For the next couple of hours, they kept the talk simple and impersonal. There were a couple of tense moments with Tace trying to escape his bonds, but Jax had tied them strong.
The night stormed outside, and in the midst of the inside quiet, a knock echoed on the door.
April lifted her head from where she’d laid it on Haylee’s bed. “Who’s there?”
“Red. Jax radioed in and said to bring you two some food.”
Lynne lifted her eyebrows at April.
April rubbed her chin. “He’s one of Jax’s. We can trust him.” Standing and stretching her back with a low groan, she limped to the door.
Lynne faltered. “Are you sure?”
April glanced back. “Well, pretty sure. Red has been with Jax for months.”
Lynne crossed and reached the woman to draw her away from the door. “Jax said to only let in Wyatt or himself, and I say we listen to the big guy. I’m not that hungry—are you?”
April glanced back to her too-quiet daughter. “No. Not at all.”
Good. Lynne raised her voice. “Red? Thanks for the offer, but we’re going to pass. We’re not hungry, and the two fighting the fever can’t eat.”
“Come on, let me in, Lynne. You can trust me, and I want to see Tace. I need to see my friend.” Red’s voice remained calm.
Not too long ago, she would’ve opened the door with an apology for waffling. But she’d been hunted, and she’d been terrorized. Now she went with instincts—screw manners. “Thanks, Red, but Jax ordered us to keep the door closed, and I’m sure you value his orders. I’d hate to cross the guy within a day of coming to camp.”
“April? You know me, sweetheart. Now I’m getting worried what’s going on in there. Are you all right?” Red asked, his voice muffled only slightly by the thick door.
“I’m fine.” April tucked the sheet more securely around Haylee. “I agree with Lynne that we should follow Jax’s orders. You know how he gets when defied.” She winked at Lynne and gave a mock shudder, whispering, “Actually, that’s kind of true. Not a lot of mercy lives in that man.”
Lynne turned away from the door. Sure, Jax was a hard man, but she’d seen plenty of mercy in him.
A boom echoed, and the door plowed open. The blast hit Lynne square in the back, and she flew across the room to crash between the beds and drop to the floor. Pain flared through her shoulder and the side of her face. Her ears rang, and her vision fuzzed.
April screamed and moved to partially cover her daughter.
Red stomped inside, silver semiautomatic glinting in the dim light. “April, I’m sorry, but we have to get rid of those infected. They’re a danger to us if they survive.”
April’s lips quivered, and she hunched over her daughter in a protective pose. “There are tons of carriers, Red. You can’t kill them all.”
“I can try,” he said grimly. “Next I’ll hit the three in the inner hospital.” A man aged fifty or so stood behind him, carrying a shotgun. “We’ve had a little vote, and this is the only way. I’ll give you a few minutes to say good-bye to your daughter, what’s left of her, while I take care of Blue Heart here.”
“A vote?” Lynne slurred, reaching for the mattress to haul herself up. “The two of you?”
Red pointed the gun at her chest. “That’s all we needed.”
She made it to her feet, her knees wobbling and her head spinning. “What about Jax? He admitted he’s a carrier.”
Red snarled. “He’s betrayed us for six months by lying to us, and he’s being taken care of right now.”
Lynne straightened. Jax was walking into an ambush with his own people? Fear heated her veins to the point of pain. She tried to take several deep breaths to calm herself, to think rationally, but her side hurt. Bad.
April uncurled from Haylee and stood. “You’ve elected yourself our new leader.”
“I have as much training as Mercury, even without being in the military,” Red said evenly.
“I doubt that,” Lynne returned, losing her hold on the bed and going down again. Concussion? Probably. Her ears still rang, and she couldn’t catch a complete thought, although adrenaline ripped through her veins, trying to clear the cloudiness.
Her ass hit the ground, and Red laughed.
What a dick. She had to fight the terror and reason with him before he killed Tace or the girl. “How is Jax being taken care of?” she asked slowly, her fingers inching for the back of her waist, where she’d hidden her gun.
April eyed her and gave a barely perceptible nod.
Red stepped toward her, his gun steady. “Let’s just say I’m not the only one ready for new leadership. Mercury will be taken out today before he ever leaves Baker and Baker.”
There wasn’t a way to warn him. Lynne tried to concentrate on the threat at hand. She’d have to worry about Jax later. The guy was trained and dangerous as hell. Now she needed to survive the next few minutes and save the patients. “Please think about this before you make a huge mistake.” Her legs weren’t steady enough to stand yet.
Red scoffed. “Did you think before you let loose a biological weapon that took out 99 percent of humanity?”
“Yes.” She bowed her head. “I did think, and I tried to cure the infection. We tried to contain it.”
“You fucked up,” Red retorted. Sweat rolled down the side of his face.
She nodded. “I’m aware of that fact, but don’t compound our mistakes by making a huge one of your own. You’re not a killer.”
“No, I’m a protector.” He switched his aim to Tace, who lay unconscious. Sorrow glimmered in Red’s brown eyes, and his hand shook. He used his other hand to steady the weapon, and his jaw clenched.
Lynne’s fingers touched smooth metal, and she yanked the gun from her waistband to fire. Three bullets struck Red’s chest, and he looked at her, eyes wide, his mouth dropping open like a clown at a circus. Blood spurted from his torso and bubbled through his lips.
His eyes rolled back into his head, and he pitched forward, face hitting the tile. His legs kicked up and then back down. Blood seeped from under him.
The guy behind him turned the shotgun toward her, and April fired, hitting the doorjamb and splintering the wood. He growled and swung the gun toward her. Lynne jerked back and fired twice, striking him in the temple. He fell backward, the gun toppling uselessly to the ground.
Lynne swiveled to look at April, whose mouth opened and shut several times.
Glancing down at the gun, April shook her head and then set the weapon gingerly on the bed. “Oh my God.”
Lynne shuddered. She’d killed somebody. Two somebodies. Her vision hazed again. Panic ripped through her, and she crawled up the bed to her feet and tripped over Red as she shoved the other corpse out the door. Grabbing the handle, she used her undamaged elbow to close it. A hole gaped where the lock had been.
She looked around frantically and spotted a table holding supplies across the room. “Help me.” Inching forward, trying to hold her aching ribs with one hand, she grabbed the table while April hefted the other side. Between the two of them, they managed to set it in front of the door. While the metal cart wouldn’t keep anybody out for long, at least it’d provide some warning before the next wave of assassins hit.
Lynne made her way back to Tace and set a knee on his bed.
“You okay?” April asked.
“Yes. I’ll be fine.” The blackness falling over her vision won the fight as panic and shock triumphed. Lynne’s eyes closed, and she pitched forward onto Tace, her face hitting his cheek. Her first thought as she succumbed to oblivion was that his fever had risen, and her last thought was that if she didn’t regain consciousness, she couldn’t handle the next guy who came to kill her.
Maybe it was finally time to die.
Chapter Thirteen
Every beginning has an ending.
—Dr. Franklin Xavier Harmony
On the western side of what used to be Los Angeles, the shadows were long, the streets empty
, and the wind desolate. A block of tall buildings that once held sparkling windows now stood silent vigil over a dusty land.
Jax gave Wyatt the sign to take his team north around the tallest building while he went south. They’d found Baker and Baker without much mishap, considering they’d left the truck a couple of miles outside of Twenty territory and had run the rest of the way. The moon cooperated for a dark mission, allowing itself to be covered by clouds.
Thunder had rolled, and now rain blasted down, masking their steps.
It was a hell of a storm, and the timing was perfect.
Sami and an ex–Utah State baseball player named Shawn Banks flanked Jax, while Raze and a former wild game hunter followed Wyatt. A team of six was low for the mission, but until everyone else decided whether they were in or out, it was all he had.
He jerked his head for Sami to scout an area of abandoned cars circling the three story building, and she sprang into action. Though young and impetuous, she had the markings of a great cop or soldier. If she’d just keep her personal shit out of the way.
During the mission, she’d remained professional while managing to glare at him several times in a way that didn’t feel professional. They were going to have to talk about the mistake of her trying to kiss him months ago, and he really didn’t want to go there.
Hell, truth be told, he might’ve kissed her back if he hadn’t carried Scorpius inside him. Good thing he hadn’t.
Although he knew better than to open the conversation with that gambit.
She’d finished the task and gave the high sign. He swept left and gingerly opened the glass front door while Wyatt’s team came in the back.
Papers, shredded drawers, and overturned furniture littered the reception room. He stalked behind the desk and rifled through papers for a map of the building. Offices made up the first floor, while labs and testing areas comprised the second. Shipping and a loading dock were located one floor down.
Wyatt’s crew silently entered the reception room, flashlights down. “Nothing but offices that have been picked over,” he whispered.
Jax nodded. “You head down one level to shipping to see what you can find, and we’ll go up to the labs. Look for vitamin B.”
Wyatt loped toward the stairs. “It’s awfully quiet out there.”
“Hopefully the storm will keep Twenty indoors for the night,” Jax said. Of course, good luck didn’t exist. “But keep an eye out. They’re trained and like to kill.”
Wyatt led the way to the basement stairs. Raze easily kept to his six, and Jax wondered at his training. Definitely special ops, but not Delta. The guy didn’t feel like a friend, and he watched like an enemy. But at the moment, Jax needed him more than he needed to be cautious.
Jax found the stairs to the next floor and jogged up, keeping track of Sami and Shawn by the sound of their footsteps. She moved silently, and he moved like an elephant. He’d need to work on stealth in the next few months.
They reached the next floor, where several labs with glass doors lined the hallway. “Everybody take one and meet back here. Keep the lights low and away from the windows as much as possible.” Without waiting for a reply, he opened the door to the first lab.
Beakers, counters, and nonfunctioning machinery lined the counters. A couple of useless dead refrigerators made up one entire wall. He yanked open the few drawers that hadn’t already been ransacked and went through the entire room. No vitamin B.
A box of bandages had been forgotten in the back of one of the lower counters, and he fetched it before exiting and turning for the next lab.
By the time he got to the final unsearched lab, he’d found small samples of bandages, shampoo, instant noodles, shaving cream, and some toothpaste. Not a lot, but something. After securing the items in his backpack, he turned toward the door.
Shawn stood there, feet spread, Ruger pointed at Jax.
Jax froze and dropped the backpack to the ground. “Looks like you learned how to move quietly.”
The kid shrugged, anger burning in his deep eyes. “Not really. You just made a lot of noise ripping apart that last cupboard. What did you find?”
“A stash of condoms,” Jax drawled. “The good kind with lubricant and ribs. You know. For her pleasure.”
Shawn snarled. “So you can continue to fuck the woman who pretty much killed society? My mother? My entire family?”
Ah. Jax eyed the gun pointed at his gut. Safety off. Probably one in the chamber, and the kid’s aim remained steady. “Scorpius was a bacteria nobody created or expected, and Lynne did her best to cure it.”
Shawn cupped the gun with his free hand, steadying his aim. “Maybe, but the fact remains that you lied to us. You’re a carrier and should be destroyed before you infect us all.”
Anger tried to swell. Jax shut down all emotion and focused. “Who are you working with, kid? We both know this isn’t your plan.”
Shawn’s chin with the barely there goatee lifted. “I could be workin’ alone.”
“You’re not. Who’s pulling the strings?” Jax leaned nonchalantly against a countertop.
Shawn’s shoulders went down from around his ears, and his legs unlocked. “Red is our new leader.”
“Says who?” Jax said softly.
“Says my gun,” Shawn spat out.
How many people had voted to have Jax killed? His blood quickened through his veins. “What about Lynne?”
Shawn smiled, the sight garish in the odd yellow light. “Oh, that bitch is dead by now. Red has taken care of her and the infected.”
Jax stiffened to keep from running through Shawn to get home. Dig deep and concentrate. “Red wanted to kill Lynne, Tace, and Haylee?”
“Anybody infected.” For the first time, an emotion other than anger filtered through Shawn’s eyes. “I liked Haylee, but either she’ll be a Ripper or she’ll be a carrier if she doesn’t die from the fever. We have to protect ourselves.”
“That’s rather shortsighted, don’t you think?” Jax asked.
“No.” Shawn settled his stance again. “I really am sorry about this.”
Jax dropped into a slide that carried him across the tile and into Shawn’s ankles, where he twisted. Shawn fell hard, and Jax rolled him over, straddling his waist. Two hard punches to Shawn’s jaw, and the kid flew into oblivion.
Sami ran up, her gaze wide, carrying several boxes of Kleenex and soap. “What the hell?”
“He tried to shoot me and wants Red as Vanguard’s new leader.” Jax stood and extended his smarting knuckles. “Kid has a tough jaw.”
Sami tossed off her pack to load it with the goodies. “Please tell me you found some B.” With her tennis shoe, she nudged Shawn’s side. The kid partially rolled over but didn’t awaken.
“No B. You?” Jax held his breath, shoving provisions in his pack. They had to get moving if they were going to have a prayer of saving Lynne and Tace, but he needed to load his pack first.
“None.” She cocked her weapon. “Listen, I’m sorry about the scene this morning in your bedroom.”
Could his life get any stranger? “No problem. We’re colleagues and buddies. Right?”
“Yeah, but man, Jax. What about the rumors that Lynne Harmony is carrying a more dangerous strain of the disease?”
“She’s not.” Jax shook his head.
“If you say so.” Doubt curled Sami’s lip. “Just make sure that’s your head and not your dick thinking.”
Like he had time to think with his dick. “Knock it off. So we’re good?”
“Yeah. Believe me, you are so not my type, and I see that now.” Sami shook her head, stepping next to him. “What is it about you and death? You just love dancing with it.”
Jax drew himself up short. “Excuse me?”
“Come on, dude. You were in a street gang and then joined the most dangerous unit in the army. Now you lead a vigilante group trying to survive a murderous contagion, and the first time you get with a woman, she’s the deadliest of them all.”
Sami kicked Shawn harder. “It’s like you dare death.”
Did she just call him dude? “Whatever. We need to get back to headquarters fast.”
Sami pointed at Shawn. “What about him?”
Jax shook his head. “He stays here.”
Sami gasped. “If we leave him, Twenty will find him. It’s a death sentence.”
“I know.” Jax hardened everything inside him. “I can’t afford to have somebody trying to kill me or anybody else who’s survived Scorpius. Shawn is an adult, and he made his own decision. Now he lives or dies with it.”
“But—”
“Enough.” He didn’t raise his voice, but he put every ounce of command he had into it. “Start moving, Sami. Now.”
She faltered but began moving for the stairwell.
Bile rose from his stomach, and he swallowed it down and followed her. Once at the stairs, he took point, gun out, and jogged down the two flights to find Wyatt and his team waiting in the loading dock. Rain churned up dust around them. “Well?”
“One box,” Wyatt said, his lips tight. “We looked everywhere and only found one fucking box of vitamin B, but we did find a bunch of shipping records from Baker and Baker to other labs. They must’ve been cooperating with each other and sharing information. What did you find?”
“Nothing worth mentioning.” Jax eyed his watch. “Dawn will break in a couple of hours, and that storm is ebbing. We need to get the hell out of here, and now. There’s a problem at headquarters.” He tried to stay calm, but his nerves were firing fast.
“Let’s roll,” Sami clipped out.
Two men, armed with knives, ran around the far corner. Dirty and disheveled, their clothes hung on thin bodies.
The first guy paused. “We own this block. Whatever you took, it’s ours.”
Jax stiffened. Clear voice, calm manner? “You’re not a Ripper.”
“Nope.” The second guy, one with tats down the side of his face, shook his head, and his hair sprayed rainwater. “We just own this block.” Then, faster than Jax would’ve thought, he dodged forward and yanked Sami against him.
Jax went still. They didn’t have time for this shit.