Midnight Rising (Midnight Breed 4)

Being alone after Rio left had made Dylan restless as hell. Her mind was spinning, emotions churning. And she couldn't help thinking about her life back in New York. She had to let her mother know that she was all right at the very least.

Flipping on a lamp, Dylan padded into the bedroom and retrieved her cell phone from its hiding place. She'd practically forgotten about it since she arrived there, having taken it out of her pants pocket and stuffed it under the mattress of Rio's bed the first chance she'd gotten to ditch the thing for safekeeping.

She powered it up, trying to muffle the musical chime as the phone came alive. It was a miracle there was any juice left in the battery at all, but she figured the single bar of remaining power was better than nothing.

Voice mail waiting, the illuminated display informed her.

She had service again.

Oh, thank God.

The number for call-back on the first voice mail was a New York exchange - one of Coleman Hogg's office lines. She retrieved the message and wasn't a bit surprised to hear him sputter and curse about her rudeness in standing up his freelance photographer in Prague.

Dylan skipped the rest of his diatribe and went to the next message. It was her mom, received two days ago, just calling to check in and say she loved her and hoped she was having fun. She sounded tired, that feathery quality to her voice making Dylan's heart go tight in her chest.

There was another message from her boss. This time he was even more angry. He was docking her pay for the cameraman's fee, and he was considering the e-mail he'd received from her about taking extra time abroad to be her resignation. Effective immediately, Dylan was unemployed.

"Great," she muttered under her breath as she skipped to the next call.

She couldn't really get worked up over the loss of the job itself, but the lack of a paycheck was going to hurt real quick. Unless she found something better, something bigger. Something monumental. Something with real teeth...or fangs, as it were.

"No," she told herself sharply before the idea could fully form in her mind.

No way could she take this story public now. Not when she still had more questions than answers - when she had become a part of the story herself, bizarre as it was to think that.

And then there was Rio.

If she needed one reason to protect what she'd learned about another species existing alongside humankind, he was it. She didn't want to betray him, or put his kind at risk of any sort. She was past that, now that she was coming to know him. Now that she was coming to care for him, as dangerous as that might prove to be.

What happened between them a short while ago rattled her big-time. The kiss had been amazing. The feel of Rio's body pressed so intimately against hers had been the hottest thing she'd ever known. And the feel of his teeth - his fangs - grazing the fragile skin of her neck had been both terrifying and erotic. Would he really have bitten her? And if he had, what would it have done to her?

Based on how fast he bolted out of the room, she didn't expect she would ever have those answers. And really, she shouldn't feel so empty at the thought.

What she needed to do was get herself out of this place - wherever she was - and get back to her own life. Back to being there for her mom, who was probably going crazy with worry now that Dylan had been out of touch for three full days.

The next three incoming calls had been from the runaway shelter, all received yesterday and last night. There were no messages, but the close timing of them seemed to indicate some urgency.

Dylan hit the speed-dial button for her mom's house and waited as the phone rang unanswered on the other end. No answer on her mom's cell phone either. With her heart in her throat, Dylan brought up the number for the shelter. Janet picked up her mom's extension.

"Good morning. Sharon Alexander's office."

"Janet, hi. It's Dylan."

"Oh...hi, honey. How are you doing?" The question sounded oddly careful, as if Janet already knew - or thought she knew - that Dylan was probably not having a good day. "Are you at the hospital?"

"The what - no." Dylan's stomach sank. "What's going on? Is it Mom? What's wrong?"

"Oh, Lord," Janet breathed softly. "You mean, you don't know? I thought Nancy was going to call you...Where are you, Dylan - are you back home yet?"

"No," she said, hardly aware she was talking for the cold ache opening up her chest. "No, I'm, ah...I'm still out of town. Where's my mom, Janet? Is she okay? What's happened to her?"

"She'd been feeling a little run-down after the river cruise the other night, but yesterday afternoon she collapsed here at the shelter. Dylan, honey, she's not doing well right now. We took her to the hospital and they admitted her."

"Oh, God." Dylan's whole body felt numbed out, frozen in place. "Is it a relapse?"

"They think so, yes." Janet's voice was the quietest it had ever been. "I'm so sorry, honey."

Lucan hadn't been happy to be roused out of bed with Gabrielle in the middle of the day, but as soon as he heard the reason for the interruption, the Order's leader was all business, instantly snapped to attention. He'd thrown on a pair of dark jeans and an unbuttoned silk oxford, and came out to the corridor where Rio, Nikolai, and Chase waited.