Whispers at Moonrise (29 page)

“He’ll blame me, too.” Miranda frowned.

“He won’t blame you two,” Kylie said. “It’s all on me.”

“Right, like Burnett’s reasonable,” Della said.

“Well, what do you expect? He’s vampire,” Miranda smarted off.

Kylie ignored their squabbling this time to stare at the window in Holiday’s office. She tuned her ears to see if she could hear Burnett inside.

All Kylie heard was someone punching buttons on Holiday’s keyboard.

Kylie moved up on the porch. She hadn’t yet gotten to the door when suddenly she recognized the scent and the cadence of breathing coming from Holiday’s office. It wasn’t Holiday.

Or Burnett.

What was
he
doing in Holiday’s office?

She waved at her two friends and moved in to stand by Holiday’s door. Derek, completely immersed in whatever it was on the computer screen, hadn’t heard her. She studied him and remembered calling him from the cemetery, feeling as if he was the only one she could count on.

Sighing, she also recalled him telling her he loved her. She even remembered when it was with him that she would have shared those hot wonderful kisses. Not anymore.

“Hey.” Kylie pushed back her crazy feelings.

He literally jumped out of the chair.

“Damn.” He ran a hand over his face. “You … startled me.” Guilt filled his eyes.

“What were you doing?”

“Something I shouldn’t be.” A groan spilled from his lips. “Holiday asked me to man the office. When I sat down, her computer woke up. It was on her personal e-mail account, and…”

Kylie arched an eyebrow in accusation. “You were reading her personal e-mails?”

“Only because it involved Hannah.” He motioned for her to shut the door.

She did and stepped into the room. Suddenly, she felt a little guilty, too, but if the information could help them … “What did you find out?”

“The e-mail was from a private investigator. Holiday hired him to find her sister.”

“Did he find out anything?” Kylie dropped into the chair facing the desk.

“No. But I didn’t know that until I opened it.” He pushed a hand over his face again. “Which I shouldn’t have done. I saw it and I thought it might answer everything.”

“I’d probably have done the same the thing,” she said, not sure if it was the truth, but saying it for his benefit. “Where is Holiday?”

“She said something about seeing Burnett.”

Kylie heard heavy footsteps, and then the door swung open. “It’s not me she’s seeing.” Burnett’s gaze zeroed in on Kylie. “Who’s Blake?”

Kylie recalled Hannah saying that it could have been Blake who killed her. Kylie got a bad feeling. “Why?”

“Because that’s who Holiday’s with.”

“That’s not good.” Kylie popped out of the chair. “Where’s she at?”

“Who the hell is Blake?” Burnett asked, blocking Kylie’s path.

“He’s her ex-fiancé.”

Jealously flashed in Burnett’s eyes.

“And, he might also be the person who killed her sister and the other girls.”

Protectiveness replaced the jealousy in his eyes. His fangs dropped down a quarter of an inch from his top lip. He swung around and in a flash was gone.

It took a fraction of a second before she remembered she could flash just like Burnett. She glanced at Derek, and only when his eyes widened did she realize her own canines were elongated. No time to explain, she lit out of the room and the fizzle that she always felt in her veins when she went into protective mode started to buzz.

Kylie just prayed that the buzz was premature and Holiday wasn’t in danger.

Chapter Twenty-five

Kylie caught Burnett’s scent and in no time she flew beside him. They didn’t stop until they came to a small restaurant on Main Street in downtown Fallen, Texas. Holiday’s car was parked in front.

As soon as Burnett had his footing, he twitched his brows to check Kylie’s pattern. He didn’t say anything, but she saw the shock in his eyes before he turned back to the restaurant.

They rushed to the large front window. “In the back corner,” Kylie said, her panic lessening at the sight of Holiday, alive, but not looking happy. Then again, she didn’t appear in danger either. The man sitting across from her wore jeans and a light blue shirt. He was tall, dark, and …

Kylie almost thought handsome, but stopped herself from going there.

“How did you know she was here?” she asked.

“When I saw she was gone, I called her. She said she was at the café, and when someone walked up, I heard her say his name.”

Kylie looked back at the window and tuned her ears to hear Holiday’s conversation.

“I just came here to ask you if you’ve seen her,” Holiday said.

“And I came here to try to explain what happened,” Blake countered. “I made a mistake. It’s been over two years, and I haven’t stopped loving you.”

Burnett growled and moved for the door. Kylie caught his elbow. Dressed in all black today, he looked fierce.

“Wait,” Kylie said.

“For what?” Burnett’s nostrils flared.

“We need a plan.”

“I’ve got one.” His eyes grew brighter when Blake touched Holiday’s arm.

“One that doesn’t include murder,” Kylie muttered, and then added, “You can’t just storm in like a jealous boyfriend.”

“I’m not jealous,” he said.

Kylie heard his heart skip beats.
Oh, that was so cool
.

“Really?” Kylie arched a knowing brow at him.

“He killed her sister,” Burnett defended himself.

“I said he might be the one who killed her.”

“That’s good enough for me.” He reached for the door again. Kylie stopped him again.

“Do you really want this to be the way Holiday finds out her sister is dead? In public?”

He stepped back, his eyes telling her he’d seen reason. “Okay, what’s your plan?”

She didn’t have one, but said, “We hang back and watch.”

He frowned. “He could pull a knife and kill her before I could save her.”

“In public?” Kylie asked.

“It’s not the smartest move, but this guy screwed up and lost Holiday. That tells me he’s an idiot.” Burnett never looked away from the window as he spoke. His eyes turned a brighter green. A low growl came from his lips. “He’s touching her again.”

“That’s not why I called you, Blake.” Holiday pulled her hand back. Her red hair hung loose and stood out against the pale yellow sundress that she wore. “I just want to find Hannah.”

“But she’s not letting him touch her,” Kylie said. “Let’s move before she spots us.”

Too late.

Holiday looked up, and her eyes widened at the sight of them standing outside the glass door.

“You got a new plan?” Burnett asked. “Because I’m fresh out of ideas, and she looks pissed.”

Kylie almost smiled at the fear she heard in the big, bad vampire’s voice. “Don’t tell her anything until we get her back to camp,” Kylie said quickly.

The door swung open as Holiday stepped out. She looked at Burnett, then Kylie. “What’s wrong?”

“I needed to talk to you,” Kylie said, improvising.

“About what?” When no one answered, Holiday spoke up again. “What happened?”

Burnett started to answer. Afraid he might tell Holiday the truth, Kylie blurted out, “I happened.” She pointed to her forehead.

Holiday tightened her brows and her eyes widened. “Oh, my.”

The bell from the restaurant doors chimed behind them and Blake walked out. He stopped beside Holiday. “Is everything okay?” He cut his gaze to Burnett.

Burnett, eyes ablaze, pulled Holiday to his side.

“That depends,” said Burnett, “on how quickly you get your ass away from here.”

*   *   *

Thankfully, Blake had simply offered Holiday a good-bye nod and left without incident.

Kylie couldn’t help but wonder if it was because he was suspicious that they knew the truth. Burnett seemed to share the same thought when he watched Blake walk away. The low growl coming from his chest left no question that Burnett planned on seeing the man again. And probably sooner than later.

Burnett and Kylie rode back with Holiday. Holiday peppered Kylie with questions as she drove. “When did you turn into a vampire? Have you experienced any pain? Have your powers changed?” Then Burnett started in with his line-up of questions about Kylie’s newly acquired pattern.

Kylie answered as vaguely as she could, not wanting to talk about her grandfather. She accepted she’d have to come clean, eventually, but considering what other news she had to give Holiday, Kylie didn’t want to add anything else for the camp leader to worry about just yet.

Back in the office, Holiday tossed her purse on the sofa and looked at both Burnett and Kylie with her “tell the truth or die” stare. Kylie wondered if her mom hadn’t taught it to Holiday, because it sure did look familiar.

“Now, explain to me what’s really going on,” Holiday snapped. “I can sense there’s more.”

Kylie bit down on her lip. Burnett took a step forward. He squared his shoulders, empathy filling his eyes. He took a deep, apparently heartfelt breath and looked at Kylie. She nodded at him as if giving him the lead. He looked back at Holiday and, in a deep voice, said, “Kylie has something to tell you.”

Kylie’s mouth fell open and right then she knew it was official: Men sucked at verbal communication, especially where anything emotional was concerned.

Holiday’s gaze shot back to Kylie, and her chest swelled with grief. Grief she knew Holiday was going to feel. An emotion Kylie had personally visited and revisited too often lately. Losing Nana, losing her stepfather—even if it wasn’t in death, it still felt that way—losing her real father, Daniel, because his visits had been cut off. Then there was Ellie. Kylie had even found herself grieving over Red, aka Roberto.

Inhaling, Kylie motioned for Holiday to sit down. The camp leader studied Kylie’s face and probably read every one of her emotions. Stepping to her desk, she sank in the chair. The cushions sighed from her weight. It seemed to be the only noise in the room.

“What is it?” Holiday asked again.

Emotion lumped in Kylie’s throat. “I didn’t tell you because you told me that … you wouldn’t want to know. The whole live for today and tomorrow speech. Because at first I thought it was you.”

Holiday leaned forward, gripping the side of her desk. “I don’t understand.”

“The face of the spirit that I told you I recognized. I thought it was you. But it wasn’t … you.”

Holiday’s green eyes filled with tears and Kylie knew that Holiday had already put the pieces together. Burnett, much to his credit, moved behind her and tenderly pressed a hand on her shoulder.

“She’s dead?” Holiday’s next breath shuddered as she pulled it into her lungs. Tears slipped from her lashes and leaked onto her cheeks. “Why … didn’t she come to me?”

Kylie wiped her own wet cheeks. “I think because she was ashamed of what happened.”

“She told you about … that?”

“Yeah.” Kylie’s voice barely came out as a whisper. Burnett looked at her as if wondering what all she hadn’t told him.

Grief filled the room. “What happened?” Holiday finally asked. “Was she mountain climbing? I told her it was dangerous to go alone.”

Kylie shook her head. “It wasn’t an accident.”

Anger tightened Holiday’s expression. “She was killed? By whom?”

“We don’t know for sure.” Burnett sat down on the edge of Holiday’s desk. The way he looked at the camp leader warmed Kylie’s heart. He cared. She just hoped this whole Blake issue didn’t push them farther apart.

“But Blake is the prime suspect,” Burnett said.

“Blake?” Holiday breathed in. “No, I don’t believe…” She stopped as if having second thoughts. She swiped at her face again to clear the tears, and then she looked at Kylie. “Okay, tell me everything you know. And don’t leave anything out.”

*   *   *

That afternoon, at her cabin, Kylie sat at her kitchen table.

Lunch had been so much fun that day—not—that Kylie had decided to skip dinner. There hadn’t been one person who hadn’t stared, mouth agape, at her or made some wisecrack about Kylie’s new vampire pattern.

Okay, that was a lie. Her close friends hadn’t stared—or at least they tried not to. Jonathon and Helen had been taken off guard and before they could stop themselves, they’d done their share of ogling. Of course, then Jonathon had come over and welcomed her to vampire society and suggested she join them at their table.

She had declined. She could tell from a few of the vamps’ expressions that she wouldn’t be welcomed by all.

When Perry walked into the dining room, he’d checked her out, and then sent her a thumbs-up. Obviously, he’d decided not to be mad at her about the whole net thing. Then Kylie noticed all three of the new teachers eyeballing her. For some reason, she just assumed they’d have better manners, but nope, they found her just as entertaining as the others.

However, there had been one thing that made the whole meal ordeal worthwhile. When a smirking Fredericka pointed her out to Lucas, he’d just shrugged and said, “Yeah, I heard.” Then he’d glanced at Kylie, not to stare, but to smile.

That smile, with a devilish twinkle in his eyes, had all sorts of meaning, too. Kylie found herself blushing and caring a little less that she was the freak show while everyone downed their burgers and fries. Of course, that lasted for only a few minutes. Then someone else made some smart-mouthed comment about Kylie’s mind being off-the-chart weird.

For all the times she wished her sensitive hearing would stay turned on, she now wished she could cut it off—permanently. One only assumed you wanted to hear what was being whispered behind your back.

Staring at her hands resting on the table, she knew part of her bad mood was due to her hurting for Holiday. Kylie wanted to help her, but Holiday insisted on being alone.

The computer dinged with an incoming e-mail. Kylie rushed over, praying it would be from her grandfather or great-aunt. She’d been checking obsessively, especially since her earlier e-mail had bounced back … meaning the address she had for them was no longer active.

She dropped into the desk chair, her breath held, as she opened the screen.