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?"
"Nothing really."
Kylie looked at her. "You know, when you're friends with someone for a while, you don't have to hear their heartbeat to know they're lying."
Della made a face. "Yeah, but I thought that would be more polite than telling you to bug off."
Kylie frowned. "Are you going to do something for the FRU?"
"How did you know?"
"They already had Lucas and Derek do stuff. It just seemed logical. Not that I like it." She remembered Burnett saying the FRU wasn't all bad, and tried to give herself an attitude adjustment, but she couldn't completely let herself trust them.
"I think it would be kind of cool to work for them," Della said. "It would give me a reason to kick some asses every now and then."
"Do you trust them?" Kylie asked.
"I trust Burnett," Della said, and studied Kylie. "Don't you?"
"Of course I do." She hadn't told Miranda or Della about Burnett moving her grandmother's body. It just seemed like something that she shouldn't tell anyone. "They went to my mom to see about testing me."
"Oh, shit, I remember Miranda saying that your mom was here, but I forgot about it. What did your mom say? God, did they tell her you were supernatural? I'll bet it totally freaked her out."
"No, they told her they were worried because I had headaches and passed out and they advised her to have me tested. Holiday explained it was just the night terrors and advised against it."
"Oh, hell. What did Burnett say?"
"He's not for me getting tested either."
"Good," Della said. "I mean, I wouldn't want anyone probing around my head. Not after hearing what happened to your grandma." Della stopped and looked at Kylie. "Do you not want me to work for them because of this?"
Kylie got the feeling that Della would really give up her chance to work for the FRU because of Kylie's opinion-even when it was clear that Della was excited about the possibility. Her appreciation for Della's devotion swelled in her chest.
"No," Kylie said. "But ... I do want you to be careful."
"I'll be careful." Della rubbed her hands together. "I'm glad you figured it out. I've been dying to tell someone. It'll be so cool."
They got to Lucas's cabin. The lights were on. Kylie knocked on the door while Della hung back by the porch steps. Steve, the shape-shifter who had a crush on Della, came to the door. With everything happening, Kylie had forgotten he roomed with Lucas. And so had Della, Kylie realized, when she heard the vamp draw in a quick breath.
"Hey," Steve said.
"Is Lucas here?" Kylie asked.
His gaze shifted behind Kylie and his expression changed. Kylie knew he'd spotted Della. "Uh ... yeah. I mean, no. He left a few minutes ago with Fredericka."
"Oh." Kylie tried not to let it show that the news bothered her as she turned to leave.
Steve called after her, "He'll probably be back shortly."
She turned back. "Do you mind if we wait for a while?"