“I’m not asking.”
She thrummed her fingers on a leather-bound journal next to the microscope. Her father’s journal and one she had read often to relax herself. “Unless you have another former head of the CDC infectious disease unit in your pocket, I’m it for us, buddy. Which means I need to keep working.”
Did she just call him “buddy”? Jax flashed a smile as his temper stirred. “Baby, move your ass, or I’m gonna do it for you.”
She sat back in her chair, and her telltale blue heart glowed through her white T-shirt. He wanted to take a little credit for the fact that she was more comfortable with the blue since they’d gotten together. Her heart had been changed when she’d been injected with a possible cure for Scorpius that hadn’t quite worked. Now she was a target for way too many bad guys, and he often lost sleep worrying about how to protect her. “You’re awfully bossy tonight. What has you tied up?” she asked.
He blinked slowly. “I’m not here to chat.”
“Why are you here?” She pushed back her soft blond hair and lowered her chin.
Temper tickled the base of his neck. “To tell you to get some sleep. You keep going like this, and you’re gonna get sick.” They were out of most antibiotics, and the idea of her falling ill made his chest hurt. He might not be able to control much in this new world, but he could at the very least make sure his woman got some sleep. While he never would’ve thought God would give him a brilliant, spirited, kind woman like Lynne, He had, and Jax wasn’t going to lose her now. “Did you even eat dinner?”
She squinted and leaned to the side to peer beyond him at the darkened back door. “What time is it?”
That’s what he’d figured. He breathed in and out slowly like the doc had told him to do when he was about to explode.
Lynne arched one light eyebrow. “Seriously? You’re using calming breathing techniques?”
“Better than beating your ass,” he returned.
She snorted. “What is wrong with you tonight?”
“Why are you killing yourself with this research?” With the crappy lab, even if she figured out a cure for Scorpius, they didn’t have the resources to do anything but talk about possibilities.
Her eyes darkened. “Time is ticking, Mercury. Not one live birth has occurred since Scorpius infected the world, and we have to change that.”
He lifted a hand. “No live births from Scorpius survivors, you mean.” Any woman who hadn’t been infected could still have babies.
She nodded. “Yeah, but we have more survivors than noninfected, and since the bacteria lives on surfaces and will probably always be around, someday perhaps everyone will have been infected. We have to do something, and preferably soon, since we have a pregnant teenager here. One who survived Scorpius.”
“Jill Sanderson.” Jax wiped a hand across his eyes. “I can’t believe those kids.”
“Right.” Lynne coughed. “Like we never forgot condoms.”
Oh, he was well aware of his limits. “You didn’t get pregnant.”
“No, but it was a possibility.” She frowned. “Even using condoms, it’s possible. They’re only 97 percent effective, and someday we’ll be out of stock.”
The idea of a little girl with Lynne’s intelligent eyes both tempted and scared the shit out of him. The world wasn’t safe for anybody, and he was holding on as tight as he could as it was. He swallowed. “That’s a worry for another day. Tonight my concern is all on you.”
“Fantastic although not quite true.” She twirled a pencil across the table. “You’re worrying about Tace and Sami.” She looked up. “As well as everyone else in Vanguard.”
Yeah, he was. “Tace and Sami are well trained, and they have each other’s backs. Greyson gave his word that they’d be safe.”
“Do you believe him? Or rather, did you believe Damon Winter?” Lynne asked.
Jax moved toward her. “Yes, or I wouldn’t have sent two of my top lieutenants into his territory.” He hoped the risk had been worth it.
She straightened in her chair. “Did you send drawings of Marcus with them?”
Jax nodded. “Sami always has a drawing of my brother with her when scouting.” He was losing hope that his younger brother was still alive, even though an old enemy had hinted at that possibility before dying. “She’ll ask if anybody has seen him.” The chances were slim.
“I think we’ll find him. I really do.” Lynne tilted her head and focused on the outside door again. “I hadn’t noticed but the rain has stopped completely. How long will we have water resources?”
He shook his head. “I’m having that calculated right now. Soon we’ll have to head north for both food and fresh water. I’m not ready to leave Vanguard, but we may not have a choice.”
She winced. “Moving more than five hundred people? That’s going to be difficult.”
