Mercury Striking (The Scorpius Syndrome #1)(69)

Jax stilled. Shawn? Had Cruz actually let Shawn live? “Why did you infect the girl?”

Cruz, his face lined from drugs, booze, and being a prick, smiled. “For fun. I didn’t have time to really use her, but one good bite ruined her just the same. Tell me she died.”

Jax kept his expression lax. “Sorry. She had a bad fever and it was close, but now she’s knitting sweaters. You know, in time for winter.”

Cruz’s eyes narrowed until they were almost all black. “You’re lying.”

“No, I’m not.” Jax lifted a shoulder. “Did you bite her?”

Cruz snorted. “No. I’m not a carrier, but I keep a couple of Rippers chained in the basement. They bite when I tell them to bite.”

Bile cut through Jax’s gut. “You’re fuckin’ sick.”

“Drop your gun.”

“Sure.” Jax dropped the gun, and it bounced once on the torn carpet. “You know what I don’t get?”

“Women?”

Jax barked out a laugh. “Besides women. I don’t get why you’re coming after me. L.A. is a huge place, and we don’t have to lose people fighting each other.”

Cruz stepped closer. “You betrayed me by leaving me here, mulo.”

Jax rolled his eyes, his muscles tensing. “Bullshit. I left because I needed to leave.”

“Brothers choose prison and not the government. Not the fuckin’ army.”

They would never see eye to eye. “Nice boots, by the way. Three-inch heels?” Cruz was under six feet tall, and it had always pissed him off that Jax, with his white daddy’s genes, had gotten so tall. “Are those girl boots?”

“Fuck you.” Cruz stepped in and shoved the barrel of the gun against Jax’s throat.

Pain pricked his larynx. “Not my type.”

Cruz lifted his head, hatred in his eyes. “No? Your brother liked me just fine.”

Fire roared through Jax’s head. “I told you to leave him alone. He didn’t belong in Twenty.”

Cruz leaned in, his face a mere inch from Jax’s. “He was the best enforcer I’ve ever seen. Killed like a motherfucker.”

Jax grit his teeth and tried to shove out words. “Marcus didn’t kill anybody.”

Pure delight glimmered in Cruz’s wild eyes. “He killed more than anybody I ever knew. Was a fucking genius at it.” Cruz sighed. “But Marcus had to go. Too . . . what’s the word? Charismatic.”

Everything inside Jax stilled. Went dead. “He had to go?” he asked evenly.

Cruz smiled, his red lips tipping in almost a snarl. “Yes. The drive-by? Well, too many of my men, my followers, were looking at your little brother. So he had to go. Even his nickname, Slam, was charismatic.”

Jax had suspected. Without any evidence, even a hint of the truth, he’d wondered. He’d even stood at the grave site and asked for answers, but his mother had already died before Marcus had, so there were no answers. “You’re gonna pay, Cruz.”

“No, I’m not.” Cruz leaned back while keeping the gun flush against Jax’s throat. “After I kill you, I’m going to take apart your little fiefdom. Starting with Blue Heart.”

Jax jerked. What the fuck?

“Yep. My new recruit was all full of info. Shawn gave me her location so I’d allow him to live.” Cruz chuckled, low and deep.

Fuck. “The kid lied to you.”

Cruz’s lips brushed Jax’s ear. “Ah, you never could lie to me, brother. The woman? She stays in your quarters.”

Heat compressed Jax’s heart. Cruz would destroy Lynne and enjoy every second. “You’re misinformed,” Jax ground out, his heart pounding.

“I don’t think so. Now you die so I can go get my hands on the woman. It won’t be the first time I’ve used your leftovers.”

A bullet flew by Cruz’s head, and he jerked back.

Jax ducked and punched up as hard as he could, throwing Cruz against the far wall. He turned to see Tace coming at him, gun firing. “What the hell?” he asked.

Bullets shot through the door behind Jax, and he leaped to the side and into Tace. Tace grabbed him in a bear hug and hurtled them both into an empty room across the way.

“What the hell?” Jax repeated.

Tace ran for the window. “I decided I didn’t want to lose Wyatt’s picture. Give it back.”

What?

The gunman swept inside, spraying bullets. Fuck. It was Shawn. It was true. Cruz had recruited instead of killed him. Smart.

Jax hit the ground.

Tace turned and calmly plugged the kid between the eyes. Red mingled with purple, and Shawn took his last breath.

Jax stood and turned toward his friend. A week ago, Tace wouldn’t have tried that shot. He would’ve negotiated, especially with a kid he’d known personally. “Man, we gotta talk.”

“I know. Let’s get out of here first.” Tace threw an arm into the window, shattering it out.

“No.” Jax grabbed a knife from his boot and ran into the hallway, hurrying west and ducking into the next room. It was time to fulfill his vow, even if it was his last act. Cruz began firing. Jax ducked, bunched, and shot forward to hit Cruz’s midsection, throwing them both into the window. They impacted it with harsh grunts, flying through glass, and then falling. Jax manacled Cruz’s shirt. They hit the ground with Jax on top of Cruz, and he could feel it as Cruz’s ribs shattered.