Kiss of Midnight_ A Midnight Breed Novel - Lara Adrian [492]
“Those private sports clubs have been outlawed for decades,” Chase said.
“Right,” Rio agreed, all sarcasm, since the ex–Darkhaven Agent seemed intent on being a prick. “So now they print the invitations in invisible ink and you need a secret decoder ring to get past the door.”
“Same MO on the Berlin Gen One?” Niko asked.
“No, not a gunshot wound. According to Reichen’s sources, this sports lover ended up losing his head.”
Niko whistled low under his breath. “That’s two of the top three methods for killing a first generation Breed vampire. Option Three being UV exposure, and let’s face it, the least effective way unless you have a leisurely ten to fifteen minutes to devote to your work.”
“The two killings could be unrelated,” Rio said, not sure his instincts could be trusted on this anyway. But damn if warning bells weren’t clamoring in his head like a cathedral belfry on Easter Sunday.
“Something’s off,” Chase said, finally getting with the program. “I don’t like the feel of this either. Two dead Gen Ones in a matter of, what, a week’s time? And both of them smelling like executions?”
“We don’t know that’s what they were,” Niko cautioned. “Come on, think of the odds here. If you live for a thousand years or so, you’re bound to piss someone off. Someone who might want to shoot you in the back of your limo, or guillotine you at a blood club.”
“And the Darkhavens don’t want word of either slaying going public?” Rio added.
Chase’s tawny brows came together tightly. “Berlin’s on hush mode, too?”
“Yeah. Reichen said they were keeping it quiet to avoid a scandal. Doesn’t look good to anyone if a pillar of your community gets toppled in a sports club full of blooded, dead humans.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Chase agreed. “But two dead Gen Ones is a pretty serious hit to the entire vampire nation. There can’t be more than twenty first generation individuals still alive among the entire population—Lucan and Tegan included. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.”
Nikolai nodded. “That’s true. And it’s not like we can make any more.”
A chilling thought sank into Rio’s gut. “Not unless we had a live Ancient, a Breedmate, and about twenty years’ lead time.”
Both warriors looked at him with grave expressions.
Niko raked a hand through his blond hair. “Ah, fuck. You don’t think—”
“I pray to God I’m wrong,” Rio said. “But we’d better wake Lucan.”
CHAPTER
Twenty
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