“It takes a second of calm to do it. They came on fast. I can pull up swords faster than I can curses.”

“Ahh,” Della said, not getting the whole magic thing.

“Nasty,” Chase said, moving close to see the guy’s face.

“You okay?” Della said, motioning to Shawn’s arm.

“Just a flesh wound.” He held himself proud, but having been stabbed once, she knew it had to sting like hell.

“I have some electric cuffs in the backpack if you want to start containing those guys.” He looked around for the backpack.

“Oh, one of the guys took off with it. I’ll get it,” Della said, but when she turned, Chase was already returning with the backpack in one hand, and dragging the rogue she’d coldcocked with the other.

“That was easy,” Shawn said a few minutes later as he watched her and Chase cuff all but the frozen vamp. “You two are good.”

Shawn nodded at Della and then his gaze shifted to Chase. “Burnett’s right. We need to steal you away from the Vampire Council.”

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Chase said.

“You do know we pay twice as much as them?”

“Not happening,” Chase said with sureness.

Why not? Della wondered, but then pushed it away to consider at a later time.

Exhaling, feeling the adrenaline lessening, she fisted her hand that felt slightly swollen from the knock-out punch, and right then her jaw started to throb. A slight noise came from the frozen guy, who must have been defrosting because saliva dripped from his mouth. She glanced at Shawn.

She tossed him the last pair of cuffs. He caught them and locked up the frosty vamp. “You didn’t do too bad, yourself,” Della told him.

“Actually…” Shawn forced the cuffed vamp onto the ground next to the others, and then stepped back and pulled out his phone. “My orders were to get info without trouble. Burnett’s not going to be happy.”

“Is he ever?” Chase mouthed off, then moved next to Della and took her chin in his hand.

“That idiot left a bruise.” He looked back at the unconscious culprit.

“It’s nothing.” Della stepped away from his touch.

“It’s over.” Shawn’s voice echoed behind them. “Yeah, she’s fine.”

Della rolled her eyes knowing Burnett asked about her first as if she couldn’t handle herself. How embarrassing!

“Told you he’s overprotective,” Chase whispered as he lifted her chin again.

“And what are you?” She slapped his hand.

“We’re all fine,” Shawn said, a little louder as if to caution them that Burnett could hear.

She and Chase faced him and Della tilted her head to the side to hear the voice on the line.

“Is everyone else okay?” Burnett’s voice came from the phone.

“Yeah.” Shawn looked down at his bleeding shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” Burnett asked, hearing his lie.

“I got cut, but it’s not bad.”

Burnett moaned. “Did we get anything?”

“Well, it didn’t go down like we wanted. We’re going to need a paddy wagon.”

Burnett moaned again. “How many?”

“Eight.” Shawn walked off and Della couldn’t hear Burnett anymore.

“You really okay?” Chase asked her and reached for her hand that she’d used to knock out the rogue.

“Stop,” Della snapped.

“Hey?” Shawn looked back over his shoulder. “They are all alive, right?”

Chase glanced at the eight vamps lined up like downed dominos. “Yeah, but I could fix that.” He glared daggers at the vamp who’d hit her.

*   *   *

Della and Chase followed the car with the rogues to the FRU offices. Burnett met them in the entrance. He walked right up to her and lifted her chin.

“It’s just a bruise!” she fumed.

“Which one did it?” he asked in quiet fury.

“What does it matter?”

“The one in the brown T-shirt,” Chase volunteered.

Della scowled at Chase and then back to Burnett. “Why is it that Shawn, who took a knife to his shoulder, just walked past and you never went mother hen on his ass?”

Burnett frowned. “Because my daughter isn’t named after him. Besides, I have a doctor meeting him right now. Now, were you hurt anywhere else?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“The fist,” Chase answered. “She knocked one out. Did a good job of it.”

“I am fine!” Della growled.

Only then did Burnett glance toward Chase. “You okay?”

“Not a bruise.”

“Bragger!” Della mouthed off.

Burnett looked at the door. “Can you see that Della gets back to Shadow Falls? We’ll take over from here.”

“No!” Della and Chase said at the same time.

Della tilted her bruised chin back. “I … we want to know if they have anything on Liam.”

Burnett’s expression hardened, but the look in his eyes said he wasn’t going to give them a fight. He turned and looked at another agent standing by a front desk. “Take them into room six to watch the interviews.”

Chase moved beside Burnett. Della noticed that Burnett only had about an inch of height on Chase.

“I should do the interviews,” Chase said.