"He's clean. There's nothing in his background that points to him being anything other than what he says he is."
Kylie exhaled, not sure she believed it. She'd been so sure there was something hinky about him. Then she remembered ... "Can you check out my mom's boyfriend?"
"You think he's behind Hannah's murder?" Burnett asked, confused.
"No, nothing to do with Hannah. I just ... don't like him."
"I don't, either," Burnett clipped, "but that doesn't mean he's a criminal. There's a lot of people out there that I don't like."
Kylie frowned. "He gives me the creeps and I'd feel better if-"
"I'll do it," Burnett said, but she felt his emotions and knew he believed it was a waste of time.
"There's something else I want to talk about," Kylie said.
"Why do I have the feeling I'm not going to like this?" Burnett asked.
Kylie glanced at Holiday, who looked equally concerned. "I think it's time to call a halt to the whole shadow thing," Kylie said.
"No!" Burnett's expression grew grim.
Kylie sat up straighter and felt her backbone stiffen. "I'm tired of never being alone."
"You're alone in your room when you go to your cabin," he countered.
"Della's listening to every move I make. I can't do it anymore. I want my life back. Mario hasn't tried anything else for weeks now. Miranda said she doesn't feel any unwelcomed presence. I don't feel his presence. Maybe he's given up."
"People like him don't give up. He's waiting for the opportunity to strike."
"I promise to be careful, and if I feel anything, you'll be the first person I tell."
"No!" he said again.
Kylie felt an odd kind of energy building in her gut. Everything inside her said she was right, that they couldn't force this on her. She didn't understand the ball of vigor, or her lack of fear at standing up to them right now. If she wasn't so mad at his out-and-out refusal, she might have been more afraid that something else weird was happening to her.
"I'm not a prisoner here," she said. "I have a say in this."
"A say in if you get yourself killed or not?" he asked in anger.
"I'm not going to get killed." She tilted her chin back and looked at Holiday, hoping she'd see reason in the camp leader's eyes.
"This is because you want to see your grandfather again, isn't it?" Holiday asked, and while she saw Holiday's disapproval, Kylie also felt Holiday's compassion.
"Partly." Kylie didn't even consider lying. There was just a sense of rightness to her request. "But that's not all it's about. I'm tired of being babysat."
Burnett went to speak again, but Holiday intervened. "Would you promise to stay out of the woods?"
"She's already broken that promise," Burnett said.
"I promise." Kylie ignored Burnett.
Holiday leaned forward. "Will you promise to confirm with us when you meet your grandfather?"
"Will you promise not to stop me?" Kylie asked.
"I promise we will assess the situation and only stop you if we feel your life's in jeopardy."
"By whose judgment?" Kylie asked. "Some people's idea of safety is not reasonable." She didn't even flinch when she looked at Burnett-who, by the way, looked even more furious. And she felt every bit of his anger.
"This is insane. My job is to protect you," Burnett snarled.
"No," Holiday corrected him. "Our job as school administrators is to teach Kylie how to survive in the human world. Like it or not"-she glanced at Kylie-"she has the right to leave. And that is the last thing we want to happen right now."
Somehow, Kylie knew that the ball of energy in her gut had been about projecting how serious she was on this issue. Was that a fae talent, or was that from her chameleon abilities? Kylie didn't know. But it was pretty damn cool, even if it scared her.
"Do I have a choice in the matter?" Burnett bit out.
"No," both Kylie and Holiday said at the same time.
Burnett's phone beeped in an odd kind of way. He grabbed his device and pushed a few buttons. "Someone just jumped the front gate." He turned to leave, but stopped when a figure flashed in the doorway.
Blake, Holiday's ex-fiance and the suspected murderer, stood there. "I heard you were looking for me."
Kylie jumped to her feet and stood beside Burnett, ready to defend Holiday.
But Holiday acted as though she didn't need protecting. She jumped up and met Blake's glare. "Did you do it?" she asked, fury pouring out of her.
"Did I do what?" he asked.
"Did you kill Hannah?"
Chapter Thirty-one
"What?" His gaze cut to Burnett and Kylie and then back to Holiday. Disbelief filled his eyes and rolled off of him in waves. "Hannah's dead?"
Kylie tried to listen to his heartbeat, but not being vampire anymore, all she could do was read his emotions. They came off sincere, but could she trust that?
"Answer me, damn it!" Holiday slammed her palms down on his chest. Her emotions were a whole bag of raw pain, betrayal at its worst.
Burnett moved to Holiday's side and gently pulled her back, but his eyes were bright green and on Blake with warning.
Blake exhaled, his frustration sounding in the released air. "You are so biting on the wrong vampire! This is meritless."
"Not so meritless," Holiday said. "She told me you were furious with her when she told you that she planned on telling me the truth."
"Of course I was furious. We were getting married. I loved you. She told me if I showed up at my own wedding, she'd stop the ceremony."
"Did you kill her?" Holiday demanded, her anguish filling the air Kylie breathed.
Blake stared at Holiday, hurt radiating from him. "Of all the people in the world, you know me better than that. Do you really think I could murder Hannah?"
"What I think doesn't mean shit," Holiday seethed. "I didn't think you'd sleep with my sister, but you did."
"We were drunk and ... I'd just started dating you. It was a damn mistake. And then the next thing I know, I'm in love with you. I'm still in love with you. And yes, I wanted to tell you then, but I was scared. At first, Hannah acted as if it never happened, so I convinced myself-"
"That you could get away with it?" Tears pooled in Holiday's eyes.
"No, I convinced myself that one mistake wasn't enough to stop two people who loved each other from finding happiness."