Eternal (Shadow Falls: After Dark #2)(97)

She looked at Burnett and her throat grew thick.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“You saved that baby’s life. Seems you’re good at doing that,” he said, referring to her delivering Hannah.

“Just lucky,” she said.

She looked back at the door where Chase had disappeared. “He took that bullet for me.”

“I heard. Which is the only reason I care enough to make sure he sees the doctor.”

Della nodded, but she didn’t buy it. She knew he had some major problems with Chase, but somehow she also sensed a level of respect. She could only hope that came in handy when the case was over and Burnett put pressure on her to end things.

Because honestly, she wasn’t sure she could.

If push came to shove, would she choose him over her career? She prayed she didn’t have to make that choice.

“Go on into waiting room six, I’ll be interviewing Damian in about five minutes and you can watch.”

She looked back up at Burnett and thought of Natasha again. “Make him tell us where they are.”

“That’s my plan,” he said.

*   *   *

Damian Bond didn’t want to talk. Burnett slammed down photos of Liam and Natasha on the table. The were refused to look at them. Della’s blood pressure rose and her canines extended just watching him.

Someone had given the were a sling, and he sat there with his broken arm held as tight as his lips. Burnett, looking pissed, turned to the wall where they watched. “Do you know who’s in there?” he asked.

Damian didn’t respond, but Burnett answered anyway. “An agent with the Vampire Council.”

The were’s eyes widened just a bit, but then he went back to pretending he didn’t hear. But Della did see him glance at the photos on the table.

Did he know them?

Burnett continued. “Have you heard what they do to weres in the Vampire Council prison? It makes going to one of our facilities seem like a day at the spa.”

Della looked at Chase. “Is that true?”

“We don’t believe in segregation,” he said. “And since most of our prisoners are vampire, the were will have it rough.”

Della shuttered, wondering what “rough” included.

“And if you don’t talk,” Burnett continued, “we’ve agreed to pass you over to them.”

The were looked up at Burnett and snarled. “Good try. But since when do the FRU and Vampire Council work together?”

Burnett dropped in the chair across from him. “Since over thirty fresh turns came up missing, and were being sold into slavery. You’ve got three seconds to start talking, or I’m turning you over to them.”

“If Burnett’s serious, we’ll get the answer out of him,” Chase said.

Della swallowed and told herself it was the right thing. But the thought didn’t settle well in her stomach.

Burnett looked back at the wall. “I guess you can come and get him.” He started out.

“Wait,” Damian spouted. “Okay, I’ll talk. It wasn’t me, though. It was my boss. Tyler Myers. He used them to hold fight matches. People paid big bucks to see them fight, and then he got a cut of the profits. But Tyler got word that you guys were aware of the operation and had closed down the Dallas branches, so he shut down. He got rid of them.”

Della’s chest gripped. She felt Chase move beside her as if afraid of what Damian might say.

“You mean he had them murdered?” Burnett asked.

The air in Della’s lungs turned to syrup and it took everything she had to not to let her knees buckle.

“Yeah. But I was just following orders.”

Burnett gripped his fist. “How many? And where are the bodies?” His eyes turned orange with fury and Della felt her own brighten even more.

“I don’t know. The boss and the others got together and got rid of all of them. I heard something about a junkyard.”

Chase’s arm came around Della.

“But I swear I don’t know where it is.” Damian looked down at the photos. “But these weren’t ours. They might have been with the others, but they weren’t ours. I’d remember her.”

Chase took Della’s hand in his and she heard him breathe for the first time. “It’s still not over,” he said.

“Then why does it feel like it?” she asked and felt the knot in her throat expand.

He turned and pulled her against him. She rested her forehead on his chest. She closed her eyes and smelled blood. But it wasn’t Chase’s blood.

She pulled back and looked up at him. Liam, not Chase, looked down at her.

Chapter Forty

Della had done this numerous times—slipped into a vision, or whatever it was—but that didn’t make it any easier. Especially now, when her faith that Natasha and Liam were still alive had shrunken to nothing but a tiny seed of hope.

Natasha was reclined on a dirt floor, halfway on top of Liam’s na**d body.

Della focused really hard and tried to force Natasha to ask Liam where they were, but all the effort was wasted because she didn’t speak. She rested her chin on Liam’s chest and she felt her bare br**sts press against the solid feel of his abdomen.

Liam pushed her hair out of her eyes. “What is the first thing you want to do when we get out of here?”