There was no doubt Thatch made the worst patient ever. It was the same day and we were already home, Thatch on at least one night’s bed rest before he should be healed and back to it tomorrow, and me on strict instructions from the doctor to make him do just that. But bloody hell, Thatch would barely sit still, let alone take help with grace.
“That vamp was pumped up to the eyeballs with something.”
“I’d have thought it was the other way around, since his foot was up your arse.” I promptly moved out of the way as he threw the TV remote in my direction. It clattered to the floor and miraculously didn’t break.
“You’re so lucky that’s still intact. How would you watch your shit shows without it?” I was prodding a bull, but him being like this had got my mouth firing nineteen to the dozen. I figured it was my reaction to him being well, and the sarcasm and jibes my way of coping with how close I had come to losing him.
“Fine. The drink and cake are great. Thanks.” Every word was forced. In response, I gave him the stink eye but handed over the goods regardless. He took a bite of the rich chocolate and sighed happily. Pleasure thrummed through me. He was safe and no longer in danger. Plus he now had cake, so I could eat my slice and relax a little.
“Have you heard anything about the girls?” he asked after finishing a mouthful.
I nodded, cake still in my mouth. After swallowing and taking a drink, I said, “Yeah, Meadows called a couple of hours ago when you were sleeping. Said they were being well taken care of. They’re still running tests on Carly, the girl who we saved last. They’re anticipating her being okay and are working on the premise that the piece-of-crap doc was still in the process of drawing blood rather than pumping who knows what inside her.”
When Meadows had been the one to call me, taking me by surprise that he’d been able to get my number, I’d been relieved to hear the news. Having the girls taken was too close to comfort. Too close to Lucinda.
“That’s great news. Will SICB keep us updated?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Meadows said his sister is part of the medical team working her case. As soon as he has anything, he’ll give me a call.”
A frown formed on Thatch’s face. His deep brown eyes penetrated mine, almost making the flecks of green not visible in his intensity.
“What?” I shifted to face him, worry flaring to life.
“Meadows. Why’s he letting you know?”
Huh. I tilted my head, trying to get a read on Thatch. After a beat, I grinned.
“What?” He all but growled the word.
“Meadows asked me if he could call me some time.” I left the statement hanging there. The grin on my face couldn’t grow any wider once a full-on growl erupted from him. Not quite so cruel to keep him hanging, despite my obvious pleasure, I said, “Calm down there, big guy. I said I wasn’t interested.”
Who’d have thought a huffing man doing a crappy job at pretending to be unaffected could be so hot? Wrap that same guy in a package of dry wit and a take-charge attitude, and hot could easily become molten.
His huff turned into a sigh, and he took a large bite of his cake. Ignoring his reaction, he then asked, “And what about the doctor we were able to apprehend?”
There was no chance I could keep Thatch from talking about the case, not that I necessarily wanted him to. He wasn’t made that way, even when healing. “They’ve got her in holding. Her name’s Dr Sarah Benedict. She gave a fair amount of intel without too much persuasion. Kent’s gathering a few leads to see how much truth there is in what she’s given.” I eased back on the sofa and finished off my drink. “The vamp who kicked your arse was on Vesper, a new drug this organisation has been apparently trialling. Heard of it?” Kent hadn’t mentioned any knowledge of it when asked, and I never had. Though, I assumed it had some relation to the original drug I was tracking down when I first stumbled into Thatch’s investigation, as well as his life, which I’d be sure to confirm when I got the chance.
“No.” Thatch shook his head and put down his empty plate. “What’s it do?”
“Exactly what you thought. Ramps up a vamp’s powers but for a limited time, according to Doc Evil.”
A quirked brow was Thatch’s response.
I grinned. At least I entertained myself, a necessary distraction when the shit was hitting the fan. “It’s not in mass production yet, and she’ll give the production lab to us if we grant her a safe haven from the powers that be.”
He quirked both brows this time. I reacted in kind.
“Yeah. Surprised me too, but if your previous assessment was right and the organisation is indeed floundering, she’s securing her position now rather than going down with the ship.”
“And any idea who the lead player is yet?” he asked.
“Nope. And she’s refusing to give a name. Says giving the drugs up won’t kill her, but names definitely would.” Me? I wasn’t so convinced about that. The operation seemed as vast as it did deadly. The doc giving up something as lucrative and as potent as Vesper and us stopping it before it got out on the street seemed like a big hit to me.
If she made it alive to the supe courts, I’d be surprised. And honestly, I wouldn’t lose a bit of sleep should she be taken out. Unless it was on my watch, of course.
“Has she shed any more light on why female shifters specifically?” Tension thrummed through him as he asked the question.
“Yeah.” I bobbed my head and exhaled before answering, my mood shifting as I recalled all Kent had told me. “It seems the manipulation
