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"Like you protected those kids?" Rigor scoffed. "No thanks."

Mo stepped forward, ignoring Victor's attempt to hold him back. "Please," he called, his voice breaking. Rigor sneered. “Want your sister as well? I know where she is.”

“Victor!” Martin hissed in his ear. “It’s a trap. At least ten heavily armed men approaching from all directions.”

Victor laughed, loudly. “So, you arranged for us to have a welcome committee?”

Rigor frowned. “What?”

“There’s an army approaching. Either humans with guns or shifters with fangs and claws. Either way you don’t get out of this alive.”

Rigor paled. “It wasn’t me! Pearson is nuts. I know where they are, but you have to get me out—” But just as Rigor stepped forward the smaller man next to him turned and shot Rigor point blank. The man jumped from the platform just as Victor got to him. He had the gun out of his hands and his claws around the man’s throat before he could squirm free.

But the man raised tired eyes. “Doesn’t matter. Pearson is paying for my little girl’s cancer treatment. The only job I was asked to do was shoot Rigor if he threatened to spill. I don’t know anything.” His eyes grew misty. “I had no choice.”

“Victor,” Martin said calmly. “There's no one else here.”

Twenty minutes later Victor shoved the guy in front of him as he walked in the house. “Start with a name,” he growled.

"David Carson," the man replied, his voice steady despite Victor's menacing stance. "I'm sorry about your friend, but as I said I honestly don't know where Pearson keeps his test subjects." They’d interrogated him on the way home.

Mo stepped forward, his face pale but determined. "You said Pearson is paying for your daughter's treatment. What hospital?"

Carson hesitated, confused by the question. "St. Jude's Children's in Portland. Why?"

"Because Pearson wouldn't risk his operation by using his real name for the payments," Daniel said, understanding Mo's line of questioning. "He'd set up a shell company or foundation."

"The Artemis Foundation," Carson confirmed. "They cover all of Lily's treatments."

Asher was already typing furiously on his laptop. "Got it. The Artemis Foundation owns several properties, including—" his eyes widened "—a former research facility about forty miles north of here. It was supposedly closed three years ago, but the power usage is consistent with an active facility."

"That's it," Victor said, his certainty absolute. The faint bond he felt with Zack seemed to pulse slightly stronger at the mention of the location.

"It has to be," Mo agreed, clutching Victor's arm. "I felt something just now. Like Zack heard us."

Riley glanced at Carson. "Your daughter—how old is she?"

"Seven," Carson replied, his shoulders slumping. "Acute lymphoblastic leukemia. We couldn't afford the experimental treatment she needed. Pearson approached me after the third doctor turned us away." He swallowed. “I was infantry, seventeenth battalion. Retired. Millie was a surprise.” He smiled. “Diane’s forty-six, and we’d given up trying ten years ago.”

"We'll make sure your daughter continues to receive treatment," Daniel promised. "But right now, we need everything you know about the facility."

"I've never been there," Carson insisted. "Rigor handled all the site operations. I just..." he swallowed hard, "I just did what they told me to keep my little girl alive."

Victor felt a flash of sympathy despite his rage. A parent desperate to save their child—he understood that motivation all too well.

"The satellite images show a perimeter fence with guard posts," Asher reported, turning his laptop so they could see. "Main building has three visible entrances. And obviously the basement."

"How many guards?" Daniel asked.

"Hard to tell from the satellite feed, but I count at least twelve on the perimeter."

Victor's mind was already formulating a plan. "We go in tonight. No more waiting."

"Victor," Daniel cautioned, "we need to plan this carefully. We can't risk—"

"He's dying," Victor cut him off, his voice breaking. "Every minute we wait reduces our chances of getting him back alive."

Mo stepped between them, placing a hand on each man's arm.