Eternal (Shadow Falls: After Dark #2)(64)

He didn’t answer right away. Was he thinking of a lie, or … “I like my job. I like the freedom the council allows me. It’s no secret I find Burnett’s micromanaging to be ridiculous.”

“Yeah, but that’s Burnett—with me. We’re talking about working for the FRU, not working for Burnett.”

“True, but I get the feeling he carries a lot of weight in the unit. And the rest of them are just like him.”

Della could have argued the point. No one cared as much as Burnett, and while she hated his coddling, she wasn’t above caring for him right back. That said, she couldn’t deny seeing reason in Chase’s answer.

“How did you hire on with the Vampire Council?”

He looked at the glass wall into the empty interrogation room. “They became aware of me being a Reborn. They sought me out.”

Out of habit, she listened to his heart. It hadn’t skipped, but she hadn’t forgotten his ability to control that organ. Her suspicions grew. Had he turned away so she wouldn’t note the telltale signs of him lying?

She was just about to call him on that fact, when she heard them: An agent, one of the vampires who’d come to help transport them here, brought one of the rogues into the room and forced him down in a chair.

A few seconds later, Burnett came in and sat across the table from the unhappy cuffed vamp. Burnett carried a file and opened it on the table. His gaze stayed on the paperwork. He didn’t come across as violent, but being Burnett, just his presence carried a certain amount of intimidation.

He sat there without speaking. Never even looking up. Even hidden behind the one-way glass, Della could feel the tension building.

The vamp couldn’t handle the silence any longer. “We weren’t going to hurt them. We just wanted the blood.”

“Funny, it didn’t seem that way, did it?” Chase asked Della.

“No,” Della admitted.

Slowly, Burnett looked up. “Tell that to the agent who got knifed and the one who got clipped in the jaw.”

“Hey, that chick kneed me in the balls.”

“You’re lucky she didn’t remove them to play badminton with.”

Chase chuckled lightly. “Burnett knows you well.”

Della shrugged, but didn’t answer, too busy studying what was happening in the other room in hopes of learning a thing or two.

Burnett leaned back in his chair, squaring his shoulders, making the guy sitting across from him appear smaller. Did he do that on purpose?

Finally, Burnett spoke, but looked back at the file. “She doesn’t normally go so easy on lowlifes who threaten her life.”

“I told you we weren’t—”

“Jason Von, right?”

When the kid didn’t answer, Burnett leaned forward, his eyes glowing. “Is that your name?”

“Yes,” Jason said.

Burnett nodded. “Look, Jason, I’m not going to beat around the bush. All eight of you are going down for attempted robbery, two of you get the added bonus of assault. Our facilities are almost filled. We have two spots left at Burton. It’s not a walk in the park, but Parkrow, our other facility, it’s rough. Only about fifty percent who go in, come out. And twenty-five of those will end up killing themselves. And the first two of the five of you with the lesser counts who tell us what we need to know will get to go to Burton.”

He pulled a photograph out of the file and pushed it in front of the rogue. The rogue, who suddenly seemed too young to be up to his yin yang in this kind of trouble.

“Are you going to be one of the lucky Burton attendees?” Burnett tapped the picture with his index finger. “I need info on this kid.” He looked the guy straight in the eyes. “Do you know him? Have you ever seen him before? I know he was hanging out in your gang’s territory.”

The vamp, probably no older than Della, glanced down at the image, and his eyes widened with recognition. In his round brown eyes, Della saw something else. Fear.

“He’s afraid,” Della said.

“He should be,” Chase answered. “I’ve seen Parkrow, you might as well go to hell.”

“No,” Della said. “When he looked at the picture he was afraid. He knows something and is scared to tell.”

The kid looked back up at Burnett. “I…”

“Burton or Parkrow?” Burnett said.

“I … uh,” the vamp stuttered.

“Fine,” Burnett said. “Parkrow it is.” He stood to leave.

“No,” Della muttered. “He knows something.”

Yes, he knows something. Find Natasha.

The voice echoed in Della’s mind. She looked at Chase to see if he’d heard it, but he didn’t appear to have.

Still reeling from the voice, Della got a fresh scent of werewolf again. She looked behind her to see if a were had somehow snuck in the room, but nope.

She inhaled again to see if she’d been mistaken. The scent hung on. And the familiarity of it tickled her senses. This was the same scent she’d gotten back at the restaurant.

“Do you smell that?” she questioned Chase.

He looked confused, but lifted his face and inhaled. “Smell what?”

Damn! The ghost was trying to tell her something. But what?

Her gaze shot back to the kid, to the fear in his eyes. “I don’t know shit,” he said.