Justice Ascending

by Rebecca Zanetti

  Tace took them both in. “Listen, if we wanted to hurt you guys, we already could have, right?”

  “This isn’t a good place,” Rory countered, “but maybe your lair is worse.”

  “Yeah.” Tace rubbed his chin. The bottom line was that the kids were going with them, but there had to be a way to gain their cooperation instead of taking them by force. It would delay the scouting trip for hours, but they had to get the kids safely behind the fence. “You ever heard of Vanguard?”

  Tina sucked in air and put her face into Rory’s neck.

  Tace sighed. “I take it you’ve heard bad stuff.” It made sense that the president and the local gangs were talking them down to keep folks from seeking asylum. “Vanguard is a good place where nobody will hurt you.”

  “Oh yeah? Where’d you get the black eye?” Rory challenged, red infusing his pale skin.

  “From his girlfriend,” Raze said easily.

  Tace cut him a look.

  Rory’s light eyebrows rose. “Your girlfriend hit you? Did you hit her, too?”

  Tace scowled. Truth was, he had smacked her ass quite a bit. “No, I didn’t hit her back. She was mad at me and she punched me, but she had some cause. We usually don’t go around hitting each other, and we don’t hit kids. Ever.”

  “Tace’s woman can really fight,” Raze said. “Her name is Sami, and she could train you, if you want.”

  Tina peeked around Rory at Raze. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

  The deadly soldier blinked. “Um, well, yeah. I do.”

  Tace snorted. “You are so smooth.”

  Raze frowned. “The term ‘girlfriend’ is just so high school. But yeah, I’m with somebody, and her name is Vinnie. She’s kind and soft . . . and works as a shrink. In fact, she’s the smartest person I’ve ever met.”

  Tina nudged Rory. “They have a Vinnie and a Sami.”

  “So?” Rory asked, studying Tace with way too old eyes.

  “A place with a Vinnie and a Sami can’t be all bad, right?” Tina asked with perfect logic.

  “We have other kids, and one is named Lena, but she doesn’t talk,” Tace said. Maybe they’d be enticed by the thought of other kids.

  “Why not?” Rory asked, still glaring.

  “We don’t know,” Tace said gently. “She seems happy, and she’s always around, but she’s never spoken a word. Maybe somebody her age could get her to talk.”

  Glass broke a block away, and both kids jumped.

  Raze eyed the area. “We need to get out of here.”

  Tace nodded. “Please come with us. We’ll make sure you stay safe.”

  Rory looked at Tina, who slowly nodded.

  “All right.” Tace looked up at the rapidly rising sun. “Let’s get them home safely and then go scouting.” They had to find explosives in order to infiltrate the Bunker. So far he hadn’t had an attack of dizziness all day, but hell . . . the day was still young.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I never thought to find a man who’d want all of me, much less demand it.

  —Sami Steel

  Sami hustled downstairs wearing her favorite cargo pants and black T-shirt with a knife strapped to her thigh. She’d awoken alone in Tace’s apartment, and the guy hadn’t even left a note.

  All sorts of private places ached on her body, from her butt to her core. Even her breasts were tender from the wild night.

  And wild it had been.

  She shrugged off any sense of uneasiness and loped across the soup kitchen to the infirmary. If Tace thought he could just sneak out without talking to her, the man was in for one hell of a surprise. They still needed to talk, damn it.

  “Sami,” a female voice called out.

  Sami turned to see Barbara sitting at a wooden picnic table. “Hey, Barb.” Man, her face started to heat. She wandered over and filched a cookie and bit in. Peanut butter filled her mouth, and she moaned.

  Barbara grinned. “New cook. Nice, huh?”

  “Yeah,” Sami breathed. “So, um . . .”

  Barbara’s smile widened. “No need to explain. I heard you last night . . . who knew you were such a screamer?”

  The heat turned to molten lava in Sami’s cheeks. “Oh God.”

  Barbara snorted. “Yep. That’s what you screamed.”

  Sami slapped her arm. “You’re sure you are okay with it? I wouldn’t do anything to hurt our friendship.”

  “It’s a relief, to be honest.” Barbara leaned toward her. “Derek and I are trying to make a go of it. He’s just so solid, you know?”

  Ah, they did make a good couple. Relief filled Sami and washed away the embarrassment. “Yeah, I do. I’m so happy for you.” Happy for herself, too. She could stop feeling guilty. “I have to go, but we should have a girly poker game one of these nights with Lynne and Vinnie.”

  “I could use the money,” Barbara joked. She glanced up and a pretty pink flushed over her face as she caught sight of Derek. “Hi.”

  The mechanic was about six feet tall and filled out his overalls well. He had blond hair and dark brown eyes, and right now, they were completely focused on Barbara. “Hi, beautiful.” He leaned down and pressed a light kiss to her head.

  Barbara breathed out.

  Sami bit back a smile. They were just too cute. “Hi, Derek.”

  The man glanced up, surprise filling his face before he smoothed it out. “Oh, hi. How are you?”

  Totally invisible to the man, which was kind of cool. “Great.” Sami grinned. “You two have a great day.”

  Derek nodded and dropped into the seat next to Barbara.

  Okay, so that was awesome. Those two were totally in love. Sami turned for the infirmary, her mind back on Tace. Why hadn’t he waited to talk to her? Hurrying into the infirmary, she walked right into Jax Mercury.

  He steadied her with hands on her biceps. “Slow down, would you?”

  She stopped short. “Is Tace here?”

  Jax pinned her with a hard look. “Good morning, Samantha.”

  Why did she feel like she was back in second grade and called to the principal’s office when Jax used her full name? She planted both hands on her hips. “Good morning, Jax.” That was his full name, damn it.

  “I’m thinking we need to have a chat,” Jax said, turning and striding past the former reception area. “After I check in on Damon.”

  Sami followed him, more than ready for a good old chat. She’d told the truth, she’d apologized, and now they all needed to get back to normal. Raze had lied, too, and now everyone had forgiven him. “What was up with Damon yesterday, anyway?” She hadn’t expected the Merc to be so volatile after they’d patched him up.

  Jax entered Damon’s room and motioned Sami inside before closing the door.

  The Mercenary soldier sat up in the bed, his nicely muscled torso bare save for the bandages. His dark skin was no longer pale, and his soft brown eyes were clear. “Morning.”

  Sami crossed her arms.

  “How did I do?” Damon grinned.

  “Awesome.” Jax knuckle-bumped him.

  Sami frowned. “Did I miss something?”

  “Yeah. I’m undercover all of a sudden.” Damon tugged at the bandage across his stomach.

  Ah. “So you faked the whole fear of Scorpius in front of the Pure pastor,” Sami said, putting the pieces together. “I take it you’re going to stay at Vanguard for a bit?”

  “Have to,” Damon said easily. “Now all I have to do is get an invite to the church. They already sent pretty April to see if I’m interested, and I told her maybe but I wasn’t sure, and she’s reporting back.”

  Pretty April? Protectiveness rose in Sami for her new friend. “April’s still vulnerable, Damon.”

  The former LAPD officer held up both hands. “Just friends. I swear.” He smiled. “Told you there was no way you were LAPD.”

  “Shut up,” Sami said easily. “I just met you, thus you don’t get to be pissed at me.”

  “I, however, do,” Jax said.<
br />
  Sami winced. “You forgave Raze for lying to you.”

  Jax’s light brown eyes flashed. “Raze and I beat the shit out of each other, twice, and then we made up. I hit him to hurt him.”

  Sami’s head jerked up. “So let’s go to the gym.”

  Jax paused. “No.”

  “Yes.” She put both hands to her hips. “You’ve always treated me like one of the soldiers—like one of the guys. If we need to fight and bleed for you to forgive me, let’s do it.”

  Jax studied her, his lip twisting. “I can’t.”

  Fire and hurt washed through her. “What do you mean?”

  He shuffled his feet. “I can’t hit you to hurt you.” His hand went up when she started to lambaste him. “I’m sorry, Sami. I know you fight better than most of us, and I know you’re trained, and I know you’re smarter than most soldiers.” He shrugged. “I still can’t hit you to hurt you. I kinda feel like you’re my little sister.”

  At those words, those kind words, she lost her anger and burst into tears.

  “Holy fuck no.” Jax backed away, shaking his hands. “Don’t do that. God, don’t do that.”

  “You made her cry,” Damon snapped.

  “I’m . . . not . . . crying,” she sobbed.

  “Jesus.” Jax moved in and put both arms around her, patting her back like she was choking. Her ribs rattled. “It’s okay. Um, let it out.”

  “I do trust you but I didn’t at first and then I liked it here and didn’t want you to kick me out when you learned the truth,” she sobbed into his chest, soaking his shirt. “Now Tace hates me, and everyone hates me, and this is home, and I don’t know what to do.”

  “Okay. You’re forgiven.” Jax smacked her back again. “It’s all good. You’re home. It’s good.”

  “Make her stop crying, you asshole,” Damon growled. “I’m not gonna work here if you make nice women cry.”

  “I’m trying,” Jax snapped back, panic lowering his voice. “It’s okay, Sami. I’ll talk to Tace. If he doesn’t forgive you, we’ll just shoot him. I promise.”

  She sniffed against his chest. “I’m really sorry, Jax.”

  “You’re forgiven.” He lifted her away from him and gently wiped her cheeks. “We need you here. I can’t run Vanguard without you.”

  She sniffled. “The Bunker is a bad place, Jax.”

  “Yeah, but you gave us the coordinates to save Tace, honey. You did that for him,” Jax said gently.

  “You should tell Tace that,” Damon piped up.

  “I will.” Jax kept his voice soft. “You better now?”

  She sniffed again and nodded. “Yeah. Do I look like I’ve been crying?”

  “Yes. Your nose is all red and blotchy and kind of big all of a sudden.” Jax rubbed his chin. “In fact, how do you feel about storming out of here in about one minute?” He glanced down at an old Timex on his wrist.

  Sami had never been a pretty crier. “Sure. Why?”

  “The good old Pastor King should be arriving at Vinnie’s office in a minute. If he asks what upset you, how about you say something about Damon yelling at you about infection? Let’s pour it on thick.”

  Sami nodded. “No problem. Where is Tace?”

  “Tace and Raze went inner city to find explosives,” Jax said, glancing again at his watch. “I’ll go out the front, you wait one minute, and then storm out of here.”

  She gulped. “Okay.”

  Jax tweaked her hair and then slid out of the room, silently disappearing.

  Damon cleared his throat. “You okay now?”

  She nodded.

  “It’s understandable. Everything you did and said. If Tace doesn’t understand and forgive you, then he’s an idiot.”

  Sami smiled, but her lips still trembled. “For a Merc, you’re not half bad, Damon.”

  “I do aim to please.” He sobered. “April is really off limits?”

  Sami shook her head. “I can’t speak for her, but she’s a former suburban soccer mom who’s lost everyone, including her teenage daughter a couple of weeks ago. She married her first love at sixteen, and she lost him three months ago.”

  Damon winced. “Ah. Got it.”

  “Yet you’re kinda hot, Winter. She might want to take the leap.” Sami grinned when the former cop actually blushed. “You asshole,” she yelled, turning on her heel and going through the door, slamming it loudly.

  “What a complete dick.” She kept in character, stomping through the infirmary and past Vinnie’s office, where Pastor King hovered in the doorway. “Sorry.”

  Zachary glanced behind her. “Are you all right?”

  Sami sighed and rubbed tears off her face. “I’m fine. That Damon Winter is an ungrateful dickhead, yelling about Scorpius and infection. We should’ve let the damn Merc soldier bleed out.” Giving Vinnie a wave, she started down the hall.

  “Sami?” Jax called from the front of the infirmary as if they hadn’t seen each other all day.

  “What?” Sami bellowed back.

  Jax came into view. “There you are.” He studied her face. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” She pretended to hide her eyes.

  “Sami?” Jax asked.

  “Fine. Damon is a jerk. That’s all.” She hunched her shoulders.

  Jax sighed. “He’s requested asylum from the Mercenaries, and I’m considering it.”

  “Why?” Sami pretended to explode.

  “He has intel we need, darlin’.” Was Jax trying to sound patronizing for Zachary’s sake? If so, he was doing a bang-up job of it. “I’ll keep him away from you.”

  “Thanks,” she gritted out.

  Jax nodded magnanimously, amusement darkening his eyes. “No problem. For now, I’d like for you to sit in on the meetings with Vinnie and the Pure members. I want backup for her.” He said the last with a hard look at Zachary.

  The back door opened, and little Lena ran inside. She wore jeans short overalls with a bright pink shirt, and her long blond hair was back in two cute braids. She grabbed Sami’s hand and tried to tug her toward the front area.

  Sami paused. “Lena? What’s going on?”

  The girl dug in her heels and tried to drag Sami.

  Vinnie got up from her chair and craned her neck. “Sami? Go with Lena and see what she wants. She’s never engaged to this point, and I’m getting weird images from her. I mean, if I get images. I probably don’t, you know. But—”

  Sami nodded and cut her friend off before she babbled any more. “I’ll be back in a minute.” She glanced down to see a doll and a truck in Lena’s arms. “We’re going to play?”

  The girl shook her head, frustration marring her pretty face.

  “All right.” Sami followed the girl out of the infirmary, through the soup kitchen, and into the vestibule. Sunlight leaked in through the windows, bringing the heat of early summer.

  The girl stopped and stared at the closed glass doors.

  Sami kept her hand and tried to focus. Tace, Raze, and two kids came into view in the parking area, all walking slowly toward the doors.

  Lena hopped up and down, releasing Sami’s hand.

  Raze opened the doors, and the two kids, one boy and one girl, inched inside. They both looked at Lena.

  Lena strode forward and handed the doll to the girl and the toy truck to the boy. She smiled.

  The girl, a pretty black girl with dark eyes, clung to the boy’s hand. The boy had blue eyes and almost white hair, and he kept a step ahead of the girl as if to shield her. They both accepted the gifts with small smiles.

  “Are you Lena?” the girl asked.

  Lena nodded vigorously.

  “I’m Tina, and he’s Rory. Is this a safe place?” Tina asked.

  Lena nodded solemnly.

  Rory’s stance relaxed.

  Sami’s gaze flew up to Tace’s face. He watched the kids impassively, but his eyes had darkened like they did when she knew he felt something. His feelings were still there . . . just deeper below
the surface.

  “Lena,” called April Snyder from the far end of the soup kitchen. “I don’t know how you get away so quickly.” The pretty brunette jogged up and stopped short at seeing the other two kids. “Well, hello.” She smiled and dropped to her haunches. “Who are you?”

  “Tina and Rory,” Sami answered. “I believe they’re joining Vanguard?”

  Tina looked at Rory, who didn’t answer. Finally, Tina stepped forward, keeping a tight hold on the boy. “Yes. We are joining Vanguard.”

  Rory stepped up to her. “We stay together. Me and Tina. Together.”

  “Sure thing,” April said, standing. “You can stay together no matter what, but I need to know if either of you has had Scorpius.”

  “We both have,” Rory said. “Before we found each other, we both had the fever and survived. But our families didn’t.”

  April swallowed, her blue eyes almost glowing. “I promise you two can stay together for as long as you want, even if it’s forever. I lost my family, too. All right. Are you hungry?”

  Tina whimpered.

  Rory shrugged. “We could eat.”

  God, the kid was tough.

  April nodded. “Let’s get you some soup, and then we’ll find you a nice place to call home in Vanguard, all right?”

  The kids nodded and waited for Lena to follow April before they fell into step.

  Raze smiled at Sami and then headed for the infirmary, probably to see Vinnie.

  Sami swallowed.

  Tace’s gaze ran over her face, and his entire body tightened before her eyes. “Have you been crying?”

  She took a step back. “Well, I—”

  “Crying?” Tace said, his voice sounding like gravel crunched beneath tires.

  “I met with Jax, and—”

  Jax hustled their way, a stack of papers in his hand. “Hey, Sami—”

  “Goddamn it, Jax.” Tace swung and nailed the Vanguard leader in the cheek with a wicked right cross.

  Jax flew sideways and through the glass doors, sending shards in every direction.

  “Tace!” Sami shoved past him to reach Jax, who was sitting up and shaking his head.

  “What the hell?” Jax asked, yanking a piece of glass from his arm.

  Tace stalked toward him. “You made her cry.”