Midnight Rising (Midnight Breed 4)

"Did they get the vampire who did it?"

"No. They're still investigating the murder." Reichen cleared his throat and went on. "Since the deceased was an elder - Gen One, in fact - and a member of the Enforcement Agency, there is understandable concern that the whole thing is set to explode into scandal. It's a very sensitive situation."

Rio gave a wry snort. "No doubt."

Well, at least he wasn't the only one among the Breed with piss-poor judgment lately. Even the fully sane, cultured members of the vampire nation had their bad days. Not that it made Rio regret his own fleet of mistakes any less.

"I need to touch base with Boston," he told Reichen, running his palm over his brow to wipe away the sheen of cold sweat that was beginning to gather there. A wave of nausea tried to rise up on him but he held it back with sheer willpower. Damn. He had to hold his shit together at least until sundown, when he could run out for a while and feed.

If the coming blackout didn't drop him before he got the chance.

"Is anything wrong?" Reichen asked him, concern furrowing his brow.

"I'm fine," Rio muttered.

The other vampire didn't look the least bit convinced, even if he was too well-bred to say so. His dark gaze flicked down to Rio's arms, where beneath the rolled-back sleeves of his shirt, his glyphs were infusing with deeper, more intense color. He could claim from here to Sunday that he was right as rain, but those skin markings would give him away every time. The damn things were emotional barometers that visually broadcasted a Breed vampire's state of mind - from hunger to satiation, rage to joy, lust, contentment, and everything in between.

At the moment, Rio's dermaglyphs had saturated in hues of deep red, purple, and black - plain evidence that he was hurting and hungry.

"I need a phone with a secure line," he told Reichen.

"Now. If you could, please."

"Of course. Come, you may use my office."

Reichen gestured for Rio to follow him back into the room where he'd been meeting with his nephew. The study was large and richly appointed, full of Old World elegance like the rest of the Darkhaven estate. Reichen went around a claw-footed monstrosity of a desk and opened a small hidden panel built into the polished mahogany surface.

He pushed a button on an electronic keypad, which made two of the tall bookcases across the room begin to separate, revealing a large, flat panel screen mounted behind them.

"Video teleconferencing, available if you wish," he said, as Rio came farther into the room. "Dial an eight to reach our operator for a secure outside line. And take as long as you like in here. You'll have complete privacy."

Rio nodded his thanks.

"Do you need anything else right now?" his generous host asked. "Or anything for our, ah, guest upstairs?"

"Yeah," Rio said. "Actually, I told her I'd bring her something to eat."

Reichen smiled. "Then I'll go have something special prepared for her."

"Thank you," Rio said. Then, "Hey, Reichen. There's something you probably should know. That female up there...she's a Breedmate. I didn't realize it until just a few minutes ago, but she's got the mark. It's on the back of her neck."

"Ah." The German vampire considered that for a moment. "And does she know what that makes her? What that makes the rest of us?"

"No. Not yet." Rio picked up the cordless phone on Reichen's desk and hit the number eight on the keypad. Then he started dialing the private line that would route him to the Order's compound. "She doesn't know anything about any of that. But I have a feeling I'm going to be spelling it all out for her real soon."

"Then perhaps I'd better have a cocktail prepared for the lady as well. A strong one." Reichen strode to the open double doors of the study. "I will let you know when her meal is ready. If there is anything you need, just ask and it is yours."

"Thanks."

When the heavy wood doors clicked shut, Rio turned his full attention to the ringing phone line on the other end of his call. The compound's computerized answering intercepted and he punched in the code for the tech lab.

Gideon picked up without hesitation. "Talk to me, buddy."

"I'm at Reichen's," Rio said, unnecessary information since the compound's system had certainly already confirmed the incoming phone number. But Rio's head was pounding too hard for him to do a lot of extraneous processing. He needed to convey his relevant intel while he was still making sense. "The trip was uneventful, and I'm here with the woman at Reichen's Darkhaven."

"You got her contained somewhere?"

"Yeah," Rio replied. "She's cooling her heels in a guest room upstairs."