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“We will destroy this bitch and everyone associated with her and Anzû.”

Frost moved closer to Xander. He reached for her, holding her close and breathing her in. The moment reminded Neri that despite how deadly the immortals were; they were also vulnerable because of those they loved. Vulnerable, yes, but as she was learning with Hunter she had a mate and a family who knew love was stronger than any evil that existed. Including those who wanted to destroy them.

Hunter, sensing Neri’s swirling thoughts, lifted her and cuddled her in his lap. She nuzzled her face against his neck, taking comfort for a moment.

Sensing Xander’s anger and fear, everyone had circled the couch, sitting on the floor or any available seat as they stared at Xander with wide eyes, yet a determined look on each of their faces.

“In the county records, I found a marriage certificate dated the same month Zahava started at Standard,” Xander sucked in another deep breath before he said, “She married Anzû.”

“That makes no sense. If she married him why did he want me?” Frost asked.

Axel scoffed. “Anzû wasn’t stable. I remember how he looked when he walked out of the trees to confront us the same night he died. He had a crazed look in his eyes, and for an immortal shifter, he looked unhealthy. His cheeks and eyes sunken and sallow, his skin jaundiced, and since immortals can never get sick, what was he suffering from that made him look like that?”

“So this Zahava, is after me for killing her husband?” Frost asked.

Hunter shook his head. “I think she’s after every one of us. For the longest time, we though Anzû and whoever took over Nightfall after his death wanted to destroy Dark Company for control. But now the pieces are falling into place.”

“What do you mean?” Kai asked.

“Zahava was in control all along.”

Hunter’s matter-of-fact statement sent a shiver through Neri.

Axel shook his head, but Ghost seemed to contemplate what Hunter said, his interest peaked. Jade and Noah sat still and Neri wondered at the look on Jade’s face. Kane snarled and both Thomas and Isaac sat back with an air of nonchalance, but she could see they listened intently to Hunter’s words. Seth and Aubrey were looking around the room, gauging how the others reacted to Hunter’s matter-of-fact statement. And Kai, Liv, Reaper, Ara, Xander, and Frost searched Hunter’s face as he continued with his theory.

“Xander, can you check to see where Zahava worked at Standard and her supervisor’s name?”

Within moments, Xander’s eyes widened and his head shot up. “First, she worked for Dr. Ames in microbiology for a year. Then she was reassigned to Dr. Stevens, who is a biomedical engineer, after Dr. Ames disappeared.”

Xander continued to search something he didn’t explain, humming under his breath, and soon found what he wanted. “She doesn’t have a special degree. She earned an associate’s degree in nursing at the local community college and she’s a licensed practical nurse. They found out she lied on her resume. She listed RN and not LPN, but by that time, she stopped coming to work.”

“Yeah, I remember even at a young age, Zahava would do only what was necessary,” Neri snarled.

“Everything from Liv throwing a wrench in their plans, to Ara escaping Standard, and Jade and Noah finding their supposed base of operations earlier this year, Zahava orchestrated it. She married Anzû and worked at Standard a year before Liv even discovered the bioweapon. The dead shifter didn’t seem like a big picture guy. His focus when he fought us was Frost, for no other reason than he wanted her and she became his obsession.

“But Zahava… she worked with the two scientists who created a bioweapon and turned Neri; she made sure she was close-by during Neri’s injection. Despite being human, she’s the leader of a group of shifters and if she’s as smart as I believe she is, she kept herself out of sight for a distinct advantage. We still need answers, but it’s more than we had last year.”

Neri knew it made sense. Although she hadn’t been with Hunter’s family since the beginning, she knew Zahava. For a long time when they were growing up in the orphanage, Neri dreaded being in the vicinity of Zahava. But she placated the girl because she’d seen the mean streak that came along with defiance.

“Where are we going to find what we need?” Gunnar asked.

Another phantom pain pierced her arm, and she jerked it close to her chest. Her other hand pressing down on the spot. Instead of panicking, she knew there was an answer somewhere inside her memory so she relaxed her mind and closed her eyes, searching for why the pain was affecting her. As soon as her shoulder’s relaxed and she leaned against Hunter, another memory assailed her.

Fear coursed through Neri, her body strapped down. The purplish-blue scrubs she wore did nothing to keep the chill from the metal table from soaking through her bones and causing her to shiver. She needed to get her mind off being cold, so she listened for any foreign sounds before she took in the room. The sky blue walls with the one-way mirror on one side, painted a neutral color to ease the mind of whoever they kept. But to Neri, she only sensed dread.

With slow, deliberate movements, she moved her head around the room and the first thing her gaze landed on was one computer on a wheeled stand. It wasn’t on and there were no labels or distinguishing logos anywhere so she moved on.

Her eyes focused on a sink with a long-necked spout that reminded her of a doctor’s office. Around the sink, sat clear circular jars with metal lids filled with cotton balls, swabs, and tongue depressors. On the shelf above, there were purple gloves in both medium and large sizes and a closed cabinet above the shelf.

She pulled her gaze from the nondescript sink, she noticed a sharps disposal container close to the table where she lay. She sucked in a breath when she realized one syringe lay inside. At that moment, she jerked her head up and searched her arms for an injection site and almost cried when she spotted a bead of blood. On her right arm.

She forgot the drop of blood the moment searing pain ripped through her body, setting her blood on fire. Her mouth opened to scream as pain consumed her. But before she could relive the moment, someone cupped her face. She heard her name being shouted at a distance.

“Neri, angel. You’re okay, you’re safe.”

Without opening her eyes, she growled. “No, I don’t think I am fine.”

A ripple started at her feet. It wasn’t painful but something inside her told her to relax her body and take deep breaths.