Buried and Shadowed (Branded Packs #3)(65)

The doctor stepped back. “The head of the Verona Clinic.”

“What sort of conversations?” he asked.

The man shrugged. “Everything.”

“Everything?”

“I set up a hidden recorder to capture the secret meetings where they discussed the plans to weaponize the Ebola virus. How they picked the poor patient they wanted to infect.” Lowman grimaced. “And whether or not to accept the shifters that offered to use their blood to create a vaccine.”

Hope spread through Sinclair as he glanced down at the black device in the palm of his hand.

“This is a tape of all of them?” he demanded.

“Not just audio. There’s video,” the doctor said, nodding toward the flash drive. “That’s what I was taking to Homeland Security.”

Sinclair released a soft whistle. God. Damn. This was like finding the Holy Grail.

“So Ranney can’t deny he was the mastermind behind the virus,” he rasped, already imagining the impact when Bree exposed the private conversations to the media.

“Exactly,” the doctor said. “He knows that I have them, and he’ll kill me to get his hands on them.”

Sinclair held up his hand, holding the man’s gaze. “I intend to share these with the world,” he warned.

The doctor gave a firm nod. “Good,” he said, his tone surprisingly fierce. “It’s past time.”

Jessica made a sound of distress, her hand raising to her lips.

“But, Gerald,” she breathed. “Those tapes are your only insurance-”

Her words were broken off as a shrill sound sliced through the room. With a wince, Sinclair reached into his pocket to pull out Jessica’s beeper.

“What’s that sound?” he demanded, tossing the device toward her. The thing was about to bust his eardrums.

“The alarm was tripped,” she said, catching the beeper and thankfully shutting it off.

“A patient?” he demanded.

“No.” Her face was pale. “An intruder.”

“Shit,” he growled. “Time to go.” Holding Jessica’s gaze, he nodded toward the doctor. She was the type of woman who’d kept one of the most wanted men in America hidden from the authorities. He was confident that she always had a backup plan. “Do you have a way to get him someplace safe?”

The woman didn’t disappoint him as she efficiently moved to the dresser, shoving it aside to grab a suitcase that was already packed.

“Yes.”

“Go,” Sinclair commanded.

The doctor sent him a worried glance. “What about you?”

“I have to get these tapes to my people,” he said, holding up the flash drive. “But if I don’t make it, then it will be up to you to reveal the truth.”

The man squared his shoulders. “I won’t fail you,” he swore. “Not again.”

Jessica grasped her husband’s arm, tugging him through the hidden door.

Sinclair took Mira’s arm, pulling her back out the way they’d come in.

“Let’s get out of here.”

****

Sinclair was thankful that Mira didn’t protest as he half drug her out of the room and back into the stairwell. She clearly understood that it was too much of a coincidence that an intruder would break into the hospital just when they’d at last found Dr. Lowman.

It had to be the SAU.

He didn’t know how they’d managed to follow them, but it couldn’t be anyone else. Which meant they had to get out of there before the soldiers could get them cornered.

Reaching the stairs, he halted. Below him, he could hear the sounds of shouts. No doubt the soldiers were spreading through the place, causing mass chaos. But that wasn’t what captured his attention.

Instead, it was the dull thud, thud, thud that was coming from overhead that brought a grim smile to his lips.

Perfect.

Turning to the side, he forced open the fire escape door that led to the roof. Then, moving swiftly across the flat surface, he urged Mira to crouch behind the large air conditioning unit.

“What are you doing?” she demanded.

“Here.” He pressed the flash drive into her hand. “Keep a hold of this and stay out of sight.”

She sent him a worried glance. “Sinclair?”

“We’re about to have company.” He pointed toward the helicopter that was swooping toward the roof. “Stay here.”

Turning, Sinclair pulled off his clothing. Then with a silence only a shifter could achieve, he melted into the shadows as he called on the power of his inner animal. Sweet pain and ecstasy combined together as his body popped and snapped into place. Within seconds, the man was gone and in his place was a large, silver and black wolf with ice-blue eyes.

Crouched low to the ground, Sinclair watched as the helicopter landed in the center of the roof. The rotor blades sent blasts of dust through the air, but they slowly came to a halt, and two men crawled out of the cabin.

Sinclair easily recognized Director Markham. After all, he’d worked for the man for years. And the man next to him attired in full military uniform had to be Colonel Donaldson, who’d helped to kidnap Mira.

“I told you that license plate would lead us to the bitch,” Markham was saying with smug satisfaction.