Taken at Dusk (Page 40)

Kylie looked up at the singed wood, which had been marked by the dragon’s breath and Clark’s fireballs. "It might be difficult."

He looked around and frowned. "I guess so. But damn, I wanted to prove to her that I could run the show without screwing up."

"You didn’t screw up," Kylie said. "All’s well that ends well. No one’s hurt."

He let out a deep gulp of air. "I got myself turned into a kangaroo."

Kylie couldn’t help but snicker. Then Burnett laughed. Kylie couldn’t swear by it, but she thought it was the first time she’d ever heard him do that. "Holiday is going to enjoy that one, isn’t she?"

Kylie continued to grin. "Oh, yeah. Can I be the one to tell her?"

"Afraid not." Then he flashed her what she could have sworn was a smile. "If it involves making her laugh, I’ll keep that pleasure for myself."

She studied him for a few moments, again feeling his devotion to Holiday. Thinking of devotion and Burnett, she decided to ask another question that had been pulling at her mind. "You and Perry have a history, right?"

He paused for a second and then said, "Sort of. Why?"

"The way you two relate to each other."

He nodded but didn’t offer any details.

"It was through the foster program, right?" she asked. "Were you like a caseworker or something there at one time?"

Burnett’s expression stayed stoic. "He told you about the foster program?"

"Yeah."

Burnett nodded. "Yes. We crossed paths through the program."

He didn’t seem eager to share anything else about his past, so Kylie decided to drop it, or at least drop part of it. "Perry’s not going to get in too much trouble for this, is he?" She frowned. "I mean, I was the one that sort of caused it. He was leaving and I stopped him."

Burnett arched a brow. "Truth be told, he behaved extremely well … considering." He looked around again. "You wouldn’t believe the kind of messes I’ve had to clean up because of him."

Kylie imagined Burnett coming to the aid of a younger Perry-a Perry who had no one because his parents abandoned him. Her doubts about Burnett and trusting him practically vanished. Without thinking, she said, "You know, you aren’t near as badass as you pretend to be."

Burnett frowned as if he didn’t like being considered anything but bad. "I wouldn’t bet on it," he said. "Just ask Holiday." He stood up. "Come on, I’ll walk you to your cabin. I need to go deal with Clark before it gets any later."

"You don’t need to walk me. I think I can manage."

"Nope. You’re still under shadow guard."

As they walked out of the dining hall, Kylie welcomed the night air without the scent of smoke. The memory of her dance with Lucas tickled her mind, but she pushed it back, not wanting to think about that with present company. Especially when she half feared that Burnett might have been privy to their entire conversation.

They started down the path to her cabin. A few night creatures rustled the underbrush along their way. Burnett cut his gaze from one side to the other, always aware, always on guard.

"You haven’t experienced any more threats, have you?" he asked.

"No."

"It always amazes me what just having a shadow with you can prevent."

Kylie looked up at him through the darkness. "Do you think that’s the only reason it hasn’t happened again? That someone, more than likely Mario or his grandson, is still waiting to get me alone?" She considered telling him about the dream but didn’t see how it would help.

"I think we can’t be too careful."

Kylie felt a familiar chill slide past her, slowly, and she knew they had company. She gazed around to see if the spirit had materialized yet, but she saw nothing.

But the sense of grief that seemed to seep into her pores told her it was Jane Doe. Kylie’s mind shot back to the spirit and the loss of her child. A need to help the spirit tightened her chest. If Holiday were here, she’d talk to her about it. But she didn’t think Burnett would be helpful where ghosts were concerned. Especially when it involved a pregnant ghost.

"Who’s shadowing me in the morning?" she asked.

"I believe it’s Della," Burnett said, and looked around almost as if he felt the ghostly presence.

"Would you mind if we go to the cemetery in Fallen tomorrow?"

Burnett stopped walking. "Why would you want to go there?"

Kylie rubbed her arms to try to chase away the chill. "It has to do with my latest ghost."

"Which is a good reason not to go," he said.

Kylie frowned at the thought that she and Holiday were the only ones who weren’t antighost. "The spirit can’t remember who she is, and because the first time she appeared to me was when my mom and I were driving past the cemetery, I think she might be buried there. I asked Holiday about going and she said it would be okay as long as I had someone with me and if you guys knew where I was."

His expression didn’t change, but something about the way he held his shoulders told her he’d given in. "Let me check with Holiday. If she says it’s okay, I’ll … I’ll go with you."

"You shouldn’t have to go. I’m sure Della and I would-"

"No." From his tone she knew he wouldn’t budge. "Until we know the threat against you is over, you won’t leave the camp without me." His stern gaze punctuated his words, and then he continued, "I’m serious about this, Kylie. I don’t want to scare you, but if this is Mario or Red, they won’t give up. They’re waiting for a time that you are at your most vulnerable to attack again. And next time you may not be so lucky."

* * *

Kylie, with a cloud of the spirit’s cold following her, walked into the cabin a few minutes later. Della and Miranda were sitting at the kitchen table, chatting.

Miranda popped up. "Did you see Perry? Was he not totally off-the-chart awesome? He even fought for me when he was in human form."

"Yeah, I saw that," Kylie said, hanging back a bit, not wanting to ruin the moment by having them sense the spirit. Kylie looked at Della, whose eyes still glowed with anger.

"Is Burnett sending Clark packing?" Della asked. "Because if he doesn’t, I’m gonna have to teach that warlock a lesson he’ll never forget."

Kylie recalled Della taking a hit with the fireball, and she knew that for a vamp that was probably embarrassing-especially when Kylie had somehow managed to catch one and toss it aside. "I know Burnett is going to see him now, but I don’t know what he plans on doing about it."