Midnight Rising (Midnight Breed 4)

Rio stood in the compound's tech lab surrounded by Lucan, Gideon, and Tegan, who'd each greeted him with a hand offered in genuine friendship and trust.

Tegan's grasp lingered the longest, and Rio knew that the stony warrior with the tawny hair and gem-green eyes was able to read his guilt and uncertainty through the link of their clasped hands. That was Tegan's gift, to pine true emotion with a touch.

He gave a nearly imperceptible shake of his head. "Shit happens, man. And God knows we all have our own personal demons yanking our chains. So, no one's here to judge you. Got it?"

Rio nodded as Tegan let go of his hand. As he passed off Dylan's messenger bag to Gideon, he cast a glance toward the back of the lab, where Dante and Chase were cleaning their weapons for the night. Dante gave him a tip of his chin, but Chase's steely look said his jury was still out when it came to Rio. Smart man. Rio figured the ex - Darkhaven Agent's reaction was probably the same one he'd have if the tables were turned and Chase was the one flying in deadstick and in need of a rescue.

"How much does the woman know about us?" Lucan asked.

At nine hundred years old and first generation Breed, the Order's founder and formidable leader could command control of an entire room with just a quirk of his black brows. Rio considered him a friend - all of the warriors were as near as kin to one another - and he hated like hell that he might have disappointed him.

"I only gave her the basics," Rio replied. "I don't think she fully believes it yet."

Lucan grunted, nodding thoughtfully. "It's a hell of a lot to deal with. Does she understand the purpose behind that crypt in the rock?"

"Not really. She heard me call it a hibernation chamber when Gideon and I were talking, but she doesn't know anything more than that. I sure as hell don't plan to clue her in. Bad enough she saw the damn thing for herself." Rio exhaled a harsh breath. "She's smart, Lucan. I don't think it will take her long to start putting the pieces into place."

"Then we'd better act fast. The fewer potential details we have to clean up later, the better," Lucan said. He glanced at Gideon, who had Dylan's laptop open on the computer console beside him. "How hard do you think it will be to hack in and lose those pictures she's sent out via e-mail?"

"Deleting the source files on her camera and computer is easy. Half a minute's work."

"What about getting rid of the recipients' image and text files?"

Gideon scrunched up his face as if he were calculating the square root of Bill Gates's net worth. "About ten minutes for delivery of your basic hard-drive wrecking ball to all of the computers on her distribution list. Thirteen, if you're looking for something with a little more finesse."

"I don't give a rat's ass about finesse," Lucan said. "Just do whatever you need to trash the pictures and kill any text references to what she found on that mountain.">"I'm scared," she whispered, her voice small and thready from the long sleep he'd put her in. She wasn't aware of the trance or the travel. To her human mind, she was still in Reichen's Darkhaven, her consciousness put on pause in the moments before she and Rio left for Boston. "I'm afraid of where you're taking me..."

"You're already here," Rio told her. "We just arrived."

A look of panic bled into her eyes. "Where - "

"I've brought you to the Order's compound. You're in my quarters, and you're safe here."

She glanced around her, quickly taking in her surroundings. "You live here?"

"I used to." He stood up and backed away from the bed. "Make yourself comfortable. If you need anything at all, just ask. I'll see that you get it."

"How about a ride to my place in New York?" she said, her systems clearly coming back online now. "Or a GPS map of where you're currently holding me, and I'll find my own way home?"

Rio crossed his arms over his chest. "This is your home for now, Dylan. Because you are a Breedmate, you will be treated with all the respect due you. You'll have food and comfort, whatever you need. You won't be locked inside these apartments, but I assure you there is nowhere for you to run even if you tried. The compound is completely secure. My brethren and I will not harm you, but if you attempt to leave these quarters, we'll know before you take the first step into the corridor. If you try to escape, I will find you, Dylan."

She was quiet for a long second, watching him speak, measuring his words. "And then what will you do to me, hold me down and take a bite out of my throat?"

Cristo.

Rio felt all the blood drain from his head at the very thought. He knew she expected the act to be one of violence, but to him the image of pressing Dylan down beneath him as he pierced her tender skin with his fangs was one of total sensuality.

Arousal spiraled through him in a hot coil, all of it pooling in his groin.

He could still feel the silky warmth of her skin in his fingertips, and now another part of him craved to know her. He turned away, angered at his body's swift, urgent reaction to her.

"When I was in Jicin, I heard about a man who was attacked by a demon. An old farmer witnessed it, said this demon came down off a nearby mountain to feed. To drink human blood."

Rio stood there, staring at the door in front of him while Dylan spoke. He knew the night she referred to, remembered it clearly because it was the last time he'd allowed himself to feed. He'd gone more than two weeks without nourishment when he prowled onto a humble farm outside the forest at the base of the mountains.

He'd been starving and it had made him careless. An old man came upon him - saw the attack, saw Rio holding the human throat in his teeth. It was a reckless slip, and the interruption was likely the only thing that saved Rio's prey from an out of control feeding that might have meant his death. He stopped hunting that very night, afraid of what he might become.

"It was just an exaggeration, right?" Dylan's voice got a little quieter during his answering silence. "You didn't really do that. Did you, Rio?"