“I don’t disagree. The council was wrong. And in the last few years, they’ve stopped their attempts to shut it down.”
“You’re registered?” she asked, knowing the answer because Burnett had mentioned it before.
“The council felt it would allow me more cover.”
“Have you felt it has been an invasion of your privacy?”
He hesitated.
“Be honest,” she said.
“I guess not. But that could change.”
She frowned. “We aren’t going to agree on this, are we?”
“Probably not,” he said. “And I’m not taking you in there if all you plan to do is argue politics.”
“I can’t ask questions?”
“Questions about the case? Yes.”
“How about questions about mine and Chan’s case?”
“I’ve answered all those,” he said, his jaw set firmly.
“Maybe they know something you don’t.” Or maybe you’re still keeping secrets.
He ran a hand down his face as if frustrated. “If you came to work for them, you could ask all kinds of questions.”
“What does that mean?”
His expression hardened and his hesitation said he was trying to find an answer—so probably something a little off from the truth. “I just meant that as long as you work for the FRU, they aren’t going to completely open up to you.”
“So what will they hide from me?”
“I didn’t say they would hide anything,” he said.
“You implied it,” she countered.
“I didn’t imply shit,” he said. “Look, go talk to them, but don’t start interrogating them. They won’t like that. And the last thing I want to have to do is…”
“Is what?” she said.
He looked at her. Honesty filled his eyes. “Take on the council to defend you. They aren’t Reborns, but they’re bad asses.”
“You would do that?” she asked before she could stop herself.
“If I had to. But I don’t want to. So behave.”
“I’m gonna ask questions,” she said.
His frown tightened. “Fine, ask. But don’t get your back up if you don’t get answers.”
They got out of the car and walked into Benny’s. The smell of burnt bacon and eggs filled the air. The hostess was a vampire, and after checking their patterns and offering Chase a flirty smile, she motioned for them to go ahead to the back room.
Della followed him, her stomach a knot of nerves. She almost wished she hadn’t drank the blood at Chase’s place. The door to the back was shut. While he’d been motioned to go on back, he still knocked.
“Come in,” she heard a low and deep voice say on the other side.
Chase looked over his shoulder at her and mouthed the word, “Behave.”
Chapter Thirty-eight
Unlike the front of the diner, the back room held heavy curtains. And they were closed. The only light came from a chandelier that held a couple of sixty-watt bulbs.
Six men sat behind a long table. Della’s gaze shifted fast, taking in each of their faces, searching for one face. The face of her father. Or rather, her father’s identical twin.
He wasn’t there.
Disappointment stirred in her already nervous gut. Though, why she thought it would be that easy was beyond her. But that didn’t mean her uncle wasn’t behind this.
Chase introduced her. He didn’t give the names of the men individually, just calling them the Vampire Council. And she supposed that was all she was going to get.
They didn’t stand up, but nodded their heads appropriately. Each of them had a brown mug set in front of them. She’d bet it wasn’t coffee in those mugs.
She studied them each briefly. Not one of them was Asian. Two looked Hispanic, one Native American, one African-American, and the other two were Caucasian. Their ages ranged from early thirties to early hundreds. Or at least, that one Hispanic dude appeared older than dirt.
For some reason, she remembered finding herself in the courtroom with the FRU judge and jurors.
In front of the long Benny’s table were two chairs.
“Miss Tsang, Mr. Tallman,” the oldest of the group spoke. “Please sit. Would you like something to drink?”
Della found her mouth a little dry, but didn’t think her stomach would take anything. She forced herself to move to the chair and to speak. “No, thank you.”
“We have heard wonderful reports from Mr. Tallman about you,” another of the men said.
“I’m sure he exaggerates,” Della answered.
“I doubt that,” said another of the six, one of the blond guys who looked around her father’s age.
“She is everything I told you,” Chase spoke up.
The older dude added, “We were delighted to hear you wanted to meet with us. And we shall not pretend that our hope isn’t that you intend to join us as one of our agents.”
Okay, this was going to be very tricky. “I can’t say that is my intention at this time. However, I’ve always been one to like options.”
“Disappointing, but well delivered, young lady,” said another of the six.
“So, what is your intent in meeting us?” asked the eldest.
“I guess you might say curiosity.”
“About us?” the eldest questioned.
“Yes. And more.”
“The ‘more’ being?” asked the youngest of the council.
She stiffened her spine and heard Chase shift in his chair beside her. She hadn’t gotten this far to be too afraid to ask. “I’m curious as to why you would send an agent to ensure my cousin and I would get though the rebirth?”
“We offer sympathies for your cousin’s death,” said the talk dark man on the council.
Sympathies? She realized she might not be able to be angry at Chase for being unable to save both her and Chan, but … “Could you not have sent two Reborns to help us and saved him as well?” She glanced back to the youngest of the group, who seemed more opt to answer.
“Unfortunately, we do not have the staff to do that,” he said.
“Then how do you have the staff to check on every possible Reborn?”
When he didn’t answer right away, she said, “Is there a reason you sent someone to check on my cousin and me?”
“It’s apparent that someone with your talents and abilities would be an asset to our team of agents,” answered the youngest of the council again.
“So, you do have a list of all potential Reborns?” she asked. “And you send someone out to all of them?”
“We make it our business to stay informed,” said the eldest again.
Della got the sense he wasn’t answering her questions as much as placating her.
He waved his aged hand and continued. “We strive to offer help to all those possible.”
But they hadn’t strived that hard to save Chan. If they were that concerned, they could have sent two agents, couldn’t they?
She heard Chase say something under his breath, but she ignored him. “So who informed you about me and my cousin?”
“You are indeed filled with curiosity, Miss Tsang,” the eldest spoke again. “And if you were working for us, you would have access to a colossal amount of information.”
Della stiffened. Why did that almost sound like a bribe, the same one Chase had offered earlier? Go work for them and she’d get her answers.
“Considering that I am in a sense working for you, I thought you might respect me enough to answer my inquiries now.”
“And we did,” said the eldest.
Bullshit!
“Is there another question you would like to pose?” the man continued. “Perhaps one that might encourage you to join us in our struggles to help provide justice to our kind? If not, I think we shall call this meeting over.”
Something about his tone came off as condescending. “I don’t think you’ve really answered—”
“Enough,” Chase whispered, and reached over and squeezed her hand. Then he stood up. “I appreciate you taking the time for us.”
Della sat there debating the wisdom of speaking out one more time. They hadn’t actually done anything to prove her right, nor had they done anything to prove her wrong.
“Good luck finding the missing vampires, Chase. And you, Miss Tsang,” said one of the blond men.
Chase nodded, then looked at her and motioned for her to stand. When she didn’t move, he reached down. She stared daggers at his hand, which was literally pulling her up and out.
“Miss Tsang?” one of the council spoke. She looked back over her shoulder, not caring that her eyes were probably bright from fury.
“If you change your mind about working for us, you will find there is a place for you here.”
She swallowed the retort she wanted to give, something about a cold day in hell. Then, without another word, she left the room and restaurant so fast, she probably appeared as a blur to the patrons eating in the front.
It wasn’t even five-thirty, but the sun had already set and it was almost dark. She leapt into the passenger seat of the car and waited for Chase to open his door and slide in with a calmness that downright irritated her.
“That was bullshit!” she told him.
“They answered you, Della.”
“They did more talking around my questions than answering them.”
“And you think the FRU is better? You think if I went in there asking questions to the bigwigs of the FRU that I’d get straight answers?”
She remembered her little encounter with those FRU bigwigs. “Maybe not, but why couldn’t your council just have told me instead of…?”
“I seem to recall one telling you that you had talent and abilities that we could use. That seemed pretty straightforward to me.”
“Then why didn’t it feel like the truth?”
“Maybe you just don’t want it to be.” He paused and looked out the front of the car as someone passed by. “What is it you’re hoping to learn?”
When she didn’t answer, he asked, “Do you want to put blame on them for Chan’s death?”
“No. I want…” She almost told him then about her uncle, about the murder of her aunt, then she heard his words from earlier in the car: If you came to work for them you could ask all kinds of questions.
He swore he hadn’t been implying anything, but … she still had a tiny whisper of doubt.
“Maybe I don’t know what I want,” she said, and there was some truth in that. Did she really want to find her uncle now that she suspected he’d killed her aunt?
Chase pulled out of the parking lot. “We should probably just head to the airport. Do you know where we’re supposed to meet Burnett?”
“He said he’d call.”
Her phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket. “Speak of the devil.”
“So you’re admitting he’s the devil,” Chase said with a touch of humor.
She cut him a smartass look and answered the phone. “Hey, I was wondering when—”
“Where exactly are you?” Burnett barked.
“About fifteen miles outside of Fallen, we were just heading toward Houston.”
“Where?”
Della recalled the street signs she’d just seen. “We’re in the twenty-nine-hundred block of Howell Street.”
“Hold on,” he said, then she heard him say to someone else, “They’re close.” And then, “Della, do you know where Cooper Airport is?”
She looked at Chase and he nodded.
“Yeah. Chase knows. What’s wrong?”
“We put a man on the plane with Damian Bond. Ten minutes ago, he realized the guy sitting in that seat is only a lookalike. He confessed to our agent that Damian took an earlier flight, a smaller plane that should be arriving at Cooper airport in fifteen minutes. We’re pretty sure it’s flight ten-twenty-six on Token Airlines. We’re already in Houston. Even flying it’s going to take us twenty to get there. You might make it in ten if you ditch the car and fly. Both of you should have just gotten his mug shot on your phones.”
Della heard both of their phones ding. Chase looked around for a place to park.
“Stay away from any major streets,” Burnett continued. “It’s not quite dark enough, and I don’t want you getting spotted.”
“We won’t,” Della said.
“And don’t … do not … confront Damian. Just follow him. He carries a Glock and he likes using it. You got that?”
“Yeah,” she said.
“Do you understand, Chase?” Burnett barked.
“Yeah,” Chase answered, and he grimaced as he pulled over in a drugstore parking lot beside a patch of trees.
Perfect for taking off.
The line went dead. Della pushed a button and stared at Damian Bond’s face. Ready or not, here we come.
* * *
Nine minutes and thirty seconds later, they landed in a wooded lot a half block from the airport. It was the first time since being Reborn that Della had flown that fast. If she wasn’t so worried about what they were about to do, she would have really enjoyed it.
The sun had completely faded, only the corner of the western sky held a touch of color to bid the day good-bye.
They didn’t speak. No time. If the plane came in early, their last lead to finding Natasha and Liam could be gone. Her blood zinged through her body, preparing to do whatever it took to keep Damian in their sights.