the drug started to wear off, he would have tried to find a way to . . . you know.”
“I know,” Heather said. “Trust me, I know. But the anesthesia is the only connection I could find with the ones who survived and are recovering with no suicidal ideations. We have to pray it’s right.”
Brooke and Ava came into sight from the long hallway and hurried toward them. “Is she awake?” Brooke asked.
“Not yet.”
“What’s taking so long? Can’t you bring her out of it?”
Heather shook her head. “I want to let the anesthesia wear off naturally—just like with the others.”
Ava pressed her fingers to her lips, her eyes wet. “I can’t believe this.” She looked at Caden. “Thank you for the quick phone call to fill us in, but I still can’t wrap my head around it. You’re saying her kidnapping was all a ruse to get the money from her father?”
He nodded. “Yeah. That was why they held her in the cell at the compound. They were waiting for McClain to get there with the papers. Once Sarah signed them, he’d only have to convince”—he used air quotes—“the general to do it. McClain would have Sarah and if the general didn’t sign, he’d just threaten to kill her.”
“Which he would have done anyway once he had the signature,” Gavin said. “The plan was probably to kidnap Sarah, get her signature, keep her alive long enough to get the general’s signature, then kill them both.”
“Only Sarah managed to get a call out on her sat phone,” Heather murmured.
Footsteps sounded behind him. Slow, measured steps. He turned to see General Denning coming toward them with the help of a walker.
Caden stepped forward. “General.”
“I want to see Sarah,” the man growled. His pale face and shaky hands gave away the fact that he shouldn’t be out of bed.
“She’s still sleeping, General,” Heather said.
“Well, wake her up. I need to talk to her.”
“I can’t do that.” The steel in Heather’s words said she wouldn’t do it.
The general paused. His shoulders wilted. “I helped fund that drug, you know. I thought they were doing good things. I had no idea they were falsifying the data.”
“I know, Dad,” Caden said. He pulled a chair from the nurses’ station. “Why don’t you sit down?”
Once he was seated, he took a moment to catch his breath. Gavin eyed him, feeling slightly relieved when the man’s face pinked up a bit. “Tell me what that traitor McClain’s told you.”
Caden shrugged. “Basically everything. He’s hoping for something other than the death penalty. He’s gone into great detail about everything from Sarah’s kidnapping in Kabul—which we messed up for him—to him coming up with a new plan that involved getting to her here in the States. Kilgore and Nurse Donna were as greedy as he was.”
“And Max?” Heather asked.
“Max got too close, started asking too many questions, and scared them that he was going to ruin everything by exposing them and the drug. Thanks to him and Dustin’s evidence, we have all we need to put away those involved.”
“What about the other people around the country?” Ava asked.
“Law enforcement has already taken those involved into custody. It’ll take a long time to get it all sorted out, but at least there won’t be any more T-64 distributed.”
A nurse stuck her head out of the room. “She’s waking up.”
Sarah opened her eyes and blinked. Blinked again. And groaned. Another hospital? Great. She frowned. What had she done this time?
“Hey, sleepyhead, can you wake up and talk to us?”
Gavin. Warmth enveloped her. She’d never tire of hearing his voice. Her eyes finally focused, and she let her gaze drift around the room. Anxious faces stared down at her.
“Who shot me this time?”
Stilted laughter came from her visitors.
“How do you feel?” Heather asked.
“Sleepy.”
“Anything else?”
Was she supposed to feel something else? “Um . . . no, I don’t think so. What happened? Why am I here?”
“What’s the last thing you remember before landing here?” Brooke asked.
“Uh . . .” She struggled to formulate an answer. “I’m not sure. Everything is kind of fuzzy.” She gasped. “McClain. He sprayed me with something then . . . Nurse Donna was there. I think I remember being carried down a hallway and dumped in a room.” Her eyes locked on Gavin. Then her father. She struggled to sit up. Heather raised the bed. Gavin never let go of her hand. “You were there.”