Page 26 of Bloodbane
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Braving the Storm
{ R U B Y }
The buzzing reaches me first, followed by blurred motion dancing in and out of my peripheral vision. I swipe at the small black and yellow creatures flitting through the air as they dart at me, their fuzzy little bodies swarming my face and landing on my cheek…
The sharp sting of my palm striking my face jolts me awake.
“Ow, shit!”
I blink the disorientation away until the blurry numbers of my alarm clock solidify into straight lines. They glow angrily at me as they tick over. 2:36 am. My phone scuttles across the bedside table with every vibration—the real source of the dream buzzing. I scowl at the cheery photo of Milo smiling on the screen. My thumb hovers over the reject option just long enough to make myself feel a fraction better before taking the call.
“I swear to God, this better be important, Murphy.”
“I hate to be calling so late,” Milo says apologetically, “but I wanted to let you know that someone broke into the clinic. I tried to get a hold of Cooper, but he isn’t answering.”
“No surprises there, but this qualifies as a middle-of-the-night emergency, how exactly?” I sigh, scrubbing my hand over my closed eyes, feeling the grainy remnants of sleep at the back of my lids. “And why the hell are you at the clinic at this hour anyway?”
“I’m not. I’m escorting Mari—uh, Ms Taylor to Baynton. It seemed prudent to have supplies for the trip, just in case. When I got to the clinic, the door had been forced open and items were missing. I thought you should know.”
“Wait, wait, roll that back a few frames. Why are you taking Maria on a three-hour road trip before three in the morning? There’s a storm on the way, Milo. Or it could be here, I don’t know, what with being asleep and all,” I add, driving the guilt spike a little deeper for good measure. “But either way, now is not the time to be canoodling with a heavily pregnant woman.”
“Ruby. I’m not, we’re not—” Milo clears his throat. “She’s having contractions. They’re just Braxton Hicks, but with her being due in a few days, I’m worried that if we don’t leave now and the storm sets in, we’ll be stuck. With her being a high-risk pregnancy, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“That’s… that’s very good thinking, actually.” I concede with a yawn. “Do you need me to tag along? I can be ready in like fifteen… twenty minutes.”
“No, that’s the other reason I’m calling—we’re already on our way. I’m not sure how much longer I’ll have cell service, but I’ll send you updates when I can.”
“You better. If I don’t hear from you by tomorrow night, I’m sending a search party—complete with balloons, cake, those annoying string popper things, the whole nine yards. And you know I don’t make empty threats.”
Milo’s chuckle cuts out halfway through. “I’ll text you a list of the missing supplies once we’re in Baynton.”
“Why? Do you want Coop to put out a BOLO on tongue depressors and dinosaur band-aids?”
The answering sigh on the other end of the line is an oddly soothing lullaby, and I can’t fight the second yawn.
“Drive safe, Milo,” I mumble sleepily.
“G‘night, Ruby.”
I click off the call and toss the phone back onto the bedside table. I barely have time to wonder what in the clinic could be worth braving the storm before sleep claims me once more.