Medium Rare: (Intermix) (21 page)

“‘Do not expect sensitivity to personal information,’” Rose blurted. “‘Do not tell any vital secrets.’”

Autumn and Marcella stared.

Rose felt like putting her hand over her mouth. For someone who’d spent the last couple of years keeping quiet about virtually every detail of her life, she’d suddenly turned into Chatty Cathy.

Marcella sighed. “Oh, honey. Are you sure you don’t want a margarita?”

“What she needs,” Autumn said, flatly, “is enchiladas. Which, fortunately, should be just about done by now.”

For the first time, Rose realized the house smelled terrific—cumin, melted cheese, that slight tang of chilies. Yes, enchiladas sounded exactly right.

“Lead the way,” she murmured.

An hour later, when she got back to the car, she found Helen chewing contentedly on the backseat upholstery, having finished the rawhide long before. Tufts of polyester fill showed through where her incisors had punctured the vinyl.

“Geez, for a mythical beast, you sure have a solid set of teeth on you.” Rose turned the car back toward King William, feeling better. Autumn was a sweetheart. Even Marcella had her good points. She was happily full of enchiladas and salad and so much tea that she hoped they didn’t hit too many stoplights on the way back home. Helen dozed happily in the backseat, her snores reverberating through the car.

The heavy humidity in the air had condensed into light mist that would probably become real rain within the hour. She headed up her driveway, wondering if her hair had assumed the usual Brillo pad texture that came with humidity.

In the backseat, Helen woke up suddenly, sitting bolt upright. “It’s okay, girl, we’re back home now,” she soothed.

Helen growled, deep in her throat.

Rose stopped in the process of opening her door. The front yard looked empty. The porch light glowed next to the door—she couldn’t see anyone standing there. She squinted at the shadows lurking around the side of the house, but nothing was obvious. “Okay, Helen, let’s go,” she murmured, feeling a lot less confident than she had a few minutes before.

Helen growled again. Rose reached quickly into the backseat to fasten on the dog’s leash before opening the door. She had a feeling the hellhound was planning to take off the moment she got a chance.

Helen’s eyes were fixed on the front door. Rose checked again. She still couldn’t see anyone, but for the first time she noticed, with a chill down the back of her neck, that the door was open.

She gave the leash a quick tug. Helen slid out of the car, keeping low to the ground and growling. Her immense ears were plastered back against the sides of her head. Rose didn’t bother telling her everything was okay.

Because clearly, it wasn’t.

Call the cops.
She paused for a moment, considering. What if there was nothing there? What if Evan’s friend Harry showed up, ready and willing to do a search of the Riordan house, looking for tidbits that might be used against her.
Not yet.

She fumbled for her cell phone, just in case, and then let Helen tow her to the front steps. As she reached the stairs leading to the porch, Helen jerked back, pulling the leash taut against her wrist, then erupted in a frenzy of barking.

Rose stared at the open front door. A woman lay crumpled facedown on the floor of the entry hall. A very familiar woman, her honey-colored hair tangled around her head.

“Oh Christ, no,” Rose whispered. “No. Ma, please!”

She dropped to her knees beside her mother, her fingers fumbling for her wrist. Behind her she heard the click of Helen’s claws on the wooden floor as she came to stand alongside.

Her mother’s skin was cool to his touch, but she felt a faint fluttering of pulse beneath her fingertips. Rose took another breath, then stabbed 911 into her cell.

“Hang on, Ma,” she muttered. “I’ll take care of you. I promise.”

Twenty minutes later, the ambulance with her mother pulled out of the driveway, heading for the hospital. Rose sped up so that she was right behind. She was half aware of another car coming down the street, but she didn’t pay any attention. Following her mother suddenly took all her strength and concentration.

There are forces that are hostile to the Riordans.
And it looked like one of them had just taken a shot at her.

Chapter 23

Evan was sort of asleep on his couch. Since it was only nine and since his current condition was partially the result of a liberal application of bourbon, technically he could be described as sort of passed out.

Whatever the source, he’d finally managed to more or less escape consciousness, which meant he could finally stop thinking about Rose Ramos or Riordan or whatever the hell she wanted to call herself. Unfortunately, being passed out only meant that he’d switched from conscious thoughts of Rose to unconscious thoughts of Rose. It was definitely not the most restful sleep he’d ever had.

His head slipped down on the sofa cushions and he drifted deeper, pushing Rose further and further into the back of his mind where he hoped she’d have the decency to stay.

“Get up, you miserable excuse for a human being!”

The voice was so loud it almost woke him on its own. He stared around his dreamscape, hoping he hadn’t wandered into the dungeon by mistake, but the setting didn’t look familiar. He appeared to be drifting in the middle of featureless darkness. In his half sleep, his shoulders relaxed slightly. No dungeon. No Rose.

“
Did you hear me, you pathetic piece of slime
?”

Evan jerked around in the darkness, trying to see through the gloom. “Addison?”

“Skag. Call me by the right name. It’s Skag. You know that, you slug! She told you who I am!” Addison/Skag stood at the edge of Evan’s vision. His normally impeccable suit looked disheveled. His hair was mussed, as if he’d been running his fingers through it. Evan half-expected steam to issue from his ears.

“What do you want?” Evan approached him gingerly, moving across what felt like boggy ground.

“What do I want? I want you to take responsibility for your actions, you moral gerbil! You did this to her and her family. It’s up to you to save her now.” He ran both hands through his hair again until it stood on end.

“Save her?” Evan felt a jolt deep in his gut. Surely, he wasn’t supposed to feel stuff like that while he was asleep. “Save Rose?”

“Of course, save Rose.” Skag/Addison’s eyes glowed like coals in the darkness. “Have you broken any other hearts lately? If it hadn’t been for you, she’d never have gone out tonight. She would have been home where she should have been. If it hadn’t been for you, none of this would have happened.”

“She’s hurt? Rose is hurt?” Evan grabbed for Addison’s arm and caught only air.

“Keep your hands to yourself,” he snarled, “I’m noncorporeal. And besides, this is a dream.”

“What happened to her?” Evan fought to keep from screaming at the ghost in front of him. “Where is she? Is she all right?”

“Of course she’s not all right. Would I be here if she were?” Addison seemed to shimmer in the darkness like an interrupted transmission, then snap back into focus again. “You have to get up, you great lummox, and go over there now. You have to help her!”

“Help her do what?” Evan’s heart was pounding, which seemed weird given that this conversation wasn’t really happening. “What’s happened? Tell me!”

“
Get up!”
Addison bellowed, his body beginning to swell.
“Get over to her house. Do it now, imbecile!”

Evan’s eyes snapped open, as he rolled off the couch. Fortunately, he had presence of mind enough to break his fall by landing on his shoulder. Which hurt.

Get over to her house!
He grabbed his jeans from the back of the chair where he’d tossed them and pulled his shirt over his head. It took another couple of minutes to locate his shoes under a kitchen chair, but he stepped into them and zipped his pants as he ran out the door.

The drive didn’t take long, but he cursed every red light, every cautious driver, every construction lane. As he turned into Rose’s street he saw an ambulance heading his way, lights flashing. He pulled to the side, heart pounding. Had it come from Rose’s house?

The ambulance sped by. Her car was right behind it, with Rose at the wheel. Evan felt a mighty surge of relief that quickly slipped into confusion. If Rose was all right, who was in the ambulance? And why was she following it? And why had Addison told him to come here?

He pulled into her driveway and began to turn around so that he could follow her, only to hear a long, drawn-out howl.

He stared at the front porch. Helen crouched in front of the door, her head thrown back. The porch light threw shadows around her, and the eerie sound she made raised the hairs on the back of his neck.

He stepped out of the car and climbed the porch steps, watching the dog. When he reached the top, she turned to look at him, her eyes wary. He extended his hand toward her. “What happened, Helen? Did they leave you outside?”

She stared at him for a moment, then let loose another spine-chilling howl.

He tried the knob. “Sorry, it’s locked. I can’t get you into the house.”

The dog ignored him, howling. Her leash still hung loose from her collar. After a moment, Evan picked up the unattached end.

“Come on, dog, I’ve got to find Rose. With any luck they went to the nearest hospital. You can sit in my car.” He winced inwardly at the thought of the damage Helen would probably do to the upholstery if he had to be gone more than a few minutes.
Screw it.

Helen settled into the back of his SUV, as he slid into the driver’s seat. He gunned the motor to back down the driveway, then managed to kill the engine.

“Moron,” said a voice beside him.

He blinked, then turned to his right. Lenore sat in the passenger’s seat staring at him with bright bird eyes.

He checked the rearview mirror. Helen was still stretched across his backseat. She whimpered again.

“Oh, come on!” he groaned. “I don’t have time for this.”

He cranked the engine again, breathing a silent prayer of thanks when it caught. “Okay, you can both come with me. But you’ll have to stay in the car, understand? I’m not going to try to smuggle you into the hospital, even if that were remotely possible.”

Lenore subsided into muttering while he turned the car in the direction of the aid car and Rose.

At the hospital, Evan parked in the nearest lot with an open space, then stepped out of the car with a quick glance back to make sure the animals stayed put. He trotted toward the main entrance. It was the closest hospital to Rose’s house; with any luck it would be where the aid car had gone. After a moment, he heard a clicking sound behind him.

He turned. Helen stood watching him, her head up.

Evan sighed. He must not have closed the door as tightly as he’d thought. “No. Look, I told you, I can’t take you inside.” He waved his hands at the dog, trying to turn her around. “Just go back to the car now.”

Helen stayed where she was.

“All right. So be it. I don’t have time to mess with this anymore.” He turned back toward the automatic doors.

The waiting room was thronged with people sitting in chairs, leaning against walls, walking around the various hallways. He stood in line for a few minutes to reach the information desk, only to be told that admissions information was confidential and couldn’t be shared with anyone who wasn’t a member of the family. Since Evan had no idea who the patient in this case was, he couldn’t come up with any way to claim a family relationship, or even a friendship. Hell, for all he knew, the patient might be a complete stranger.

Behind him, Helen gave a quiet “woof.”

Evan spun around. The dog looked up at him, whimpering urgently. “Quiet,” he hissed. “Do you want to get us both thrown out of here?”

A man leaning against the wall nearby scowled at him. “You talkin’ to me, buddy?”

Evan shook his head. “No, sorry. Just trying to get the dog out of here.”

The man stared at him. “What dog? You see a dog around here? No dogs allowed in the hospital.”

Helen stood calmly at his side. The man looked directly at her, then went back to staring out the window.

Helen barked loudly. Evan jumped. Nobody else did. He looked around the room. Nobody so much as glanced their way.

After a moment, he took a deep breath, staring down the hall toward the swinging doors at the end. “Do you know where they are, dog?” he muttered.

Helen yipped, then trotted down the hall ahead of him.

The dog led him up three flights of stairs, then down a hall with patient rooms on either side. He followed her to the doorway, glancing in around the edge. A woman lay on the bed, her face illuminated by the light over her head. She looked calm, almost serene. Rose’s mother—had to be. She was a dead ringer for her daughter.

Evan grimaced.
Dead ringer
was probably not the best choice of words under the circumstances.

A dark-haired man sat in the chair next to the bed holding her hand, while a couple of doctors huddled at the side of the room studying a printout.

A raucous cackle drew his gaze to the bedrail. Lenore spread her wings, then settled again, staring at him. No one in the room even glanced her way.

After a moment, Evan backed slowly to the chairs at the side of the hall, then sank down heavily. Helen dropped to the floor beside him.
Okay. We are officially entering cloud cuckoo land. Do not pass go. Do not collect your sanity.

They sat outside the room for a half hour or so. People walked up and down the halls—doctors, nurses, orderlies, visitors, even a patient or two—but nobody remarked on the Shetland-pony-size dog flopped on the floor next to his feet. He wasn’t even amazed anymore. In the general scheme of things, it didn’t seem important.

Helen rested her muzzle on his knee, and he found the weight oddly comforting. Somehow he and Helen seemed to be the only ones who realized just how dire the situation was.

Except for Rose.

He saw her before she saw him. She stood at the end of the hall, staring out the window, her arms wrapped around her waist as if she were trying to comfort herself and not really succeeding. He wanted to go to her, to take her in his arms and comfort her himself, but he didn’t want to startle her. It might make her inclined to punch him.

Not that you don’t deserve it.

Helen had no problems with startling her, though. The dog yipped loudly and Rose swiveled toward them. Her gaze met Evan’s. She stood staring for a moment, her expression blank. Then she moved toward them. Helen whimpered slightly, moving her head against Evan’s knees.

“Evan?” Rose’s voice was level. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to help if I can. I guess that’s your mother in there.”

“Good guess.” She closed her eyes for a moment, then knelt beside him to tickle Helen’s ears. “Why did you bring the hound?”

He shrugged. “I couldn’t seem to keep her away.”

“No, I suppose you couldn’t. And Lenore?”

He shrugged again. “Another hitchhiker. They probably could both have gotten here on their own, but maybe I was faster.”

She sank into the chair beside him. “Both of them came with you. I should have known.”

He took a breath and blew it out. “Nobody else can see them, can they? Just you and me.”

She shook her head. “Nope. Just you and me. And maybe Ma—if she were awake, that is.” She glanced back at her mother’s room again.

He took another breath, willing himself not to touch her yet. Not until he knew she wouldn’t spit in his face. “What happened, Rose? What’s wrong with your mother?”

She shook his head. “I found her like that in the doorway to my house. I don’t know what happened before I got there. How did you know to come here tonight?”

He licked his lips again. “I had a dream.”

“About my mother?”

“Sort of. A warning. A message to go to your house.”

“I see.” She nodded slowly. “So what avatar does he use with you?”

He stared at her. “Avatar?”

“He told me he’d been visiting your dreams, but he didn’t tell me what he looked like when he did.” She closed her eyes, rubbing a hand across the back of her neck. “He’s always Skag, though. Deep down.”

Evan opened his mouth and then closed it again. His choices seemed clear. He could stay in rational land, where he’d always lived happily. Or he could accept that the world was basically ass– backward from what he’d always thought was true.

Rational land beckoned. He waved it a quick goodbye.

“He looks like that actor from the fifties you told me about. George Sanders, I guess.”

She nodded, opening her eyes again. “I never wanted to be in the middle of this, you know. I sure as hell didn’t want anything to happen to my family. My mother walked out of that house when she was eighteen, and she made sure I didn’t spend any time there myself. I guess she thought she could end the whole cycle once and for all. She should have known better. Grandma always got what she wanted. She did an end run around her when she gave me that house. You don’t get away from three generations of Riordans that easily.”

“You think this has something to do with your grandmother? With her . . . profession?”

Rose turned to look at him, her shoulders slumping. “I don’t know anything about what happened, Evan. I wasn’t there. If I knew what was going on, I’d help her.”

“Why didn’t your mother want to, well, take over for your grandmother?”

“We never talked about it, but I’ve got my own guesses. Once you start down that road, it’s hard to turn back. Believe me, I know. She wanted my dad and her family. Grandma couldn’t understand that. It wasn’t what Riordan women did.”

“And your mother didn’t explain all of this to you? She didn’t tell you what to expect when you moved in?”

“No. I think she was afraid if I knew I’d want to see it for myself. She was trying to protect me.” Her mouth twisted. “See how well that turned out?”

He glanced back at the open door to her mother’s room. “You think this was supernatural? That it had something to do with what happened to Brenda Cerrone and Alana DuBois?”

“Don’t you?”

He sighed. “I wish I didn’t.”

“Me, too.” She rubbed the back of her neck again. “There’s always been some danger lurking around the family, according to Skag. He didn’t tell me exactly what it was and I didn’t insist. Maybe I didn’t want to know. And that was stupid of me.”