Rogue Darkness by Dianne Duvall

“Right. Well, Rafe skimmed through as many employee minds as he could. Their biggest project is an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s.”

“A treatment or a cure?” Nicole asked.

Henderson’s lips curled up in a cynical smile. “A treatment. Costly medication that patients will have to take every day for the rest of their lives will earn Benford far more money than a cure will.”

She frowned. “That sucks.”

“That’s business. Benford didn’t dive into the pharmaceutical industry out of the goodness of his heart. He’s in it for the money.”

“Why?” Sarah blurted. “He’s already a multibillionaire. What more could he possibly want that he doesn’t already have?”

Henderson shrugged. “The ability to brag about being the wealthiest man in the world.”

“And immortality,” Seth added. “Reed hand-delivered a vampire to them for experimentation. The vampire was told they would make him human again and had no idea what was in store for him.”

“That’s messed up,” Sean murmured.

“Yes, it is,” Seth agreed. “He was newly turned and fully lucid. But after just a few weeks in their care, he lost his sanity, which led them to believe the madness strikes so quickly that they must get their hands on an Immortal Guardian. Otherwise, any fountain of youth serum they concoct will turn their influential clients into bloodthirsty monsters who must be slain. The purpose is to lengthen their life spans, not shorten them. Reed also gave them the sedative that was used to capture Tessa.”

Sean caught Seth’s eye. “Do they know what happened to Reed, that he’s dead?”

“Gary, the second vampire who tried to nab Becca, told them an Immortal Guardian killed him. But Gary wasn’t playing with a full deck. He’d be lucid one moment and violently psychotic the next. According to their thoughts, most preferred to deal with TJ.”

“Who’s TJ?” Sean asked.

“The vampire who captured Tessa. The doctors prefer to deal with him now because they believe Gary killed Reed so he could reap more of the benefits.”

“What benefits?” Nicole asked.

“Reed told the lab that he and his crew would only hunt immortals if Benford compensated them for the risks they had to take. I believe he had lost touch with Gershom by this point and wanted a little financial security. The doctors working on the serum don’t know what fee the vampires demanded, only that Benford paid them weekly. They did, however, know that the vampires were promised a cash bonus of two million dollars upon delivery of an immortal and guaranteed a dose of the final serum once it’s developed.”

“How will that help them?” Krysta asked. “They’re already infected.”

Seth dipped his chin in a nod. “Yes, but the doctors told them the serum would banish the madness, their need for blood, and their photosensitivity while leaving them with all the perks of infection.”

Stunned silence gripped the room. No one moved or spoke for a long moment as they let the implications sink in.

A serum like that would be a serious game-changer.

Melanie sat forward. “Do they believe that’s possible?”

“Unknown.”

She flattened her hands on the table. “Okay. I don’t know what the plan is, but I want to be on the front lines. I need to get in there and see what they’ve been doing. I want to see their research.”

Bastien frowned. “I don’t imagine they have much. It sounds as if they knew nothing about the virus or vampires and immortals until a few months ago. They’re probably just talking out of their asses.”

She looked up at him. “If there’s even a chance that they aren’t…”

Chris shook his head. “I agree with Bastien.” That had to be a first. “I think they’re bullshitting and telling the vampires what they want to hear to keep them on the leash.”

Melanie whirled on him. “You think. You don’t know. I need to know.”

Bastien draped an arm across the back of her chair and rested his fingers on her shoulder. “Sweetheart—”

“No.” A hint of desperation entered her earnest expression. “I need to know if they’ve found something I’m missing, Bastien.”

“How could they? You’ve been studying this virus and its effects on the brain ever since you finished medical school.”

“And I still haven’t found either a cure or a way to halt or reverse the progression of the brain damage it causes in humans,” she countered, voice rising. “In the greater scheme of things, I’m new to viral research and the study of cognitive diseases. Some of those researchers may have decades more experience than I do.”

Chris shook his head. “Network doctors worldwide have been studying this virus for over a century, Melanie. They haven’t found the answer either.”

“Besides,” Bastien added, “you heard Henderson. The doctors in that lab aren’t interested in finding cures. Their focus is on developing drugs that treat the symptoms.”

“Yes. Drugs that mitigate the symptoms of cognitive decline. And the cognitive decline in vampires is their primary problem. It’s what costs them their sanity, their identity, and ultimately their lives. If anything in that lab’s arsenal can help Stuart and the others, I want to get my hands on it.” She swung on Chris. “Delete nothing until I examine it.” She speared the rest of them with a look that promised dire retribution if they didn’t obey her will. “And don’t destroy any computers, laptops, tablets, or hard drives. Period. I need the information they may hold. That is non-negotiable.”