Reborn (Shadow Falls: After Dark #1)(54)

Her mom must have told her dad this, and that had him going through the album. She could almost imagine him angrily flipping pages, suspecting she’d taken something. And wouldn’t you know, she’d proved him right. At least this time, she was actually guilty of the crime he accused her of.

She walked into the meeting room, her stomach a quiver of nerves. Her father sat at the back of the table, facing the door. He frowned when she appeared in the doorway. Not that Della expected any differently, but it still stung—the deep kind of sting that hurt all the way to the bone.

There had been a time when his eyes would have lit up with love. Now all she got were frowns, disapproval, and disappointment.

Where was the love he’d held for her? Had it died so quickly? It’s not my fault, Daddy. I caught a virus, I didn’t want it.

She inhaled and felt her breath sputter.

His brows pinched in what appeared to be anger, with a hint of disappointment. She preferred the anger. He pointed a finger at her. “Can I assume that’s my picture?”

She moved in and set the envelope on the table. The hugeass lump in her throat made talking difficult. “I … I stumbled across it and it looked like … you had a twin brother. I was curious.”

“You had no right to go through my personal things.”

Why do you hate me daddy? She breathed in deep to keep the sting of tears from her eyes and nodded . “I’m sorry,” she said, knowing arguing wouldn’t help.

“You told your mom you weren’t drinking,” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“You were so angry. I didn’t think you’d believe me.”

“What were you looking for?” he asked, his tone still hostile. She suspected her mom had already told him what she said, so she repeated that lie. “I’ve been thinking about Chan and thought maybe you’d have a picture of him.”

He stood up. “Chan is dead. Let him rest in peace.”

But he wasn’t dead, Della thought. And perhaps her uncle wasn’t either. She watched her father start to walk away. He hadn’t hugged her since right after she’d been turned.

“Daddy?” she said.

He turned and glanced back. For one second, one heartbeat of time, she could swear she saw regret in his eyes. Regret for all they had lost.

“What?” he asked.

She hurried to him, wanting to feel his protective arms around her. Wanting to know he didn’t hate her.

Before she got all the way to his side, he held out his hand to stop her. Her heart tightened into one big knot of pain.

She inhaled and swallowed. If she wasn’t going to get a hug, maybe she’d at least get answers.

“Is that your twin brother in the picture?”

His lips thinned and tightened. She thought he was simply going to leave without answering, but he finally spoke. “I came to get what was mine, not to give answers.”

“Why haven’t you ever talked about him?” Della asked, not willing to give up so easily.

“Why bring up painful memories? Some things are best forgotten.”

Like me, Della thought. He was working on forgetting her.

He turned to leave.

“I still love you,” she said, her voice low and filled with hurt.

His steps faltered for one, maybe two, seconds. Then he continued on. He didn’t look back. He didn’t say he loved her back. Why would he? She didn’t matter anymore. She was just another painful memory.

“Are you ready to go?” Kylie asked as she and Miranda came running to Della Friday after their classes were dismissed. Kylie was smiling. Since she and Lucas had gotten together, the chameleon smiled a lot. “Mom said she’d be here around four.”

“I’m all packed, but I need to do one thing first.” One thing, yet Della felt pulled in ten different directions. The funeral had left her feeling determined to convince Burnett she was worthy of working for the FRU. Her father’s visit had left her determined to find her uncle and aunt. And somehow she had to find Chan and talk him out of the gang. And then there was Steve.

“What?” Miranda asked. “What do you have to do?” The witch refused to let anything be a mystery. Last night when Burnett got home and summoned Della down for a visit, the witch had gone bonkers until Della explained everything. She told them that Burnett hadn’t been happy about her attending Lorraine’s funeral.

Della could still hear the vamp’s words ringing in her ears. An agent has to keep some emotional distance. Yeah, she’d try to remember that as soon as her heart stopped breaking.

He’d also asked her about her father’s visit. Della told him what she’d told Holiday when her father had left. She’d taken an old photograph of him and his siblings and he’d discovered it missing. Unlike Miranda, Holiday and Burnett didn’t pry. Oh, Della suspected the two camp leaders knew there was more to the story, but they obviously respected her right to privacy.

Something Miranda needed to learn to do. It wasn’t as if Della kept that many secrets from her two best friends. She’d even told them about her dad’s visit.

“What could be more important than our trip?” Miranda asked. But holy moly, did the girl ever give up?

Della let out a low growl. She almost smarted off that it wasn’t any of the witch’s friggin’ business. But right before the words left her lips, she realized she wasn’t really annoyed at Miranda, or her questions. She was annoyed at the situation. And while Della had a lot of situations going on, the one crowding her plate at this minute was her Steve situation.