Rx Missing (Decorah Security Series, Book #10): A Paranormal Romantic Suspense Novel by Rebecca York

hotel? Or was it an outside influence?”
    “Good question,” Mack said, looking at Lily. “Outside influence or part of the setup?”
    “How would I know?” she shot back.
    He shrugged. “Just trying to get your opinion. Do you have one?”
    “Outside influence,” she finally said.
    “Why do you think so?”
    She was ready with a quick answer. “Because there’s nothing to be afraid of in here.”
    “Except the guy who tried to choke you,” Mack reminded her.
    “But he’s disappeared.”
    “Has he?”
    “I hope so,” she answered quickly, and again he couldn’t help thinking that she knew more than anybody else.
    When she didn’t volunteer anything else, Mack looked at Roper, who had made the comment about the liquor to the group in general. “Anybody sleepy?” he asked.
    They all considered the question. Nobody answered in the affirmative.
    “Here’s another one. Anybody have to go to the bathroom?”
    Again nobody was feeling a full bladder.
    “And we’re all in tip top physical condition?” Mack asked.
    He watched the people in the room taking inventory. Some stood up and stretched. Others raised their hands above their heads or bent over and reached down toward their toes. Jenny turned her head from side to side.
    “I had a stiff shoulder,” Todd said. “It’s better now.”
    “Yeah, and my knee isn’t giving me any problems,” Paula reported.
    “That’s all good, isn’t it?” Lily said.
    “Hopefully,” Mack answered.
    “You don’t want to feel good?”
    “Sure I do. But the last thing I remember is ejecting from a fighter jet. You’d think I’d have some aftereffects? At least some muscle pulls or something? Do you have a medical opinion about that?”
    “A medical opinion?”
    “You’re a nurse, aren’t you?”
    “Yes.”
    He thought he saw a shadow cross her face, but it was gone before he could be sure it was really there.
    “So let me ask the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question,” Mack said. “Now that we’ve been here awhile and thought about our physical condition, where do you think we are?”
    He saw various reactions around the room.
    “A prison?” Chris Morgan muttered.
    “Why do you think so?” Ben Todd asked him.
    “Because we can’t get out.”
    “If it’s a prison, it’s pretty plush.”
    “How about a mind-control experiment?” Todd asked.
    Jenny winced. “Do you really think so?”
    “It’s as good a guess as any.”
    At the side of the room, Tom Wright stood up, and Mack looked toward him.
    “You have a theory?”
    “Not that I want to discuss.”
    “But you’re thinking something,” Mack pressed.
    “I’m thinking I’ve had enough cheerful togetherness,” the man clipped out. He headed for the door, then stalked out of the room. Mack waited for several moments, then stepped into the hall, seeing the defector striding toward the lobby. He followed, staying near the wall and several yards back as he watched the man stalk across the expanse of marble floor and turn right into the main hallway. Wright marched into the business center and closed the door behind him.
    Mack walked quietly to the door, pausing at the side of a potted palm, and waited several seconds to let Wright think he was alone. Finally he eased the door open a crack and looked in. The car salesman was seated at one of the computers. He turned it on and waited. Mack held his breath. Did this guy know something that the rest of them didn’t? Like did he have a way to communicate with the outside world? Long seconds passed, and then a message flashed on the screen, “Unable to load mail.”
    “The fuck you say. I mean, what is this?”
    Wright slapped the desk next to the machine, then began pressing buttons. The tactic didn’t produce a mail program, but the screen flashed with an announcement of games and movies.
    “Oh right,” Wright muttered. “Canned stuff. Just what we need to keep us occupied.”
    Mack might have stepped into the business center, but