Justice Ascending

by Rebecca Zanetti

  He kept silent, letting her fight like a fish on a dock. Finally, she subsided. “You are such a dick,” she muttered.

  “The first game we’re going to play is truth or lie,” he said agreeably. “And stop beating your chest against the floor. That has to hurt.”

  “I’m fine. The bruise is healing fast.” She turned her head and tried to tilt her head to see his expression. Determination completely lacking in humor or fun. This was still dark Tace. “You have no right to do this,” she hissed.

  He paused. “I disagree. We’ve been scouting partners for months, we’ve been friends, and now we’re lovers. If anybody has a right to an explanation from you, it’s me. So get ready to play, baby.”

  She glared but probably didn’t look too scary flattened to the floor and unable to move.

  “Game starts now. Did you give us the correct schematics for the Bunker?” he asked.

  The man wanted to talk about the damn Bunker? She bit back a scream. “Yes.”

  He patted her ass. “Truth.”

  She stilled. “Wait a minute, Tace.”

  SMACK. He didn’t hold back as his free hand descended on her butt. “Did I forget to mention the rules? You don’t speak unless it’s to answer a question.”

  “You fucking—”

  SMACK. SMACK. SMACK.

  “And swear words get it threefold,” he said easily.

  Oh, she was going to kill him. “The second I get up, you’re a dead man.”

  Five hard—very hard—smacks descended before she could cry out. “Death threats get you five,” he murmured, his voice guttural.

  Pain ratcheted through her lower half, and she fought a whimper. Even so, her body was on full alert, and more than a little turned on. It was official. She’d completely lost her fucking mind. Ignoring her body’s needs, she carefully began to plot his murder.

  “Have you told us the full truth about the Bunker?” he asked.

  She pressed her lips and her thighs together.

  He ran a gentle hand across her smarting ass, and she tried not to arch into his touch. “Did I mention that the silent treatment gets a count of ten—on your bare ass?” he asked conversationally.

  She stiffened.

  “Not gonna say it again, Sami.”

  She’d cut him into pieces and fry him up for the wild lion roaming around Los Angeles to eat. “I told you everything,” she ground out.

  He patted her. “Good girl.”

  Forget cutting him up. She’d fry him whole.

  “Did you tell me the truth about your upbringing and the government work?”

  “Yes,” she muttered.

  “Are you still working for the government or the Bunker facility?” he asked.

  She coughed, and a shocking hurt billowed in her chest. It was a fair question, but how could he believe that? “No.”

  “You’re not leading us into an ambush?”

  “No,” she whispered, her voice shaking. “Let me up, dickhead.”

  Three hard smacks impacted her upper butt. She tried to arch into the floor and away from the punishing blows.

  “Rules, Sami. They haven’t changed,” he said, his voice a low growl.

  Her sex throbbed, and her breasts ached for more. She bit back a death threat, sure she couldn’t handle five more, even as she settled back down.

  He cleared his throat. “You and me the other night. Was it part of some grand plan?”

  “No,” she burst out, struggling uselessly against his almost easy hold. Man, he’d gotten even stronger. Poor Marvin the lion would probably choke trying to eat Tace’s hard muscles.

  “Do you want to be at Vanguard?” Tace asked.

  “Yes.” That one was easy.

  “Do you want to be with me?”

  She paused. “I’d rather strip your skin from your body right now.”

  He barked out a laugh. “I guess death threats are okay when given as an honest answer.”

  She snarled.

  “You’ve told us about the schematics and a little bit about the Bunker, but you know you’re going to have to tell us all of it, right?” he asked.

  “Yes, but some of it’s hard to explain unless you understand the computer systems,” she said.

  “Understood.” He patted her butt, and she hissed. “One more question. Are you turned on right now?”

  Her body ached, and she wanted to rip his clothes off and jump his bones. Yet she was beyond furious, and a good part of her wanted to kick his ass into the next county and back . . . twice. “I don’t know what I am.”

  “Fair enough.” He lifted his leg and released her arms, hauling her to her feet.

  Her butt stung, and her ego smarted. She wobbled and then regained her balance. Without even thinking, she hauled off and punched him square in the face.

  His head jerked back.

  She moved her leg into an attack position.

  He held up a hand. “I gave you one because that was fair. Hit or kick me again, and I’ll stop playing.”

  She fought the urge to rub her sore ass. “That was you playing?”

  “Yeah.” He crossed his arms across his chest. “Now the power and decisions are yours. You gonna stay and see where this takes us, or you gonna be a scared little brat and run away?”

  So much confusion rolled through her, she couldn’t think of an appropriate answer. But her body was primed and ready. She wasn’t even sure she could walk, and it wasn’t from his silly spanking. How was it possible to ache this badly? “I don’t want words or promises or any of your slow shit, Texas.”

  His nostrils flared at the nickname, and his body seemed to vibrate in place. “Spell it out for me. What do you want?”

  “Fast and hard.”

  She’d barely gotten the last word out before she found herself on her back on the bed, her yoga pants spinning across the room. She barked out a startled laugh as he shucked his jeans, and then he was on her.

  He ripped off his shirt, exposing all of those hard muscles. She shimmied out of her top.

  “You sure?” he asked, poised at her entrance.

  “Yes.” She bent her knees.

  In record time, he rolled on a condom. Where the hell had the condom come from? She barely had time to register the thought before he moved again. He shoved inside her hard, stealing her breath away. He set a fast rhythm, and she came instantly, crying out his name.

  Her nails dug into his back, and she clasped her feet together, holding on with all of her strength. He hammered inside her, stroking deep, one hand flattening across her butt and half lifting her from the bed.

  He squeezed fresh bruises, sending erotic pain through her erogenous zones.

  She gasped, and he chuckled, doing it again.

  “More,” she murmured against his damp shoulder.

  He increased his pace, and the strength of his thrusts shoved the mattress hard against the wall.

  “I’m still mad at you,” she ground out, shutting her eyes to just feel.

  “We have all night for you to forgive me.” He leaned down and bit her shoulder with enough strength to give her pause.

  Her nails raked his back. “We’ll see.”

  He angled up, brushed her clit, and she detonated. Waves pummeled through her, sparking raw nerves, taking everything she was. She opened her mouth in a silent scream.

  His body shuddered, and he came hard.

  Still inside her, he lifted his head, the black rim around his blue iris more pronounced. “You still mad?”

  “Yes,” she murmured.

  He grinned, looking like the old Tace for a moment. “Well, the night is young.” Then he leaned down and kissed her, going deep.

  Chapter Twenty

  The darkness inside me was always there, lurking, waiting to be freed by Scorpius.

  —Tace Justice

  It felt natural scouting the territory with Raze, yet Tace missed Sami. He’d gotten accustomed to her humor as they faced the dregs of life, and Raze didn’t
talk much, if at all.

  Tace drove the truck around a mound of old paint cans in the center of what was once a busy street just outside of Vanguard territory. Raze kept watch out the passenger-side window, his gun out, his gaze tracking a series of shadows in an old thrift store. “I see several Rippers or survivors, but they’re not coming out to investigate.”

  “Good.” Tace reached the open road and pressed the gas. “I always get twitchy scouting in the daylight.”

  “Ditto, but we’re running out of batteries for flashlights and fuel for lanterns,” Raze said. “Daylight it has to be.”

  “I know.” Tace kept his focus out the front and side, ready for any threat during the dawn hour. They were heading inner city to some former home construction businesses, hoping to find explosives to use at the Bunker. The large, well-known construction areas had been wiped clean of anything useful months ago.

  “You guys were really loud last night.” Raze turned and eyed Tace’s aching face. “She nailed you with a good one. It’s purple now and will end up quite the shiner by the end of the day.”

  Tace nodded. “Yeah.” It wasn’t like he’d had ice or a steak to put on it, even if he hadn’t been otherwise occupied with making Sami scream his name. “Sorry about the noise.” Not really, considering Raze and Vinnie had kept him awake more than once. The doc was a screamer.

  “No worries.” Raze turned back to scan for danger. “You and Sami all made up?”

  “I don’t think so,” Tace said. “She was sleeping when I left, and we never really got a chance to talk, you know?”

  “I think so.” Raze tensed. “There’s something going on in the old McDonald’s to the right.”

  “Slow down?”

  Raze craned his neck. “Yeah.” He stilled. “I see two small kids throwing bricks at people.”

  “Shit.” Tace pulled around back and away from the windows. “Kids can be Rippers, too.”

  “Yeah.” Raze leaped from the truck and ran up the sidewalk. “Give me the count of five and then come in through the back. I’ll take front.”

  “Wait.” Tace moved beyond an overflowing Dumpster to test the back door. It opened easily. “Let’s go in and scope.”

  Raze nodded. “Your call.”

  Tace slipped inside and swept both ways. Packaged straws littered the way along with what looked like finger bones. He moved quietly, feeling Raze at his back but not hearing a sound.

  A kid screamed from the other room, and he stiffened, breaking into a fast jog.

  “What do we have here?” a low voice asked.

  “Let us go. We won’t tell anybody you’re squatting here.” This voice belonged to a girl—a young one?

  Tace slid out from behind the wall to get a better look. Two men wearing purple gang colors had cornered a couple of kids, one boy and one girl, both around seven. The girl had long, wild black hair with mocha-colored skin, and the boy was a towhead with blue eyes.

  “Oh, I think we’re gonna take you with us.” The guy speaking half turned, showing a series of tattooed tears up his neck and face. He was about thirty, and if the tats told the truth, he’d been an enforcer for Twenty, the local gang.

  The boy pushed in front of the girl, who was already crying. “Take me and not her.”

  Brave little kid.

  The other gang member scratched his scarred chin. “I say we use them first—before we take them back. Then they can meet everyone else and start earning their keep.”

  Tace’s gut rolled.

  The girl whimpered.

  The boy set his stance, his eyes blazing. “You touch her, and I’ll kill you.”

  “Learn to shut up now, kid.” The first guy backhanded the boy, and he flew into the counter. Instantly, the kid shot up, hands in fists, body in front of the girl.

  “Hit him again, and I’ll blow your head off,” Tace said, moving around the wall and pointing his gun at the guy’s head.

  The boy covered the girl, whispering something and shielding her with his small body.

  Raze stepped gracefully around the counter, his gun trained on the second guy. “On your knees. Now.”

  The second guy looked at his buddy.

  “I’m happy to shoot you,” Tace drawled. “In fact, it’d make the rest of my day a lot better if you were just dead. So make a move, and let’s get on with this.”

  The guy looked at Raze, who didn’t so much as twitch. He was silent and deadly . . . and it showed.

  The gang members dropped to their knees, both clasping their hands behind their heads. Obviously, they’d been arrested more than once and knew the drill. Knives and a gun were visible in their waistbands.

  Tace sighed. “How many members are still in Twenty?” Last he’d heard, the gang was working with the president.

  No answer.

  He glanced at Raze. “Take the kids outside, would you?”

  The girl buried her face in the boy’s back.

  Raze frowned. “You sure? I can handle these guys. I think it’s my turn to shoot people.”

  Tace knew he couldn’t be gentle at the moment, and those kids needed gentleness. “I can’t do it.”

  “Ah.” Raze tucked his gun in the back of his waist and strode close to the kids. “I’m Raze, and I have the weird name because I was named for my dad, Ryan, and my uncles, Albert, Zeke, and Elton. They were all good guys, and so am I. Do you two have anywhere safe to go?”

  The boy turned and faced Raze squarely, which few adult men could do easily. “Yes. We live close. Can we go now?”

  Raze hunkered down to meet the kid’s eyes. “Just you two?”

  “No.” The boy’s lip shook. “We have a whole bunch of uncles who all have guns.” Ah, the poor little liar.

  “I see.” Raze rubbed his chin. “My friend here needs to have a discussion with these two guys in purple, and I don’t think the little lady behind you should be here for that. You get me?”

  The kid’s eyes darkened. “Yeah,” he whispered. “I get you.” He turned and took the girl’s hand. “Let’s go outside, Tina.”

  The girl stood and nodded. “Then we should get back to our, um, uncles.”

  Tace’s heart, what was left of it, broke even more. The two kids were totally alone, and it was a miracle they were still walking. “Tina, I’m Tace.” He used his best Texan drawl. “What’s your name, buddy?”

  The boy looked him over, no doubt seeing yet another predator in a world gone to shit. “Rory Samuelson.”

  “Nice to meet you, Rory. I’d like to talk to you when I’m finished here, so if you’d stick around, I’d appreciate it. We don’t hurt kids, and we know of a safe place for you and Tina if you’re interested,” Tace said.

  The first gang member moved for his knife, and Tace kicked it out of his hand. “Go now, please.”

  Raze herded the kids out past all the straws.

  Tace sighed. “Go for the gun next time.”

  The first guy winced and shook out his hand. “We were just going to have a little fun with them. Tell you what. You use the girl first and then leave her for us. It’ll be a win-win.”

  Without even thinking about it, Tace shot him between the eyes. Blood blew through the air, and the guy fell back, more blood congealing around his head.

  The other guy cried out and scooted away on his knees.

  Tace stepped over the spatter and pressed his gun to the second gang member’s head. He hadn’t earned kill tats yet and looked about twenty years old. “You rape kids?”

  “No,” the guy whispered, his voice shaking. “I was just going along with Skip so he wouldn’t kill me. I’ve only been a member of Twenty for a month. There wasn’t anywhere else to go.”

  “How many members are there?” Tace asked, ignoring the smell of gunfire, blood, and death.

  “I don’t know—maybe about fifty? Everyone is kind of joining Twenty because they’re the strongest gang and now they work for the Elite Force.” The guy wiped his nose on his sleeve.

&nb
sp; “Where’s the Elite Force?” Tace asked.

  The guy blinked away tears. “Up north at some old mansion the Parks Department owned. The president is there, and they’re training Twenty members to be the front line of defense. We matter, man.”

  “Then why are you here, dickhead?” Tace asked.

  The guy glanced at his fallen friend and blanched. “We’re out in teams of two watching Vanguard and reporting back.”

  Damn it. The president was about to make another move against them—Tace could just feel it. “What kind of firepower does the president have?”

  “Dunno.”

  Probably the truth. The guy definitely wasn’t in the know. “How many scouts are there watching Vanguard?”

  “At least six teams of two. That’s all I know.” The guy’s shoulders slumped. “If you’re gonna kill me, just do it.”

  “I’m not.” Tace wanted to, but he had to hold on to a small part of his humanity. “Though if I hear of you terrorizing any more little kids, I’m going to hunt you down and cut you apart piece by piece.”

  “I get it.”

  “Good.” Tace stepped over the widening pool of blood and headed for the back door. The hair on the back of his neck rose, and he pivoted just in time to see the guy reach for his gun. Tace fired, and the bullet impacted the guy’s temple. He dropped dead. “Thanks,” Tace said, turning on his heel. Now he didn’t have to worry about another rapist asshole out there.

  Should he feel bad about killing the two? Probably, but truth be told, he felt relief.

  He reached the outside and pushed open the door to find both kids sitting on the hood of the truck, the boy with his arm around the girl. Raze lounged against a pillar. “They won’t get in.”

  Tace nodded.

  “Did you kill those guys?” Tina’s lips quivered when she asked the question.

  “No,” Tace lied easily. “I shot at them so they’d run away and leave us alone.” By the somber looks on the kids’ faces, neither one of them believed him. “Are you two coming with us or not?”

  Tina wiped tear tracks off her face.

  Rory just stared at him, desperation in his light eyes.