Page 82 of Guarded from Corruption

My phone vibrates in my pocket, and since I’m alone, I pull it out to find a text from Matt.

Are you still at Jade’s parents’ place?

I tap out a quick reply.

Yes. Leaving soon, I hope. Do you need something?

Three dots blink for a second.

I found out something about her father. Can you leave now without it seeming suspicious?

An icy tendril works its way down my back.

Jade’s with her mother in another room. What is it?

The three dots blink longer this time.

I was going back through all my research and found something new. We looked at all the Bells’ financials, connections, but I just had this feeling like something was missing. So I looked at his college records. It looks clean, BS in biochemistry, good grades, but he did some alarming research.

My gut makes that familiar twinge. And the incessant ticking of the clocks gets inexplicably louder.

Matt’s next message appears.

Bell worked on trying to formulate behavior controlling drugs. One of his mentors had been involved with the CIA and the MKUltra program. They experimented with mind control back in the 1960s. In Bell’s senior thesis, he discussed a specific compound that he believed was promising. It’s the same one we found traces of in some of the captive women.

What?

Another text pops up.

Maybe it’s unrelated. But Bell’s company is a lot more profitable than comparable ones of its size. And the drug can’t be found anywhere. It’s not patented. You said this guy didn’t seem concerned about Jade. What if…

Fuck.

What if?

Her own father? Is it possible?

Either way, I need to get Jade out of here. Bring her back to B and A so she’s safe while we investigate this. Teeth grinding, all my muscles tense, I reply back to Matt.

I’ll get Jade. Headed home ASAP.

As I jump up from the couch, all my nerves are jangling and my instincts are screaming at me to find my woman now.

The house is big, but I can make a sweep of it quickly. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to find Jade’s mother’s bedroom. Then another one to make an excuse to leave, and we’ll be back in my car in under five minutes.

I’m just about to leave the lounge when my phone vibrates again.

But it’s not the Blade and Arrow pattern this time. It’s violent. Insistent.

A red alert flashes on the screen.

Jade!

She triggered her earrings. She’s in trouble.

Fuck.

I open the app to find Jade’s little blinking red dot on the west side of the house. Still in the bedroom, or somewhere else? Somewhere worse?

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