Damon nodded and leaned heavily on the small woman, turning and almost meekly allowing her to lead him out of the room.
“Dick,” Jax muttered, returning to his place at the head of the table.
“Why don’t we just send him back to the Mercs?” Sami muttered.
Tace shook his head. “He needs to heal first, or he’ll bleed out. The bullet was tough to remove.” If they sent him back dead, there’d be a war. Though right now Tace was feeling okay with that, considering Damon was being such an ungrateful prick.
Pastor Zachary leaned forward. “This is why we need two separate territories within Vanguard for those who’ve been infected and those who have not. I don’t need to remind you that only the unaffected can procreate.”
“We think,” Sami shot back.
Tace nodded and retook his seat. “We don’t yet know if Scorpius survivors can carry a baby to full term. It’s too early to tell.”
Zachary shook his head. “So far, not one has done so, therefore it doesn’t look good. That one little fact should make all of you want to protect our women. All of us want humans to survive, right?”
Sami drummed her fingertips on the table. “It occurs to me that you never answered my question, Zach.”
The pastor’s nostrils flared. “I chose not to, woman. Now stop harassing me with silly questions, and let me conduct some business with your leader.”
Heat filled Tace’s ears, and fury crawled down his back. Without a second’s thought, he half stood and reached across the table, manacling Zachary’s neck. A quick pull, and he jerked the pastor across the table and took him to the floor.
Zachary yelped and grabbed Tace’s hand, trying to dislodge the hold.
“Tace!” Sami jumped up, and her chair flew back.
Tace punched Zachary in the nose, and blood sprayed up. Anger poured through him so quickly he could barely see, so he kept striking, trying to find a release for the fury consuming him.
Jax and Raze reached him, each grabbing an arm and yanking him away from the profusely bleeding pastor.
He fought them, elbowing Jax in the gut and dropping another punch to Zachary’s cheekbone.
Jax and Raze dragged him away again, and he struck out, fighting them.
“Jesus,” Raze said, yanking Tace to the side and manacling his arms over Tace’s chest from behind. “What the hell is wrong with you?” He finished the capture hold, and Tace fought against it, making unintelligible sounds of fury.
Jax dropped to one knee. “Zach? You dead?”
The pastor groaned and rolled over. “Get away from me.”
“No problem.” Jax stood and turned, his gaze not even remotely friendly. “Tace? Go take a fuckin’ walk.”
“Not if Sami stays here,” Tace ground out before he could stop himself.
“You have got to be kidding me.” Jax’s head snapped up, and then his chin lowered. “Fine. Everyone sit down.”
Zachary managed to get to his feet and held his bleeding nose. “This is unacceptable.” His words were a little slurred.
Jax nodded. “Agreed. Pastor? Why don’t you head back to your flock, and we’ll meet again tomorrow morning same time. However, bring a list of your church members with you like you were supposed to do today.”
Zachary tipped his head back and somehow still skirted the table and headed for the vestibule. “That crazy bastard had better not be here,” he muttered as he disappeared.
Sami got right into Tace’s face, her cheeks blazing. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I don’t know.” Tace stopped struggling against Raze’s hold, and his vision cleared. “The guy insulted you, and it felt like a threat. I just reacted.” What was wrong with him? If the guys hadn’t stopped him, he would’ve killed the pastor.
His vision wavered. The right side of his body went numb. God, not now. He tried to flex his right hand, and nothing happened. His knee gave out, and he sagged.
“Whoa.” Raze altered his hold and held Tace up beneath the armpits. “What’s happening?”
