“I know.” He leaned over her and pushed the microscope out of the way, his gaze catching on some of her neatly printed notes. “Any news on the Bunker?”
She looked up into his face as her gaze dropped to his lips. A pretty pink blush bloomed across her high cheekbones. “Um, Tace and I sifted through more documents yesterday, and we think it’s on the coast somewhere. It exists, Jax. There are too many references to it.”
Yeah, he believed the mysterious government facility existed as well. The government had to have had something in place in case of a plague, especially after the wakeup call of Ebola. The question was whether or not the Bunker scientists had found a cure for Scorpius. “We’ll find the Bunker.” He wasn’t placing much stock in a cure, though.
“I know,” she said softly, stretching and knocking over an empty cup. Man, his woman was a klutz.
He swooped down and lifted her against his chest, quickly straightening.
She yelped. “What are you doing?”
He nuzzled her neck, calming himself with her sweet scent. “I need you.” True words.
She softened in his arms. “Are you just manipulating me to get me to sleep?”
“Yep.” He turned and strode through the clinic and toward the other side of headquarters. “But if manipulation comes with a few orgasms, who can complain?”
“A few?” She nipped at his chin.
“I’ll see what I can do.” He held her easily. Had she lost more weight? Man, the woman needed a keeper. For now, at least he could focus on her and not on his absent lieutenants.
He hoped he’d done the right thing sending them into Merc territory. If Greyson Storm harmed either one of them, Jax would wage war in an instant. Vanguard was big enough to take down the Mercs, God help them all.
Chapter Six
I only make mistakes that are catastrophic.
—Sami Steel
Exhaustion wore on Sami as she finished taking a very quick shower with rose-scented shampoo. All she had at Vanguard territory was dish soap, so she took a precious moment to appreciate the luxury. The shower was outside under a barrel of cold rainwater, but even so, it was heavenly. The smell of the world after Scorpius hadn’t returned to nature as of yet. It would, though.
The water stopped pouring, so she figured her ration was up. Good thing she’d gotten rid of the suds. She glanced at the heavy tarps surrounding her and then poked her head out. “Towel?”
Tace, his hair slicked back from his own shower, handed over a towel. He was basically keeping guard outside. Oh, she could fight naked as well as dressed, but she was happy nobody had interrupted her few moments of rose-smelling bliss. She toweled off her thick hair and then her body before wrapping the towel around herself.
She stepped out and onto a small basketball court set next to the new Mercenary headquarters. Had the kids who’d lived there survived? Maybe they’d headed up north with their parents. Or maybe not. She tried not to think about them or of her many cousins who had perished. While she’d always considered herself fortunate to have a large family, now that they’d all passed on, she felt the void every day.
Leaning down, she rummaged in her duffel bag for clothes and quickly stepped back inside the tarps to throw on yoga pants and a clean shirt.
Stepping out again, she finger-combed her hair. She and Tace had finished dealing with the wounded long after the sun had deserted the sky, and after a quick meal, they’d both showered with the other one guarding the door. It was the first time they’d had privacy all day. “Grey wouldn’t let me follow him to the medicine stockpile.”
Tace sighed. “He’s crafty.” Then the medic straightened.
Greyson Storm was moving their way from the beach.
“Thanks for the shampoo,” Sami said.
He nodded. “Figured you’d like the girly stuff more than Tace. How are my men?”
Tace rubbed his eyes. “Everyone will live. The last guy had a bullet a little close to the spine, but I think he’ll be okay. When he awakens, we’ll need to make sure he can move his legs. I did my best.”
“I appreciate it.” Grey eyed the rolling ocean beneath the full moon. “I wanted to thank you both. The men in the infirmary are singing your praises, Sami.”
She shrugged and heat climbed into her face. “I just talked to them.”
“And told poems, jokes, and sang songs,” Greyson said with a smile. “You went above and beyond, and the soft touch made a difference. I’m in your debt.”
“She’s a sucker for a wounded animal,” Tace said, his gaze inscrutable. “Apparently, wounded soldiers as well.”
