"No, they are being murdered again."

Ian hurried down the hallway, Sian and Wendy on his heels. He had no idea why he was heading to Rhia's room first; it was an instinctive move on his part. The others appeared to be willing to follow his lead.

At the door of the ancient's temporary room, he pushed the door open, expecting to see Rhia reclined on the couch like he'd imagined she'd be.

It was empty. He frowned. Walking forward, he searched for anything that would tell him where she'd gone.

From the doorway, Wendy said, "She's not here. We already checked."

"I didn't expect her to come back," Sian said, sadness filling her voice. "She might have left to join the others."

Ian cast a dark look at Sian. "She wouldn't join the others. She's only doing this for her son's sake."

"Oh, I do understand what she's doing and why," Sian said in a gentle voice. "Still, how can she find out if she isn't with them? If she doesn't have access to their information?"

Wendy gasped. "What if she had access to their computers?"

Ian spun to look at her, hating to see the fatigue showing on her face. She looked d.a.m.n tired. "What are you thinking?"

"Gloria's laptop," she whispered, excitement threading her voice. "She'd know about Gloria's laptop."

Sian bolted. She was there one moment and gone the next. Wendy turned to follow.

"Wait," Ian said urgently. "Are there other laptops here? Other equipment from the blood farm that she might go to? Let's not all focus on the one place. Rhia is a smart lady she knows about Gloria's laptop, wouldn't she expect you guys to have guessed that's where she'd go to search?"

Wendy chewed on her bottom lip, thinking about his words. "Many computers were seized in the raids. Potentially any of them could provide her with the information she needs or at least give her a place to start." She turned and walked out to the hallway. "Let's go to the tech room. Sian mentioned there are men working on deciphering the data we found."

"Good. We'll start there. Let Sian know where we're going and she can meet up with us."

Wendy already had her phone out and was texting.

"Did anyone try texting Rhia?" he asked. "Maybe she's not completely turned to the other side. Maybe she's looking, hoping for someone to stop her from doing this. Maybe it's the mind control." At Wendy's horrified gasp and worried gaze, he shrugged.

"Anything is possible now."

Rhia leaned against the back wall of the small room she'd locked herself in, tears in her eyes. Oh Lord, please let her be doing the right thing. She had to save her son. Life wasn't worth living if she was responsible for his death. She couldn't have that be the end result. Seth was a good kid, becoming an honorable man. She didn't know who was ultimately to blame for what happened to him, but she steadfastly believed in his innocence.

She was a prime example of what happened when those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds got their drugs into someone. And that wasn't her fault, and neither was it his. The things he'd done while under their control also weren't his fault, but she'd never be able to prove it to anyone when she'd done some horrible things too. Thankfully she hadn't been under the drug's influence for very long. She'd already done major damage in that little while. Imagine if that was years like what Seth had been through. She partly blamed Tyson for this. He'd been the one to get his claws into her son. But in truth, they were all to blame for this sickening situation. She still struggled with not having noticed a change in her son's behavior.

As his mother, she should have seen it.

Another failure on her part.

They were starting to rack up.

Now what she was doing was going to be considered traitorous by so many. But what choice did she have? She had to help him.

She stared down at the half-full needle in her hand, shuddered once, then squared off her chin. She had no choice.

And she shoved the needle into her arm and pressed down the plunger.

Chapter 8.

Once out of the elevator, Tessa let Cody lead the way to the security room. The air showed no sign of new energies having arrived or left recently. Weird. Where had everyone gone? They'd sent out several messages asking multiple questions but so far, there'd been no answers.

Cody sidled up to the corner ahead, his hand telling her to stay back. She smiled. She could see energy billowing around the corner up ahead but it was older, stale.

Cody peered around the corner and pulled back. She shifted closer.

Anyone there?

Yes. Approaching.

The feral tone of his voice had her looking at him. Remember, not everyone here is an enemy.

And not everyone here is a friend.

He jumped forward in front of the newcomer. He pulled a fist back... and d.a.m.n if a strangled squawk didn't escape.

"Cody?"

She raced around the corner, worried at what he'd be facing and stopped.

She stared.

She giggled.

Then she burst out laughing. In between her giggles, she managed to say, "Hi, Bart. I wondered where you got to."

And d.a.m.n if the tubby vampire didn't turn white like the tiles surrounding him. His jaw dropped and he looked frantically around as if searching for a way to escape.

So not happening.

Cody stepped to the side of him, effectively boxing the vamp up against the wall. Tessa brightened her smile. "So tell us, Bart, what are you doing here? And how does this place fit into the blood farms?"

"No, oh no. Not you again." Bart finally found his voice. He shook his head like a lumbering bear. "h.e.l.l no. You have a death wish. I don't want to be anywhere around you." He turned to look behind him, but there was a hint of something there...fear, maybe.

What would make Bart afraid? Curious, and feeling it was important, she studied Bart, looking for his reaction intently as she said, "What are you scared of?"

His eyes rounded before he started to shake his head. "Nothing. I'm not scared of anything." He glared at her. "Except maybe the trouble you bring. A d.a.m.n trouble magnet you are. Worse you go looking for it."

He suddenly stopped talking and leaned forward as if his eyes didn't understand what they were seeing. "You're different." His gaze narrowed. "What happened?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he shook his head rapidly and backed up. "Never mind, I don't want to know." He took another step back and Cody stepped in the way, caging him in again. Bart glared at him. "You're just as bad if you're with her. I don't want nuttin' to do with either of you."

Tessa laughed. He was a beauty. She'd never met anyone before or since like him. Now if only she knew which side he was on. She asked him.

He just glared at her.

She narrowed her gaze at him this time. "I asked you a question," she said. "One I've asked you before. As I recall, you didn't answer then either."

"I don't know what I might have answered back then, but it wouldn't have been any different than now," he said. "I'm not on anyone's side. I want to be left alone. You go off and live your death wish. The others can go and kill each other. I don't give a d.a.m.n. Me...I want to live a life of peace and quiet."

"Then you don't mind showing us the security room, do you?" said Cody.

Bart glared at him. "What part of wanting to be left alone don't you understand?"

The grin on Cody's face had Bart backing up again.

"It's just around the corner," he bl.u.s.tered. "Go find it yourself."

"And you?" Tessa asked. "What are you going to do?"

"Me?" He tried to inch past her. "I'm going back to the d.a.m.n caves where I'll be alone."

"If that's the case, why are you here?" Cody's voice vibrated in exasperation. "You're in a hospital that is run by the same people who ran the blood farms."

"What?" Bart cried out in a shocked whisper. "I am not. I was brought here to look at the heating pipes."

Tessa's antenna perked up. "What about the duct work, Bart?" she asked in a soft voice.

Her tone had him backing up again.

"Hey now. No threats. I ain't harming anyone." He glared at her. "They got a problem so I'm helping fix it. Done it lots of times before."

"Maybe not, but if you are part of their plans for the ventilation system, then you are definitely hurting others."

"Whoa, what plans?" His gaze widened to huge orbs. "I don't know anything about their plans."

"If that's the case, then you don't mind telling me what you were fixing with the system, will you?" Cody snapped.

Bart glared at them but remained silent.

"Tell us," Tessa urged. "Please. This is very important."

"To you it is." Bart shifted his big belly. "It isn't to me. I go where I'm told to go."

"Told by whom?" Tessa gave him a cold smile. "Bart, give."

"Oh, whatever. My buddy said they needed the system fixed for some reason." He shrugged. "So I came and made a coupling so they could attach some d.a.m.n canisters."

Tessa's skin ran cold. She glanced over at Cody. He looked ready to tear Bart to shreds. "And have they attached their canisters to the system?"

He shrugged. "They were working on it when I left."

And then she knew. "You left without them knowing, didn't you? You figured out what they were up to so you took off, didn't you?" She snorted in disgust.

"Hey, I did not. But they couldn't be doing anything good, and I didn't figure they'd leave me around to tell any tales so I made sure I did the job well and disappeared."

He shoved his chin forward, his gaze pugnacious. "I don't like to get involved."

"And you like living...?"

"Yeah," he eyed Cody nervously. "I do like living. So?"

"So if you want to continue to do so, you're going to help us stop them."

Cody wanted to laugh at the look of chagrin on the old fart's face. Just what the h.e.l.l was he doing here anyway? Cody never trusted the guy in the first place and now that he was here...well, once again...it was suspicious. He might have let him go last time as a bad coincidence, but to come back again...that was two strikes and likely not forgivable the second time. First time was ignorance. The second time, however...

"I got nothing to say."

"Good. Then I'll make sure you can say nothing," Tessa said, calmly lifting her hand as if to slash across his chest.

Cody knew what was coming next. "Whoa, what are you doing?"

She stayed her hand, her gaze never leaving the cringing vamp.

"Yeah, what are you doing?" Bart stuttered. "Jesus, you are weird."

Tessa lowered her arm, much to Cody's relief, and glared at Bart. "I was going to make sure that you didn't cross us."

"Hey, let me go and I'll be happy to disappear."

Tendrils of loose hair flew everywhere as Tessa shook her head. "Not happening, Bart. You can't walk the middle road anymore. Give us something helpful to stop these guys from drugging everyone in this hospital or I'll take you out now."

"Man, you need to take anger management courses or something." He reached up and gave his old ratty shirt collar a snap. "Boy."

He turned his attention to Cody then froze. Horror slowly whispered across his face. He slowly turned back to face her. "Did you say drugs? Drug everyone in the hospital?" His voice rose to a squeak at the end like the mouse he was.

Cody wanted to reach out and give him a good shake. "Surely you understand what's going on. There's no way you couldn't."

Bart's eyes bulged as he processed the information Tessa had threatened him with. "Whoa, I don't have anything to do with drugs." He spun to face Tessa. "You know that."

"Really? And yet by your own words you just said you fixed the system so they could hook up their new canisters."