She breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good. I don’t know what we’ll be facing once we get-”
Kendra was startled by the sound of the dead bolt being thrown on the large door at the far end of the lab. The door suddenly opened, and two men with automatic rifles shoved a third man into the room.
The third man wore a dark hood identical to the one that had been placed on Kendra. His hands were bound behind his back, and he fell to his knees.
The men with the rifles left the room and locked the door.
“Friend of yours?” Waldridge asked Kendra.
“No,” Kendra said as she moved toward the prisoner. “But I think he may be a friend of yours.”
She pulled off the hood.
It was Hayden Biers.
He was dressed just as Kendra had last seen him, but his shirt was now torn and showed several bloodstains on the chest and collar. His hair was covered in perspiration.
Waldridge turned to Kendra. “You said he was safe.”
“I thought he was.” She picked at the duct tape binding his hands behind him, but wasn’t able to loosen it. “Dr. Biers?”
“Kendra… I’m sorry.” He tried to stand, but fell weakly back to his knees.
Waldridge quickly stepped toward him. “Take it easy, Hayden. It may take a few minutes.”
Biers looked up at Waldridge as he approached. “Charles… I was afraid you were dead.”
Waldridge grimaced. “Not yet. But Dyle is constantly persevering toward that aim.”
“What happened?” Kendra asked.
Biers shook his head. “They knew Jessie Mercado was looking for me. I suppose they were watching her home and office. They grabbed me in her apartment.” His gaze shifted to Waldridge. “I’m sorry, Charles. I had one job, and it was to not let myself get caught.”
Waldridge shrugged. “I obviously didn’t do so well at that job either.”
The dead bolt rapped, and the door was once more thrown open. This time Ted Dyle entered the room. But the two men with automatic weapons were a silent threat behind him. Her gaze flew to the guard on his right. White hair, gray eyes, fortysomething… It was the man she’d seen when she’d been taken. That must be John Jaden. She could see how he might be in charge. There was a quiet air of authority about his demeanor and the coldness was also evident. Iceman…
“Good evening, Dr. Michaels.” Dyle was dressed more casually than in the photo Kendra had seen, in which he was wearing a suit. Here he wore slacks and a white pullover shirt. His sleek dark hair was as carefully barbered as she remembered from that night in Monterrey. “I see you’re with us again. It’s delightful to meet you at last. Though I’ve always been a fan from the first time I heard you speak. Inspiring. Really inspiring.”
“And did I say all the things you wanted me to say? I understand that you were forcing Dr. Waldridge to make me dance on your strings.”
“Not true, Kendra,” Charles said. “They were my strings, and I was careful to make sure that nothing you said would be against your principles. Dyle merely wanted Night Watch to become a household name, and I could go along with that.” He met Dyle’s eyes. “As long as he realized that I had full control of any project in which I was involved.”
“The man who pays the bills makes the rules,” Dyle said. “Stubborn. Incredibly stubborn. Eventually, you’ll come to realize that.” He turned back to Kendra. “Did you enjoy your time with Waldridge? I wanted to give you a little time to become reacquainted. By the way you were tearing around L.A. and San Diego trying to find him, I gather you wanted that desperately.”
“You’re fully aware how grateful I was to Waldridge. You were there from the beginning.”
“Really before the beginning of your association. I was there with the money when he was developing that stem-cell operation. I thought it had great promise. Not wonderful monetary potential, but I could see what Waldridge was working on down the road and that you were only the beginning.” He inclined his head. “Quite a splendid beginning. I was very upset when Waldridge let you run out on us.”
“You mean and actually have a life?”
“Debts must be paid. I’ve been trying to demonstrate that to my friend, Waldridge, during our time together, but he’s not being reasonable.” He smiled broadly as his gaze shifted from her to Waldridge, then Biers. “The band is back together. Or at least two of the three. Regrettable that Dr. Shaw couldn’t join us.”
“Enjoying this, Dyle?” Waldridge took a step toward him, but one of the armed guards motioned him back with his gun. “Yes, I think you are. You want to grandstand in front of a new audience instead of our usual more intimate sessions? I’ll play along. You wanted to point out that you’d killed Shaw, a brilliant man who wanted only to make his work mean something? We get it.”
A flash of anger crossed Dyle’s face. “Perhaps if the three of you hadn’t left with my intellectual property, it wouldn’t have been necessary.”
“It was never supposed to be just a vehicle for your pharmaceutical-sales division.”
“I have a right to earn back my investment.”
“You already would have done that thousands of times over,” Biers muttered.
“Thousands of times versus millions of times,” Dyle said. “What sounds like a more prudent business plan to you? Especially if the second questionable option requires even more research and development.”
“I told you we could do it,” Waldridge said. “No side effects, no lifetime dependence on our medication.”
Dial shook his head. “I made a financial decision. Sorry you didn’t agree. My only regret is that I let you squirrel away our project’s formulas.”
“You didn’t let me do anything. The project is virtually mine anyway. I had to protect it. I could see where this was headed.”
“You’re holding the process hostage. We could be helping people right now.”
“And then hold them hostage. How many times have we gone over this? You’re not getting it until it’s finished,” Waldridge said. “My way.”
“You son of a bitch.” Kendra could see that Dyle’s sleek mask had vanished, and he was practically trembling with rage as he stepped closer to Waldridge. “Always have to be the great man, don’t you?” He was glaring at him. “You’ve always been so quick to take the credit for Dr. Michaels’s miracle of sight. But too often, you’ve happily ignored the fact that none of it would be possible without funding.” Dyle turned toward Kendra, and she took an instinctive step back as she saw the sheer malevolence in his expression. “I paid for those eyes of yours, Dr. Michaels. If your idol here doesn’t see fit to give me what’s mine…” Dyle turned back toward Waldridge, and spat out, “I must insist on taking them back.”
Kendra recoiled in shock. She couldn’t breathe. She could only stare at Dyle.
Nightmare. Her worst nightmare…
She was barely aware that Waldridge had gone still beside her. “What are you saying?”
Dyle smiled. “Do I really need to say it? I believe I’ve made myself clear.”
“Yes,” Kendra said unsteadily. “Say it.”
“I’m certain you’ve already researched me enough to know who I am, Dr. Michaels. I’m a man who gets what he wants. And if I don’t get what I want from Dr. Waldridge, I’m going to take your eyes.” His voice was soft, full of venom. “First your right eye, then your left eye. Is that clear enough for you?”
“You’re a monster,” Biers said. “We were right about you. That’s why we left.”
Dyle ignored him. His gaze was fixed on Waldridge’s face. “One hour,” Dyle said. “Then I’ll come back and take Kendra’s right eye. No anesthesia. I want both of you to feel every cut. If you want to stop me, you’d better get to work, Waldridge.”