“Mine, too.” April scratched her leg through a hole in her jeans. “What’s it like outside of Los Angeles? I mean, the world out there? Are we reorganizing civilization?”
Lynne took a deep breath and blew it out. “I don’t know. What I saw was more refugee camps outside of cities. I haven’t been into a city except here in three months, and even before that, I was pretty isolated and locked down.”
April bit her lip. “What about our government?”
Lynne swallowed. “I, ah, don’t know.” Hell, she really didn’t want to know, but she’d probably find out soon enough. “The military was regrouping and trying to secure vital areas, specifically with the creation of the Brigade, and since all troops were recalled six months ago, at least all our soldiers are here on our soil.” Not that the soldiers had fought Scorpius any better than the civilians. It killed without discrimination. She chose not to mention the creation of the Elite Force to April. Maybe word hadn’t spread this far.
“Oh.” April smoothed the ragged edges over the hole in her jeans. “So. Did you have a boyfriend or anything? I mean, I watched a television special on you when your heart first turned blue and you came out of the coma, but the show focused on your career and the hope of curing Scorpius. It showed your picture but didn’t talk about your life.”
Heat flared down Lynne’s torso. “No. No boyfriend. I guess I lived for my work.” She cut her eyes toward April, unwilling to trust that much.
“Hmm.” A frown settled between April’s eyes and then understanding lightened them. “Okay.”
For the next couple of hours, they kept the talk simple and impersonal. There were a couple of tense moments with Tace trying to escape his bonds, but Jax had tied them strong.
The night stormed outside, and in the midst of the inside quiet, a knock echoed on the door.
April lifted her head from where she’d laid it on Haylee’s bed. “Who’s there?”
“Red. Jax radioed in and said to bring you two some food.”
Lynne lifted her eyebrows at April.
April rubbed her chin. “He’s one of Jax’s. We can trust him.” Standing and stretching her back with a low groan, she limped to the door.
Lynne faltered. “Are you sure?”
April glanced back. “Well, pretty sure. Red has been with Jax for months.”
Lynne crossed and reached the woman to draw her away from the door. “Jax said to only let in Wyatt or himself, and I say we listen to the big guy. I’m not that hungry—are you?”
April glanced back to her too-quiet daughter. “No. Not at all.”
Good. Lynne raised her voice. “Red? Thanks for the offer, but we’re going to pass. We’re not hungry, and the two fighting the fever can’t eat.”
“Come on, let me in, Lynne. You can trust me, and I want to see Tace. I need to see my friend.” Red’s voice remained calm.
Not too long ago, she would’ve opened the door with an apology for waffling. But she’d been hunted, and she’d been terrorized. Now she went with instincts—screw manners. “Thanks, Red, but Jax ordered us to keep the door closed, and I’m sure you value his orders. I’d hate to cross the guy within a day of coming to camp.”
“April? You know me, sweetheart. Now I’m getting worried what’s going on in there. Are you all right?” Red asked, his voice muffled only slightly by the thick door.
“I’m fine.” April tucked the sheet more securely around Haylee. “I agree with Lynne that we should follow Jax’s orders. You know how he gets when defied.” She winked at Lynne and gave a mock shudder, whispering, “Actually, that’s kind of true. Not a lot of mercy lives in that man.”
Lynne turned away from the door. Sure, Jax was a hard man, but she’d seen plenty of mercy in him.
A boom echoed, and the door plowed open. The blast hit Lynne square in the back, and she flew across the room to crash between the beds and drop to the floor. Pain flared through her shoulder and the side of her face. Her ears rang, and her vision fuzzed.
April screamed and moved to partially cover her daughter.
Red stomped inside, silver semiautomatic glinting in the dim light. “April, I’m sorry, but we have to get rid of those infected. They’re a danger to us if they survive.”
April’s lips quivered, and she hunched over her daughter in a protective pose. “There are tons of carriers, Red. You can’t kill them all.”
“I can try,” he said grimly. “Next I’ll hit the three in the inner hospital.” A man aged fifty or so stood behind him, carrying a shotgun. “We’ve had a little vote, and this is the only way. I’ll give you a few minutes to say good-bye to your daughter, what’s left of her, while I take care of Blue Heart here.”
“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.