"What will happen if they find out you were behind the moving of her body?" Kylie asked.
"They won't find out. I covered my tracks," he said adamantly. Maybe too adamantly, as if saying it with conviction would make it so.
"They'll suspect you because you work here. Because you're close to me," Kylie said.
"They might, but they'll have to prove it. And I haven't left any proof for them to uncover."
Kylie hoped that was the case. She glanced at Holiday again and remembered the ghost.
Holiday reached over and put her hand on Kylie's. "Is something else wrong?"
"No. Just this."
"You sure?"
"Do I need more?" Kylie's gaze shifted to the window. She could see the dusk sky going black, but she could still make out the tops of trees swaying ever so slowly.
Her gaze shot back to Holiday and she suddenly felt the need to come clean. "I feel as if I'm being called to something." She motioned to the window. "Something's out there calling me. But I'm not sure what."
Holiday looked confused. "Like being called to the falls?"
"Yeah," Kylie said. Only it felt a lot bigger than that.
"Then let's make a plan to go." Holiday leaned forward. "Do you think tomorrow's soon enough?"
Kylie started to clarify that she wasn't sure it was the falls calling her, but she didn't know how to explain it. So she just nodded.
"I'll go with you," Burnett said.
"Inside the falls?" Holiday looked back at Burnett.
"If you think I should, I will."
"The thought of going to the falls doesn't bother you?"
He shrugged. "I've been there before."
Holiday looked at Kylie and then back at him. "I know. And I find that baffling. Most supernaturals can't seem to force themselves to enter."
A small grin tightened the corners of his eyes. "Like I've been telling you, I'm special."
Holiday sighed. "But the falls-"
"Are not a problem." He cut her off and focused on Kylie. "Why don't I walk you back to your cabin? Della's on shadow duty. I told her I'd see you back." Burnett's diversion of subject appeared to be a deliberate ploy to avoid talking about the falls. What was Burnett hiding? The same question seemed to brighten Holiday's eyes as well.
"She missed dinner," Holiday said.
"All I want is a sandwich and we've got that at the cabin."
Holiday gave Kylie a long hug with warm calming emotion.
The effects from the hug lingered until she and Burnett started down the dark trail and he asked, "Would you like to explain why you lied to Holiday?"
Chapter Seven
"I didn't lie." As soon as those words were out Kylie recalled she'd indeed lied when Holiday asked if there was something else wrong. Damn, she should have remembered that Burnett could hear her heart racing if she lied.
She continued walking. He glanced down with one brow arched in disbelief. "Try again."
Kylie frowned. "It's a ghost issue. I'm just trying to figure it out myself." No way in hell could she tell Burnett about the ghost looking like Holiday. Burnett would freak. Then again, maybe he wouldn't. Maybe he wasn't so afraid of ghosts as he pretended to be.
"What is it that you're hiding from her about the falls?" she asked.
His arched brow lowered. "I'm not hiding anything."
"You can go into the falls when the others can't."
"It baffles me as well," he said. "Though I don't exactly feel comfortable there."
"You didn't feel called to go there?"
He hesitated. "Maybe a little." They walked in silence for the next four or five steps.
"Why didn't you tell Holiday?" Kylie asked.
He cut her a sly look. "Maybe I'm trying to figure it out for myself." He used the same words she'd used on him.
"Okay." She rolled her eyes.
In a few minutes, he spoke again. "I thought you could talk to Holiday about the ghost issues."
"I can. But I'd like to handle it on my own if I can." It was the truth, so she didn't worry about what he'd hear beneath her words.
He nodded. As they neared the cabin, Kylie remembered she'd wanted to visit with Lucas. "Can Lucas take over shadowing me for a while this evening? I need to speak to him about something."
Burnett seemed to consider it. For a second, it appeared as if he might refuse. "Okay, but don't go into the woods."
His answer had her wondering. "Is the alarm working?"
"Yes, but in certain weather conditions, someone might be able to get into the forest without being picked up."
She nodded.
"Have you seen anyone?" he asked.
"No."
He stopped. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure," she said. "Sometimes I just ... the woods scare me a little."
"Then listen to your fears and avoid them."
"That's my plan." Kylie looked at the line of trees and the dark shadows beyond them. She didn't feel anything. Maybe what she'd felt earlier was just her overactive imagination.
Kylie spotted her cabin nestled in the trees. The lights were on and a golden hue spilled out the windows. She saw Della's shadow pass in front of the window and remembered ...
"What did you have a meeting about with Della earlier?"
"Just FRU business." He sounded purposely vague.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
He shook his head. "No."
"Are you having her do something for the FRU?"
"It's possible. Why?"
Kylie frowned. "Considering the FRU is causing me such a headache, I'm not thrilled about you getting my friends involved with them."
He stopped, dropped his hand into his jeans pockets, and shook his head as if in frustration. "The FRU is an organization meant to help the supernatural people, just like the police help humans. There have been dirty cops and even groups of cops that have done bad things, but we don't stop trusting the force as a whole."
"I might if they killed my grandmother," she said honestly.
His expression tightened. "I don't agree with everything the FRU does, but without the FRU, the world would be in chaos. The races would all be against each other, killing and maiming each other. The human race would be viewed as a food source."