Kylie recalled that Lucas had accused the P.I. of being part of the problem. "I'm not blaming him. I'm sorry he got hurt. Is he really okay?"
Derek nodded. "Yeah."
"Does he remember anything?" she asked, hoping all this could be solved that easily.
"No. And that's strange. It's almost as if he's had his memory erased. And there aren't many people who can do that."
"Maybe it's just a concussion."
"That's what the doctor thinks and what Burnett believes, but..." He ran another hand through his hair. "Be careful, Kylie. I heard about what happened-about that Mario guy and his grandson." His gaze dropped. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you."
"You had to do what Burnett wanted," she said, even though she clearly remembered begging him not to go.
"I'm serious about you being careful. I just think there could be more to all this than meets the eye."
"More like what?" she asked.
He shook his head. "I can't explain it. I just remember fighting with that rogue at the Wild Life Park that night, and he seemed different. Eerie different."
"I got the same feeling," she confessed.
"Be careful." He reached out as if to touch her, then pulled back.
"I will." She watched him stick his hands into his pockets. Their gazes met again, and it took everything Kylie had not to insist he talk to Holiday and try to fix the problem with reading her emotions too strongly. Instead she walked away. Something told her it was the right thing.
But could someone please tell her why doing the right thing hurt so damn much?
* * *
The moment Kylie hit the edge of the woods, she started running, wanting to outrun the living, breathing ache in her chest. In a few seconds, Della was beside her.
"You okay?" Her feet thudded in rhythm with Kylie's own footfalls.
"No," Kylie answered, and ducked beneath a tree limb.
"Where are we going?" Della asked a few minutes later when Kylie turned and headed in the opposite direction of their cabin.
"I want to run," Kylie said.
"Okay." Della stayed beside her.
They ran and ran. When Kylie spotted the fence at the end of the Shadow Falls property line, she stopped and dropped to the ground. Curling her arms around her bent legs, she rested her forehead on her knees. Her lungs worked overtime as she fed them wood-scented air that still carried the scent of rain.
Della, not even winded, sat beside her. The sounds of the forest surrounded them-a bird stirred in the trees, some unnamed creature shuffled in some underbrush not far away. But mostly Kylie heard her own heart racing, sending gushing sounds through her ears.
"Your heart's still beating fast," Della said.
"I know." Kylie kept her face down.
"He was telling the truth."
Kylie knew Della was talking about Derek. "I know."
"I tried not to listen, but it was impossible. I considered moving farther away, but then I wouldn't be doing my job as shadow."
Kylie raised her head. Her gaze went to the fence and she realized where they were. Just through the barbed wire were the dinosaur tracks. And the creek where Lucas had kissed her. She let herself think about it for a second, because thinking about Derek hurt.
Then she looked back at Della. "You listen in on my private conversations, but then you don't share."