“Sit back down.” Lynne hustled toward him, faltering when he sat on a lawn chair. “You know I’m not a medical doctor, right?”
Tace leaned his head back onto the dingy wall. “Yes ma’am. But you did study some anatomy.”
“Sure.” She gingerly reached for his shoulder.
“What’s going on?” Jax asked from behind her.
She jumped and whirled around like a teenager caught with a bottle of tequila. “His shoulder is dislocated.”
Jax frowned and crossed the room. He tilted his head to the side and then placed one hand on Tace’s clavicle and the other on his back. “One—” He popped the shoulder back into place.
Tace’s face lost all color. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Jax straightened up and held out a hand for Lynne. “We need to talk.”
She looked down at his hand and then back up at his rugged face. “About what?”
He lifted an eyebrow, his face hard and set.
Her knees wobbled. They didn’t need to hold hands, for goodness sake. Sleeping together was one thing, and public affection another. She’d already been called a whore once that day.
“Lynne,” he said.
Tace’s lips twitched. At least the jackass could feel amusement. At her expense.
She glared at Jax. Fine. It wasn’t as if she could get past him. Straightening her shoulders, she slipped her hand into his as casually as she could. His hand closed, providing instant warmth and a skittering of warning through her belly. She bit her tongue as he led her from the room, across the soup kitchen, and into his war room with the ham radio.
“Where’s Ernie?” she asked.
“Getting tea.” Jax settled her into one of the four chairs in the room. “We’re going to reach out to Greg Lake and the EF today, and I thought you’d want to be here.”
Fear detonated in her stomach, and she tried to stand.
Jax clamped his hands on her shoulders and sat her back down, sinking to his haunches so they were eye to eye. “Take a deep breath and listen to me. I meant what I said last night. I won’t tell them you’re here, but I have to reach out. We need everything from food to medical supplies.”
“So let me go,” she whispered. She could probably survive on her own. Uncle Bruce had taught her well.
“No.” Jax brushed a curl off her cheek. “Trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Her temper snapped. “Trust you? You’re about to call the one person in the world who would like to carve me up like a turkey dinner.” She struggled against Jax’s hold, but he didn’t relent. Tears filled her eyes, and she batted back the frustration.
Jax waited until she stopped moving. “You have my vow nothing will harm you.”
Her shoulders slumped. “I have too many enemies here. While you’ll lie for me, they won’t.”
Jax’s face hardened. “They will. I promise.”
Ernie ambled in, a cup of something steaming in his hand. “We ready?”
Lynne swallowed, glaring at Jax.
Jax drew a chair nearer and sat, folding one hand over her thigh. “We’re ready.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
When the prey is as cunning as the hunter . . . the true match begins.
—Dr. Franklin Xavier Harmony
Jax tried to keep his hold reassuring, but his hand clamped onto Lynne’s thigh to secure her in the chair. He could’ve called without her there, but it would be better if she heard the entire exchange. Her leg trembled beneath his palm, and his jaw tightened. She was frightened.
Ernie fiddled with dials and every once in a while stopped to speak, to say he was returning the call of the Elite Force. The sixty-year-old former marine had been retired and totally into the ham radio world when Scorpius had descended. Jax had found him wandering the rubble near the Hollywood Walk of Fame months ago.
Thirty minutes passed, and then an hour. Lynne continued to sit, every muscle tense, not looking at Jax. Maybe they wouldn’t be able to find the EF. Maybe Jax had waited too long. A surprising mix of disappointment and relief filled her.
Static echoed over the line.
Jax straightened.
More static, and Ernie leaned forward to twist a dial just a smidge.
“This is Vice President Greg Lake, UT980 near Vegas, calling out.”
Ernie jerked his chin at Jax.
“Thanks, Ernie.” Jax leaned toward the old machine, drawing the microphone toward his mouth. “This is Jax Mercury in Los Angeles.”
“Master Sergeant Jax Mercury, we’ve heard of you,” Lake said, his voice coming through tinny. “Please give your location.”
Lynne tried to rise, and Jax tightened his hold on her leg. “If you’re as good as I hope, you know my location,” Jax returned.
“Master Sergeant Mercury, I am ordering you to give your location,” Lake said evenly.
Jax’s lips twitched. “Well now, Vice President Lake, we have a problem. Because first of all, the army has disbanded. Secondly, and this is the big one, I have no proof or clue you’re who you say you are. Provide proof, and I’ll follow orders.” He covered the mic. “Is there any way for us to know where he is, other than Nevada?”
Ernie shook his head. “Nope—not that I know of, anyway.”
Jax nodded. “If I had troops and was heading west, I’d be in Nevada close to the Hoover Dam.” Rumor had it Las Vegas still had electricity. “If they manage to keep the dam going, all electricity won’t be done forever.” The rest of the country had lost electricity when power plants had shut down for various reasons, all stemming from there not being enough trained people to keep them running properly. Although, before Scorpius, only about five thousand people had the knowledge to keep a dam running. How many of them had survived? Probably not enough.
Lake cleared his throat. “Unless we meet, there’s not much proof I can offer.”
“Copy that. How about we meet at the California and Nevada border the day after next at fifteen hundred hours?”
“We could meet tomorrow,” Lake said.
Jax shook his head. “I require more time. The first I can meet is the day after next.”
Lynne frowned.
Jax leaned toward her ear to whisper. “I want the info from Myriad in my hands before I meet with the president or any sitting government.”
She nodded, her body still trembling.
Lake sighed. “Affirmative. I will speak with the president and get back to you with a more specific location.”
“Who is the president?” Jax asked, wincing as Lynne stiffened even more.
“Bret Atherton,” Lake replied. “Do we have a plan?”
“Affirmative.” Jax sat back. “Where are you?”
Quiet reigned for a few minutes as Lake probably spoke to his group. “Close by.”
Jax frowned. “Do you have any air support?”
“Negative.”
What Jax wouldn’t give for a crop duster or two. “What type of force have you been able to mount?”
Static crackled over the line. “We’ll update in person. Do you have any intel on the location of Lynne Harmony? Our sources say she was heading to Los Angeles.”
“Negative. If Blue Heart was in L.A., I’d know about it. At least by rumor.” Jax ignored the tightness of Lynne’s body. If she didn’t breathe soon, she was going to pass out. He patted her leg.
“How many do you have in your force?” Lake asked.
“We’ll update in person.” Jax repeated Lake’s hedging.
“Fair enough. Let me remind you, Master Sergeant Mercury, you are still a United States soldier under orders.”
Hell. Could he be considered a deserter? Probably. Jax leaned forward. “Actually, I’m not sure there’s still a United States. Are you?”
“There is, and you’re still a soldier,” Lake shot back.
“Not if there isn’t a country or service,” Jax said. “For all I know, you could be the leader of yet another renegade group out to steal my meager resources, and I have to tell you, if that’s the case, you’re gonna be disappointed.”
“Because you’ve amassed such a strong fighting force?” Lake asked.
Jax snorted. “No. Because we don’t have shit for supplies, food, or trained people. We’re a group of civilians barely making it, Lake. So if you’re looking for loot, go elsewhere.”
“We’ll see.”