Shadow Falls After Dark: Eternal Part 40

"Yeah," she said. Only then did she look back to the were wearing the uniform and waiting for answers. "I'm a junior agent, working under Burnett James. He and several other agents should be here in less than ten minutes. We'll be taking Damian Bond."

He must have recognized Burnett's name, because his eyes that had started to brighten faded back to their hazel green. "Well, they'd better hurry. And have the proper paperwork. They," he nodded to the other officers, "aren't going to just let him go. And if you two don't want to be dragged into this, you'd better disappear."

Chase looked at Della. "I think that might be best."

Della frowned. "Not until Burnett has Damian." He was their last link to Natasha and Liam, and Della wasn't going to risk losing him.

Chase looked back at the officer. "I guess we'll be staying a while."

An hour later, they were all at the FRU headquarters. Burnett had arrived at Cooper Airport less than five minutes after everything went down. He was followed by two official cars, and three other agents, who showed off their badges, and their authority, managing to p.i.s.s off the Oak, Texas, police department.

Face it, this was probably the first time their tiny police department had caught a bad guy, especially two at once, and they hadn't wanted to lose any of the credit.

However, Burnett, with paperwork in order, wasn't about to walk away empty-handed.

He also got Della and Chase out of having to go down and give their statements-insisting the local police leave them out of the paperwork and media hype because they worked undercover. But before they left, the mother of the child who Damian had held hostage came up to her and offered a tearful thank you.

A sense of rightness filled Della right then. This was what she wanted to do. But was she willing to lose Chase for it?

Burnett had a doctor waiting at headquarters to look at Chase's arm as soon as they walked into the building. Of course, Chase tried to get out of it, but Burnett wasn't taking no for an answer. He told Chase to see the doctor ... or leave.

Chase glanced at Della, huffed, and then went into the room to see the doctor.

After the door closed, Burnett approached her, concern etched in his frown. The airport had been crazy, and this was really the first chance she'd had to speak-not that she hadn't seen him visually checking on her-since he'd threatened her career. She felt an achy sensation, a mixture of hurt and love, right in the middle of her chest.

She looked at Burnett and her throat grew thick.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"You saved that baby's life. Seems you're good at doing that," he said, referring to her delivering Hannah.

"Just lucky," she said.

She looked back at the door where Chase had disappeared. "He took that bullet for me."

"I heard. Which is the only reason I care enough to make sure he sees the doctor."

Della nodded, but she didn't buy it. She knew he had some major problems with Chase, but somehow she also sensed a level of respect. She could only hope that came in handy when the case was over and Burnett put pressure on her to end things.

Because honestly, she wasn't sure she could.

If push came to shove, would she choose him over her career? She prayed she didn't have to make that choice.

"Go on into waiting room six, I'll be interviewing Damian in about five minutes and you can watch."

She looked back up at Burnett and thought of Natasha again. "Make him tell us where they are."

"That's my plan," he said.

Damian Bond didn't want to talk. Burnett slammed down photos of Liam and Natasha on the table. The were refused to look at them. Della's blood pressure rose and her canines extended just watching him.

Someone had given the were a sling, and he sat there with his broken arm held as tight as his lips. Burnett, looking p.i.s.sed, turned to the wall where they watched. "Do you know who's in there?" he asked.

Damian didn't respond, but Burnett answered anyway. "An agent with the Vampire Council."

The were's eyes widened just a bit, but then he went back to pretending he didn't hear. But Della did see him glance at the photos on the table.

Did he know them?

Burnett continued. "Have you heard what they do to weres in the Vampire Council prison? It makes going to one of our facilities seem like a day at the spa."

Della looked at Chase. "Is that true?"

"We don't believe in segregation," he said. "And since most of our prisoners are vampire, the were will have it rough."

Della shuttered, wondering what "rough" included.

"And if you don't talk," Burnett continued, "we've agreed to pa.s.s you over to them."

The were looked up at Burnett and snarled. "Good try. But since when do the FRU and Vampire Council work together?"

Burnett dropped in the chair across from him. "Since over thirty fresh turns came up missing, and were being sold into slavery. You've got three seconds to start talking, or I'm turning you over to them."

"If Burnett's serious, we'll get the answer out of him," Chase said.

Della swallowed and told herself it was the right thing. But the thought didn't settle well in her stomach.

Burnett looked back at the wall. "I guess you can come and get him." He started out.

"Wait," Damian spouted. "Okay, I'll talk. It wasn't me, though. It was my boss. Tyler Myers. He used them to hold fight matches. People paid big bucks to see them fight, and then he got a cut of the profits. But Tyler got word that you guys were aware of the operation and had closed down the Dallas branches, so he shut down. He got rid of them."

Della's chest gripped. She felt Chase move beside her as if afraid of what Damian might say.

"You mean he had them murdered?" Burnett asked.

The air in Della's lungs turned to syrup and it took everything she had to not to let her knees buckle.

"Yeah. But I was just following orders."

Burnett gripped his fist. "How many? And where are the bodies?" His eyes turned orange with fury and Della felt her own brighten even more.

"I don't know. The boss and the others got together and got rid of all of them. I heard something about a junkyard."

Chase's arm came around Della.

"But I swear I don't know where it is." Damian looked down at the photos. "But these weren't ours. They might have been with the others, but they weren't ours. I'd remember her."

Chase took Della's hand in his and she heard him breathe for the first time. "It's still not over," he said.

"Then why does it feel like it?" she asked and felt the knot in her throat expand.

He turned and pulled her against him. She rested her forehead on his chest. She closed her eyes and smelled blood. But it wasn't Chase's blood.

She pulled back and looked up at him. Liam, not Chase, looked down at her.

Chapter Forty.

Della had done this numerous times-slipped into a vision, or whatever it was-but that didn't make it any easier. Especially now, when her faith that Natasha and Liam were still alive had shrunken to nothing but a tiny seed of hope.

Natasha was reclined on a dirt floor, halfway on top of Liam's naked body.

Della focused really hard and tried to force Natasha to ask Liam where they were, but all the effort was wasted because she didn't speak. She rested her chin on Liam's chest and she felt her bare b.r.e.a.s.t.s press against the solid feel of his abdomen.

Liam pushed her hair out of her eyes. "What is the first thing you want to do when we get out of here?"

Natasha frowned, and Della knew why. She didn't think they were getting out. But she was willing to placate him. She looked back at his chest, shifted her hand up to just below his right shoulder and traced the emblem that appeared to be part tattoo and part scar.

"What do you say we go get our tattoos removed?" She ran her fingers over his tattoo again.

Della studied the cross-like symbol. Could that mean something?

Liam chuckled. "I like that idea. How about we go listen to a band play? Do you like to dance?"

"Love to. Sometimes my friends Amy and Jennifer and I go."

That loud noise came again. The sound of heavy machinery.

Liam put his arm on her back, as if he knew the noise bothered her. "Then we'll go dancing first thing."

What's the noise? Della screamed in Natasha's mind, hoping she would hear her, but her question went unanswered.

"Maybe we should take a shower first," Natasha teased. She rested her head back down and looked around the dark room.

Della took it all in. The walls were like blocks, but the floor was dirt, and there was what looked like an open pa.s.sageway into another area that appeared just as dark.

What was this place?

"Together?" Liam asked, his hand running across her naked back. "Let's take a shower together."

"Yeah, together." She giggled and spread her hand flat on his chest and glanced at it. Natasha was a shade or two lighter than Liam.

"Is your mom or dad black?" Natasha asked.

"My dad was half black."

"Was? Is he dead?"

"Not that I know of."

"Did you ever know him?"

"Yeah, he came around some when I was younger. Mom didn't like it." He got quiet for a minute. "They would always fight. The last time he was there, I was like thirteen. They got into a real big fight. He accused my mom of trying to raise me to be white. Mom told him all she wanted to do was raise me to be a good man, and that had nothing to do with color, and everything to do with character, and that if he was going to see me, he'd have to get himself sober and set an example."

"What did he say?" Natasha asked.

"He hit her." Liam's body under Natasha tightened. "It wasn't the first time, but it was the first time I decided to stop him," he said.

Natasha pushed herself up and looked at Liam's face. "Oh, my G.o.d. What happened?"

"I came out with a baseball bat. I hit him in the arm. I don't think I broke it or anything, but I could tell I hurt him. I told him to leave and never come back."

"Did he ever come back?"

"I don't think so. Mom got married to Hank a few years later. He was a good guy. Black, too. But Hank was twenty years older than my mom. He died of a heart attack less than a year after they got married." Liam ran his hand over her back. "Didn't you tell me your dad died?"

Natasha paused. "Yeah, my adoptive dad died when I was eleven and when I went to look for my real parents I discovered my real dad was dead, too."

"How old were you when you found out you were adopted?"

"Almost eighteen." She inhaled. "Mom said they were going to tell me when I was thirteen but when my adoptive dad died, she just thought it'd make me feel worse." Natasha grew silent and just breathed for several seconds. "I think part of me always knew. My adoptive dad was half Chinese. Even as child I would stare at his face and wonder why I didn't look more like him."

"Didn't you say your real mom was dead, too?"

"Yeah," Natasha said. "Someone killed her. But they never found out who did it."

He ran his hand alongside her hip. Not s.e.xily, just tenderly, but there was something totally intimate about being naked against another person. "That must have been tough, looking for your real parents and then finding out they were both dead."

"It was for a while. But I did find an aunt. She was nice. And she had a son about my age."

They lapsed into silence and then Liam asked, "How did your adoptive dad die?"

"A work accident. One day he was there, and the next he was gone. But Mom remarried a few years ago."

"Do you get along with your stepdad?"

"Yeah, he's all right. Well, a lot better than all right ... compared to your real father. He loves my mom, but I always got the feeling he was just waiting for me leave so he could have her all to himself."