Kings of Anarchy (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #3) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,162

give me the proper information, but it felt like chewing on glass.

"Fuck," Tatum breathed.

"Shit, baby," Kyan said, the two of them sounding like they'd seen a fucking ghost.

"Tell us what you're looking at, or so help me-" I began and Blake slapped a hand down on my shoulder to try and keep me calm.

"Sorry," Tatum said. "My dad's name is on here. These are the results for the vaccine he stole alongside the Hades Virus. The ones he gave to Mortez."

"And?" Blake pressed.

"And it...failed. The vaccine didn't work. It seemed like it did at first but around a month after the Hades Virus had been released into the world some of the people who had been given it were infected and they died. It looks like their bodies couldn't produce the antibodies required to fight it off despite the supposed vaccine in their systems."

We fell silent as the sound of more pages turning came over the speakers.

"Serenity Pharmaceuticals," Kyan said. "Their name is in here on this research. They're the company who produced the vaccine. They're the ones who it ended up with after it was stolen from Singh."

"So they're the ones who stole it? They're responsible for putting the Hades Virus out into the world?" Blake asked.

"They're certainly involved," I muttered because all of this had the stench of a much bigger fish about it. "My guess is that they were just the engineers to the plan. But the man in charge of Royaume D’élite is the one who orchestrated it. That's why there's whispers of Serenity Pharmaceuticals stocks being ready to take a spike. Whoever has shares in the company who creates the vaccine for this will make millions. Fuck that actually, more like billions. I'm willing to bet that the whole thing was set up for that very purpose. Set the virus loose, let the world get desperate and then sweep in with a vaccine and make a fortune off the back of the desperate souls who need it."

"They did all of this - killed all of those people - for money?" Blake snarled, staring at me like he couldn't believe that that was the motivation, but of course it was. Money was the root of all evil. I should know, I'd been bathing in it since before I could walk and look at me.

"Obviously," I replied and he shoved out of his chair angrily, stalking away from the table as his grief bubbled up to the surface and rage consumed him.

I kept my focus on Kyan and Tatum, needing to keep my head clear to help them if required while Monroe moved away to comfort Blake.

"But this says they don't have the vaccine," Tatum protested. "So why the hell would they be so stupid as to release the virus anyway?"

"Greed, siren," I pointed out. "They believed they had it and they wanted to reap the rewards of that. The fact that they turned out to be wrong about all of it really just means they made a bad investment as far as they're concerned. No doubt they're working tirelessly to produce a vaccine that really does work so that they can still cash out though."

"Fuck," Kyan muttered and I had to agree with him there.

"You need to put everything back where you found it and get out of there," I instructed. "I have more than enough to go on now. I'll be able to figure out who's running that place and I know where to aim my research next. I want you back home as soon as possible."

"Okay," Tatum agreed and it was clear from the tone of her voice that though this information had shaken her, she wasn't going to be put off of her game by it.

"No more risks," I warned. "Just get out of there."

"Aye aye, captain," Kyan replied and I cursed beneath my breath.

Why did it sound like he intended to do the exact opposite of my commands? And why was I even surprised?

W e made sure everything was back in place and my heart thrashed against my chest as we closed the last drawer and shared an intense look.

"Heeeey buddy!" Niall shouted from outside, giving us a cue that someone was headed this way. "Which way to the bar? I'm totally fucking lost."

"Down the hall and to the right," a guy answered Niall.

A feminine laugh came from beyond the door and the handle twisted. I grabbed Kyan's hand, ducking down behind the desk and he dropped into place beside me just