Page 138 of Taste of Blood

“You were right.”

I sit down on the opposite couch. “About what?”

“The Black Guild.”

“You mean they’re here?” Jesus, that was quick.

He nods. “Arrived last night and took over everything. Told us not to pursue the Python situation. Basically cut Dante out of the loop.”

“How did they find out?”

“That’s what I’d like to know. We’ve kept the lid on this pretty tight. Someone had to have told them.”

Interesting. Does Dante have a mole in his organization? “You think it was one of yours?”

He shrugs. “Who knows?”

“You don’t think it’s Thalium, do you?”

“I considered it, but what motivation would he have? He’s the one causing the uprising.”

I glance at the folder on the coffee table. “Maybe it has something to do with what Elaine found.”

He quirks a brow at me. “Don’t keep me in suspense, Ash. I’ve had a shitty day.”

I pick up the folder and leaf through it to find the page I’m looking for. “Remember the info about Thalium buying an Asian pharmaceutical company?”

“Yeah, I was thinking about that this morning. I figured it had to mean something if he was talking about it.”

“It does.” I pass the paper over to him.

He scans it and looks up at me. “What is this?”

“That’s a corporate overview of the company, Kusuri Pharmaceuticals. You’ll notice there’s a picture of their CEO on it, a Mr. Kenzo Matsumoto. Hailed as being a rising genius. The website lists him as being forty-eight years old, but look at that picture.”

He glances down at the paper in his hand. I know what he’s seeing. If the man in the picture is forty-eight, he’s definitely not human. Matsumoto looks to be in his mid-twenties.

“Is this an old picture?”

“No. That was taken last year when the company applied for a patent on agroundbreakingdrug.”

“So Matsumoto is Clan.”

“The whole company is. Elaine did some digging and managed to uncover ties to Sanguine Corporation, which is one of two White Guild organizations that collect a share of profits from Clan businesses. I know them because I have to share my own profits with them. That’s how Clan companies do business.”

“Okay, so Thalium bought a Japanese Clan company. Why is that significant?”

“Like I said, they were very proud of the scientists who developed this new drug and the fact that they applied for the patent, saying it will change everything, but there’s been nofurther word about it. Nothing has been released to the public. Near as I can figure, it’s something meant for Clan only.”

“Does it say what the drug is?”

“All we could find is that it’s called LTS3.0.”

Cord’s face pales. “Did you say LTS3.0?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Lifeblood Termination Serum,” he murmurs.