Reborn (Shadow Falls: After Dark #1)(32)

“I’m not afraid of anything.” It was a lie. She had fears, a lot of them—death angels, ghosts, losing people she loved, even an occasional spider—but she hoped he wasn’t listening to the telltale rhythm of her lying heart.

“So you two aren’t an item?” he asked, quirking one of his dark brows upward.

The phone in her back pocket buzzed. Using it as a reason not to respond to his question, and maybe not to even think about it, she snatched her pink cell out. Her mind immediately went to her unregistered vampire cousin Chan, who still hadn’t returned her call. What was up with that? Sure she hadn’t returned his call from the week before, but in his message, he’d said it wasn’t important. Probably calling to try to talk her into leaving Shadow Falls again. He didn’t seem to understand why she’d want to be here instead of living on the streets. And she couldn’t understand how he saw it the other way.

Her gaze caught the number on the tiny screen. Shit!

It wasn’t Chan.

It was Holiday. No doubt she was at Della’s cabin and probably pissed Della wasn’t following her instructions and resting. But dang it, she didn’t need rest. Nor did she need Holiday or Burnett pissed.

“Gotta go!” she moaned, and took off.

“Let’s do this again,” he called out.

“Yeah, when Hell starts serving soft-serve ice cream with sprinkles,” she yelled, and kept going, knowing she was probably going to catch hell when she caught up with Holiday. And then Holiday would tell Burnett and she’d catch double hell.

Della spotted Holiday before she dropped down. The red-haired, pregnant fae sat on Della’s front porch, her feet swinging off the edge, her hand placed on her belly, her expression one of tenderness as she whispered sweet words of affection to the unborn child. Della had almost texted Holiday back, but it would have taken the same amount of time to get there.

She came to an abrupt stop on the steps. Holiday looked up. Her mouth tightened into a disapproving bow. Whatever sweet affection she offered the child wasn’t going to be passed to Della.

“You were supposed to be resting,” Holiday scolded.

Della stepped up on the porch. “Sorry, I … I was coming here and suddenly felt the need to go back to the falls and see if I could find a trace or a clue of who did this.”

“Felt the need to disobey?” she reprimanded.

“No, I felt the need to catch the jerk who knocked me in the head.”

Holiday sighed. “You were unconscious, Della. The doctor said for you to take it easy. I didn’t want you running around.”

Della knew Holiday argued because she cared, but … “It was important to me. I don’t like…” Her throat tightened with frustration and she felt the sting of her sinuses as tears threatened. Ignoring the feeling, she tried to explain again. “I want to work for the FRU. I thought if I could figure this out, Burnett would see I’m not a weakling.”

Holiday looked surprised. “Burnett doesn’t think you’re a weakling.”

“Yes, he does. He told me he didn’t think I have what it takes to work with the FRU.”

She made a face. “I don’t think … He has a lot of respect for you, Della.”

“Not enough that he thinks I’d be a good agent. He even said there were easier ways for me to make a living. And he knows how badly I want this.”

Holiday’s gaze filled with empathy. “If he was trying to discourage you, and I’m not saying he was, it’s probably because he’s a male chauvinist pig.”

Della was shocked by Holiday’s confession. She’d thought the fae would defend her husband. “That’s what I thought,” she said. “It’s because I’m a girl, isn’t it?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I love that man more than life, and he is the way he is because he cares so deeply, but it’s true, he’s more protective over a female than a male. And if this baby is a girl, I have a feeling she and her father will be having a battle of wills from day one.”

“It’s not fair,” Della said.

“I know it’s not. But…” She pointed her finger at Della. “… if there’s one thing Burnett looks for in an agent, it’s obedience. If you can’t follow orders, he’ll never trust you on a mission. And that, young lady, is your issue. Lucky for you, I decided not to call him when I didn’t find you here.”

Della wanted to argue that her going to the falls hadn’t been so much disobedience as a necessary slip of the rules. She had the words on the tip of her tongue, but swallowed them.

“I’ll work on that,” she finally said. Della even wondered if this hadn’t been Holiday’s plan all along to get her to see her own flaws. Yes, Holiday was that good at manipulation … well, maybe not manipulation, but with encouraging someone to see the error of their ways.

Holiday smiled. “Good, and I’ll work on making sure he doesn’t let his chauvinistic ways interfere with your goals.”

“Thank you,” Della said.

Holiday rested her palms behind her and leaned back. Her round belly was even more apparent with her back slightly arched. “Now that we got that out of the way, can we talk about what happened this weekend at your parents’, and then about last night?”