George looked at her, and peace settled over his face. He smiled. “Finally.” He pulled the trigger. His brains splattered across the wall, and he fell in death, still smiling.
Penny jerked back.
The doors burst open.
“Retreat,” Jax yelled, dragging Sami up with one arm while already shooting toward the doors, his gaze remaining on Marcus.
Penelope shoved her bleeding shoulder beneath Marcus’s arm and tried to lift him.
“No!” he yelled, shaking to dislodge her. “You’re not infected.” His blood flowed all over her chest and the new bullet wound.
“Run, Marcus,” she yelled, trying to drag the muscled man.
He took a look at the soldiers opening the door, half lifted her, and ran after Jax.
They reached the lab room and kept going.
Jax released Sami to lean down and haul Tace over his shoulder, while Sami ran over and unlocked the closet to let out the lab techs. They all ran into the corridor just as Raze, Damon, and three other soldiers hustled up.
“Soldiers coming—keep the computer room secure and take them out,” Jax ordered, not pausing in his stride. “Where’s the infirmary, and is it secured?”
“One floor down to the south, and affirmative,” Raze said, yanking open the door to the computer lab. “Greyson has the control room secured in the center of floor B.”
“Everyone move,” Jax ordered, cutting a quick glance at his bleeding brother. “We need bandages.”
Sami kept her gun out, scanning for threats while also trying to see any improvement in Tace, who hung raggedly over Jax’s shoulder. What if she’d been too late?
Chapter Twenty-Nine
It’s not death I fear . . . I’m just not ready to leavethose who need me.
—Tace Justice
Tace blinked and sat up with a gasp. Sami sat next to him, his hand between her two smaller ones. “Tace?”
His body vibrated with the need to leap up and fight. “Status?” he tried to bark, but his voice came out hoarse.
“We’re in the Bunker infirmary,” Sami said, her eyes glistening. “The command center and all of floor B is secured, while we’re still fighting on A and C.”
Tace swallowed and shook his head, looking around. The infirmary had clean linens, antibacterial wipes, and actual rubber gloves. Compared to the infirmaries at Vanguard, the place was luxurious. “Jax?” The Vanguard leader covered the door, his back to the wall, and his focus on the bed next to Tace.
“We got you the injection. Feel any different?” Jax asked, lines cut into his face.
Tace blinked. “No dots in my vision.” He turned to look at the bed next to him, where a small woman was busy patching up a guy with multiple knife wounds. She had long black hair and flawless mocha skin, and her movements were quick and economical.
Tace narrowed his gaze on the patient. There was something familiar about the guy.
“That’s Marcus,” Sami whispered. “Right, Jax?”
Jax wavered in place, his face unusually pale. “Yeah. That’s my brother.” He seemed almost in a daze.
Tace’s eyebrows rose. Yeah—he did look a little like Jax. Where the hell had he come from? Marcus was broad across the chest, looked tall, and held himself perfectly still. Turmoil filled his eyes as he let the woman stitch a slice over his right pec.
“You let me infect you, Penny,” Marcus rumbled, his voice raw.
Tace craned his neck to see a bandage over the woman’s shoulder.
She finished the stitches and gently placed a bandage over the wound. “I told you I’d get you out. That’s all that matters.” Sweat dotted her forehead, and her hands shook a little.
