Mercury Striking (The Scorpius Syndrome #1)(63)

Wyatt chuckled, his chest moving, while one tear slid from his eye. “God willing.” He pushed to his feet. “Let’s get back. I don’t mind bad weather.”

Jax stood.

Wyatt frowned. “You have family?”

Jax’s gut clenched. “A mom and a younger brother. They’re both gone.”

“Sorry.” Wyatt peered into the empty land.

“Me too.” Jax jogged into the rain, not feeling the chill. Maybe he didn’t talk much, and perhaps he hadn’t made much of an effort to talk to people or get to know them. But he’d sacrificed enough, damn it.

The run home took longer than he’d expected, thanks to the angry storm. The wind fought them, rain battered them, and debris chased them. Finally, they reached the outskirts of the protected area. He stopped and whistled a low tune. An answering whistle relaxed his shoulders. After checking in with the sentries, he ordered Wyatt inside while he scouted the outside to make sure all was well.

He hadn’t figured out what to say to Lynne yet. True, he’d made a promise to kill, but he hadn’t known he was promising to kill the president. If Lynne spoke the truth, and Atherton had turned into a Ripper, then he needed to be taken out. If Lynne was lying, Jax couldn’t tell.

Sleeping with her had been a mistake. It was fucking with his head.

He paused at the south side of the building, looking up in time to see Lynne Harmony near the entrance. Her arms were crossed, and he could feel her gaze on him. Her posture was ramrod straight, and her chin was high.

Tension ticked down his spine. Instinct whispered he was about to have a hell of a fight. He reached her in long strides, his temper prickling. “Why the hell are you outside?” Had his people become so lax they just let her wander around?

She lifted an eyebrow, looking every bit the educated sophisticate. “I was waiting for you. It’s time we talked.”

“About what?” He put his hands on his hips and crowded into her space.

Fire flashed in her gorgeous eyes. “I know where Myriad is, and I’m willing to trade that information for your cooperation.”

He studied her calm fa?ade. The woman was trying to shake him down? Irritation clawed down his throat. “If I don’t cooperate?”

“Then you don’t get the information.” Her delicate jaw hardened. “No matter what you do.”

He’d had a rotten night, and now the woman he’d fought his own people to protect was practicing extortion? Oh, hell no. “Let’s test that theory.” Ducking his head, he tossed her over his shoulder.





Chapter Twenty-One





A war can be won without bloodshed . . . rarely.

—Dr. Franklin Xavier Harmony




Lynne coughed out, upside down over Jax’s powerful shoulder. Shock kept her immobile up the stairs and into the apartment. The door clicked shut and he bent, putting her on her feet.

“What the hell?” she spat out.

He faced her fury, aggression in every line of his body. “You sure extortion is how you want to play this?”

She stopped breathing. Maybe it had been a bad plan, but now she was committed. “I’m sure we can work out an agreement.”

“Sit down.”

Anxiety bloomed in her chest, and her knees wobbled. Sitting down might be a good idea. There was no way she could get through him and out the door. So she backed away to perch on the sofa, wrapping her arms around her knees. “Are you going to sit?” she asked. Even across the rickety coffee table, he loomed.

He sat on the threadbare chair, the movement both graceful and intimidating, his gaze never leaving hers. “Now talk.”

She bristled. “Stop ordering me around.”

He extended his long legs onto the table and crossed one combat boot over the other. No expression marked his strong features, but the white scar along his jaw stood out in the meager light. “Lynne, I’ve had a shitty night. The only reason I’m not covered in blood and soot from burned bodies is because I’ve spent half the night running in a rain cold enough to pierce bone. Stop fucking with me, because I’m done.”

The chill ticking over her skin had nothing to do with the rainy night. “Who died?”

“Two kids out scouting and two Rippers who might’ve been decent guys at some point.”

Life sucked. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“I don’t care,” he said evenly, revealing not a hint of the passionate man who’d taken her away the past night. “Now you’re going to answer every damn question I have, and we’ll end with the location of Myriad. First, why do you want the president dead, and why is he saying you’re carrying a new infection?”

She exhaled, noting her racing heart rate. If she just seized right now, if her heart would finally burst, then all of the hell would be over. Yet her heart, blue and damaged, kept on ticking. Way too fast. Challenging Jax had been a bad idea. Cooperating was her only logical choice. Right now, anyway. “Fine. Bret is a Ripper with the power of the presidency behind him, and I saw him murder the sitting president.”

“You were lovers.”

“Yes.” Heat climbed into her face. For goodness sake, she was a grown woman.

“You saw him kill a former president, and yet, nobody did anything.” Jax didn’t twitch a muscle.