Eternal (Shadow Falls: After Dark #2)(12)

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Was her expression as sour as Perry’s?

She opened her mouth, but didn’t have a clue where to start. Or what all to tell him. Did she tell him everything?

That Chase had come to see her?

That the Vampire Council wanted her to work with them?

That she had a ghost hanging around again?

Did she tell him she thought there were a couple of vampires buried alive and it might be up to her to find them?

She had a feeling Steve wasn’t going to like hearing any of her issues.

She frowned. “Can I just say ‘everything’ and leave it at that?”

“Hell, no.” He reached for her and pulled her against him. Her head found the special spot she loved. After a two-second embrace, he turned and started inside his cabin.

“What’s going on?” he asked after settling her on the sofa and sitting beside her. His warmth pressed close to her side, his arm shifted around her shoulders.

When she didn’t just spit it out, he lifted her chin and made her look at him. “Why do I think it has something to do with Chase?”

Oh, hell. See, she was right, Steve wasn’t going to like this.

“I went to the falls,” she said.

“Why?” he asked, sounding like Miranda.

“Because I kept hearing it. Holiday says the falls call you. Anyway…” She swallowed and just said it, “Chase was there.”

She felt Steve’s muscles tighten and could swear his temperature actually inched up a few degrees. “Trespassing? Did Burnett grab him and teach him a lesson?”

“No, because he … he’d actually been here to see Burnett.”

“Why?”

“The Vampire Council wants me and Chase to work on finding the missing fresh turns that the creep Craig Anthony sold into slavery.”

“And Burnett vetoed that deal, right?” Steve’s brown eyes grew a dark amber color as he waited for her answer.

“He’s trying to arrange a deal where we will be working for the FRU and not the council.”

“But you’ll be working with Chase?” Steve asked, his tone tight.

She refused to lie. “If they agree to it.”

“I don’t like it. Seriously, you caught that Anthony creep, now let someone else do the rest.”

She cupped her hands together. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

Because it’s the right thing, because … “A ghost.”

“Chan?” he asked, his eyes widening just a bit.

“No, a new ghost. She’s asking me to save a girl named Natasha.”

“And you have to do what the ghost asks? What if she asks you to jump off a bridge or eat a bowl of—”

Della pressed a finger against his soft lips. “She somehow … gave me a vision, and I was Natasha. She’s trapped, Steve, like in a tunnel, or a room underground, with another vampire and…” She had to pull in a deep breath to say it again, “She and another vampire are feeding off each other.” Della’s sinuses stung, remembering the horror she’d felt in the vision. “She’s scared, no, she’s terrified, and … and I know all this because I was her for a few minutes, in her body, and I felt it. I have to help her, Steve.”

He stared at her, the color in his eyes softening back to its normal warm brown with flecks of green and gold. She knew he was accepting it—that he understood. She couldn’t say he was thrilled about it, as his look was still frustrated, but he wasn’t going to hold it against her.

He brushed a strand of hair off her cheek. “You always try to come off as a hardass, but honestly, there’s nothing hard about you. You’d help your own enemy.”

“Don’t give me that much credit.”

“It’s you that needs to give yourself more credit.” He exhaled deeply and continued to stare at her. “Okay, you told me why you have to work this case, but why Chase? Why does he have to work with you? Why couldn’t I do it? Or Lucas?”

She hesitated before telling him, but then decided he deserved the truth. “The reason he was at the falls was because he’d been called there as well. I think he shared the same vision. For some reason, we’re supposed to do this together.”

He dropped against the sofa with a sigh. “I don’t … I just don’t like you being with him.”

She looked him right in the eyes. “I don’t like you being with Jessie, either.”

“At least I’m not … bonded to her. Whatever the hell that means.” He reached up again and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “And I know you don’t like talking about it, and I’m trying really hard to respect that, but I could really use some reassurance here.”

Oh, hell, what did he want her to say? That she didn’t give a flip about Chase. That would be a lie. That she wasn’t the least bit attracted to him? That would be a lie, too. That she wasn’t afraid of what she felt? Another lie.

She was scared shitless. Scared of where all of this was going to end, but the one thing she knew, the one thing she felt certain of was … Steve. Of how he made her feel.

Safe.

Accepted.

Cherished.

He knew her and still liked her, still wanted to be part of her life.