Justice Ascending

by Rebecca Zanetti

  Two men came into view, patrolling and smoking cigarettes. Idiots.

  Jax and Raze stepped behind them, using headlocks to knock both guys out without much effort. “Tie ’em up,” Jax said, motioning for Raze to follow him. “We’ll take the five buildings closest to the mansion, and you three take the lake. Tace, if you have a problem, get out of the way.”

  “Copy that,” Tace said easily.

  Barbara lifted her gun from the holster. “We’ll be fine, Jax.” Her blue eyes were narrowed and determined.

  “Agreed,” Sami said. Good. She could keep an eye on his attacks. She helped Tace drag the unconscious Elite soldiers back to the shack while Barbara kept point, her gun sweeping the area for threats. Using fishing line, they tied and then gagged the men, shoving them inside. A spider crawled across Sami’s boot, and she shivered, kicking it away.

  Toward the lake, Tace mouthed.

  Sami ducked low and crept along an overgrown trail, heading closer to the mansion beside the lake. The water lapped against rocks, and somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted impatiently. Tace followed her with Barbara bringing up the rear. The brunette kept pace easily, her movements sure and smooth.

  Sami enjoyed working with another woman. They’d have to scout together more, especially now that Barbara was with Derek and Sami didn’t feel guilty about Tace.

  They reached the next shack, and she yanked open the door. Water jugs were piled high. Man, they needed those. Not as badly as they needed explosives, but it was tempting to go back for the truck.

  Barbara shook her head, and Sami sighed, carefully shutting the door.

  A gun fired, arcing a red flare above the lake. The water glowed as if an inferno burned beneath the surface. Shrill and loud, an alarm suddenly pierced the night. Gunfire pattered, and an explosion ripped through the air, sending smoke and fire flying high.

  “Shit,” Tace said, running ahead of her toward the next shack. “Get your gun out.”

  Sami followed him, tucking her knife away and drawing out her weapon. There was no need for stealth, as the sound of guns and men fighting overtook everything else. Her heart pounded, and adrenaline shot through her veins, bringing the night into focus.

  Barbara followed her, gun ready.

  Three men rounded the curve ahead.

  Tace shoved Sami out of the way and fired.

  She rolled and came up firing, hitting one of the guys in the leg. He cried out and dropped, shooting toward her at the same time. She scrambled behind a tree.

  Three shots echoed, and then Tace dropped into a slide to land next to her.

  Barbara took cover on the opposite side, carefully aiming and hitting one Elite soldier between the eyes.

  Sami sent her a thumbs-up.

  Barbara nodded, her jaw set. She crouched low, her gun aimed toward the threat.

  “She’s a great shot,” Sami whispered.

  Tace nodded. “One more of them to bring down.”

  Raze rounded the nearest tree. “The shack to the left about fifty yards from here has explosives. Go get the truck, and we’ll defend the position.”

  Tace nodded and grabbed Sami’s arm, jerking her to her feet. He motioned toward Barbara. “Run.”

  Raze fired toward the threat, and Barbara ran across the road, coming alongside Sami. “Let’s go,” she whispered.

  Sami launched into a run, ducking debris falling from the sky. What the hell had blown up? Her breath panted out, and she ran faster, skirting a stand of trees to reach the bike. “Where’s the truck?”

  Tace turned left and ran down a dirt road, his stride easy and fast.

  Sami ducked her head and increased her pace, turning the corner to find the truck hidden among some trees. Barbara stopped short on her heels, her breathing smooth. The former paralegal had been working out.

  Two Elite soldiers barreled around the front of the truck, already firing.

  Barbara yelled and tackled Sami to the ground. Tace partially turned and fired twice, hitting the soldiers center mass. He followed up with head shots, and the bodies thumped against the ground.

  Sami struggled beneath Barbara. “Barb?” She shoved the soldier off her, and Barbara rolled onto her back. Blood welled from Barbara’s neck, and her eyes bugged out. Her mouth moved, but only a gurgle came out. “Tace!” Sami yelled, her breath heated.

  Tace ran over and slid onto his knees, his hand going to Barbara’s neck. He winced. “Hold on, Barb. You’ll be okay.”

  The soldier’s eyes softened.

  Tace slipped a hand behind her neck to support her head.

  Sami grabbed the woman’s hand. “Can we sew her up?” Gunfire echoed behind them, and she partially ducked over Barbara. God, they had to save her. They couldn’t lose Barb.

  A slight smile curved Barbara’s mouth. Blood spurted from the neck wound. “Vanguard,” she whispered.

  Tears filled Sami’s eyes, and pain clawed through her gut. It was too late. There was no way to save the young woman. “Vanguard.”

  Barbara’s eyes closed, and her body relaxed into death.

  Sami sobbed out a cough. “Barb?”

  Tace slowly lowered her to the ground. “She’s gone, baby. The bullet went through her jugular and out her spine.”

  “Barbara?” Sami asked, patting the woman’s chest. “It was so fast.”

  Tace nodded and stood, helping Sami up before lifting Barbara into the back of the truck and covering her with a blanket. “She was a good soldier.”

  “An even better friend,” Sami murmured, her heart physically hurting like she’d been stabbed.

  “We need to get back there.” Tace moved away from the truck bed and then stopped short.

  “What?” Sami swung around, gun out, looking for the threat.

  Tace reached for the driver’s door and fell forward, face first. His forehead hit the door, and the metal crunched inward. He slid all the way down.

  Oh God. Sami rushed to him and tried to lift him up. “Tace!”

  He was out cold and limp as a rag. She dropped him and yanked open the door. “Tace, wake up.”

  The man lay in a crumpled mass, his gun falling to the side.

  She grabbed the gun and tossed it on the dash before reaching for his armpits. Man, he was heavy. She grunted and tried to pull him toward the truck, her arms protesting. Tace was solid muscle and as dead weight, she couldn’t get him into the seat.

  Panic and frustration had her looking wildly around. Could she leave him in the trees? What if they had to drive a different way to get out?

  “Tace, wake up.” She shook him.

  Nothing. Man, he’d gone down fast this time. All right. Holding on to his shoulders, she scooted around and stepped into the truck, balancing on her knees on the seat. Using all her strength, she yanked him up and fell back while keeping a tight hold.

  His big body banged against the passenger seat and doorframe, but his shoulders were above the seat.

  Tears pricked her eyes, and sweat broke out on her chest. She banished the thought of Barbara’s body from her mind—she’d grieve later. She pulled harder, finally getting his torso on the seat. Good.

  She turned and jumped out the passenger-side door, trying to shove his legs and feet in. He half fell onto the floor, his head still on the seat. Holding her breath, she leaned over and felt his wrist. Pulse weak but there. Thank God.

  No way could she get him buckled in.

  She shut the door and ignited the engine. Carefully backing out, she tried to calm her racing heart and concentrate. If she didn’t do this right, they’d both be dead.

  So she drove along the dirt road and then punched the gas, speeding up and yanking left to head toward the storage shack Raze had mentioned. There were several dirt roads. God, she hoped she’d found the right one.

  The sky blazed orange and black from a burning fire. Had they blown up the mansion? Was it Greyson’s men or had Vanguard soldiers done so?

  She caught sight of a firefight up ahead a
nd drove straight for it, swinging the ass end of the truck around at a storage unit.

  Raze leaped from the unit and tossed boxes in the back of the truck. They were throwing explosives into the truck. What if one went off? Sami looked down at Tace, who hadn’t moved.

  Shit. She jumped from the truck where Jax and several Vanguard soldiers protected the shack from Elite soldiers advancing from the south. Merc soldiers guarded and fired from behind trees to the north. The lake was to the east.

  She ran to help Raze.

  “Where’s Barbara?” he asked, muscles in his arms bulging as he carried two heavy boxes.

  Sami swallowed and shook her head, pointing to the small blanketed form in the front of the truck bed.

  Raze paused, his jaw ticking. His hands clenched. “Ah, shit.”

  Sami nodded, her chest aching like she’d been punched.

  Raze’s jaw hardened. “Rest in peace, sweetheart.”

  Tears pricked Sami’s eyes again.

  “Fall apart later, Sam. Mission now.” He pointed to a bunch of crates. “Everything. Get it all.”

  The guy was right. Deal now, feel later. She bent her knees to grab a crate of what looked like C4. Maybe. She’d only seen the stuff on television. The box was heavy, and her back ached, but she hustled to the back of the truck and shoved it in, careful not to disturb Barbara’s body.

  “Where’s Justice?” Raze asked over the gunfire.

  “Out cold.” Sami turned back for another crate.

  A bullet impacted the shack above her head, and Raze knocked her inside with his shoulder. She stumbled and regained her balance, half hunched over.

  “Stay in here and hand me boxes,” he ordered, lifting two crates and heading back outside.

  “No.” She lifted a crate, and the top fell off. Her breath stopped cold. Grenades. She was holding a huge box of grenades, people were shooting at her, and there was a fire roaring out of control. Smoke filled the air.

  Raze returned and caught sight of the grenades. “Perfect.” He took the box and disappeared.

  “If they hit the truck, everything will blow,” Sami yelled, reaching for a stack of semiautomatic weapons.

  “Yep.” Raze returned, wiping blood off his forehead.

  “Were you hit?” she asked, reaching for him.

  “Scraped.” Raze pivoted and put his body between her and the door. “I said to grab boxes.”

  “I don’t work for you.” If he was going to put himself in danger, so was she. Worse yet, Tace was defenseless in the front of the cab, and Barbara’s body lay in the back. The woman deserved a burial.

  Bullets sprayed through the right side of the shack, and Sami tackled Raze to the ground.

  “Defend to the west,” Raze bellowed, jumping up and in front of Sami.

  More gunfire echoed, and somebody screamed in pain.

  “Hurry,” Sami said, scrambling to her feet. Her ears rang, and her head ached. Smoke was messing with her equilibrium, or maybe that was adrenaline.

  Jax crashed through the door with two guys on him.

  Sami leaped up and kicked one in the chin, throwing him back outside. She followed, going into training mode, using her feet to stop his advances, her father’s lessons in her head. The guy was of medium build with angry blue eyes. His knife flashed, and she pivoted, bending his hand back until he dropped it.

  She threw an elbow into his gut, went up into his chin, and punched him dead center in the temple. He fell hard.

  “Nice,” Raze said, throwing the second unconscious guy toward the lake. The man landed, rolled, bounced, and then smashed into a narrow pine tree.

  “My dad was the best,” she said, more than thankful for her odd upbringing.

  “Wish I could’ve met him,” Jax said, hauling three more crates outside.

  “Sami.” Raze bent at the waist to lift two long crates. “Grab the other end.”

  She hurried over and slipped her hands beneath the bottom crate, her mind on Tace. He should’ve gained consciousness by now. This was a bad sign.

  “Where’s Justice?” Jax ran back inside and tucked handguns into a backpack.

  “Out cold,” Raze said, leading the way with the crate.

  “Is Barbara covering the road?” Jax asked.

  Sami grabbed his arm. “No. She was hit and didn’t make it. She’s in the front of the truck bed.”

  Jax faltered, and his face lost all color. He drew in air, and fury lit his brown eyes. “Copy that.”

  Sami shivered. The Vanguard leader felt every death as if he’d caused it. “Barbara was a soldier, Jax. She knew the risks.”

  Jax didn’t answer but tossed the backpack as well as what looked like grenade launchers and a couple of weird missile-looking things into the back of the truck by the boxes. Gunfire erupted all around them. “Sami, go now with the truck. We’ll follow up.”

  She slammed the tailgate into place and hurried around the truck.

  “Wait at rendezvous point B for thirty minutes,” Jax yelled, running toward the other end of the shack. “If we’re not there, get to Vanguard.”

  “Avoid Mercenary territory,” Raze bellowed, taking the other side.

  Sami yanked open the driver’s-side door just as pain exploded in her shoulder. Blood sprayed from her to coat the metal. Her vision wavered, her stomach rolled, and darkness fell.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Some men are destined for greatness, while others hunt it down and make it submit.

  —President of the United States Bret Atherton

  Tace awakened the second Sami fell, and his brain instantly kicked into gear. Gunfire roared all around them, and an explosion rocked the earth yards away. “Fuck.” He plunged across the seat and grasped her arms, yanking her inside the cab. A quick glance into the truck bed confirmed they were carrying every sort of explosive imaginable as well as Barbara’s body. “Double fuck.”

  He set Sami across the seat with her head in his lap and quickly twisted the ignition. Yanking the door shut, he punched the gas. “Sami?”

  She didn’t move, and blood covered the front of her shirt.

  Bullets pinged into the side of the truck, and the back window shattered.

  The rear end fishtailed, but he kept up the pressure, driving the vehicle between a series of trees and down the dirt road. His stomach hurt, and needles poked the back of his eyes, but he shoved the pain away. “Sami!”

  Nothing.

  How long had he been out? He drove faster and weeds scraped the truck. Wind and smoke billowed in through the shattered window, and glass cut down his neck. Where was everybody?

  He tried to gather as much of Sami as possible in his lap to protect her from the glass, feeling her neck for a pulse. Good. Strong and steady.

  Two four-wheelers barreled out of the forest, and shock took him for one instant as he recognized the president and vice president. They were joining in the fight? The VP was known to be a soldier, but the president usually hid behind shields.

  No more, apparently.

  Vice President Lake, his blue eyes sizzling, drew out an automatic weapon.

  “Shit.” Tace jerked the wheel and pressed his foot down as hard as he could, aiming straight for the asshole. The truck bumper clipped the four-wheeler and it spun out of control, tipping end over end, leaving Lake crumpled in a heap. One down.

  The president fired a gun, and something exploded. The truck jumped into the air, and Tace fought to keep it straight. They landed hard, swerved, and skidded into a tree. They rocked, and glass sprayed down his back. Fuck. The president had shot out a tire. When had the bastard gotten so damn brave?

  Tace jumped from the truck, his hand going for his gun . . . which wasn’t there.

  Atherton rolled to a stop, his gun pointed at Tace’s head. “Tace Justice,” he murmured, shoving designer sunglasses up his nose.

  Tace took several deep breaths, searching around for backup. Where the hell were Raze and Jax? “You know my name.”

&nbs
p; “Oh, I’m getting extensive reports on all Vanguard members, though I hadn’t expected this attack from you rebels.” The president had light brown hair, blue eyes, and classic good looks. Since Scorpius, he’d filled out into lean muscle and apparently liked to engage in gun battles.

  The firefight continued down the road.

  “We like to keep our enemies on their toes,” Tace returned, measuring the distance between them. He’d have to attack and cover Sami at the same time.

  “You think Mercury will stop fighting if I return with a gun to your head?” Atherton asked.

  Tace leaned back against the door to shut it. Maybe Atherton hadn’t seen Sami. “No. Jax will shoot me before he’ll let you use me as a bargaining chip.”

  “Yes, I would, too.” Atherton craned his neck toward his fallen comrade. “Lake? You dead?”

  The vice president didn’t even groan.

  “You should go check on him,” Tace said, his trigger finger itching for a gun.

  “I don’t suppose you brought sweet Lynne Harmony or even Vinnie Wellington with you?” Atherton asked, leaning forward on his handle bars but keeping a steady aim with the gun.

  “The two women you kidnapped and then lost?” Tace forced a smile. “Nope. You snooze, you lose.”

  “Hmmm. Well, I’ll have to make do with the brunette in the truck. She still alive?” Atherton asked.

  Shit. He’d seen Sami. “She had better be,” Tace said evenly, his heart rate speeding up as he tried to control himself. Fear and rage attacked him with sharp blades, and he coughed out, his lungs heating. Raw and dangerous emotions darkened the edge of his vision. Not now. He couldn’t have an attack now. “We’re at a standstill, Atherton.”

  The president laughed and swung off his vehicle. “I like your style, Justice. Sorry I have to kill you.” He set his stance and aimed.

  In a burst of power, Tace dropped into a fast slide, feet out. The second he lost momentum, he rolled and leaped up, tackling the president across his four-wheeler. The gun went spinning through the air.

  Atherton hit Tace in the throat and kneed him in the groin.

  Pure agony detonated in Tace’s balls. He grunted and punched the president in the nose.