Mercury Striking (The Scorpius Syndrome #1)(38)

“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.