Kylie's stomach knotted. "Are they dead?"
Holiday frowned. "Let's not start assuming-"
"We don't know," Burnett interrupted. "I have agents working on finding out, though. The agency is sending me pictures of the Brightens any minute now. At least then we'll know if they were impostors."
Burnett's phone rang and he snatched it up. "What you got?" His expression hardened. "That can't be. I checked them this morning." He paused and eyed Holiday, who moved closer to Burnett's side.
Della leaned over to Kylie. "The cameras aren't working." Her sensitive hearing had obviously picked up both sides of the conversation.
Footsteps sounded on the cabin porch and Kylie looked up as Lucas stepped through the doorway. His gaze found hers, his concern for her reflecting in his eyes, and he stopped beside her. His arm brushed against hers, and she felt his warmth. The memory of his kiss flashed through her head and she felt a little guilty about sharing it with Miranda and Della.
Kylie saw Lucas glance at her two roommates and nod. It wasn't an overtly friendly nod, either. Kylie had heard that werewolves were pretty standoffish, and she supposed it was true. Other than Lucas, Kylie hadn't really befriended any of them at the camp.
"Did Burnett get the pictures of your grandparents yet?" Lucas looked down at her.
"Don't know." She found herself staring at his blue eyes. For just a second, she wished she didn't question what she felt. Wished he weren't another unanswered part of her life. It would feel so good to just give in. So, why didn't she?
"You okay?" He mouthed the words more than spoke them. She nodded but wasn't so sure how true it was.
"Then someone tampered with them!" Burnett paced across the living room. "Have you gotten the Brightens' DMV records yet? I want to see a copy of their licenses to determine if they're who they said they were." He tightened his jaw muscles and glanced up at Kylie. Empathy for her flashed in his eyes, but it faded within a flicker of a second. Showing emotion, even a glimmer in his eyes, seemed too much for him.
Everything about the man looked hard and dark. And he seemed to like it that way. He had black hair, olive skin, and a body rippled with muscles that kept most men at a distance and most women his age wishing he'd get closer. Kylie saw Holiday studying Burnett and amended her last thought. In spite of the obvious attraction that ran deep between them, Holiday wouldn't let Burnett get close.
"I don't understand what takes them so long," Burnett snapped at the caller. "It's as simple as pulling records at the DMV. I could have done it myself by now." He released a deep, frustrated sigh. "Just send them as soon as they come in." He hung up, dropped his phone into his shirt pocket, and looked at Holiday.
His eyes tightened with frustration. "Someone tampered with our cameras. I checked this morning and everything was working. Conveniently, they went down about an hour before the Brightens arrived. I think we know what that means."
Burnett glanced at Kylie. She knew he thought the Brightens were impostors. And maybe she should be hoping he was right. Because that would mean that it wasn't Daniel's adoptive parents who'd gone poof on the highway. But Kylie wanted proof. Proof of who'd gone poof.
She pressed a hand to her forehead and fought an oncoming headache. "When do they think they'll get pictures of the Brightens?"
"Any time. If they know what's good for them." Burnett's deep voice sounded sincere.
Kylie found herself praying Daniel's parents were okay. That they weren't the couple who'd visited earlier. But even so, she wasn't sure she was emotionally off the hook. Impostors or not, she wasn't sure the elderly couple deserved to ... She stopped herself from mentally pronouncing them dead. Poof didn't necessarily equal death.
The back of Lucas's hand brushed against the back of hers. Somehow she knew the touch was deliberate and meant to comfort her. And it did.
Burnett's phone beeped. He yanked it from his pocket, pressed a button, and stared at the screen. Glancing up, he held the phone over to Holiday. "Is that the couple that was here?"
Holiday looked at the screen and then at Kylie. "No. That's not them."
It wasn't that Kylie didn't believe her, but she had to see for herself. She stepped over, took Burnett's phone, and stared at the two images side by side. An elderly, partly balding man and an older, gray-haired woman with bright green eyes gazed back from the phone's screen.
"These are the Brightens?" she asked.
Burnett nodded. "Sent from the DMV records."
"It doesn't even look like them." Kylie couldn't deny the relief that washed over her, yet she remembered the touch of the elderly woman's hand, the grief they had seemed to share, and even the sheen of tears in the woman's eyes. Had it all been an act? Kylie looked at Holiday. "Even you said the woman seemed sincere. How could we both be wrong?"
Holiday frowned. "Like I told you, reading emotions is never a hundred percent accurate."
Kylie swallowed the disappointment at having her emotions toyed with by an elderly couple. At least when Derek or Holiday toyed with her emotions, it had always been to soothe or help her. This was different; it had been meant to deceive. And maybe more.
She fought the anger crowding the other emotions in her chest. Targeting her anger toward the elderly couple still didn't seem right. "But I don't understand what they were going to accomplish by pretending to be my grandparents."
"Obviously, they weren't here just to pat your cheek and offer you cookies," Burnett stated. "Luckily, Derek got wind of it and whatever they were attempting got foiled."
Kylie met Burnett's gaze. "Is Mario behind this?"
"Who else could it be?"
Kylie still struggled to understand. "But why would he send an elderly couple to do this when he could have gotten someone more powerful?"
"Because he thought it would fool us. And it almost did." Burnett frowned. "From now on, we're going to have to be more careful. I'm assigning you a shadow."
"A what?" Kylie was certain she wasn't going to like this.
"A shadow," Holiday said. "Someone who stays by your side at all times."
Yup, she was right. She didn't like it.
"I'll do it," Lucas said.
"No, I'll do it," another deep voice said from the open doorway.
Derek's voice sent sharp little needles of hurt into Kylie's chest. She looked up and stared into his greenish-almost hazel-eyes.
Her heart jerked as she soaked in his image. His brown hair was a little mussed, as if he ran his hands through it one too many times. His faded T-shirt clung to his wide chest, and his favorite worn jeans hugged his waist and legs. His gaze pulled her attention up again, so much emotion reflected in those eyes. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed him until now.