Reborn (Shadow Falls: After Dark #1)(110)

Holiday laughed.

“And not one woman in the bunch,” Della said.

“I think you might change that someday,” Holiday said.

“I’m tempted.” Their footsteps echoed down the marble tile. Della reached up to rub her temple, noticing the headache again, but too happy to care. She’d practically been told she had a future in the FRU. “We did good, didn’t we?”

“Yup,” Holiday said. “Especially for one misfit vamp and an IQ-impaired pregnant woman.” She laughed and then flinched, putting her hand on her huge belly. “And if that kick was any indication, I think my daughter agrees.”

As they got to the car, Holiday clicked the locks open and then glanced up. “You do realize that you saved Billy?”

“No, Lorraine saved him.” As Della crawled into the passenger seat, she remembered the second person she’d seen when she’d found Chan’s body. Had it been Lorraine?

Della bit down on her lip. “But please tell me she’s going to leave now.”

Holiday’s smile looked almost angelic. “She did. I saw her cross over in the courtroom. She’s at peace.”

The fae squeezed behind the wheel, then moved the seat back. She paused as if in thought, then focused on Della. “Chan was there, too. At least, I’m assuming it was Chan. Thin Asian guy. But he didn’t follow her.”

Della swallowed. “You saw him?”

Puzzlement creased the fae’s brow. “Yes. Not that he was there for me. He stood next to you. Has he spoken with you?”

“No,” Della confessed. “But I’ve seen him.” She closed her eyes a second.

“How long have you been aware of him?” Holiday asked.

“Since around the time he died. Kylie felt him, but didn’t see him. Then I started feeling him, then … he started dropping feathers,” she said.

“Feathers?” Holiday asked.

“It started when I accidentally ripped a pillow and they started swirling around, but then I could be outside or in a car and feathers would drop.”

“Did Chan have a thing for feathers?”

“No. Not that I knew of. Why?”

“Well, ghosts are usually trying to tell us something. They use symbols or clues. Sometimes they aren’t good clues.”

Della shook her head. “Why is this happening to me? I’m vampire.”

“Like I said earlier, I don’t know,” Holiday said. “Burnett feels the dead, too. But try not to see it as something bad. It’s a gift. Look what good has come from it already. You were able to help Billy and catch Lorraine and her boyfriend’s killer.” Holiday started the car.

Della finally brought herself to ask. “Did Chan say anything to you? Is he mad at me for not … for not calling him back?”

“He didn’t speak. But…” She hesitated as if debating whether to say it. “But I felt his emotions.” Holiday’s worry line appeared again in her brow. “He wasn’t mad or upset. He seemed concerned … about you. And that concerns me.” Before driving off, she sighed. “You need to talk to him. Sometimes the dead need us to help them, like Lorraine, but other times they are here to help us. I think Chan’s trying to warn you about something. Something that he feels is serious.”

While Holiday drove, Della pondered what it could be Chan wanted to warn her about. She’d sort of hoped since he was in the same gang as Phillip Lance, he wanted to tell her about the murders. But if he was still here, and Holiday was right about him being concerned about her, could he know something about her uncle and aunt that he wanted to tell her? But would that be a warning? Surely her uncle and aunt weren’t … bad. Or could they be?

Or was this about something completely different?

Della’s phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and saw the number. Kevin. Remembering Kevin brought to mind their conversation about how Chan had died from some strange sickness. And that brought back her niggling concern about her experiencing some weird side effects of some bug. Could that be what Chan was trying to warn her about?

No, Kevin had said Chan had gotten really sick and had a rash. Della wasn’t really sick. What was a little headache? Her phone rang again.

Looking at Holiday, she asked, “Do you mind if I take this?”

“No.”

“Hey, beautiful,” Kevin said as soon as she answered.

Della rolled her eyes, hoping Holiday couldn’t hear Kevin. “I couldn’t understand a word you were saying last night when you called. You were cutting in and out.”

“I was asking about Chase,” he said.

Della cut her eyes over to Holiday, who was busy driving with one hand, but rubbed her belly with the other. “How do you know him?”

“He came to see Chan.”

Della’s heart raced. “He knew Chan?”

“Yeah. He stayed here with him for a couple of days before Chan left for Texas. I caught his scent, but didn’t realize it was him until I took off. I was going to come back, but I picked up another scent—another vampire. Someone else was hanging outside your fence last night.”

Della didn’t care about who was hanging out, she wanted to know why the hell Chase wouldn’t have told her he knew Chan. What else was the panty perv hiding?