Winter Igniting

  He really didn’t want to kill her. Oh, she’d pay for her betrayal. But she was strong and would survive what he had planned. Then they’d live the life he’d always wanted.

  “Sir?” Dr. Ramirez stood in the doorway, his white lab coat wrinkled.

  “Yes?” Bret focused on his head scientist. The guy had run the Century City Bunker before escaping when Vanguard had taken the facility. He had then, quite wisely, sought out the president. “I’ve finished gathering what intel there is on the other Bunkers. Besides the one in Reno, we have some evidence of a Bunker in Portland. May I send scouts to the city to start searching?”

  Bret nodded. “Do it now.” He’d arisen to the office of president so quickly that many of the protocols hadn’t been followed. Namely, that of information. He didn’t even know where the Bunkers were located or how many existed.

  He couldn’t even get into the Reno facility until now.

  The people living in them, if there were any, certainly hadn’t sought him out.

  Ramirez hovered in the doorway. “I also have that report you requested on my research.” He moved inside and slid a bright yellow file folder across the expansive desk.

  Research? Human experimentation was a better description. Not that Bret gave a shit. “Do you have the intel on Marcus Knight?” The way to take down Jax Mercury and Vanguard was through Jax’s brother. Of course, Bret had other safeguards in place—namely inside Vanguard territory.

  “Yes.” Ramirez stood to almost five-foot-nine, his back ramrod straight. “He was my strongest subject. No matter what we did to him, he survived.”

  Bret flipped open the file folder. “He didn’t change?”

  Ramirez chuckled. “Oh, he changed. He went from fighting us to defying us. He may have lost his ability to speak, and I think his memory was lost. In fact, I turned him into more of an animal than a human.”

  Was that pride in the doctor’s voice?

  “You did most of your work in Century City?” Bret asked.

  “Yes.” Ramirez faltered for a moment and then recovered. “To be honest, Marcus was brought to me from another facility. One that specialized in conducting such research on Scorpius survivors. With the intent to create the ultimate killing machine, of course.”

  Bret’s head snapped up. “Where was the other facility?”

  “We weren’t told.” Ramirez’s darker skin paled a little. “The location of the Bunkers was a secret even to those of us in one. The government wanted secrecy on the project, obviously. I tried to get the location out of Marcus, but he didn’t know.”

  He didn’t know, or he hadn’t broken enough to tell. It was more important than ever that Bret get his hands on Marcus. “How are the experiments going here?”

  Ramirez shook his head. “The basement facility isn’t close to what I need. I had another subject die earlier this morning.”

  “All right.” Bret smiled. “I have good news for you. We leave in an hour for Reno.”

  Ramirez’s eyes lit up. “I’m being relocated to the Reno Bunker?”

  “Yes.” It would be under Bret’s control by the following morning. While he’d had difficulty infiltrating it before now, after Greyson Storm had gone in, the scientists there must be terrified. It was time for them to rejoin the U.S. of A. “Do you have subjects to bring?”

  Ramirez played with his new goatee. “Yes, three. I have two others, but they’re useless. I’ll take care of them before we go.”

  “Make preparations.” Bret dismissed him. “Blankenship?” he yelled.

  Ramirez hustled out of the room just as Jerome Blankenship strode inside. “Sir?”

  “I’ve been reading your military file.” What there was of it anyway. Records were a thing of the past.

  “Yes, sir?” Blankenship said, his brown eyes sharp and unyielding.

  Bret reached for a stack of papers and read out loud. “US Military, Special Forces. Wet work. That you?”

  “Yes, sir.” Blankenship’s posture and expression didn’t alter.

  He wasn’t Vice President Lake, unfortunately. Although Lake had never been infected, he was a true sociopath who had no qualms about killing. Enjoyed it, actually. Oh, Bret was going to make Greyson Storm pay for killing Lake. Someday.

  He brought himself back to the moment. “I need a vice president and a head of the military for now. Are you interested?”

  Blankenship stood straighter in his black jeans and green T-shirt. “I am, sir.”

  “Have you survived the bacteria?” It didn’t much matter to Bret since he had survived and didn’t have to worry about being infected, but he was curious.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Interesting. “Are you different than you were before the bacteria?”

  Those piercing eyes focused on Bret, and he fought a shiver. “I feel less and am stronger. My path is more focused and clearer than ever before.”

  Now that’s what Bret wanted to hear. “Do you have the plans to retake our Reno facility tonight?”

  “Yes, sir. You’re the president, so I’m not expecting much of a resistance considering Greyson Storm already infiltrated them last month when he kidnapped Dr. Barter. Anybody still living there was put in place by the government, and that is you.” Blankenship was one long line of muscle, but his movements were graceful and smooth as he handed over a piece of paper. “If not, they will feel the force of our military.”

  Bret glanced down at the directions. “What about Vanguard? They’re planning an attack soon, correct?” His sources were good, but there was a time lag in the flow of information.

  “Yes, but they’ll have other things to deal with…soon.” For the first time, Blankenship smiled, and the sight was chilling.

  Bret returned the smile. “All right, then. Let’s get you sworn in.”

  28

  I’m good friends with Lynne, Vinnie, Sami, and Maureen. But I look at them, and I wonder. How do they take such a risk by falling in love, knowing the odds these days?

  —April Snyder, Journal

  Damon was becoming a force she didn’t want to live without. April settled down in her bed. After another wild bout of lovemaking, her breath came in pants, her body still stimulated. She snuggled into his side while he lay on his back, like usual.

  His breathing had already evened out.

  Moonlight filtered through the blinds, caressing his rugged face. She wanted to trace the contours, but they both needed sleep. It had cost him to agree to let her go into the Pure by herself, but there was no choice. Plus, she knew how he felt. Every time he suited up for a mission, her heart stopped.

  She drifted into sleep, her body warm and satiated.

  An explosion blew the peace apart.

  Damon jumped up, already reaching for his jeans to drag on.

  Another explosion boomed, this one much closer. The building swayed and jumped.

  “Get the kids,” Damon ordered, grabbing his gun off the nightstand.

  Screams filled the night. Another explosion blasted the air, and an old-fashioned siren ripped through the night.

  April pulled on her shirt and shorts, running for the main area.

  Damon reached the door before her, the powerful muscles working in his bare back. “It’s the building next to us, closer to the fence line. Take the kids down to the basement and stay there until I get you.”

  Lena and the younger kids were already stumbling out of their rooms.

  April grabbed his arm. “What. What are you going to do?”

  The smell of smoke started to permeate the space through the opened windows. His lips pulled into a grim line. “I’m going to find out who’s attacking us and stop them.”

  She wanted to grab his arm. Make him stay. Even ask him to protect them when he was needed elsewhere. Instead, she moved toward the kids. “Blue drill, everyone,” she called out, giving them the signal to head to the reinforced basement.

  Several of the teenagers were already running down, scooping up younger kids as t
hey went.

  Damon nodded at two soldiers in black T-shirts who ran inside. “Secure the building.”

  They went to work, armed with big guns.

  Damon pressed a kiss to her nose. “Go, April. Downstairs. It’ll be okay.”‘

  There was so much she wanted to say, but none of the words would come. So she grasped Lena’s hand and started jogging for the basement door.

  Another explosion rocked the building, and a ceiling tile fell down. This blast was a lot closer.

  “Damn it.” Damon took off at full speed through the doorway and moved out of her sight.

  Her body shook and somehow chilled. She handed Lena over to one of the older girls before going to check each room to make sure all the kids had gotten downstairs.

  After clearing each room, she ran down the stairs to find all the kids and several of the volunteers huddled on the mats, quietly listening. It had been at least five minutes since the last explosion. That had to be good.

  She breathed out, her stomach dropping. Okay. “Great job getting down here, everyone.” The door quietly shut upstairs, with two soldiers on the other side prepared to defend them. “The buddy system worked well, but let’s do a quick head count just to make sure.”

  After doing so, she breathed a little easier. All of the kids and volunteers in the building were nice and safe in the fortified basement.

  “Julie? Why don’t you break the kids into groups and give them games to play?” There was a whole shelf of stuff to entertain the kids during these interludes.

  Julie nodded and set to work.

  April tried to hide the trembling in her limbs and moved closer to the door, sitting on the mat with her back to the cement blocks.

  Lena maneuvered between bodies and approached her, turning at the last minute and sitting on April’s lap.

  April hugged the girl from behind and pressed a kiss to her head. This was why she couldn’t go live inside the Pure apartment building, no matter how much safer it was for her. The kids needed her, and Lena in particular. The girl had survived the illness, no doubt, so the church wouldn’t let her in. She inhaled the girl’s powder-fresh scent. “It’ll be okay, sweetheart. Damon and the other soldiers will figure out what happened.”

  The explosion had definitely been inside the territory and not outside the fence, where stacks of tires and turned-over trucks offered more protection. Had it been a bomb?

  There was one apartment building between April’s complex and the fence, so somebody could’ve fired over the perimeter. It was dark, so the patrolling soldiers might not have seen the attack in time. But there had been…what? Maybe three or four explosions? They all ran together in her mind.

  Damon was out there with explosives. Or with enemies who’d used incendiary devices.

  She shivered.

  Lena patted her hand. Then she reached into her overalls and drew out a small action figure. It was a man with a black vest across his chest. SWAT was clearly emblazoned in gold letters. She slipped it into April’s hand.

  April looked at the figure. “How do you know things?” she whispered.

  Lena sighed and leaned back against her. Her small body barely weighed enough to notice.

  “Do you want to talk?” April asked, her mouth close to the girl’s ear.

  Lena didn’t so much as twitch.

  April sighed. “What about Marcus Knight—Jax’s brother? Most people don’t go near him, and you do. Is he your friend?”

  The girl paused and then slowly nodded.

  Alrighty, then. At least she was communicating again. It had been a few days.

  “Would you say one word?” April asked, almost holding her breath.

  Lena stayed silent.

  Just like the night outside.

  Damon ran through the smoke, reaching the burning building at the same time as Greyson. Grey was also shirtless with unbuttoned jeans and boots; no doubt having had been in bed when the explosions started. Maureen was at his side, her eyes wide.

  Jax ran up from the other side, looking up.

  The detonations had blown several holes in the side of the building, and fires raged inside.

  Fuck. Damon looked up at the clear sky. No clouds, and definitely no rain. “How many barrels of water do we have?” he asked Jax.

  The fire crackled wildly, burning hotly.

  Jax shook his head. “Not enough to fight this and still have enough for people.” He looked around. “Where’s Quincy?”

  Greyson watched the smoke billowing out of the top floor. “Around the side, taking stock.”

  Damon and learned more about Quincy and decided he was a decent guy. Who wouldn’t want to protect April? He was a former explosives expert and firefighter for the military with experience with forest and structural damage. “Quincy?” he bellowed.

  “Here.” Quincy ran around the building, an ax already in his hands, his southern accent out in full force. “The brick will take a while to burn, but the roof, interior floors, and walls are all wood. We’re losing this building, gentlemen. Forget about saving it. Are all the people out?”

  Greyson nodded, smoke and soot already staining his face. “Yes. This was one of the Mercenary buildings, but we moved everyone into other quarters to assimilate the two groups.”

  A bad taste filled Damon’s mouth. “If somebody didn’t know that, they might’ve thought they were hitting us.” Or what used to be them.

  Greyson’s eyes hardened.

  Quincy looked around. “All right. Investigate later. This, tonight, is about saving the building next to it and the houses to the north.”

  Heat from the fire burned even through Damon’s clothing. He backed away from the boiling mass along with the other men. “Is the territory secured?”

  “Just sent five squads per fence line to patrol and protect,” Jax said.

  Wood popped wildly up in the air, and fire rained down. Damon ducked out of the way. “Let me know the second we should evacuate the kids next door, if necessary.”

  “Yep.” Quincy looked beyond the fence at the turned over trucks. “The first explosion definitely came from a projectile, and I think we’ll find a rocket when this thing dies down.” The lines deepened at the sides of his mouth. “The second explosion sounded different.”

  A group of soldiers ran up with shovels in their hands.

  Quincy pointed. “Dig a trench between the two buildings. Now.” The men took off at a run. He looked at Jax. “How many barrels of water can you spare?”

  “None,” Jax said tersely, wiping soot off his cheekbone.

  “Too bad. I want four barrels on the roof of the adjoining building. If this thing jumps rooftops, we have to be quick.” Quincy pointed at six soldiers who’d just rounded the building. “You’re with me. Hope you are in shape.” He took off at a dead run.

  Damon grabbed Grey’s arm and dragged him closer to the fence. It was secure if the patrols had taken their places. “Did he just say that one of the explosives might’ve been from inside?”

  “I’m not sure.” Greyson pointed toward the street between the building and the row of houses. “We need to water down all of those weeds. If this thing gets out of control, the entire territory will burn like Santa Barbara did.”

  “There isn’t enough water,” Jax snapped, grabbing a shovel from one of the passing guys. Another guy threw several shovels down and then continued carrying more around the corner. “Best we can do is dig holes in front of the houses. If the fire jumps to rooftops, we’re fucked.”

  Damon reached down for a shovel. “We need to add snipers to the security plan.”

  Greyson hefted a shovel over his shoulder. “We have three snipers total. They can’t work every night.”

  The building popped loudly, and lava-hot bricks blew over their heads.

  Damon ducked. “Jesus.” He moved toward the street along with the other men. “Scouts, then. We need people on rooftops watching for this type of thing. The vantage point will help.” Now that it
was summer, it was necessary. The rainy spring would’ve made it difficult. The moonlight helped a lot, but on cloudy nights, they were screwed anyway.

  Jax nodded. “Good call.”

  Greyson nudged Maureen toward Damon. “I want to check something. Give me a second.”

  Damon paused at the edge of the street as Jax and a couple of soldiers continued on to start digging up the front yards of the old homes.

  “Where is he going?” Maureen muttered, wrapping an arm around her stomach.

  Damon edged in front of her. It wasn’t his place to suggest that she go back to headquarters, but the woman was pregnant for goodness sakes. “If you want to head back, I’ll cover Greyson,” he said.

  She rolled her eyes. “I can dig a hole with the best of them. Pregnancy doesn’t change that.”

  Yeah, but Greyson would. Damon would bet his left arm that there was no way Grey would let her dig holes with a fire roaring behind them. Though Damon had always liked this blue-eyed spitfire.

  Grey came around the corner with a couple of pickaxes and Atticus, one of their older soldiers. He pointed out Maureen.

  Atticus caught sight of them and nodded, turning their way.

  “Guess you’re going back to headquarters with Atticus,” Damon said quietly. Yeah. That’s what he’d figured. When Maureen started to protest, Damon shook his head. “You’re pregnant, Moe. Grey can’t concentrate with you here, and I need him focused.”

  Maureen gave him a look but didn’t argue.

  Atticus reached them. “Hey, girly. I’m supposed to escort you back to safety and away from this blasted heat. It’s just too hot. You got any wine or booze for me?” He grasped Moe’s arm.

  Damon chuckled and started to turn toward the houses.

  A shout sounded from behind them. A man ran away from the building, panic on his face. “Bomb!”

  The earth rumbled.

  Damon acted instantly, throwing his body over Maureen’s and trying to cushion her stomach as the building exploded. He hit the ground hard, partially rolling to keep her safe. Something sharp smashed into Damon’s head.