Whispers at Moonrise (Shadow Falls #4)(17)

"She missed dinner," Holiday said.

"All I want is a sandwich and we've got that at the cabin."

Holiday gave Kylie a long hug with warm calming emotion.

The effects from the hug lingered until she and Burnett started down the dark trail and he asked, "Would you like to explain why you lied to Holiday?"

Chapter Seven

"I didn't lie." As soon as those words were out Kylie recalled she'd indeed lied when Holiday asked if there was something else wrong. Damn, she should have remembered that Burnett could hear her heart racing if she lied.

She continued walking. He glanced down with one brow arched in disbelief. "Try again."

Kylie frowned. "It's a ghost issue. I'm just trying to figure it out myself." No way in hell could she tell Burnett about the ghost looking like Holiday. Burnett would freak. Then again, maybe he wouldn't. Maybe he wasn't so afraid of ghosts as he pretended to be.

"What is it that you're hiding from her about the falls?" she asked.

His arched brow lowered. "I'm not hiding anything."

"You can go into the falls when the others can't."

"It baffles me as well," he said. "Though I don't exactly feel comfortable there."

"You didn't feel called to go there?"

He hesitated. "Maybe a little." They walked in silence for the next four or five steps.

"Why didn't you tell Holiday?" Kylie asked.

He cut her a sly look. "Maybe I'm trying to figure it out for myself." He used the same words she'd used on him.

"Okay." She rolled her eyes.

In a few minutes, he spoke again. "I thought you could talk to Holiday about the ghost issues."

"I can. But I'd like to handle it on my own if I can." It was the truth, so she didn't worry about what he'd hear beneath her words.

He nodded. As they neared the cabin, Kylie remembered she'd wanted to visit with Lucas. "Can Lucas take over shadowing me for a while this evening? I need to speak to him about something."

Burnett seemed to consider it. For a second, it appeared as if he might refuse. "Okay, but don't go into the woods."

His answer had her wondering. "Is the alarm working?"

"Yes, but in certain weather conditions, someone might be able to get into the forest without being picked up."

She nodded.

"Have you seen anyone?" he asked.

"No."

He stopped. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," she said. "Sometimes I just ... the woods scare me a little."

"Then listen to your fears and avoid them."

"That's my plan." Kylie looked at the line of trees and the dark shadows beyond them. She didn't feel anything. Maybe what she'd felt earlier was just her overactive imagination.

Kylie spotted her cabin nestled in the trees. The lights were on and a golden hue spilled out the windows. She saw Della's shadow pass in front of the window and remembered ...

"What did you have a meeting about with Della earlier?"

"Just FRU business." He sounded purposely vague.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No."

"Are you having her do something for the FRU?"

"It's possible. Why?"

Kylie frowned. "Considering the FRU is causing me such a headache, I'm not thrilled about you getting my friends involved with them."

He stopped, dropped his hand into his jeans pockets, and shook his head as if in frustration. "The FRU is an organization meant to help the supernatural people, just like the police help humans. There have been dirty cops and even groups of cops that have done bad things, but we don't stop trusting the force as a whole."

"I might if they killed my grandmother," she said honestly.

His expression tightened. "I don't agree with everything the FRU does, but without the FRU, the world would be in chaos. The races would all be against each other, killing and maiming each other. The human race would be viewed as a food source."

Kylie shivered at his description.

"If you can't trust the FRU, at least trust me on this," he said. "The good the FRU does far outweighs the bad."

"I'll try to see it like that." But she didn't promise anything. She couldn't.

* * *

"You could have just called him," Della said, moving down the dark path toward Lucas's cabin about an hour after Kylie had returned. Kylie got the feeling that Della was a little annoyed that Kylie wanted to spend the evening with Lucas instead of hanging out with her. Especially when Miranda had run off with Perry. But Kylie's guilt over walking away from Lucas earlier made seeing him feel imperative.

"I kind of wanted to be the one to take the initiative." Kylie noticed the moon, a bright silvery white, a little over half full, hanging overhead. It was a pretty night. The temperature had dropped to the low eighties, making it almost comfortable.

"Why? What did you do wrong?"

"I got mad and walked off earlier."

"Was that why he was so sappy-eyed when he came by while you were asleep?" she asked.

"I guess." Kylie gave the line of trees a good long stare and felt nothing, which felt really good. Then she looked back at Della. "What did Burnett want to talk to you about today?"