Chosen at Nightfall (Shadow Falls #5)(100)

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"Be patient? That's all you've got for me?" Steve complained ten minutes later.

Kylie glanced up at Perry, circling them as they sat behind the office, and then frowned at Steve. "I don't know why everyone thinks I'm the love guru."

"Come on, give me something that would help me. You know her better than anyone."

Kylie dropped down beside the tree. "What can I tell you? Della's difficult." So difficult that if Della found out that Kylie had offered Steve advice, the vamp would revoke Kylie's best friend card.

"You think I don't know that?"

Kylie looked up into his desperate eyes. "She was hurt really badly by someone."

"I know that, too." He crossed his arms over his wide chest. "She deserves so much better than him."

"Oh, hell," Kylie said, and decided to throw caution to the wind. "Okay, here's all I can tell you. Della loves a good fight."

"I don't want to fight," Steve said. "What I want is..." He blushed as if thinking about what he really wanted.

But damn it, Kylie liked Steve.

"Look, I don't mean to fight with her. Fight for her. When she tells you that you can't sit with her at lunch, sit down anyway. When she tells you to leave, don't. She's gonna get pissy. That's Della, but I think it'll win you brownie points."

The shape-shifter paused as if contemplating. "Damn. You're right. When we were on the mission, she tried to push me away, but I didn't let her. I couldn't because Burnett warned me if anything happened to her, he'd have my head on a platter. And that's when we ... Hey! I know what I have to do."

"What?" Kylie asked, afraid of what she'd set in motion.

"Just wait and see." A smile spread his lips. Sparkles started popping off around him. He changed into a bird, not one as big or magnificent as the one who guarded her from above, but still impressive.

Flapping his wings twice, he flew off, squawking at Perry as he did.

Perry came in for a quick landing. "You are good at this," he said, still in bird form. "She'll be putty in his hands. Of course, she'll have already ripped your heart out for betraying her.""Don't talk to me when you're not a human!" She dropped her forehead on her knees.

Crap! Perry was right. Della was going to kill her. But since destiny may already have Kylie earmarked to die, she wasn't sure it really mattered.

Chapter Thirty-six

"You waiting for a call?" Kylie asked Hayden Yates when she walked into his classroom ten minutes later and he was holding his cell.

"Hoping." He frowned and looked around as if making sure they were alone. "It's Jenny. She's left home. God only knows where she is."

Kylie bit down on her lip. "If you found her, what would you do?"

"What do you mean?" Suspicion made his eyes tighten.

"Would you take her back to her parents? If she's run away, it's probably because she's like you when you were young, and she can't handle that lifestyle anymore."

His suspicion faded. "She doesn't know how hard it is to be completely alone."

"She wouldn't be alone," Kylie said. "She'd have you."

He frowned. "I know nothing about dealing with a teen."

Kylie rolled her eyes. "You're a teacher. You deal with us daily."

"I teach, I don't parent. There's a difference. But discussing this is silly." He ran his fingers through his hair. "She's young, she's naive."

"She's not that naive." Kylie remembered Jenny standing up to Derek and how she helped them escape.

"What if I knew where she was?"

Hayden glared at Kylie. "Christ! The alarm?"

Kylie nodded. Hayden frowned. "Do Burnett and Holiday know?"

"Not yet."

He blew air through his teeth. "If the elders find out she's here, they'll expect Burnett and Holiday to bring her back."

"I know," Kylie said. "That's the problem."

Hayden locked both of his hands behind his head. "And Holiday and Burnett will have to do it. They can't legally keep her without some serious consequences."

Kylie sighed. "That's the other part of the problem."

He pressed a hand on his desk. "This is so screwed up."

Kylie's mind raced. "I want to talk to Holiday and Burnett about it, but if this whole Mario thing calmed down, I think I'd have a better chance of convincing them."

He shot up. "Where is she right now?"

"She's staying at Derek's."

He looked puzzled. "Derek?" Hayden's expression went from teacher to big brother and Kylie got the feeling Derek could be up against some issues.

"It's better than my place because Burnett is watching me like a hawk. When Jenny jumped the gate, she couldn't get close to me because I had shadows. Jenny and Derek met the night I escaped and she thoughtshe could trust him. And she's right. Derek's the nicest guy I know. He would never ... you know."

"He better not ... you know!" Hayden bit out.

"I think it would be safer to move her to your place. Not because of Derek. But..."