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“Realizing they knew, Eddie took off as fast as he could. When he got to the house, Bao Yu was already dead. One of the gang members, a Douglas Stone, was still in the house.”
Della’s heart gripped. “My dad? Did he see it?”
Chase shrugged. “Eddie said when he got there your father was unconscious. Eddie and Douglas went at it. But Douglas was a lot stronger. They were still fighting when the cops, sirens blaring, pulled up in front of the house. Eddie was in bad shape, but he managed to get out before they got upstairs. Unfortunately, so did Douglas Stone. He got away.”
He paused. “As soon as Eddie was able, he went looking for Douglas Stone. But the gang had broken up. They’d all gone their own ways. A few months later, he found out about the Vampire Council. He went and appealed to them to help him catch the guy. They looked, but never found him. He’s still on their most-wanted list.”
Della just stared, trying to take it all in, her exhaustion level climbing. “Who called the police?”
Chase shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“It had to have been my dad.”
“It’s possible.”
The images flashing in her head were almost too painful to stomach. She felt Baxter bathe her hand with his tongue. She stared at the dog, using his soulful, caring eyes as a touchstone as the story replayed in her head. Did she believe it? Maybe. Oh, hell, she didn’t know what she believed.
She looked up at Chase. Did she believe in him? Hadn’t he proved that she couldn’t?
“Does my uncle work for the council?”
Chase nodded. “Sort of. But not as an agent.”
“Then what?”
He smiled ever so slightly. “Eddie says he has more brains than brawn. The council put him through Baylor. Then he trained as a supernatural doctor around the world. He no longer works as just a doctor, but works trying to improve the health of vampires. He’s the one who discovered the five different lineages who are carriers of the Reborn virus and discovered how to save Reborns. He’s a good man, Della.”
“If he’s so good, why isn’t he here? Why didn’t he come looking for me instead of sending you? What’s he hiding?”
She saw the way Chase looked away for a second. Then he turned back. “It’s Burnett.”
“He knows Burnett?”
“No, because he’s FRU.”
“But…” She paused as she tried to wrap her head around his answer. “You’re here and you’ve even joined the agency.”
“Some people are more political than others.”
“That sounds like a pretty weak excuse.” And damned if her eyelids didn’t feel heavy as well. She really needed him to leave so she could rest. But she was finally getting answers that felt half true.
“Is he going to avoid you now?”
“He wouldn’t do that.”
Was that doubt in his eyes? “Then it doesn’t make sense.”
He ran a hand over his face. “I don’t know why he hates the FRU.” He exhaled. “But whatever that reason is, it’s not … He’s got a good heart.”
“Who is Don Williams?”
“I think it’s an alias that Douglas Stone uses. I’ve got addresses on some here in the Houston area. Tomorrow I’ll go check them out. You obviously saw what I printed out.”
She didn’t deny it. They sat there for a silent few seconds, her body sinking deeper into the chair, her eyes growing harder to keep open.
“Any other questions, Della? I’ll answer them. I’m not hiding anything.”
Did she believe him? Oh, hell, she was too tired to believe or not believe.
