Shadow Falling (The Scorpius Syndrome #2) (42 page)

Tace nodded. “I’ll find a sewing kit, or maybe even a first-aid kit. Everyone hold tight.”

The feeling of Vinnie’s warm blood on Raze’s hand made him want to kill somebody. “Hold on, sweetheart. You’ll be okay.”

“I know,” she croaked. “Thank you for rescuing us.”

Tears filled his eyes, and he gave a chuckle. “Anytime. I love you, you know.”

Her body jerked. “Yeah, I know. I love you, too.”

Greyson partially turned to Maureen. “Your brother is a total sap.”

Maureen’s smile was a bit shaky. “He gets passive aggressive sometimes, too. She doesn’t know what she’s getting into.”

Tace returned
with an impressive-looking first-aid kit and started sewing everybody up.

Vinnie held tight to Raze’s hand, and every time she winced, he felt the pain in his own neck. He tried to distract her. “Greyson? What’s up with you, the Bunker, and Zach Barter?”

Grey sighed. “Listen. I’m fine with creating an alliance between our people, but that doesn’t make us confidants.”

“So much for trust,” Raze muttered. “I’m still shooting you later.”

“You can try.” Greyson nodded. “Trust has to be earned. This is a start.”

Tace stepped back and studied Vinnie’s stitches. “Damn good job, if I say so myself.” He turned. “Do I save Greyson or let him bleed out?”

Jax covered the window. “Save his ass. He has information we might need. Raze can kill him later if he chooses.”

Raze eyed his sister, so pale on the sofa.

Vinnie glanced up and then gave him a nudge. “Go.”

He moved and gently lifted Moe, tucking her into him for a hug. “I’ve been looking so hard for you.”

She leaned back, tears in her eyes. “I knew you’d find me.”

Finally. His sister was safe.

Vinnie limped across the small apartment, her entire body aching, her heart full. Home. They’d made it back home to Vanguard territory, and she hoped to never leave again. Of course, that wasn’t possible.

Raze followed her and shut the door. “How’s the neck?”

“Hurts.” She turned and smiled. Then she sobered. Ah, hell.

“So you went and got yourself stabbed?” Lucinda bounced next to Raze, wearing an eighties aerobics outfit, complete with bright purple leg warmers and a matching headband. “I told you he’d be dangerous.”

Vinnie rolled her eyes. “Go away, Lucinda. I’m tired.”

“Well.” Lucinda puffed out of sight.

Raze lifted an eyebrow.

Vinnie shrugged. Keeping secrets seemed like a waste of time. “She’s gone now.”

Raze eyed the area next to him before heading for Vinnie and backing her toward the bed. “Good. There are things I want to do to you, soft and gentle ones because you’re injured, that I’d rather she didn’t see.”

Vinnie smiled
and let him set her down on the firm mattress. “You don’t mind that I’m nuts?”

“I adore you the way you are, crazy or not.” He grinned. “Definitely crazy, though.”

She chuckled and rolled right into his strong body, careful to avoid the bandage on his bicep from the bullet wound. “We found Maureen.”

“Yeah.” Raze ran a hand down Vinnie’s hair. “Sorry about the whole plan to kidnap you.”

She licked along his neck. “You’re forgiven.” Especially because he hadn’t done it. “You didn’t have to be so bossy with your sister earlier.” The man had all but forced Maureen to accompany them to Vanguard territory.

Raze sighed. “I just got her back here.”

“Yeah, but those nurseries are her babies, and we all need food. Her work is in Merc territory.” Vinnie kept the rest of her thoughts to herself. She’d seen the way Maureen had looked at Greyson when she’d discovered the guy had jumped in front of a bullet for her. “We’re allies now, right?”

“Hell, no. I’m glad Grey and Damon went to inspect the damage to their territory and assess casualties. It’s gonna be a bad day for them.” Raze kissed the top of Vinnie’s head. “Maureen is staying here for the time being. We’ll figure out a safe way for her to continue her work. Oh, and I’m still killing Greyson the second he’s no longer useful.”

Vinnie wondered what Maureen would have to say about that. Vinnie sighed and let her body relax. “I can’t believe you guys caught up to us so quickly.”

“We used the dune buggies and followed the boats. When I saw them load you guys into a truck, it was all I could do not to stop it. But Jax was right. Hot-wiring a truck and taking the president by surprise was a better move.” Raze sighed. “I wish I could’ve ended that bastard, though. He’s safe at his new headquarters, wherever that is.”

“Oh, we’ll get him.” Vinnie tried to sound positive. If the
military actually answered to Bret, then it was a long shot. But that was a concern for another day. “I heard that Sami and Byron are both recuperating.”

“Yeah. That kid was great in the fight, and so was Sami. I owe them,” Raze said.

“We both do.” She needed to tell him everything she was feeling. “You keep saving me, Raze.” The man was a hero, and more importantly, he was her hero.

“Of course. I love you.”

Those words. How those words filled her. Life was dangerous and full of uncertainties, but for now, Vinnie was safe and with the man she loved. “I love you too, you know.”

He leaned back, his blue eyes sizzling. “You had better. Um, remember when you were trying to mess with my head and said we should get married?”

Her silly heart fluttered. “Sure.”

“I meant it. When I said yes, I meant it.” He brushed a kiss across her nose. “I want you, all of you, as completely as I can get you. That means marriage and same name. Mine.”

Her chest swelled with what had to be happiness. “You sound a mite possessive, Shadow,” she murmured, running her hands through his thick hair.

“Just a mite?” He grinned. “I want full on, totally possessive. What do you say?”

Somehow, in this time and this place, it was the most romantic proposal she could even imagine. “I say yes.”

He leaned down and kissed her, going deep, so much love in the movement that tears filled her eyes. “Don’t forget you promised to obey,” he murmured against her mouth.

She grinned and nipped his bottom lip. “I most certainly did not.”

“Hmm.” His incredible blue eyes darkened. “We’ll have to work on that, then.”

He could
tease all he wanted. Somehow, in the darkness the world had become, fate had given her this man. This wounded, brave, dangerous and honorable man. “I love you, Raze Shadow.”

His gaze showed her everything she’d ever wanted to see. “I love you, too. Whatever happens, Vinnie. It’s you and me. Forever.”

If you
missed the first stunning book in Rebecca Zanetti’s gripping The Scorpius Syndrome series, make sure you read on . . .

Available now from Headline Eternal.

Despair
hungered in the darkness, not lingering, not languishing . . . but waiting to bite. No longer the little brother of rage, despair had taken over the night, ever present, an actor instead of an afterthought.

Lynne picked her way along the deserted twelve-lane interstate, allowing the weak light from the moon to guide her. An unnatural silence hung heavy over the barren land. Rusting carcasses of vehicles lined the sides; otherwise, the once-vibrant 405 was dead.

Her months of hiding had taught her stealth. Prey needed stealth, as did the hunter.

She was both.

The tennis shoes she’d stolen from an abandoned thrift store protected her feet from the cracked asphalt, while a breeze scented with death and decomposing vegetation lifted her hair. The smell had saturated the wind as she’d trekked across the country.

The world was littered with dead bodies and devoid of souls.

A click echoed in the darkness. About time. Predators, both human and animal, crouched in every shadow, but she’d made it closer to what used to be Los Angeles than she’d hoped.

A strobe light hit her full on, rendering sight impossible. The miracle of functioning batteries brought pain. She closed her eyes. They’d either kill her or not. Either way, no need to go blind. “I want to see Mercury.” Since she’d aimed for the center of Mercury’s known territory, hopefully she’d find him and not some rogue gang.

Silence. Then several more clicks. Guns of some type. They’d closed in silently, just as well trained as she’d heard. As she’d hoped.

She forced strength into her voice. “You don’t want to kill me without taking me to Mercury first.” Jax Mercury, to be exact. If he still lived. If not, she was screwed anyway.

“Why would we do that?” A voice from the darkness, angry and near.

She squinted, blinking until her pupils narrowed. The bright light exposed her and concealed them, weakening her knees, but she gently set her small backpack on the ground. She had to clear her throat to force out sound. “I’m Lynne Harmony.”

Gasps, low and male, filled the abyss around her. “Bullshit,” a voice hissed from her left.

She tilted her head toward the voice, and then slowly, so slowly they wouldn’t be spooked, she unbuttoned her shirt. No catcalls, no suggestive responses followed. Shrugging her shoulders, she dropped the cotton to the ground, facing the light.

She hadn’t worn a bra, but she doubted the echoing exhales of shock were from her size Bs. More likely the shimmering blue outline of her heart caught their attention. Yeah, she was
a freak. Typhoid Mary in the body of a woman who’d failed. Big time. But she might be able to save the men surrounding her. “So. Jax Mercury. Now.”

One man stepped closer. Gang tattoos lined his face, inked tears showing his kills. He might have been thirty, he might have been sixty. Regardless, he was dangerous, and he smelled like dust combined with body odor. A common smell in the plague-riddled world. Eyeing her chest, he quickly crossed himself. “Holy Mary, Mother of God.”

“Not even close.” A silent overpass loomed a few yards to the north, and her voice echoed off the concrete. The piercing light assaulted her, spinning the background thick and dark. Her temples pounded, and her hollow stomach ached. Wearily, she reached down and grabbed her shirt, shrugging it back on. She figured the “take me to your leader” line would get her shot. “Do you want to live or not?”

He met her gaze, his scarred upper lip twisting. “Yes.”

It was the most sincere sound she’d heard in months. “We’re running out of time.” Time had deserted them long ago, but she needed to get a move on. “Please.” The sound shocked her, the civility of it, a word she’d forgotten how to use. The slightest of hopes warmed that blue organ in her chest, reminding her of who she used to be. Who she’d lost.

Another figure stepped forward, this one big and silent. Deadly power vibrated in the shift of muscle as light illuminated him from behind, shrouding his features. “I didn’t tell you to put your shirt back on.” No emotion, no hint of humanity echoed in the deep rumble.