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“I read him when I was in there,” the agent said, and Della assumed she was referring to her fae ability to read emotion. “He’s not a bad kid, mostly scared. But we’re all scared, aren’t we?”
“Yeah.” The woman had probably read Della’s emotions. But could she read her enough to know Della wasn’t afraid for herself—only for her father?
Two weeks.
Chapter Twenty-eight
“Just go in and be honest,” Burnett told Perry.
Chase stood by Burnett as he spoke to the shape-shifter.
“What are we doing? Good cop, bad cops? I’m nice to him, and then you two beat him up?” Perry asked.
Chase heard concern in Perry’s voice, and obviously so did Burnett.
“We’re not treating him as a hostile … yet,” Burnett said. “If he talks, we’ll go extra easy on him.”
Chase wasn’t sure he agreed with that, but he didn’t think he had the right to argue.
“Okay,” Perry nodded at Chase. The quick duck of the head didn’t come with any friendly pretense. The way Chase saw it, Perry was probably friends with Steve.
“Go with Trisha.” Burnett motioned to the agent who walked up. “She’ll show you the way.”
“Congratulations,” Trisha said, meeting Chase’s gaze.
“Thank you.” Chase shook the agent’s hand, a real sense of pride filling his chest. He’d signed the papers. It was official. Chase Tallman was an FRU agent. He’d even be given a badge and a couple of black suits. Not that Chase wanted to wear them. But the badge, yeah, he kind of liked having it. It felt nice to … belong to something.
Sure, he’d belonged to the council, but it hadn’t been so much his decision as it had been Eddie’s. This was his own doing. This was, Chase realized, his first real job.
Not that he needed money. His parents had left him with more money than he knew what to do with. But then again, this wasn’t just a job. It was a career. It was something that would probably define his life from now until he was ready to retire.
It hadn’t been anything like a ceremony, but in a small way it had felt like it to him. Part of him wished Della had been there. Because she should have been. Their lives were connected.
He recalled the conversation with Steve, and the one with Della earlier. You still have a choice. He hadn’t lied to her, she did, but damn it, it was his mission in life to make sure she chose him.
“Welcome to the team,” another agent called out.
Chase nodded, but realized the one person who hadn’t congratulated him was the one walking at his side right now: Burnett.
Was he still thinking about their earlier conversation about Chase’s trip to Hell’s Pit? The conversation had stuck with Chase, too. As much as he hated admitting it, Burnett had been right. Chase did feel invincible. No one had been more shocked than him when he’d felt that makeshift knife slice into his back. If it hadn’t been for the ghost, Chase wasn’t sure he’d have gotten out alive.
“I plan on making you proud,” Chase said to Burnett.
“Do that by staying alive,” Burnett said, confirming that Chase had been right about the man’s thoughts.
“I will,” Chase said as they walked back into the room where they’d left Della.
Della, phone to her ear, looked back at them and then down, as she held up one finger. “Yes. I shouldn’t be too late. I’ll stop by.”
Chase tuned his ear to listen, hoping to hear who Della had made plans with and fearing it would be the good doctor, Steve.
“Great,” a feminine voice answered. “Bring Chase with you.”
He recognized Della’s cousin’s voice. Chase really liked Natasha and her boyfriend Liam. And remembering Perry’s cold shoulder, he was glad to know he had friends.
Della looked up at him. He nodded at her to let her know it was a go for him, but she still said, “We’ll see.”
What the hell?
