Mercury Striking

by Rebecca Zanetti

  Sami hissed.

  The guy shoved his knife near her jugular.

  Wyatt stiffened and started to move.

  “No.” Jax lifted a hand in warning. “If you pull the gun, he may slice her throat.” Then he waited.

  Sami seemed to relax as she waited.

  “Kill them,” the guy ordered, his body moving just enough. “This little bitch is staying with us.”

  Sami shot an arm between his, shoved out, and the knife moved away from her neck. One elbow went back, and she turned so fast, she was just a blur. She took the guy out with a punch to the throat and then a knee shot. He was out cold before he hit the ground.

  In a truly beautiful spin kick, she nailed the second man in the temple. He dropped down. She followed up by calmly striding forward and grabbing his hair, plowing her knee up. The guy’s jaw snapped shut with an audible click.

  Wyatt winced. “Holy shit.”

  Yeah. Sami’s moves were a work of art. Stunning. And deadly.

  She grabbed the knives and quickly searched the bodies, coming up empty.

  Wyatt blew out air. “That’s beyond rookie police training.” He glanced around. “Where’s Shawn?”

  “Didn’t make it,” Jax said shortly.

  Wyatt hitched to a stop. “Then we take him back and bury him.”

  “He’s not dead.” Jax met his friend’s gaze levelly. “We have to get moving. Now.”

  Wyatt took a deep breath. “Fuck, man, what happened?”

  Raze moved to his side, gaze not revealing anything, although he now kept an eye on Sami.

  Jax sucked in air and fought every instinct he had to go back and throw the kid over his shoulder. “Insurgents. They’re willing to kill anybody who’s been infected, including Tace.” He kept his face stoic. “We can’t be watching our backs at all times.”

  “Then he stays,” Raze said flatly, no emotion on his sharp face.

  Wyatt swallowed, his eyes hollowing. He shuddered. “All right. Let’s get back.”

  Sami shook her head. “You agree with him that we leave Shawn here? I thought for sure you’d try to talk some sense into Jax.”

  Wyatt patted her hand, his huge mitt covering her past the wrist. “If Jax says he stays, then it’s best for the group if he stays. We don’t have the time, energy, or manpower for a prison.” He slid an arm around Sami’s shoulders and tugged her closer. “We don’t live in a world of rehabilitation right now, sweetheart. It’s all survival.”

  She blinked back tears. “I don’t like this world.”

  This world fucking sucked. How the woman could go from knocking out two guys twice her size to being upset about Shawn bewildered Jax. He tightened his jaw. “It’s all we have right now. We’ll head out the back door. The front faces the east, and as soon as the sun comes up it’ll be too exposed.”

  Wyatt lowered his voice. “Do you think Lynne and April could’ve protected Tace and the girl?”

  “I don’t know,” Jax muttered. Lynne was smart as hell, and she’d said she knew how to shoot, but knowledge and action were two different things. The woman probably hadn’t deliberately killed before. “April is protecting her kid, so my money is on her. Let’s move. Now.” His stomach rolled, and he had to fight to remain calm. He led the way into the pouring rain, making sure the team crouched low and stayed behind cars, bricks, and crumbling buildings. At one point, he allowed everyone to catch their breath before they made a run for the truck.

  Sami crouched next to him, gazing above a half wall. “Were you like this before Scorpius, Jax?” Sadness and more than a little fear filled her voice.

  “Like what?” he whispered.

  “A killer without remorse. A survivor at all costs. So . . . cold.”

  Coming from somebody who could fight so easily, the words cut deep. “Yes. I’ve always been like this.” His blood hummed, and his gut roiled. Had Lynne survived?

  Chapter Fourteen

  The outside forces of danger are nothing compared to the deadly forces lurking deep within each man.

  —Dr. Franklin Xavier Harmony

  A couple of hours after she’d regained consciousness, Lynne’s head still pounded. Was death coming for her finally? For so long, she’d been ready to rest, and suddenly, she wasn’t sure. Living held merit again.

  She sat on the floor of the examination room, her back to the wall, her gun ready. The paint was peeling, and every time she moved her shoulders, flecks dotted her shirt. Tace slept uneasily to her right, his breathing labored, while Haylee slept silently, nearly too silently, to her left. April sat next to her daughter, resting her head on the bed.

  The smell of illness and blood permeated the room.

  God, what if somebody else came to kill them? She had a limited supply of bullets. Her heart thundered against her rib cage, and her breath panted out.

  “Are you sure you’re all right?” April asked in a high-pitched tone, her voice muffled by the blanket.

  “Yes. I passed out from shock. No concussion.” Lynne’s ribs ached, and her temples pounded. She tried not to look at the dead man sprawled across the concrete floor. The congealing blood, turning darker with each minute, had stopped spreading.

  April lifted her head and looked over her daughter’s barely moving chest. “Have you ever killed anybody before?” She blushed, the red contrasting garishly with her too pale face. “I mean, with a gun?”

  Lynne closed her eyes. “No.” Her hands shook, so she flattened them on her yoga pants.

  Outside, the wind increased in force, slamming debris against the building. Thunder bellowed, and she jumped. “You ever shoot anybody before?” Not that April had shot anybody now. The woman had missed by a foot.

  “No.”

  Heavy boot steps clomped down the outside hallway, and Lynne reached for the gun again, pointed it at the door. Someone shoved, and the table moved an inch. Her breath catching, she scrambled to her feet.

  “Lynne? April?” Jax snapped.

  Lynne shared a look with April, and both women rushed for the table to move it. The door burst open. Jax stood next to Red’s body, his gaze taking in the room. “Everybody all right?” he asked quietly, lowering his chin.

  Lynne’s lips trembled. Relief chilled through her, weakening her knees. Jax had survived. She wanted to barrel into his arms but instead stood in place. “Yes. We’re okay.”

  Wyatt moved past Jax and focused on Red. He sucked air into his broad chest, and his shoulders slumped. “I’ll get this cleaned up.”

  Jax exhaled slowly. “Wyatt? Call a Vanguard meeting for late tonight, and find out if anybody else is involved in this uprising.”

  “These two mainly stuck together,” Wyatt muttered. “I bet they worked alone in this stupid plan.”

  “Agreed. But we need to make sure everybody understands that if they choose to stay, the leadership in position remains in place. Make sure they know we shoot back and have no problem digging new graves.”

  Wyatt winced. “Got it.”

  Jax turned to Lynne. “It’s still raining. Why don’t you ladies go take a shower?”

  “I’m staying here,” April said, patting her daughter’s hand.

  Lynne frowned. The second Jax had arrived, her brain had fuzzed as if she no longer had to be vigilant. She could fall apart now. “Shower?”

  Jax reached for Lynne’s arm. “It’s raining.” His hand encircled her bicep, and she allowed him to lead her around Red and the guy who’d held the shotgun, where he nudged her toward a pale Sami. “Show her the showers.” He glanced down at the dead body without expression. “I’ll meet you in our quarters in thirty minutes for an update.”

  She stumbled toward Sami. The prospect of leaving the dead bodies held too much appeal to argue against Jax’s high-handedness. “Did you find B?”

  “Just a box,” Sami said wearily. All fight seemed to have deserted the young woman, although her knuckles were bruised and swelling. “Come on. We don’t know how long the rain will last.�
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  Lynne began to move forward, only to be stopped by Jax’s hand on her shoulder. “Gun,” he said.

  She glanced down at the silver in her hand—she’d forgotten it was there. Without looking at him, she handed back the weapon. Straightening her shoulders, she followed Sami through the hallway and outside to the left of the building to stand under an overhang. Cold slashed into her. Three makeshift stalls made of wood, metal, and what looked like various vehicle hoods stood in the middle of what used to be an alley. Rain pummeled down, pinging against the metal.

  “Leave your clothes here so they don’t get wet,” Sami said, setting her gun against the building. She shrugged out of ripped jeans and her shirt without a hitch of modesty, putting them on top of an old trash can. Then she reached for a camping lamp and twisted the knob to get some light since the day still hadn’t banished the darkness, although morning should be arriving soon. The dark clouds made it impossible to guess the time.

  Lynne stripped, her brain still buzzing.

  “Watch your feet. We cleared everything we could, but sometimes the wind blows in glass and debris.” Sami ran for the nearest stall, all grace and weary muscle.

  Lynne gingerly picked her way across cracked concrete, the darkness hiding anything dangerous. Finally, she reached a stall, and Sami set the lamp on the low wall between them. Lynne sighed, surprised to find a shelf with soap. Dish soap, but still soap. Lightning cracked overhead. Damn. Could she get electrocuted? Maybe. Did she care at this point? She wasn’t sure.

  Rain sluiced over her, chilly but refreshing. She quickly poured soap into her hand and lathered up, almost groaning at the decadence. “One box of vitamin B won’t last long.”

  “I know. We’ll have to raid the other labs soon.”

  “I figured more people would be out here.”

  Sami scrubbed her hair. “It’s been raining all night. We’re the last to shower, probably.”

  That made sense. “What happened on the raid?” Lynne asked.

  Sami closed her eyes and lowered her head, allowing suds to drip down her face. “Shawn tried to kill Jax, and Jax knocked him out. Left him for Twenty to find.”

  Lynne blinked, her stomach turning. “Was Shawn dead?”

  “Nope. Very much alive.” Sami sniffed.

  Lynne wiped soap off her shoulders. “How old is Shawn?”

  “Old enough to know better. Probably nineteen.” Sami shook her hair, sending water spraying through raindrops. “He just made a mistake, you know?”

  Yeah, but if Jax couldn’t trust him, how could he bring Shawn back? More importantly, what had it cost Jax to leave a nineteen-year-old in enemy territory? “I’m sorry.”

  Sami took a deep breath. “No, I’m sorry. About the way I treated you earlier. I was jealous.”

  Lynne scrubbed her legs. Had Jax been telling the truth about his no-touch policy? “Were you and Jax together?”

  “No. I tried to kiss him once, after a fight, but that was it. He turned away—probably because he’d already fought Scorpius. Or maybe he just wasn’t interested.” Sami shook out her hair and lifted her face for more water. “You can definitely have him. I hadn’t realized how empty he really is.” She shivered.

  Lynne stuck her leg out to rinse. Trembles wandered down her back from the chill, but who cared? She was getting clean. The cold was worth it. “I don’t think he’s empty.” He seemed more like a volcano ready to erupt, with too much trapped beneath the surface.

  “Oh, he’s dead inside.” Sami rubbed her nose. “I mean, I don’t know you, but you seem smart. You get that he’s using you, right?”

  They were using each other. “There’s more to him than you’re seeing.” Lynne blinked as the words came out of her mouth. What was she saying?

  Sami spat out water. “Well, woman to woman, take some advice. Don’t give him one hint of emotion, or he’ll kick you to the curb so quickly your blue heart will shatter.”

  Lynne turned around in the miserable rain, allowing the feeling of clean to compete with the cold. She had no intention of losing her heart when she could barely hold on to her life. “Give me a break. I just met the guy.”

  Sami leaned on the divider, her eyes sober. “He doesn’t get close to anybody, even the guys guarding his back. If you want to keep enjoying what I’m assuming is a pretty good lay, check yourself. That guy doesn’t have a heart, and believe me, you can’t save him.”

  Lynne shoved her hair away from her face. “I don’t want to save him.” She could barely save herself.

  “Right.” Sami shrugged bare shoulders in a clear I tried gesture. “You know, I’d probably kill to be able to jump in the ocean or even a lake. To just be submerged and, well, wet. You?”

  Lynne coughed out water, memories crashing into her. “Hell, no.”

  “Why not? You can’t swim?” Sami shook her hair.

  Why not share? It wouldn’t hurt anything. “I almost drowned when I was eleven, playing at the beach with friends. You know how you’re not supposed to swim after eating?” Lynne winced as soap ran over a small cut on her arm.

  “I figured that was an old wives’ tale.”

  “It’s not. I went in after eating, got a cramp, and sank to the bottom.” She’d never forget the feeling of the water closing over her head and beginning to fill her lungs. “My dad saved me, but sometimes I still have nightmares.” She’d never jump into a body of water again.

  Sami spat out water. “The good news is that you probably won’t get the chance, so no worries.”

  “What are you afraid of, Sami?” Lynne asked. If she opened up, perhaps the young cop could, too. Not that she was going to be there long enough to really forge friendships. The world wasn’t made for friendships any longer.

  “Getting shot. And, well, disappointing people.” Sami shivered. “While we’re chatting, do you mind telling me what’s going on outside of Los Angeles? I mean, is there any organization forming in the cities?”

  “I avoided the cities and just saw smaller outposts. There’s a military, but I don’t know how strong it is right now.” Lynne spat out water, unwilling to trust the woman with the full truth. The most dangerous Ripper of them all was out there, and he was coming for her. “Sorry I don’t know more.”

  Sami turned away and sneezed before moving back. “I figured. You done? I’m freezing.”

  Lynne ran back to yank on her clothing. “Remember the days of towels?”

  “We usually have some towels here, but we’re probably the last to shower. Somebody will replenish them for next time. Hopefully.” Sami retrieved her gun and led the way back through the building, climbing the stairs and dropping Lynne off at Jax’s door, which was unlocked. Sami opened it and took a quick glance around. “You’re secure. Lock the door till Jax gets here.”

  Lynne touched Sami’s arm. “I’m sorry about Shawn. And Red and the other guy.”

  Sami nodded. “Me too. Do you want me to get you anything to eat?”

  “No. Thanks.” If she ate, she’d throw up. Right now, she had to get on warm clothing and then get back to the lab documents. It was only a matter of time before the Elite Force caught up to her, only so long that she could hide from the team created specifically to hunt, find, and return her. “Thank you, though.”

  Sami gave a weak smile. “We can get to know each other over breakfast in several hours.” She lifted a shoulder. “I need some sleep to get back on track, you know?”

  “I get that.” Though who wanted to sleep with nightmares so ready to strike? Lynne waited until Sami started down the hallway before locking the door. She finger-combed her hair into some semblance of order and glanced at a bunch of clean clothes on the couch. She sat and folded both men and women’s clothing. Somebody had included her.

  The thought warmed her, and she pressed a freshly folded shirt to her chest. Then she let routine take over, and she slowly folded most of the laundry.

  After a while the locks disengaged.

  Jax stepped ins
ide, his hair wet, the scent of Dawn soap coming with him. “I talked to April. Sorry you had to shoot those men.” He shut the door, honey-brown eyes lasering through the semidarkness, so many weapons strapped on him he could probably wage a war by himself.

  “Thanks.” She folded mismatched socks together. The sound of the gunshots still echoed in her head, and her body wanted to flinch. “I want to get back to the documents.”

  “Sleep first. You need it.” He locked the door and began removing weapons and placing them on the counter. Heat swelled from him, and tight lines cut into the sides of his generous mouth.

  She eyed him, her instincts flaring to life. “How did the talk go with your people?”

  “Fine. I believe Red and Joe were working alone in trying to take over, but everybody else now knows without question that they either leave or they stay here under my leadership.” The atmosphere charged with his frightening mood. “Did you eat?”

  “Not hungry.” She held still, feeling him out. Her eyes were gritty, and she probably did need a few hours of sleep before returning to work. The documents were complicated, and she needed to concentrate. For now, her attention centered on the warrior filling the apartment.

  Tension, dark and angry, filled the atmosphere around him. Instead of frightening her, as it should have, the fierceness clawed through her abdomen. “Are you all right?” she asked.

  “Fine.” He slipped another knife from his boot and tossed it onto the counter. “Why?”

  “I heard about Shawn.”

  Jax stilled. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “I wasn’t asking you to.” Jax’s pain, his fury, were palpable in the small room. The emotions, so raw and real, sped up her heartbeat and warmed her blood. She couldn’t save him, she knew that, but something about his wounded desperation called to her. She felt it in her own abdomen, the pain of the night and the futility of continuing on. She’d killed. On purpose. There had to be a way to stop feeling the repercussions for now—to turn off her brain.

  He pivoted, tall and powerful, strength among ruin. Sexy and masculine, and just as damaged as she. He eyed her, direct, and her body finally started to warm. She stood, breathless, and crossed to him.