Midnight Rising (Midnight Breed 4)

As a dark sedan came flying up the road from the opposite direction, Rio's veins lit up like firecrackers.

Madre de Dios.

Dylan was in that car.

With a hard crank of the wheel, he threw his vehicle into a sideways skid, blocking the road and ready to fight to the death for Dylan. The oncoming sedan's brakes squealed, tires smoking on the pavement. It lurched to a stop, then the driver - a human, by the look of the big man at the wheel - made a sharp right and gunned it up a dark, tree-lined service road.

With a curse, Rio threw his car into gear and went after them.

Up ahead, the sedan crashed through a temporary barricade in the road, then made a hard stop. Two people climbed out of the backseat - Dylan and the vampire who held her. The bastard had a gun jammed under her chin as he hauled her up the quiet road into the dark.

Rio braked to a stop and leapt out of the driver's seat, his own gun pulled from its holster and leveled at her captor's head. But he couldn't shoot. The chance of hitting Dylan was too great. More than he was willing to risk.

Not that he had much time to consider it.

The huge guard who'd been at the wheel of the sedan came around the car and started firing at Rio. A bullet ripped into his shoulder, searing hot pain. He kept shooting at Rio, trying to drive him back with a relentless hail of gunfire.

Rio dodged the attack and vaulted across the distance using all the Breed power at his command. He fell upon the human - a Minion, he realized as he stared down into the dead eyes. Rio grabbed him by the throat and then put his other hand on the bastard's forehead. He sent all his fury into his fingertips, draining the life out of the Minion with that brief, simple touch.

He left the corpse in the middle of the road and took off on foot to find Dylan.

Dylan stumbled alongside her captor, the hard cold press of a gun's muzzle jammed under her chin. She could hardly see where he was taking her, but somewhere, not very distant, rushing water roared like thunder.

And then gunfire.

"No!" she screamed, hearing the sharp blasts behind her in the dark. She felt a jab of pain and knew that Rio had been hit. But he was still breathing. Thank God, he was still alive. Still reaching out to her through the heat that coursed through her blood.

A cruel yank of her head brought Dylan back around. The vampire who held her forced her to run with him, up the narrow pavement and closer to the source of the falling water.

Before she knew it, they were heading onto a tall bridge. On one side, a reservoir spread out for what looked like miles, the dark water sparkling in the moonlight. And on the other side, a sheer drop from what looked like about two hundred feet.

The spillway below was white with the rush of water cascading over the graduated incline and the huge rocks that spread down into the churning river at its base. Dylan stared over the tall metal rail of the bridge, seeing a certain death in all that furious water.

"Dragos."

Rio's voice cut through the darkness on the entrance of the bridge.

"Let her go."

Dylan's captor jerked her to a halt on the bridge. He swung her around, the gun still biting into her jaw. His chuckle vibrated against her, low and malicious.

"Let her go? I don't think so. Come and get her." Rio took a step toward them and that cold nose of the gun at Dylan's throat stuck even deeper. "Put down your weapon, warrior. She will die right here."

Rio glared, amber flashing in his eyes. "I said let her go, damn it."

"Put the gun down," her assailant said. "Do it now. Or would you prefer to see me tear out her throat?"

Rio's gaze went to Dylan's. His jaw was tight, his tension visible even in the darkness. With a hissed oath, he slowly put his weapon on the ground and stood back up. "Okay," he said carefully. "Now let's finish this, you and I. Leave her out of it, Dragos. Or should I call you Gerard Starkn? Gordon Fasso, maybe?"

The vampire chuckled, clearly amused. "My little ruse has come to an end, has it? No matter. You're about fifty years too late. I've been busy. What my father started by hiding the Ancient, I am finishing. While the Order has been chasing its ass, taking out Rogues like they were actually making a difference in the world, I've been sowing the seeds of the future. A great many seeds. Today you call me Dragos; soon the world will call me Master."

Rio inched forward and Dylan's captor turned the gun from its aim on her to Rio instead. Dylan felt the flex of the vampire's muscles as he prepared to squeeze the trigger and she took the only chance she had. With a sharp jut of her hand, she knocked his arm and the bullet shot off into the trees.

She didn't see the blow coming.

Her captor drew his other arm back and let his fist fly, connecting with the side of her head. She went careening, crashing hard onto the pavement.

"No!" Rio shouted.