Rogue Darkness by Dianne Duvall

All laughed.

As the amusement died down, Sean studied the other men. “Full disclosure—if the gunman hadn’t forced us to bail, I probably would’ve mucked up the plan one way or another once we reached our destination after hearing what they intended to do to Nicole.”

Chris frowned. “What did they intend to do to her?”

“Torture her to get me to tell them everything I know about Nick.”

Swears erupted.

Nicole frowned. “Is it weird that I find it insulting that they thought he would cave faster if they tortured me than I would if they tortured him?”

“Yes,” the men chorused.

She laughed.

Sean didn’t. “They also intended to turn her into a lab rat and run all sorts of tests on her to see if her new stepdad had made her immortal like him.”

Chris reached into his front pocket to withdraw a small notepad and a stubby pencil. “So they think Nick can share his immortality with others?” He started scribbling.

“Yes. They believe he’s infected with a different strain of the virus that infects vampires. They’re assuming it was created in a lab.”

“Well,” Seth murmured, “we know now that it was. It just wasn’t created in a lab here on Earth.”

That had been quite a revelation. Evidently, aliens with a penchant for committing genocide had created the virus and released it on Earth, expecting it to kill everyone off and leave the planet ripe for their claiming.

“They think the vampire’s strain was a first effort, which was fatally flawed,” Sean explained, “and that whatever Nick has is the corrected and refined version. They can’t wait to get their hands on it.”

Leaning forward, David rested his elbows on his desk and laced his fingers together. “You aren’t telepathic. How did you learn this? Were they speaking of it openly?”

That would’ve been a pretty clear indicator that they had no intention of letting Becca and George live once they were of no more use to them.

“No. Marge made some calls from the bedroom.”

Seth’s eyebrows rose. “The bedroom?”

Chris nodded. “It’s not uncommon for luxury jets to include bedrooms. Most of the network’s jets have them.”

Seth seemed surprised.

“You didn’t know?” Nicole asked curiously. Like Sean, she’d probably thought Seth knew everything about the network.

“No. I teleport wherever I need to go.”

“Me, too,” David said.

She smiled. “Lucky you.”

“Anyway,” Sean continued, “Marge was arranging for Becca to be transferred from the plane to a place she referred to as the lab. It sounded a lot like the place Ami was held in.”

Seth and David’s countenances darkened. Both men loved Ami like a daughter and hated remembering the pain and suffering she had endured at the hands of so-called scientists and doctors.

“Two vehicles were supposed to meet us at the airport and take us there directly.”

“Do you know what airport?” Chris asked.

“No. But before we jumped, I got the impression that we were close to our destination.”

Chris checked his phone. “According to my latest alert, the plane will land soon. We don’t know yet if that was its original destination or if it’s making an emergency landing somewhere else. The pilot didn’t file a flight plan and avoided controlled airspace whenever possible.”

Nicole met Sean’s gaze. “Sounds like you were right. This wasn’t the first time they’ve done something like this.”

Sean fought the urge to take her hand. “After I knocked everyone unconscious, I planned to call Seth and have him teleport Aidan in and Nicole out, then heal everyone and alter their memories so we could continue the operation.”

Seth nodded. “Smart thinking. That would’ve worked.”

Too bad the idiot with the gun had screwed everything up.

“Well, all is not lost,” Chris said. “We’re keeping tabs on the plane now, thanks to Nicole’s tracker. Her cell phone is offline.”

“And probably scattered among the other debris that flew out of the plane,” Sean said.

Chris nodded. “Henderson sent a team out there to search for any objects or debris that fell. It was a rural area, which should make it easier. They’ll collect the bodies, too, if possible. Nicole, I’m sorry they hurt you. Thank you for refusing to give them Sean’s passcode. There are a lot of numbers and addresses on his phone that we don’t want them getting their hands on.”

“That’s what I was thinking.”

Sean frowned. Was that why she’d refused to give them his passcode? Because his phone—unlike hers—had the numbers of… every freaking immortal in the area? He swore. “I did screw up.”

“No, I did,” Chris said. “I should’ve anticipated that you’d intervene and given you a dummy phone. I didn’t listen to my gut.”

Sean frowned at him. “What did your gut tell you?”

“That you wouldn’t let them take her.”

“Because Nicole’s my Second?”

The network head’s lips curled up in a wry smile. “Sure. Because she’s your Second.”

Sean looked at Nicole and saw the same question in her eyes.