Chapter 22 #2
As darkness settled over the desert facility, Sadie realized with clarity that her mission had evolved into something deeper.
Somewhere in this carefully controlled environment, a woman had vanished.
Did Melinda meet the same fate as Natalia?
And have I painted a target on my back by asking too many questions?
“Well, I’ll see you around.” Sadie backed toward the hallway with a casual smile that felt like plastic on her face.
Nina nodded quickly, relief evident as Sadie turned to leave.
As she walked back toward her own quarters, Sadie’s mind raced through increasingly dark possibilities. Melinda’s sudden disappearance, her belongings removed, staff offering contradictory explanations—all signs pointing toward a scenario that made her stomach clench with dread.
The door to her room clicked shut behind Sadie, and she immediately moved to retrieve her secure phone. As she initiated the encrypted connection, her hands trembled slightly from the adrenaline crash that followed hours of maintaining perfect composure while her world tilted with heavy thoughts.
Todd answered before the first ring finished, his voice pouring through the speaker like a lifeline thrown to a drowning woman. “Sadie, how are you?”
His words had rushed out with desperate urgency, and warmth flooded through her chest as she realized he’d asked about her well-being first before the mission status or operational updates.
The simple prioritization spoke volumes about where his heart lay, even in the midst of a complex investigation.
While luxury surrounded her in this marble-appointed prison of Egyptian cotton sheets, rainfall shower, and amenities that cost more than most people’s monthly salaries, she could picture Todd’s stark accommodations with painful clarity.
He’d spent days and nights in a bare-bones desert hotel room, probably surviving on vending machine coffee and takeout food, his entire world reduced to a laptop screen and the desperate hope that her voice would come through safely each evening.
“I’m okay,” she said, allowing genuine warmth to color her voice despite the circumstances. “But I have to tell you something. Melinda’s gone. At least, that’s what I was told.”
She could practically feel his attention sharpening through the phone connection as she continued.
“She wasn’t at any of the meals today, but I was told that she was on an excursion with some others.
They came back, but she didn’t. So I got worried and went looking for her.
I found her room, but there was only a housekeeper there, and she grew increasingly nervous when I started asking questions.
She claimed Melinda had left and that’s why she was preparing the room for a new guest.”
“Dammit!” The curse exploded from him with enough force that she could picture him running frustrated hands through his hair, the gesture she’d observed countless times during difficult briefings back in Montana.
“Todd, I need the Keepers to investigate whether she has a rental car reservation, airline tickets, or hotel bookings. Look for anything that would confirm she actually left voluntarily,” Sadie continued, hoping to find concrete evidence to either confirm or dispel her growing fears.
“I’d feel better knowing she made it out safely. ”
“Sending them a message now,” Todd replied, and she could hear the rapid clicking of keyboard keys as he transmitted her request to LSIMT.
“There’s more...” she said, the words heavy with implications that made her stomach clench.
“What? What else?” His voice carried a razor’s edge of concern that made her heart ache with the knowledge of how much he cared.
“Yelena, the spa manager with the ice-queen demeanor, seemed to watch me with particular intensity today when I palmed my supplements at breakfast. Her stare felt targeted, suspicious.” Sadie closed her eyes, reliving the uncomfortable sensation of being studied like a laboratory specimen.
“Later, during the sound bath session, she appeared with cucumber water for all the guests. But I noticed she handed me a specific glass. It wasn’t random distribution, but a deliberate selection. ”
The memory of that moment sent fresh chills down her spine. Yelena’s cold blue eyes had held something predatory as she’d offered the innocuous-looking beverage, her smile carrying undertones that had nothing to do with hospitality.
“I took a small sip to maintain appearances, then, when she moved to the other side of the pavilion, I managed to pour the rest into a decorative planter beside my mat. Classic misdirection technique, but I hope it worked.”
“Good thinking,” Todd said, genuine admiration warming his voice despite the gravity of what she was describing. “You have to be careful about anything you ingest in that place.”
“That’s exactly what I wanted to discuss with you. Is there any chance we can meet tonight because there are more vials for me to get to you?” She needed to see his face, needed the reassurance of his physical presence in a world that was becoming increasingly surreal and threatening.
“Absolutely. That won’t be a problem.” His immediate agreement sent relief flooding through her chest. “You know I’ll always be there when you need me.”
The simple declaration made her throat tight with emotions she couldn’t afford to examine too closely while still trapped in the mission. But the knowledge that he was just miles away, ready to move heaven and earth to reach her if necessary, provided an anchor of stability in the chaos.
“When I had my massage today, the therapist used oils that were completely different from previous sessions,” she continued, forcing her mind back to operational concerns.
“The scent was strange… clinical rather than therapeutic. And she specifically referred to it as a ‘specialized neuro-enhancement blend.’”
“Fuck,” Todd growled, the curse vibrating with protective fury that made something primal in her chest respond with gratitude. “I wanted you to avoid any direct exposure.”
“I couldn’t refuse without raising suspicions, but I don’t know what compounds might have been absorbed through my skin.
” The admission made her feel vulnerable in ways that went beyond physical danger.
“However, I managed to obtain two of the vials while the therapist stepped out. The treatment table contained several unlabeled vials, so I only took two that wouldn’t be immediately missed. ”
She could hear him exhale heavily, the sound carrying a mixture of pride at her resourcefulness and terror at the risks she was taking. “Okay, I’ll meet you at the same location as before.”
Outside her window, the desert sunset painted the sky in shades of rose and gold, the natural beauty a stark contrast to the artificial perfection that concealed such darkness within Serenity Dunes’s walls.
As they finalized their meeting arrangements, Sadie felt the weight of everything they’d discovered settling on her shoulders like a lead blanket.
“Be careful,” Todd warned before they disconnected, his voice rough with barely contained emotion. Those two simple words carried the depth of his feelings, the magnitude of what she meant to him, and the terror of potentially losing her to forces beyond his control.
As the call ended, Sadie stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror.
She was a woman playing a dangerous game with stakes that grew higher by the hour.
Dr. Patel and Dr. Selinski were using unapproved drugs on unwitting subjects, gathering data that could be exploited in countries with more lenient regulations.
The scope of their operation extended far beyond simple spa treatments into the realm of unauthorized human experimentation.
But now she had more evidence, and Todd’s unwavering support was just a phone call away.
Soon, she promised herself, touching the lighthouse pendant at her throat. Soon she’d be in his arms again, safe from the predators who lurked behind Serenity Dunes’s facade of healing and rejuvenation.
She just had to survive long enough to make it happen.