"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.