Reborn (Shadow Falls: After Dark #1)(95)

“And just why are you looking for him?” he asked, his tone abrupt.

Time to lie or skip around the truth. “Actually, I had a brief encounter with him.” That was true. He’d flown over her at a low range.

“But you don’t have a name? Isn’t that kind of strange?”

“Not really all that strange,” Chase, with his lying abilities, spoke up. “She met him right after he turned, and you know how overwrought a vamp can be during that first forty-eight hours. Anyway, she never got his name. Crazy, right?”

Mr. Piercing didn’t look convinced. “I thought she was your girl. I heard you nearly choked a guy to death for touching her.”

Chase shrugged. “Well, let’s just say I’m trying to convince her to be my girl. She thinks she might have something with this other guy. Chance meeting and all that—one night with someone doesn’t mean crap. I don’t care how good he was in the sack.”

Say what? Had Chase just basically called her a ho? He might as well have when he’d said she’d had a one-night stand and done the hump-and-bump with a crazed stranger. He couldn’t think of a better cover story than that?

“And,” Chase continued, still eyeing the vamp, “I think as soon as she sees him, she’ll realize I’m the better choice.”

The pierced gang leader stared at Chase. “Maybe you’re interested in joining up with us?”

“I’m not much of a joiner,” Della put her two cents in.

The gang leader looked at Della. “Actually, we’re more interested in your friend here. But if you’re willing to put out that easy, you might convince me.”

She growled.

“Hey,” Chase intervened; sounding a little perturbed, but how could he? He’d started this.

“She hasn’t given it up to me,” Chase said. “That’s why I’m sort of curious to meet this guy and see what he has that I don’t.”

The gang leader seemed to buy it. Della didn’t know whether to be happy or pissed off. “Well, I’m curious to see what kind of muscle you got. See if you’re as strong and quick as rumor has it.”

Chase leaned back in his chair. “Tell you what. You hook us up with a meeting with your new kid on the block, and you and I’ll go for a little innocent one-on-one in the ally.”

“How about we do that right now?” The pierced vamp extended his fangs, and Della sensed that his idea of a one-on-one sparring match wasn’t all that innocent.

Oh, double damn! This wasn’t going to end well.

Chapter Twenty-eight

Della cut her eyes to the table of agents. At least they wouldn’t be alone.

“Nah,” Chase said, keeping his cool, but his eyes grew brighter. “I like my idea better.”

“And I don’t.” The gang leader glared at Chase. “What does it take to get you in a fighting mood? Touching your little slut here?”

“No,” Della snapped, not fond of being called a slut or being used as bait, but more furious at being seen as someone who couldn’t fight her own battles. “That would put me in a fighting mood. Then you’d be embarrassed at having your ass whooped by a girl.” She let her fangs down and glared at the hand he held out.

“No trouble, Luis!” the bartender called out. “That’s our deal. You still haven’t paid for the last tussle your guys started in here.”

The jerk shot the bartender a third-finger salute, then focused back on Chase. “I see why you like this chick. Spunk and not a bad looker either.”

“Do we have a deal or not?” Chase seethed, no longer playing nice. “Bring the guy in for a chat and we’ll take it outside so the bartender won’t have an issue.”

“We’ll see,” he said. “I’ll make a few calls and see if my new member is interested in coming to see a lost love.” Luis, obviously that was his name, looked back at Della. “But you know, considering he was freshly turned, there’s a good chance he won’t even remember you. Now wouldn’t that just break your little heart?”

“I’m hoping that’s not the case.” Della tried to keep the venom from her voice.

Three minutes after he left, Chase went back to talking about traveling. He stopped when Della’s phone dinged with a new text. She looked at it, hoping it wasn’t from Steve again. It wasn’t.

Get out of the bar! Now! Burnett wrote.

She passed her phone to Chase.

He didn’t look happy, but when she got up, he followed. From the corner of her eye, she saw the agents watching. What the hell was going on?

“What about our plans?” called Luis from the bar.

“We’ll be right back,” Chase said. “Just going to drain the lizard.”

“Is she gonna hold it for you?” someone in the crowd asked. Laughter exploded.

Della sent the crowd her own third-finger salute.

They walked out into the dark night. Chase darted around the back of the building to the edge of the woods. He raised his nose in the air, checking for any nearby company.

He must have found it clear, because he asked, “What the hell is this all about?”

“Don’t know,” Della said. “But Burnett always has his reasons.”