Page 37 of Seductive Secrets

“This drug,” Mike said, holding up the vial, “might not be just a street drug. It’s possible that the person who created this powder knew exactly what they were doing and the effects it would have on whoever takes the drug. Or they might not know. But someone will figure it out and that someone will definitely manipulate anyone stupid enough to take it.”

James and Angela nodded. “You’re right. We have to stop this drug from entering the country.”

Mike shook his head. “It’s already here. The problem isn’t stopping it from entering the country. No matter how hard law enforcement officials work, the reality is, the borders are basically a sieve. Any and everything can get in if someone is creative enough. And this,” he said, referring to the vial, “doesn’t have a scent. Drug sniffing dogs won’t detect it. And if they do, it’s entirely possible that they’ll inhale it while sniffing it and could fall under its effects as well.”

James rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and sighed. “So, what do you suggest we do?”

Mike handed him the vial. “Take this to your contacts. You have more law enforcement contacts than I do. I know that you’re also buddies with someone at the DEA.”

James chuckled. “Are you trying to convince me that your company, which tests and creates potential drugs, doesn’t have contacts within the Drug Enforcement Agency?”

Mike grinned. “Of course I do. But I bet yours are bigger, badder, and higher up.”

James merely rolled his eyes and the men shook hands. “ I’ll see what I can do.”

Mike turned to Angela. “I can see that you’re smitten with this idiot, but if you ever want–”

James growled, cutting Mike off. Mike chuckled, obviously not threatened by his friend. “Just kidding.” He winked playfully at Angela.

“Thin ice, my friend,” James warned archly as he turned and headed out of the laboratory, the vial in his pocket.

“Let me get you a print out of this analysis. Be careful with it though. The analysis could be used as a recipe for a similar drug. The ingredients need to be guarded.”

“You were able to figure out the chemical makeup?” James asked, astonished.

Mike nodded. “I’m not your average lab rat,” he replied with a tone that implied James should have known better.

They left after that, pretending that the vial with the drug, as well as the formula and analysis in his pocket, weren’t like a blinking neon sign pointing at them.

“I don’t understand why someone could create something like this,” Angela muttered as she stepped into his car.

“I don’t either.” He started the engine and headed back to the house.

Chapter 9

“What did you find out?” Dash asked as soon as James and Angela entered the room.

James pulled the papers and the vial out of his pocket and placed them on the kitchen table. Everyone gathered around as Angela and James explained the results of the analysis and the effect it could have on the world.

Callum was the first to react with a low whistle. “That’s ingenious and terrifying.”

“I agree. You have to be a special kind of evil to mess with a person’s brain to control them like that.”

“What have you guys discovered?” Angela asked, looking curiously at the kitchen table that was currently covered in papers, graphs, and documents with various numbers all over them.

“We’re still not sure,” Chloe replied, looking flustered and irritated. “We’ve tried to figure out a pattern with the numbers, but nothing makes sense.”

Angela leaned forward, bracing her hands on the table. As she skimmed the numbers, a cold, sinking sensation formed in her stomach. “These are routing numbers,” she whispered. She pointed to one set of numbers. “The first three numbers are a country code.”

“I thought country codes were set by the government?”

She nodded. “They are. But these are my company’s codes. We set our own numbers so they wouldn’t be confused with the codes the government uses.” She looked up at everyone. “I’ve always thought it was a silly process, but the warehouse workers swear by it.”

“What are the other numbers?” Caleb asked, shifting papers around so that he could uncover a large world map. It had been buried while they tried to figure out the codes.

“The next three numbers are a city code.” She tilted her head slightly. “Actually, not a city so much as a region, but we usually include a large city within each region.” She slid her finger down the line of numbers. “The next three numbers indicate a quadrant within that region, and the last three numbers are the store to which each delivery is supposed to go.” She pursed her lips at the last number. “I’m not sure what this one means though. It isn’t part of the code scheme that I was taught by our distribution teams.”

“It’s a quantity,” Marco announced. He pointed to several of the other numbers. “It’s the amount to be delivered to each store.”

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