I very much need you alive.”
Sarah frowned, even as her heart beat in triple time and her blood surged through her veins. “Why?” Was there any way she could signal someone from her phone? Or—
She glanced in the rearview mirror and gasped, jerked the wheel to the right, then corrected. A woman sat in the backseat, her weapon aimed at Sarah’s head.
“What are you doing?” Sarah screeched.
“No speeding,” she said. “Slow down.”
Sarah released her foot from the gas. The car slowed in direct opposition to her racing pulse. “Nurse Donna. I knew you were mixed up in this. He said he wants me alive.”
“He does, but he wants you alive and alone.”
“Right.”
“Hand me your phone.”
Sarah complied.
Donna spoke into it. “We’ll be there in ten minutes.” A pause. “No, we haven’t been followed. By all appearances, she did exactly as instructed.” She fell silent, listening. “Yes, I understand.” She hung up. “Turn right at the next light, then left.”
“But the address he gave me is left.”
Donna snorted. “You don’t think he’d take a chance that you’d somehow get word to someone with that, do you?”
“Right.” Sarah followed the directions, wishing she had a weapon on her. Finally, she asked, “How’d you get mixed up in all of this?”
“I needed money and Dr. Kilgore knew it. When he asked me to help him with the patients, I agreed.”
“Even though it was hurting those patients?”
“There was always the possibility that it would help them. It was worth the risk. A lot of people are going to be helped because of this drug once the testing is done.”
“The FDA has to approve it. You were falsifying information.”
“It would be fine in the end. We were making progress. The drug was working, it just needed to be refined. Tweaked.”
“Tweaked?” Sarah clamped her lips on the scream that wanted to erupt, even as her fingers flexed around the wheel. “What about the people who’ve been hurt or died?”
“Nothing great comes without a price. Every drug trial is a risk. The participants knew that going in and they found it acceptable.”
“And they’ve all paid the price for it. With their lives. Like Brianne.”
No response.
“You remember Brianne now, right?”
“I remember her.”
“Why say she wasn’t there at the hospital? Why deny her existence?”
“Because she wasn’t supposed to be there. Or have the drug in her system. She never volunteered, but we gave her the drug anyway. It would have been fine, except someone let her family know she was there, and when they showed up, Dr. Kilgore had to do something. He said to act like she was never there. So we did.”
“He told Dr. Kilgore to take her off of it.” Sarah swallowed. “He knew she would kill herself if they quit giving it to her.”
Sarah shot her captor a quick look in the rearview mirror and the woman’s jaw went tight. “That was unfortunate.”
“That was murder—and you’re a part of it.”
Donna let out a low breath. “I’m not a part of it. I just follow orders.”
Sarah didn’t bother to laugh. If she truly believed that, then she was just plain stupid. “And my brother Dustin? How did he fit into this whole thing?” She shoved aside the wave of sorrow and focused on the road.
“He volunteered for the study.”
“He knew something hinky was going on and offered himself up as a lab rat in order to find out what it was.” Sarah couldn’t help the snap.
Once again, Donna fell silent until she had to give the next set of directions. Sarah followed them until she was finally instructed to turn into the parking lot of a facility she should know. Why did the name set off all kinds of alarm bells?
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
Once their captor left, Gavin groaned and lay still, trying to catch his breath and work his hands. He needed to get out of the restraints—and fast.
Which meant he needed the general to wake up. Gavin rocked the chair once more and the man lifted his head.
“Is he gone?”
“You were faking?”
“Somewhat.” He grimaced. “Feel like I have a two-ton truck using my head as a shortcut to somewhere.”
“I know the feeling. He get you with chloroform to the face?”
“Yeah.”
“Who is it?”
“A man I thought I could trust.” His eyes flashed. “His name is Marshall McClain. He’s a former unit member and fraternity brother. And part owner in the company Marshbanks Labs. I’m one of the investors. A heavy investor. I knew he was working on something rather controversial, but I didn’t realize he was killing people.”
“The suicides.”
“I