She was losing him.
Death had been a constant at the labs. She’d grown up with it. Been surrounded by it. But for some reason, facing Gage’s death was simply too much to ask of her.
He had to survive. No matter what.
Jordyn left the little storm cellar where they were hidden and found her way outside. She was right where she thought, in the middle of nowhere, miles from the nearest town. This ranch might have been filled with people fifty years ago, but it was little more than wood, metal and cobwebs now. All the people who had run the ranch had long since moved on, leaving nothing behind but vacant, crumbling buildings.
The nearest road with any kind of traffic was over a mile away—too far for her to move Gage. And even if she did go out there, most of the cars she’d encounter would be on their way to or from the labs. She would have to follow that road for thirty miles or more before she reached a place with any kind of safety. And that was assuming that Mother didn’t have her men posted around the town, looking for them.
No way was Mother going to miss such an important detail.
Jordyn went back to Gage’s side. His breathing was shallow, his pulse weak. Sweat covered his skin, and he shifted in his sleep, moaning quietly from the pain.
He wasn’t going to survive for much longer.
Unless she took him back to Mother.
She had a use for Gage, and even if Jordyn didn’t understand it, Mother wouldn’t let him die if he had a purpose for her research.
Jordyn sat for several minutes, searching for other options.
In the end, there was no other choice. She couldn’t let an innocent man die, no matter the consequences to herself.
“I’ll be right back,” she told him, smoothing his hair away from his sweaty forehead. “Don’t worry.”
Before she could change her mind, she went back outside toward the road, knowing every step she took was one step closer to the White Room.
Chapter Thirty
Bella sat in the conference room at the Edge, going through every piece of information they had on Stynger, searching for some pattern to her movements. There had to be something here in all these seemingly unconnected actions. Some glimmer of hope.
Mira walked in and stopped when she saw the array of chaos in paper form.
“Whoa. Dead tree alert,” Mira said, cradling a plastic box in her hands.
“What’s up?” Bella asked. “I’m busy.”
“Not too busy for this. Check it out.” Mira set the box on top of a stack of photos and opened the lid. Inside was a spindly device with several thin wires connected to a series of circuits. In her hand was what looked like a radio handset.
“What is it?”
“An edge, I hope.” She pointed to the handset. “This is like a remote, sending out a blocking signal.”
“What’s the other thing?”
“One of the implants Stynger puts in people’s brains.”
Bella put the pieces together. “You found a way to block Stynger’s device?”
Mira grinned. “I call it a screamer. Payton tested it on one of the guys the surgeons couldn’t fix. He said the man was himself for as long as the signal was active. In a bit of pain—well, a lot of pain—but no longer Stynger’s brain puppet.”
“What’s the range? How many implants will it block? How many of these things can you make?”
“Jeez, Bella. Slow down. How about a little pat on the back before you start slapping me with questions.”
“Sorry, honey. I’m just a bit tense. This is fantastic work. You are so getting a raise.”
Mira beamed. “Thank you. Fifty feet, I don’t know, and about one an hour. More if I have help.”
“What?”
“Your questions. The effective range is about fifty feet. Past that the signal degrades significantly. There shouldn’t be a top capacity for the number of implants it blocks, but I haven’t done that kind of testing, so I don’t know. And if I get some help from some people who know their way around circuitry, we should be able to knock out a dozen by the end of the day. I don’t have parts for more than that.”
“Get on that,” Bella said.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Start issuing them to the employees as fast as you can. Make sure they get whatever training they need. There’s no way of knowing who’s going to run into one of Stynger’s puppets while they’re out in the world. Having those on hand might save a lot of lives.”
Mira’s grin widened with pride. “I’ve still got all my normal work to do, so if there are fires to put out, things might get delayed.”
Bella waved. “Nothing is more important than this. Keep the screamers priority number one.”
“You got it. I’ll be in my office if you need me.”
Mira left. A few minutes later, Lila came in carrying a steaming cup of coffee. “I thought you might need a pick-me-up,” she said. Her drab clothes and mousy hair seemed even duller today than usual. Her eyes and nose were red from crying. Again.
Bella really wanted to find a way to make Lila come out of her shell and learn to live again, but she’d been working with the woman for months with no progress. Lila seemed disinclined to do anything to improve herself. All she did was work and go home. She never hung out with anyone or went on dates. She never even accepted invitations to go to lunch with her coworkers. It was like she didn’t want to make friends.
“Thanks, Lila,” Bella said. “That was thoughtful of you.”
“Can I get you anything else? Do anything for you? You’re probably going somewhere again soon. I could make arrangements for you if you like. Just tell me where you’re going.”
“Right now all I’m doing is sorting through this mess.”
“Can I help?”
“The coffee was help enough. Why don’t you go spend some time in the gym or at the firing range? A little stress relief could do you some good.”
Lila nodded, but said nothing. Bella doubted the woman would leave her desk. She was glued to the thing, even when she didn’t have to be.
Bella shoved her worry for Lila aside for now. She still had three more boxes of papers, files and photos to sort through.
At least she had caffeine to keep her sharp.
* * *
Lila dialed Randolph.
“Yes?” he answered.
“I did what you asked.”
“How did you administer the drug?
“In her coffee.”
“That will work well. Faster than the dose she got from her water heater at home, no doubt.”
It was evil that Lila had done, but she couldn’t think about that right now. Her hands were tied. Even Bella would understand her choices. Lila hoped. “Can I speak to my son now?”
“I’m not with him right now, but you’ll see him tonight, just like I promised. I’ll tell him how brave his mommy is and how much she wants him to come home.”
Lila didn’t even try not to beg. “I need to see him now. I need to know he’s safe.”
“He’ll stay safe for as long as you do what you’re told. We’ll meet tonight after you get off work.”
“And I’ll get my baby back?”
“You think I’m lying?”
She wasn’t sure what to think anymore. There was no one else she could talk to. No one she could trust.
What she did know was she had to play along and not piss off the man who could bring back her son.
“I’m just making sure. That’s all.”
“Relax, Lila. Everything is going to be fine as long as you do what you’re told. Now go on about your work as if nothing has happened. In about twenty minutes, you’re in for a show.”
Randolph hung up.
Lila sat there for a moment, unable to accept what she’d just done. The woman who’d taken her in a
nd given her a job when she had nowhere else to go was sitting down the hall, within arm’s reach of a toxic substance that would do God-knew-what to her.
And Lila had handed it to her.
She couldn’t go through with it. She couldn’t turn on Bella like that. She had to come clean. Confess everything. Beg Bella to rescue her baby boy. If anyone had the power to find and save him, it was Bella.
Lila rushed down the hall to the conference room, her mouth open in anticipation of the confession she was ready to give. The room was empty. So was the coffee cup.
It was too late. The damage had been done.
Bella walked in behind her, opening a new box of thumbtacks. “Did you need something?” she asked.
The words caught in Lila’s throat. What could she say now? I poisoned you. I have no idea what’s going to happen to you now. Sorry, but a man on the phone made me do it.
None of that would help. But there was someone who could—someone who knew the score.
Lila shook her head and rushed past Bella into the hall. What she was about to do was even more unforgivable than poisoning Bella, but it was the woman’s only hope.
Chapter Thirty-one
Victor found Bella in the conference room. Papers were scattered everywhere, taped to the walls and laid out on the table and floor. Red string wrapped around thumbtacks connected several photos and papers to a map, as if she were following some train of thought.
“I figured you might want some food by now,” he said as he walked in.
She turned to him with a pair of scissors in her hand. The woman who stared at him looked like Bella, but it wasn’t her.
“Dan?” she whispered, her face going pale with fear. “It can’t be you. I killed you.”
Victor had no idea what was going on, but he knew it wasn’t good. He held up his hands and stopped dead in his tracks. “Honey, I’m not Dan. I’m Victor.”
Her hand started shaking, making the blade of the scissors tremble. Her knuckles were white, her tendons straining to tighten her grip. “You’re dead. You can’t hurt me anymore.”
Holy hell. This was not the woman he knew. Whatever had happened to Bella was bad—the kind of bad that scared him shitless. “I’m not going to hurt you, sweetheart. I’m going to stay right here and we’re going to talk.” Maybe then he could figure out what the hell had been done to her.
She shook her head. “Killing you was the best thing I ever did. It freed me. I won’t let you cage me again.”
“I’m not going to—”
Bella charged.
Victor had no choice but to defend himself or take the shears she wielded in his heart. He was as careful as he knew to be, but Bella was fast. Strong. Trained. She came at him like she meant it, and when his muscle memory took over, and his body flew into action, he knew there was no way he hadn’t hurt her.
She landed on her back, pinned under him. The scissors were still in her hand, but he was controlling them now, holding them out to her side. The bones in her forearm shifted under his brutal grip, but it was either that or let her stab him.
“I’m not Dan,” he growled at her. “Snap out of it!”
She didn’t. She thrashed under him, screaming and kicking and struggling to get free. Her hips bucked, nearly tossing him off before he managed to pin her back down.
Payton rushed into the conference room. “What the hell is going on here?”
“Bella flipped out,” Victor said as he struggled to hold her in place. “Call an ambulance.”
“Get the fuck off me!” she shouted. “I killed you once, I’ll kill you again.”
Payton shouted down the hall for Lila to call Dr. Vaughn. Then he came over and pried the scissors from her hand.
Her eyes went wide with fear the second she saw him. “I won’t let you take me back there. I’ll kill you, too.”
“What’s she talking about?” Victor asked.
“The labs. She’s delirious. Lila poisoned her.”
“Lila?” Well, that was a what the fuck moment if Victor had ever heard one.
Lila hovered in the doorway. “Is she going to be okay? Please tell me she’s going to be okay.”
Bella snarled and tried to bite Victor. Tears were rolling from her eyes now, and the wild panic coursing through her made her whole body shake.
“Does she look okay?” he snapped.
“We need to sedate her,” Payton said. “Fast.”
Bella screamed and redoubled her efforts to break free. Victor had to hold her so tightly, he was sure he was going to leave bruises or break open her cuts.
“I don’t happen to have any sedatives in my pocket,” Victor snarled. “You?”
Payton stepped up, covered her nose and mouth with his hand and held on tight.
Victor couldn’t believe his eyes. The man was suffocating her right here in front of witnesses. “What are you doing?”
“Saving her life.” Payton was calm, determined.
Bella fought harder to free herself, getting in a good hit to Victor’s balls. He saw stars for a second, and when they wore off, she was unconscious.
He stayed where he was, wondering if she was playing possum. When she didn’t move, when he realized just how still and relaxed she was, he knew it was no act.
“I can’t believe you did that,” Victor said.
“I had no choice.” When Payton pulled his hand back, it was bloody from where she’d bitten him. He held it away from his designer suit, letting it drip onto the carpet. “How far out is Leigh?” he asked Lila.
The mousy receptionist stared at them in shock. “She said she was ten minutes away.”
“Let’s get Bella to medical,” Payton said. “If Leigh can’t purge the drug from her system, we’re going to have to take her to a hospital. They’ll have no clue how to treat her there without me revealing far too much secret information—the kind that gets innocent people killed.”
Victor rose over Bella’s body to keep everyone else away, and turned to Lila. “Why did you do this to her?”
Tears began streaming down her face. “I didn’t want to.”
“We’ll deal with her later,” Payton said. “Right now Bella is our priority.”
Victor picked her limp body up off the floor and carried her toward the door. On the way out he stopped next to Lila. “We will have words. If you so much as leave my sight, I’ll hunt you down, assuming you meant to kill Bella. My response to you running will not be kind. Do you understand?”
Lila nodded and stepped out of the way so he could pass.
“I hope so, because I’d really rather not have to kill someone else this week.”
Chapter Thirty-two
Victor paced as Leigh worked to clear the toxin from Bella’s system.
As small as the medical facilities were at the Edge, they were stocked with enough supplies to take care of everything from splinters to patching up bullet wounds. Pumping stomachs wasn’t standard fare in their line of work, but Leigh seemed to know what she was doing. Apparently guarding VIPs meant the company was prepared for a dose of poison or two.
The job was messy. The convulsive choking sounds Bella made were enough to break his heart and enrage him to the point of losing control. He breathed through his nose, keeping his fingers clenched so that he wouldn’t wrap them around Lila’s neck.
She sat in a locked examination room—one that served as her prison cell for now. He wanted to question her, but he was far too furious for such delicate work.
Payton stepped up beside him. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”
“No? And how would you know?”
“I’ve been poisoned a time or two. It’s not fun, but she’s barely aware of what’s going on. Chances are she won’t even remember it.”
“Why do I have the feeling you’re lying?”
; Payton sidestepped the question. “Lila doesn’t know what the drug is. All she knows is that it was given to her by a man who used to work for Bella.”
“Who?”
“He was from before your time. Let’s just say that he excelled at violence. She fired him after only a few weeks, but he is the kind of man who knows how to hold a grudge.”
“Was the poison meant to kill her?”
Payton shook his head. “I don’t think so, or she’d be dead.”
“Was he just trying to mess with her head? Whatever he gave her made her think I was her late husband.”
Payton frowned as if remembering something. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. She thought I was Dan.”
“Hang on.”
Payton went into the room where Lila sat crying. Victor watched through the glass as she spoke to him. The floodgates of tears broke open until she was sobbing inconsolably. She uttered a few words with each sobbing breath.
Finally, Payton had heard what he wanted to, because he came back out. His face was grim.
“What?” Victor asked.
“Stynger is behind this. She’s got Lila’s son and is holding him to ensure Lila’s cooperation.”
Violent urges swelled in Victor’s gut. He tended to be a methodical man, thinking things through before acting, but he was on edge, terrified for Bella and furious at Lila for what she’d been forced to do. “She has to pay for her actions.”
“I know,” Payton said.
“But we’re still going after her son.”
“That’s my inclination as well, but until we find Stynger, there’s not much hope for the boy, either.”
Leigh stepped out of the room, giving Victor a brief glimpse through the doorway. Bella lay still on the bed and was far too pale.
For a long, excruciating moment, he was sure they’d lost her. And in that moment, his world started to crumble. She meant far more to him than he’d let himself acknowledge. She’d become part of his foundation, and the thought of her gone from this world left him shaky and weak.
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