The words came to Max as through water, garbled and hard to decode. When he understood them, he struggled. Nothing held him down, but something definitely pinned him from the sides. Canvas, if his eyes weren't fooling him.

"Bella!" He thrashed in his hammocklike prison, but he couldn't quite get his arms free. "Bella!"

"We've got her. You're going to be okay." A pale face peered over the edge of the litter. "What's your name?"

"She's pregnant. Is she okay? She's pregnant." He closed his eyes, willing himself to focus on the noise around him. If he could just hear her voice… "Bella!"

"She's fine. What's your name?" the medic repeated.

What the hell had happened? Where was he? What were these people doing?

The car. Rolling down the embankment. Blood. Everywhere, there had been blood.

Oh, God, he wasn't with the paramedics, was he?

They could put him in the hospital, sedate him, stick him in a nice, sunny room with an eastern exposure…

"I'm allergic to sunlight!" he shouted, finally freeing his hand to reach for the face before him. "I can't be in the daylight!"

The woman's face twisted into a demonic vision. Max had never been so happy to see something so nightmarish in his entire life.

"We know," she said with curt efficiency. "What's your name?"

"Max Harrison. I'm—" He'd almost blurted, "I'm Movement." That would have been smooth.

What the vampire said next was music to his ears. "Max Harrison, by authority of the Voluntary Vampire Extinction Movement, I'm placing you under arrest."

"I'm Movement." He gave a tired laugh. It was increasingly difficult to stay awake. "When there was one."

"What?" The woman's pale face went paler. "What did you say?"

"Leave him alone, he's not in any shape for interrogation," another voice admonished. "Get him into the van."

"Bella. Where's Bella?" Max's stomach turned. Why wouldn't they tell him anything? "I need her. I need to see Bella."

"You will," the male vampire assured him. "You will."

Something pricked Max's arm. Sleepy warmth spread through his veins, and everything went dark.

When Max woke again, he was in a hospital bed. He started, scanning the room frantically for a window. When he didn't find one, fragmented memories came back to him. He was with Movement. He was fine.

He tried to sit up. His arms were tied to the bed rails.

With a frustrated groan, he tugged futilely at his restraints. Leather. Not too shabby. Nothing he couldn't break free from on a good day, but this was definitely not a good day.

"Anybody out there?" No one answered his call. "Hey, can somebody hear me?"