Chapter 46

CHAPTER

FORTY-SIX

Kai darted into the kitchen and froze.

Stephen lay on the floor, pale and unmoving.

Gage knelt beside him, his finger to the man's neck. "He doesn't have a pulse!"

Kai sucked in a breath. He knew exactly what that meant.

His worst fears were confirmed.

Someone—Rafferty, most likely—had used that pacemaker to his advantage.

Tori rushed past Kai to Stephen. She began CPR. "I need a defibrillator. Do we have one?"

"I brought one," Larchmont said. "I'll get it."

He reappeared a moment later with the device.

Working quickly, Tori tore off Stephen's shirt. Then she charged the machine and put the electrical nodules on Stephen's chest.

"Clear!" she called out, indicating for everyone to stay back.

Kai held his breath as Tori hit the button to activate the machine.

The machine buzzed before an electrical pulse went through Stephen.

Kai kept his eyes on Stephen as he prayed.

But there was nothing.

Tori activated the machine again.

This time, Stephen's eyes jerked open, and he sucked in a long, almost painful-sounding breath.

Kai exhaled. He was alive. Tori had brought him back.

But if the person controlling that pacemaker learned of that, they might activate it again. At any minute.

Tori still knelt beside Stephen. But she raised her gaze to meet Kai's.

He saw the worry in her eyes—worry that the same thing that happened to Stephen would also happen to Kai.

It was a definite possibility, one none of them could deny.

He glanced at Larchmont, who stood with them, a worried expression on his face.

"How do we find this Rafferty guy?" Kai's voice sounded hard and determined—reflecting everything he felt inside.

From what he understood so far, Rafferty might be the only one with answers.

Larchmont's expression remained tight. "That's going to be difficult."

"Why is that?" Kai asked.

"Because he's a . . . ghost."

Kai couldn't take this anymore. All the secrets. He wasn't sure what Larchmont knew and what the man simply wasn't sharing with them.

And Kai didn't like being in the dark.

"Can I have a moment?" he asked Larchmont.

His boss followed him down the hallway where they'd have some privacy.

"What do you know about Rafferty?" Kai started. "Because if he's the one controlling these pacemakers then we need to find him."

"Like I said earlier, he's a mystery. He's a brilliant scientist—and a little too determined. He was angry when he was fired. Took it personally. Then he disappeared and took his men with him. The government considered him a threat, but they were never able to locate him."

"So they just let him go with these super soldiers?" Kai didn't bother to hide the disgust from his voice. How irresponsible was that?

"They were concerned, to be sure," Larchmont said. "I think they secretly hoped these guys would just all go away and never be seen again. Besides, it's not like the government could own up to what they'd done. Can you imagine the lawsuits? Instead, they sent men to kill everyone involved. However, all the men they sent out to erase the soldiers under Rafferty ended up dead."

Kai shook his head. He could believe a lot of things. He'd seen a lot of things.

But this even surprised him.

How had someone gotten away with this?

"This guy is going to kill us all." Kai's words hung in the air.

Larchmont maintained his perfectly controlled fa?ade. "I can get you a surgeon, but you'll need a hospital."

"If we go to the hospital then we'll be arrested," Kai said.

"Correct."

Kai raked a hand through his hair and then shook his head. "I can't believe you didn't tell us this."

"My hands were tied. I had to make some hard decisions."

"And now we're all at risk." Accusation stained Kai's voice.

"I know—and I'm sorry."

However, sorry didn't seem like enough, all things considered.