Taken at Dusk

Chapter Ten

  Kylie's heart started to pound. "Should we run?"

  "No. " Lucas's defensive posture relaxed. "It's just-"

  "Me," another deep male voice said.

  Kylie recognized the voice before she saw Burnett standing behind her. Even in the darkness, she was close enough to recognize the look of discontent on his face. His eyes weren't glowing, so it wasn't about danger, but everything in his expression said he wasn't happy. And he was looking right at her.

  What could he be so upset about?

  He stepped closer, his presence larger than life. "Holiday is-"

  All it took was his two words and Kylie had her answer. "Crap! Holiday was supposed to come by my cabin. I'm sorry. "

  "Yeah," he said. "And she really got worried when we couldn't find Della, who was supposed to be your shadow. " He turned his focus on Lucas, and his grimace deepened.

  "Where's Della?" Kylie asked. "Is she okay?"

  "She's fine. She and Miranda had gone for a swim. But none of this would have happened if someone hadn't insisted she be relieved of her shadow duties. "

  "That's my fault," Kylie insisted.

  "It's not anyone's fault. " Lucas stiffened his shoulders. "I wouldn't have let anything happen to Kylie. "

  "That's not the point," Burnett growled into the night. "Considering your affiliation with the FRU, you of all people should understand the importance of following protocol. I assigned Della as Kylie's shadow, and it's not your place to change my orders. And by changing them, you caused this situation. "

  "I wouldn't have had to change it if you'd assigned her to me in the beginning as I asked. And considering my affiliation, you should trust me to protect her. "

  Kylie looked from Burnett to Lucas and then back again. "I'm the one who forgot about Holiday. If anyone is to blame-"

  "I came looking for you," Lucas snapped, as if refusing to let her take any blame. He stared back at Burnett. Lucas's eyes started to change colors.

  An owl called out in the woods. The half-moon seemed to grow brighter as the two of them, vampire and werewolf, stood staring at each other.

  Burnett was the first to blink, not that it came off as weakness, but rather a sign of reasoning. "Trust is earned. Your overconfidence will not serve you well in the FRU. "

  "My overconfidence only comes second to yours," Lucas said. "And I think it's part of the reason the FRU is interested in me. "

  "Perhaps. But there is a fine line between indomitable and supercilious. And the latter character trait is nothing the FRU accepts. " Burnett pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and hit a button.

  Kylie saw Lucas's jaw tighten, and she knew how hard it was for him to be reprimanded by Burnett, especially in front of her.

  Lucas looked away, but not before Kylie saw his eyes glittering with anger. But then he said, "I apologize if I caused a problem. " He might be angry, but he was willing to concede.

  Burnett nodded and spoke into the phone. "Holiday, I have her. She's fine. . . . Yes. I will. " He hung up and refocused on Lucas. "I'll meet you back in the office in a bit. I need to speak with Kylie. "

  Lucas met her eyes, as if asking if she was okay with his going.

  She nodded. "I'll see you later. "

  He took off and in seconds was nothing more than a speck shifting between the moonlit trees in the woods. Burnett watched him disappear and then he looked back to her.

  Kylie spoke before Burnett. "I should have remembered Holiday was coming. "

  "True. But Lucas shouldn't have requested you leave your shadow without conferring with me. "

  "He's not supercilious like you said. " She frowned.

  "Yes, he is. " Burnett chuckled. "But so was I when I was his age. He'll grow out of it. I did. "

  Kylie didn't like Burnett's answer, but she felt better knowing he wasn't holding a grudge against Lucas.

  When Burnett didn't automatically go into what it was he wanted to talk with her about, she asked her own question. "Any more news on the people who were pretending to be my grandparents?"

  "No, but the car they were driving was found. It was listed as stolen. We're checking for fingerprints. "

  Kylie nodded and looked back up at the moon as a lacy cloud passed over it, making the night appear darker. When she looked back, Burnett stared and his brow twitched as if he were checking her pattern. Puzzlement filled his eyes.

  She should be used to it, but at times she wanted to wear a shield over her forehead.

  "Is Holiday mad at me?" Kylie asked.

  "More worried than angry. She saves all her hostile emotions to use on me. " He shot her a tiny smile.

  "But you're still here. That has to mean something. "

  "It means I'm a glutton for punishment. " He hesitated, and while his words came out with humor, his eyes didn't express the same emotion.

  "No, I meant the fact that she accepted you being a shareholder of Shadow Falls has to mean something. "

  He frowned. "She needed my money. "

  Kylie had to bite her lip not to tell him about the other investor. "You really like her, don't you?" Her heart ached for him. Not that he wanted sympathy. And maybe that's why she felt it. When someone this strong and prideful had a heartache, it made an impression.

  "That's not important. "

  Yes, it is. Kylie saw rejection pass across Burnett's eyes. Somehow, some way, she was going to get Holiday to stop being so stubborn and give the man a chance. It just didn't make sense why she was so hesitant. If he was ugly or obnoxious, Kylie would understand. But Burnett was none of those. And he cared so much about Holiday that Kylie could almost feel it.

  "I wouldn't say it wasn't important," Kylie added.

  He shrugged. "Tell me about the snake and the deer incident. "

  Kylie told both stories for what felt like the hundredth time. At least now she could tell it without hyperventilating. When she finished, Burnett just stood there, his dark brow pinched and his lips tight.

  "You think I'm overreacting, don't you. "

  His frown deepened. "No. I agree with Holiday. With two of these instances happening, it can't be a coincidence. "

  "So the security system isn't working?" she asked.

  "No, it's working. "

  "Then how could-"

  "That's what we don't know. A shifter has infiltrated the camp, specifically to target you. And I don't like it one damn bit!"

  Kylie felt her stomach drop. He wasn't the only one.

  * * *

  That night, the dream came on slow. But this one was different from the others. Kylie wasn't moving, she'd just woken up here. She saw Lucas standing by the lake where they'd run to earlier, and just like that, those differences didn't matter. Before she'd gone to bed, he'd tapped on her window. When she opened it, he'd pulled himself up and kissed her quickly on the lips.

  "Good night," he'd said, and dropped back to the ground.

  She'd grinned as she watched him leave. And she'd gone to bed wishing he hadn't run off so quickly.

  Suddenly, the dream became her reality, grounded into the world of the mind where everything felt so real. She stood behind him and enjoyed being this close. Reaching out, she touched his arm and he turned around-not surprised that she was there, but happy to see her. For a second, something didn't feel right, but when he pulled her against him, she nudged away the feeling.

  "Have you always been this beautiful, Kylie Galen?" Lucas's hands fell to her waist.

  She grinned. "Why don't you tell me? You peeked into my windows when I was five. "

  "Shame on me. " He leaned in closer. Uncertainty nagged at her. There was something off, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

  She smiled up at him.

  "Tell me what makes
you happy," he said.

  His statement stirred confusion. "What do you mean?"

  "Do you want a mansion? A new car? Do you want to go to Mexico and drink beer on the beach? I can give you that and more. "

  She shook her head. "I don't want any of that. "

  "Then what?"

  These questions weren't like Lucas, but she felt compelled to answer. "I want everyone to get along. Miranda and Della fought again last night. I want my dad to be able to visit me again. I want the Brightens to be okay. I want to know what I am. And I want to take care of whatever problem it is that this new ghost has. "

  "I can give you most of that. Just say yes. "

  "Yes to what?" And that's when it hit her. That's when she realized what was wrong. Lucas wasn't hot.

  "You're cold. " She took a quick step back, moving out of his arms. "What's going on?"

  "I wanted to see you. I knew you would leave if. . . " Suddenly, it wasn't Lucas standing there. It was Red, the rogue vampire who was Mario's grandson, the one who'd killed the girls. The one who'd kidnapped her and beat up Lucas. She started to scream, then realized that this was just a dream and she had the ability to wake up.

  "My grandfather and his friends don't think you can be convinced to work with us. I only want to help. . . " His last words faded as Kylie shot up on the bed, gasping for breath. She recalled how her senses had told her in the beginning of the dream that something wasn't right. If she'd only listened to her instincts, this wouldn't have happened. Then she remembered how Holiday had said she could temporarily shut them off. When she was able to think straight, Kylie leaned back on her pillow and did the visualization.

  The last thing she wanted was to see him in her dreams.

  Or her reality.

  * * *

  The next morning, Kylie felt tiny little skunk paws walking up her chest and then felt a wet pointed nose bump her chin as if summoning her awake.

  She lay there for a few seconds, not moving and not opening her eyes, trying to decide why something felt wrong. Her first thought went back to the dream she'd had with Red, but no, this wasn't about that. Then bright light leaked into the corners of her closed eyes. She opened her eyes.

  Sitting up cautiously, giving Socks his obligatory morning pat, she looked around. The sun streamed through the blinds and cast horizontal shadows on the floor.

  What time was it? She swept her hair from her face.

  Her gaze shot to the clock. Seven. Was that what didn't feel right . . . that she hadn't been nudged awake by an impatient spirit? Was her Jane Doe ghost not a morning ghost? Then again, maybe amnesia prevented someone from judging time.

  Not that Kylie was complaining. Her last spirit had rarely let Kylie sleep a minute past dawn.

  Seeing her phone, Kylie remembered Holiday and snatched up the cell, hoping to find Holiday had called or texted her. Before Kylie and Burnett had gotten back to the office, Holiday had called Burnett and asked if he could take over the camp for a day or so because she had a family emergency and had to leave. The only thing Holiday had told Burnett was that she had to deal with this.

  Burnett had been worried, too. Kylie had heard the frustration in his voice when he spoke with Holiday and she wouldn't elaborate on the type of emergency.

  Kylie had phoned and texted Holiday but hadn't gotten an answer before she'd gone to bed.

  Checking her call log, she found two texts. One from Sara, her old best friend whom Kylie had probably just healed of cancer-please let that be so-and then one from Holiday.

  Kylie breathed a sigh of relief as she read Sara's message that she was feeling great, then quickly read Holiday's. It was short and simple. All is ok. B back soon.

  Wanting more reassurance, Kylie dialed the camp leader's number.

  "Hey," Holiday answered. "Is everything okay?"

  Kylie almost told her about the dream with the rogue vampire, but her gut said Holiday had something else on her plate. Besides, Holiday had already told her how to deal with this, and if Kylie had listened to her instincts, this wouldn't have happened. "Yeah, just worried about you. Are you back at camp yet?"

  "Not yet. I should be there this afternoon. " She grew quiet. "I'm sorry I had to bail before we talked. Are you dealing with everything okay? Nothing else has happened, has it?"

  "No, I'm fine. We were just concerned about you. "

  "We?"

  "Burnett and me," she said, remembering her promise to herself to play matchmaker. "What happened?" Kylie asked hesitantly, not wanting to overstep her bounds. But her relationship with Holiday felt like more than just camp leader and camper. She truly cared about her.

  Holiday was quiet for a moment. "My great-aunt passed away. "

  "Oh, Holiday, I'm so sorry. Can I do anything?" A cold entered the room. Kylie ignored it and focused on the phone conversation. She'd deal with Jane Doe in a few minutes.

  "No. I'm fine," Holiday said. "It was her time. But she didn't get her estate in order and now. . . "

  Kylie felt her mattress dip down. She glanced up, and sitting on the foot of her bed was an older woman wearing a yellow housedress and a beautiful pale blue tear-shaped crystal necklace.

  "The will is taped to the bottom left drawer of my dresser. But I want her to take all my crystal pieces. Don't let Marty take them, and she'll try. She's a sneaky little twit. "

  Kylie studied the woman's gray hair hanging down around her shoulders and then noted her eyes were a bright green that looked vaguely familiar.

  Kylie's hold on the phone tightened and she shivered. Holiday had told her that she would eventually be able to see more than one ghost at a time. It looked as if that time had arrived. But could she handle it?

  "Tell her," the ghost said, and that's when Kylie knew why the eyes were so familiar. She tightened her brows and checked the woman's pattern.

  Holiday started talking. "Dealing with the estate is going to be such a-"

  "Uh, Holiday. . . ?" Kylie said. "What does your great-aunt look like?"

  "Why?"

  "Because I think she's sitting on the end of my bed. If it's her, the will is taped to the bottom left drawer of her dresser. "

  The ghost started floating up to the ceiling as if something were pulling her away.

  "Long gray hair," Holiday answered. "And green eyes. "

  "It's her," Kylie answered, now looking at the spirit floating near the ceiling. "So you'd better check out her dresser. "

  The ghost smiled. "Thank you. "

  "Thanks, Kylie," Holiday said.

  Kylie felt another chill and pulled the covers up a bit. "No problem. "

  The ghost started to fade into the ceiling, then stopped and slid back down. "Almost forgot. They wanted me to tell you something. Someone lives and someone. . . " She vanished, leaving the sentence unfinished.

  But Kylie knew what she meant.

  "Dies," Kylie said, and closed her eyes. Someone lives and someone dies. The message wasn't just the mutterings of a crazy amnesia ghost. But how could Kylie make things right if she didn't know what to do?