Taken at Dusk (Shadow Falls #3)(14)

His eyes tightened with frustration. "Someone tampered with our cameras. I checked this morning and everything was working. Conveniently, they went down about an hour before the Brightens arrived. I think we know what that means."

Burnett glanced at Kylie. She knew he thought the Brightens were impostors. And maybe she should be hoping he was right. Because that would mean that it wasn't Daniel's adoptive parents who'd gone poof on the highway. But Kylie wanted proof. Proof of who'd gone poof.

She pressed a hand to her forehead and fought an oncoming headache. "When do they think they'll get pictures of the Brightens?"

"Any time. If they know what's good for them." Burnett's deep voice sounded sincere.

Kylie found herself praying Daniel's parents were okay. That they weren't the couple who'd visited earlier. But even so, she wasn't sure she was emotionally off the hook. Impostors or not, she wasn't sure the elderly couple deserved to ... She stopped herself from mentally pronouncing them dead. Poof didn't necessarily equal death.

The back of Lucas's hand brushed against the back of hers. Somehow she knew the touch was deliberate and meant to comfort her. And it did.

Burnett's phone beeped. He yanked it from his pocket, pressed a button, and stared at the screen. Glancing up, he held the phone over to Holiday. "Is that the couple that was here?"

Holiday looked at the screen and then at Kylie. "No. That's not them."

It wasn't that Kylie didn't believe her, but she had to see for herself. She stepped over, took Burnett's phone, and stared at the two images side by side. An elderly, partly balding man and an older, gray-haired woman with bright green eyes gazed back from the phone's screen.

"These are the Brightens?" she asked.

Burnett nodded. "Sent from the DMV records."

"It doesn't even look like them." Kylie couldn't deny the relief that washed over her, yet she remembered the touch of the elderly woman's hand, the grief they had seemed to share, and even the sheen of tears in the woman's eyes. Had it all been an act? Kylie looked at Holiday. "Even you said the woman seemed sincere. How could we both be wrong?"

Holiday frowned. "Like I told you, reading emotions is never a hundred percent accurate."

Kylie swallowed the disappointment at having her emotions toyed with by an elderly couple. At least when Derek or Holiday toyed with her emotions, it had always been to soothe or help her. This was different; it had been meant to deceive. And maybe more.

She fought the anger crowding the other emotions in her chest. Targeting her anger toward the elderly couple still didn't seem right. "But I don't understand what they were going to accomplish by pretending to be my grandparents."

"Obviously, they weren't here just to pat your cheek and offer you cookies," Burnett stated. "Luckily, Derek got wind of it and whatever they were attempting got foiled."

Kylie met Burnett's gaze. "Is Mario behind this?"

"Who else could it be?"

Kylie still struggled to understand. "But why would he send an elderly couple to do this when he could have gotten someone more powerful?"

"Because he thought it would fool us. And it almost did." Burnett frowned. "From now on, we're going to have to be more careful. I'm assigning you a shadow."

"A what?" Kylie was certain she wasn't going to like this.

"A shadow," Holiday said. "Someone who stays by your side at all times."

Yup, she was right. She didn't like it.

"I'll do it," Lucas said.

"No, I'll do it," another deep voice said from the open doorway.

Derek's voice sent sharp little needles of hurt into Kylie's chest. She looked up and stared into his greenish-almost hazel-eyes.

Her heart jerked as she soaked in his image. His brown hair was a little mussed, as if he ran his hands through it one too many times. His faded T-shirt clung to his wide chest, and his favorite worn jeans hugged his waist and legs. His gaze pulled her attention up again, so much emotion reflected in those eyes. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed him until now.

Right now.

She wanted to go to him, to lean against him. To assure herself he was okay.

The warmth from Lucas's shoulder pressed closer.

She saw the slightest narrowing in Derek's eyes, as if he noted how close Lucas stood. Then Derek frowned.

A storm of emotions swirled inside Kylie. One emotion stood out more than the others. Anger. Derek had no right to be upset about how close Lucas stood to her. He'd walked away, even when she'd begged him not to leave. So why did she feel the urge to add an inch or two between her and Lucas?

"I think you've done enough by getting that P.I. involved." Lucas's blue eyes drilled into Derek.

Derek's posture instantly went defensive. "Mr. Smith isn't behind this."

"Maybe not," Lucas said, his voice tight, "but it was through him that trouble arrived."

The tension in the air thickened so much, it made breathing a chore.

Burnett looked at Lucas. "There's no reason to lay blame."

"Burnett's right," Kylie said. "Besides, I'm the one who contacted Mr. Smith." She felt Lucas tense beside her and suspected he didn't like her standing up for Derek. She wasn't sure she liked doing it, not when her anger toward Derek still bumped around her chest. Nevertheless, she wouldn't let Derek get blamed for trying to help her. She continued to stare at the half-fae, wishing she could read his thoughts-or at least his emotions-the way he could read everyone else's. "Is Mr. Smith okay?"