Chosen at Nightfall (Shadow Falls #5)(30)

"Okay, time's up!" Burnett snapped, and started moving around the room. "Get your asses back here now."

"One more minute," Kylie insisted. "We're almost done."

"He can't hear you," Hayden said.

"Oh, yeah." She paused, questions for Hayden racing through her mind, but Burnett was about to flip.

And a flipping Burnett wasn't easy to deal with.

"Are you ready?" Kylie asked. "I have so much more to talk to you about, but for now ... I think we should deal with this. Wait!" Kylie snapped. When she didn't hear him, she called for him. "Hayden?"

"Yes?" he asked.

"Do you think my grandfather was in on the plan to kidnap me and keep me from Shadow Falls?"

"No. I don't think he was. He's been very worried about you-even called six times until you arrived."

Relief fluttered through her. "Will you tell him I'm sorry for ... not saying good-bye?"

"I will."

"Kylie!" Burnett growled.

Taking a deep breath, she willed herself visible again. Hayden appeared at her side.

Burnett didn't look impressed. He came at Hayden and grabbed him by his shirtfront. "Disappear again and I'll see that you disappear permanently."

"Calm down." Kylie moved beside Burnett. "Hayden isn't the enemy. It's because of him that we were able to find Holiday when Warren had her. He's actually the reason I was able to escape tonight." Kylie saw Hayden look at her as if surprised she knew this piece of the puzzle.

Burnett released Hayden and then studied his forehead. "You are a chameleon?"

Hayden's body posture stiffened. "You say that as if it's an insult."

Burnett's shoulders grew tighter. "I say that as if you've been lying to me."

Hayden brushed off his wrinkled shirtfront. "I came here to make sure Kylie wasn't being sold out to the FRU by someone who has a problem throwing around his authority."

Burnett frowned. "I am the authority here. And I ran a background check on you. Everything states that you are half vampire, half fae. You are even registered as such."

"I am," Hayden said.

"But it's not true."

Hayden didn't blink. "It is how I choose to live my life."

Burnett shook his head, as if trying to understand. "But according to my research, Kylie's grandfather is listed as human by the FRU. And the few chameleons I saw outside the compound wore the human pattern.

I thought that's what all of you let the world think. For that matter, why do you choose not to live in the compound with the others? Are you rogue?"

Hayden's posture tightened. "Are you rogue because you do not live within a community of vampires?

One should live their life as they choose, is this not so? I simply prefer to live on my own and I chose to live it as a supernatural and not a human.""So you just picked a species and fake that pattern?"

"I haven't done anything wrong to be judged by you," Hayden said.

Burnett still looked confused. "How many like you exist? Living as a different type of supernatural?"

"Not enough for us to feel comfortable with coming forward," Hayden said. "Not when history has proven what can happen."

Kylie saw Burnett try to absorb what he was hearing and file it away. "So when you saw I held no threat to Kylie, why didn't you come forward then?"

"So you could send me packing, or worse, have me arrested?"

Burnett might throw his weight around more than Hayden, and even outweigh him by quite a bit, but verbally Hayden held his own. And that fact wasn't appreciated by Burnett.

"You work for Kylie's grandfather?" Burnett asked.

"Work for him? No. Was I assisting him? Yes. As you know from the checks you ran on me more than once, I worked as a regular high school teacher for three years in Houston."

"Are you still assisting him?" Burnett's question hung in the air as if the answer would decide something.

"Depends on what you mean by assisting. Am I trying to go against you to cause Kylie any harm? No.

But am I still keeping a watchful eye on her and answering the concerns of her worried grandfather? Yes."

"The same worried grandfather who had planned to kidnap her?"

"My grandfather wasn't behind that," Kylie said before Hayden could answer. "And I don't want you to send Hayden away, either. Please, Burnett, do this for me."

Burnett looked at Kylie. "I don't know if I can work with someone who doesn't know where his loyalty lies."

Kylie rolled her eyes. "You mean like you and the FRU?"

Burnett's eyes tightened. "My loyalty has always been to protect you."

"But you still work with them, too. Because as you say, you see the good the FRU does. Well, Hayden is the same. He wants to protect me, but he understands my grandfather has good intentions. Why can't you accept this?"

Burnett frowned, but Kylie could see her point had hit home. "I will take it under consideration and discuss it with Holiday."

Hayden nodded, his expression saying he wouldn't beg to stay on. Not that Kylie blamed him for not wanting to plead, but she didn't have so much pride that she wouldn't. Her life would just be easier with Hayden here, and it would help with her connection with her grandfather. She really, really needed Hayden.