Tace elbowed past Jax with a knife in his hand. He lifted the girl’s eyes to show the pupils dilated and red striations marring the red. “Where were you bitten, sweetheart?” He rolled up her sleeves and then cut open her shirt, finding nothing. He turned her over. Nothing.
Jax yanked off the sheet and slid up her leggings. A perfect bite mark—human—marred her right calf. Somebody in Cruz’s camp, maybe even Cruz, had bitten her deep. Somebody who’d survived Scorpius. “Damn it. Why didn’t she say anything?”
“Probably too scared.” Tace wiped his chin. “We need B injections to slow down the illness. Now.” He hustled across the room and grabbed a syringe of liquid—undoubtedly morphine. He pushed the stopper, and a little liquid spilled. “This will take away some of the pain, but nothing can help the headache that’s about to occur.”
Jax pivoted. “I’ll get Wyatt and lead a team right now to hit the labs for B. You try to bring down her fever, if possible, and keep her here. No need to go inland.” He glanced at Lynne.
“I can help,” Lynne said. “We need ice, if there’s any. If not, cool compresses.”
April released her daughter to run for the door. “I’ll see what I can find.”
Jax shared a hard look with Tace. They didn’t have cold water, much less ice. Maybe it was time to move north to a cooler climate, even with the Mercs waiting.
The girl groaned and rolled over.
Tace dropped to his haunches and smoothed damp hair away from her face. “It’s okay, Haylee, we’ll get you figured out.”
Her eyelids shot open, and she grabbed his arm.
Jax moved as fast as he could, but before he could reach her, she jerked upright and sank her teeth into Tace’s arm.
Tace howled and yanked free with such force he flew across the room and smashed into the wall.
Shit, shit, shit. Jax planted Haylee back down and reached for the straps placed out of reach beneath the bed, just in case of infection in a soldier. She fought him, gyrating and bucking, with more strength than a normal teenager should wield. Finally, he secured her in place.
Growls and inhuman sputtering ripped from her throat. Many of the newly infected tried to bite and infect others—it was part of the disease.
Jax turned and stepped over Tace’s legs to pull him to his feet. Tace’s arm bled profusely from a perfectly sized teenage-girl bite. “Fuck.” He all but dragged Tace to the sink and dumped a standing pitcher of water over his arm. Rusty, dirty, trickling water.
Tace punched his arm. “That won’t help, brother.”
Jax ignored him and reached for the industrial soap, pouring it generously on the bite marks.
Tace winced and threw an elbow. “You know that won’t help.”
Jax swallowed, fear gripping his chest. He couldn’t lose Tace. “I know.” Without another word, he dragged Tace to the bed next to Haylee and set him down. Reaching for the hidden restraints, he quickly secured one of his best soldiers.
Tace didn’t fight him or utter a word of protest. For some reason, that made the entire situation more painful.
“You’re healthy, and you’re updated on B, right?” Jax cinched the chest strap tighter.
Tace winced.
Jax paused, and heat exploded in his chest. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“We ran out, pard,” Tace said slowly. “I’m healthy, haven’t been infected, and thought I could wait for the next round. Plus, being updated wouldn’t protect me from infection, although it might make the fever easier.” He glanced at the girl thrashing on the bed. “Was stupid of me not to watch her closer.”
A soft hand glided along Jax’s arm, and he glanced down at Lynne.
Her somber gaze remained on Tace, but she leaned into Jax’s side. “I’ll take good care of him, of them both, until you return with the B. I promise.”
His heart eased a tiny fraction. Who could he trust to watch her back while he was gone, now that Tace was down? He frowned.
She squeezed, and her lips turned down. “I won’t make a break for it.”
He blinked. She might be a badass survivor, but the woman was seriously sensitive. He hadn’t been doubting her word. “You already gave your promise. My worry is for your safety.”
She bit her lip. “I’ve been in danger before. Vitamin B is more important.”
It really was, especially now. Tace needed that vitamin. As did Haylee.
Tace grimaced. “My gut feels like somebody just kicked me.”
Lynne took a seat between the two patients. “Your head is going to hurt next. Do you have more morphine?”
“Don’t waste it on me,” Tace said through gritted teeth.
“In the drawer over there.” Jax pointed. “We have the syringes ready to go just in case.”
Tace shoved his head back on the pillow, and his body went rigid. “I don’t want fuckin’ morphine, Jax.”
“Too bad.” Jax stomped across the room and yanked open a drawer to return with a syringe. The least he could do was ease his buddy’s pain. Why the hell hadn’t he known Tace hadn’t taken B? He should’ve double checked. “Suck it up, Texas.” He smoothly slid the needle into Tace’s vein and pressed the stopper.
Tace sighed, and his body went limp.
Lynne eyed him. “You’re pretty good at that.”
Jax exhaled slowly, gaze on his friend. “Not my first time, unfortunately.” He tossed the empty syringe across the room and into a trash can.
April rushed back into the room with semiclean and damp towels. “We’ve been keeping them in the basement where it’s kind of cool.” She glanced at Tace, secured to the bed. “Oh no. What happened?”
Jax moved from Lynne to slip an arm around April’s shoulders and escort her back to her chair. “Haylee bit him. I need you to assist Lynne while we’re out securing more vitamin B.”
April looked at Lynne, Tace, her daughter, and then back to Jax. “I need a gun.”
Jax blinked.
“We might have a problem with Lynne, and I may need to protect her. In fact, we should both have guns.” April’s eyes hardened. “I’ll do what I need to do to protect everyone in this room. You can trust me.”
Jax reached down and retrieved Tace’s ankle weapon to hand to April and then did the same with his own for Lynne. Both women glanced at the small guns, holding them in hands that shouldn’t hold weapons.
He scratched his head. “April, you know how to use that?”
“Point and shoot.” She shrugged. “I can do it.”
“Lynne?” he asked.
Her gaze met his, filled with nightmares. “I’ve been trained, and I know how to shoot.”
The pain in her eyes hit him right in the gut, so he focused on April again. “What did you do before, well, all of this?”
April snorted. “I was the head of the PTA, the softball team mom, and my husband’s helper at his dental office. I did the books.”
“Sounds like a nice life,” Jax said.
She glanced at her daughter, her shoulders slumping. “It really was.”
Jax had already heard the husband had died of Scorpius. “I’m going to shut the door, and you two lock it. Don’t open it for anybody but me or Wyatt. I’ll leave orders you’re to be left alone, and since you have two patients here, people will probably give you a wide berth.” He’d take Sami with him so she couldn’t harass Lynne.
Here he was already worried about Lynne.
He needed to keep some distance from the wounded scientist or he’d completely lose perspective. If he’d been more on his game, perhaps Tace wouldn’t be fighting the fever right now. Women and relationships complicated things, which was why he’d remained alone.
Yet even now, watching Lynne Harmony settle her shoulders, gun in hand, worry in her eyes, he couldn’t help but be drawn to her. The urge to place a reassuring kiss on her forehead before he left had him turning on his heel and heading for the door. “Stay in here and stay safe,” he said before shutting the door firmly behind him. He waited until the lock engaged before striding down the hallway to find Wyatt.
It was time to hunt.
Chapter Twelve
Nature has never truly favoured humanity over the countless other species who have already perished. We just like to believe otherwise.
—Dr. Franklin Xavier Harmony