay." He caught the end of a strand of her blond hair and rubbed it between his fingertips. "Tell me the reasons."

She pulled her hair from his hand and took a step back. "Tell you? And take all the fun out of your trying to figure it out yourself?" She had meant for the words to sound curt, but she must have missed her mark because he chuckled.

She frowned.

His humor faded. "Okay, my first guess is that you're beginning to realize at least some of your gifts. Dreamscaping, for example?"

She flushed but didn't look away this time. "Now that I understand it, it won't be a problem." She prayed she was right. Holiday had said Kylie would get more control over it, hadn't she? Surely that meant she could shut it down. God, she hoped it was true.

He studied her. "That's a shame." His tone came out flirty again. She glanced back at the door. She'd said what she needed to, hadn't she?

When she reached for the doorknob, he caught her arm. His touch wasn't rough, not even a little bit. It was tender and that gave her more pause. She'd had a hell of a day and could still recall how he'd seemed genuinely concerned for her in the office.