Warmth filled Della’s chest as she sent Burnett a slight nod.
Yup, Della thought. The thing that kept her together had everything to do with the people she’d found at Shadow Falls. If she crumbled, they’d take it personally. And she wasn’t about to let them take the blame for what was happening to her.
It took them twenty minutes, flying at speeds Della could only guess, before she spotted the graveyard. As soon as their destination came into view, Burnett slowed down to what might have been considered normal vampire speed.
As they circled the property, he started downward in the midst of some trees.
Della’s feet weren’t steady on the ground when she caught the scent.
She shot around and looked at Burnett. He had his nose up, too. Apparently he’d gotten the same scent.
“Someone you know?” she asked, hoping the agents bringing Chan’s body were weres.
Burnett’s eyes, already a bright green, told her the answer first.
Della didn’t have time to think before three figures came bolting out of the trees, charging right at them.
Chapter Eight
“Stop!” Burnett’s order rang out.
Damn it! Did he mean that for her, too? Prepared to fight, Della had to cut her nails into her palms to heed his order. Halting at Burnett’s side, every muscle in her body screamed danger.
Drawing in a sharp breath of air that even tasted like menace, she stared at the foreheads of the three potential attackers to read their patterns. All supernaturals had patterns that identified their species, and these ones confirmed what her nose had picked up.
Weres.
She also noted the uniforms—security. What a joke.
“We don’t mean any harm,” Burnett announced. He pulled his dark shirt back to show his FRU badge hooked onto his belt.
Della had to give the man credit for going by the book. Not that she knew all the FRU rules, but she planned on learning them soon.
Her focus returned to Burnett, standing tall, his badge still on display. It came off so official-like, awe and admiration swept through her. Someday, she wanted one of those badges.
“We carry our own badges, too, you dirty vamp!” the were with shaggy red hair said. He pushed his chest out, which had a badge with some Celtic-looking cross in green and blue that was pinned to his dirty cotton shirt.
“I’ll bet mine carries more weight,” Burnett seethed, his eyes now gold in color.
The were’s eyes grew a bright orange, but this time, he took a second to actually look at Burnett’s badge.
The were in the middle, slightly bigger than the other two, spoke up next. “I’ve heard a lot of fake FRU badges have found their way into gangs.”
“This one isn’t fake,” Burnett added, his tone getting deeper and more dangerous.
Della felt her gut tighten, prepared to face any threat they chose to throw at them. But they weren’t really that big of a threat. There were only three of them. She and Burnett could take them with their hands tied behind their backs. Hell, with her new powers, she could probably take all three herself.
“You expect us to believe that’s real?” mouthed off the redheaded were. “You show up in the middle of the night, at our graveyard, with your girl toy there and expect us to believe you’re on official business?”
The girl toy comment just about did her in. Della growled, her vision brightening, telling her that her eyes had as well, and her canines came out to play.
“She’s not a toy.” Burnett’s eyes now glowed a lime green, but his gaze shot back to the man standing in the middle as if he sensed he was the leader of the pack. “Show me your registration papers and tell your mouthy friend to back down or you all will be spending a night in FRU custody.”
“Do as he says.” The head of the pack pulled out his wallet. Della saw the redhead pull something out of his pocket. She spotted the tiny little problem immediately. It wasn’t a wallet. It was a blade.
With a speed she didn’t know possible, she bolted forward. Before he could say “uncle,” or even think to say “uncle,” she caught the were by his wrist, twisting his arm behind his back. In another fraction of a second, she’d knocked him down to his knees. Burnett suddenly appeared at her side, but he simply watched. Meaning he had faith in her. Her chest filled with the similar pride she’d felt earlier during flight. Making Burnett proud was almost like making her dad proud.
She snatched the knife from the were’s hand, then pushed him facedown on the grass and put her knee in his back to keep him there. Amazingly, her breath still came evenly, her pulse didn’t race. She hadn’t even had to exert herself to do it.
“Do yourself a favor and stay down,” Della said to the no-good dog beneath her. “Or don’t. A good fight would suit me just fine.”
The were raised his head back. Della saw the bright orange color of his eyes reflected on the ground. “I had to get my knife out to get to my card,” he growled.
“Yeah, and Girl Toy had to take it away from you,” Della snapped back.
Della could swear she heard Burnett chuckle.
“Just shut up, Evert,” the lead were said. “I’m sorry for his behavior. He’s new and obviously too hotheaded for this job.” He held out an ID card, basically a driver’s license but with a marking that meant he was registered, toward Burnett.
“I didn’t know you were real FRU,” the guy under Della’s hold growled out.
The other were pulled out his wallet and produced his own card, too.
Burnett looked at the cards, then handed them back. He inched a step closer to Della and knelt down beside the guy facedown on the ground. “I’m going to try to talk my agent-in-training into releasing you, but you’ll want to get up real slow. Then, you’ll want to apologize, and I’ll leave it up to her whether or not she thinks we should take you in.”
Della moved off the lowlife’s back. He stood up, keeping his still-orange glowing eyes on her the whole time. “Sorry,” he muttered, but his tone made it clear he considered the apology below him. She wondered if it was because she was a vamp, or if it was because she was a girl. A girl toy. Guess he’d think twice before calling someone else that.
Burnett shook his head. “Surely you can do better than that.”
He glanced at Burnett and then back to Della. “I’m sorry.” Fury radiated from his tone.
For some reason, Della’s mind went to the last guy who’d forced an apology out of someone who’d disrespected her. Chase. She pushed that thought away and the slight sense of longing it brought on.