Mercury Striking (The Scorpius Syndrome #1)(87)

Lynne slapped her hands over her ears just as he fired. A second later, he planted a boot near the doorknob. The door flew open.

Jax ducked inside, gun sweeping. He slowly straightened and gestured her forward. Sunlight cascaded in from windows on the far walls. She moved inside to see four marked doorways, and she pointed to the one on the far left. “Let’s start in the Vitamin Research department.” She turned toward the door.

“Lynne? I want your gun in your hand and the safety off,” Jax said evenly.

Her chest felt heavy, yet she drew the gun.

“Safety off,” he repeated.

She faltered. “You sure? I may shoot you.”

He grinned, intense and somehow sexy. “I saw you cover Wyatt the other day. Woman, you’re a champion in battle. I trust you.”

The heaviness gave way to warmth. She nodded, although her breath still came too fast. “Okay.” Centering herself, she clicked off the safety. “Let’s go.”

Lynne sucked down warm water from a bunch of bottles found in a Chester Cereal break room, sweat pouring down her back and her leg muscles wobbling. They’d searched the floors and had taken all the research she deemed important, carrying cartons and boxes down the stairs more times than she could count. She leaned against the doorway of the last lab on the third floor.

“One more lab,” Jax said easily, not showing any wear from the day.

She sighed. As she’d skimmed to determine what to take and what to leave, more than once he’d had to hurry her up as she’d started to really read, telling her she’d have all the time in the world once behind safe walls again. So far, from what she could tell, the researchers at Myriad had been on to something with the research into vitamin B, but had had to halt the experiments when the power grid failed. “Okay.”

He moved into his easy lope and headed into the last lab of the day. “We have about three hours of light left, and I want to be on the road in one hour.”

She followed him inside a room set with five large glass refrigerators, all dead. Vials of every color filled them, and she hesitated.

“What?” he asked.

“These are the specimens.” All of the other labs had held documents and excellent equipment that she’d helped to carry down the stairs, but the actual specimens were stored in this lab. She approached the nearest fridge and slowly opened the door. “Can I borrow your flashlight?”

Jax stepped closer, bringing heat and his unique scent. Male, aggression, and the forest. The smell, both familiar and wild, slid through her skin. She cleared her throat.

“I’ve got it,” he said, pointing the light inside the fridge.

The first row of vials appeared black and coagulated. Lynne peered closer to read the label. LYNNE HARMONY. She drew back. “Huh.”

Jax peered around her. “That’s your blood?”

“Apparently.” She shivered. “The CDC sent samples to all the labs working on Scorpius, so it makes sense.” When the power went down and then the backup generators ran out of gas, the blood was ruined.

Jax shone his light to the next shelf. “Kind of creepy seeing your blood like that. Right?”

“Yes.” She counted out breaths as her legs forgot they were tired and itched to run. The next level held blue vials and green vials. She peered closer. “These might be okay. Not all specimens need refrigeration like blood.” She took a pair of gloves off the nearest counter. “Let’s take everything that doesn’t include blood.” What she wouldn’t give for a biohazard suit.

Jax rubbed his head. “Any chance those could kill us?”

“There’s always a chance, but nothing is airborne because this lab isn’t set up for it. So everything here would only be dangerous if we somehow got it into our bodies.” She gingerly tugged an empty box toward her with her foot.

“Like Scorpius,” Jax said grimly. “That one wasn’t dangerous at all, now was it?”

Lynne swallowed. “That’s a good point, but they were working on a cure here, not trying to create anything dangerous. We’re safe if we follow protocols.”

“Humph,” he said, grabbing another box. Thunder bellowed outside, and he breathed out. “Excellent. Let’s hurry and go while it’s storming. That’ll mask the sound of the trucks.”

She got to work.

Nearly two hours later, they finally finished and met Raze and Byron in the parking area.

Raze finished shutting the back of his truck. “We found more microscopes and other medical stuff. Brought it all. We can go through it back at the base.”

Byron scratched his chin. “We also found a fully stocked break room with paper plates, coffee, and instant food. Not a lot, but some, as well as a bunch of wires I need.” He rubbed a bruise on his arm. “Did you find the cure for Scorpius?”

Lynne shook her head. “I don’t know. There’s some interesting data, and we grabbed samples, so hopefully I’ll know more as soon as I can dig in and figure out what they’d found.” If they’d found anything. She also needed her data and Nora’s data from the CDC, which hopefully Bret had.

“In the desks on the fourth floor, we found aspirin, bacterial wipes, condoms, and female, ah, products,” Jax said. He glanced out at the waning light. “We have to hurry if we’re going to get back before nightfall.”