They reached the doorway, and smoke billowed from a demolished minivan. The gate hung open with a hole blown in the center.
Lynne jerked back. Where had Twenty gotten explosives strong enough to throw a minivan across the road?
“Lynne Harmony? We know you’re here,” a male voice called out calmly.
Lynne blinked. Terror stopped her heart.
Tace stood in front of her. “Who the fuck are you?”
Two men stepped out from behind a van, both dressed in camo, fully armed, stances sure. One with a razor-sharp buzz cut held Jill Sanderson in front of him, a towel around her shivering body, a gun pressed to her neck. It was Greg Lake, the man who’d come into the Oval Office right after Bret had killed the president. Lynne would never forget his face. They’d waited until Jax and Raze were gone before attacking.
“I have something of yours,” Lake said.
Lynne stopped breathing. How the hell had he gotten to Jill? Soap suds slid from the pregnant girl’s hair. So the soldiers had gone around back, somehow secured Jill, and then returned to the front to make things explode? They were obviously well trained and had a plan. Bret had set the attack in motion while Jax was still traveling toward Nevada. Bastard.
“Let the girl go,” Tace said, settling into a shooting stance.
Lake smiled. “No.”
Tace calmly plugged the other guy in the leg.
He cried out, going down, his weapon skidding across the asphalt. “Lake. Help.”
Lynne wiped her eyes free of the smoke.
Lake glanced with disgust at the fallen man. “You get shot, you’re on your own.” He shoved the gun harder into Jill’s neck, and the girl cried out. “We know Lynne Harmony is here, and unless she comes out right now, my sniper across the way will start shooting, and I’ll kill this pretty girl.”
“No!” Byron ran out of the building, and only Sami’s grabbing his arm halted him. “Let her go.”
“I’d love to. Send Blue Heart out,” Lake said.
Byron faltered. “Lynne Harmony isn’t here.”
Lake sighed and gave a signal. A gun fired, and Byron hit the ground with a low groan. Blood pooled around his leg.
Panic rippled through Lynne. “Byron.”
Sami ducked and grabbed his shoulder, dragging him inside. She glanced down at his leg. “That was a warning.”
Lynne scrambled for him, yanking his belt free of his pants to tie around the wound. He’d gone pale, his lips tight with pain. But he still grabbed the wall and pulled himself up to stand, reaching for the gun he’d dropped. Civilians and soldiers both took position inside, guns trained on Lake.
“The next one goes through somebody’s head,” Lake said conversationally. “The men with me are trained, and they’re ready to kill. We also have forces of hundreds ready to descend upon your little community here, and we’ll take you all out without blinking. We know Blue Heart is here because we’re in contact with Twenty and somebody named Cruz Martinez. Ham radios all around.”
Lynne sucked in air. There was no reason to hide. Hell. If Bret knew she was with Jax, he might just kill Jax in Nevada. What should she do?
“All right. I guess I start shooting,” Lake said.
“Wait.” Lynne stepped into the sun, squinting. “Let her go.”
Sami scrambled to grab Lynne and shove her back inside, but Lynne held firm.
Lake’s head went back, and his jaw tightened. “Walk over here, and I’ll let the girl go and call off the soldiers headed this way right now.”
Tace stepped directly in front of Lynne. “No.” His back visibly vibrated. “Get back inside, Lynne.”
She slid to his left. “I have to go or they’ll keep shooting. They have explosives, and he’ll definitely kill Jill.” Lynne took a step forward. “When Jax gets back, he’ll come for me.” Her body settled into that truth. Whether he made it in time was another matter. “Tell him, no matter what, that I wouldn’t trade my time with him for anything.”
“Jax walked into a trap, obviously. We don’t know if he’s alive or if he’s injured.” Tace manacled her arm. “I can’t let you go.”
She shrugged free. “There’s no choice. This is our only chance. I’ll try to stay alive as long as I can.” She could handle any amount of torture from Bret if there was a chance to see Jax again. She should’ve told him all the words she’d been trying not to say. If he’d walked into a trap, if he was dead, then there’d be no rescue, and she’d join him soon. “Please, Tace. This is all we’ve got.” They couldn’t fight forces of trained soldiers coming their way, and she had to prevent the attack. Only she could do so.
He said something low and released her. “Fucking stay alive.”
She straightened her shoulders and walked straight for Lake, trying not to note the tears falling from Jill’s terrified eyes. Lynne tripped over a series of rocks and quickly righted herself to keep moving. A foot away, and she stopped. “Let her go.”
Lake tossed Jill to the side and grabbed Lynne, dragging her into his muscled body. He pressed the gun beneath her chin and turned. “Anybody moves, I’ll blow her head off.” He peered down at his fallen comrade. “Get moving.”
A shot echoed, and Lynne jumped. Blood spurted across the downed soldier’s chest, and his eyes fluttered shut. She looked to the side to see Tace’s gun pointed and his gaze direct. Whoa.
Lake chuckled. “I could use a guy like that.” He turned and maneuvered quickly toward the Mack trucks.
Lynne coughed and tried to keep up without tripping. If she fell, he might accidentally pull the trigger.
Fear filled her, and her vision hazed. She’d known at some point she’d come face-to-face with Bret again, but she hadn’t figured on having so much to lose, or having regained a strong will to live. Jax had to still be alive.
After long hours on the road, Jax smelled the smoke before seeing the demolished soccer-mom van smoldering ten yards from where he’d placed it outside headquarters. Several soldiers bustled around, rebuilding the barrier. Tension rode down his arms, and his hands tightened on the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. Silence reigned in the box van for a moment.
He shut off the ignition and bulldozed out of the van, barreling for the front door.
Tace met him, blood splattered across his neck and white T-shirt. “They took Lynne, and we don’t know where,” he said without preamble.
Anger, raw and hot, thrashed through Jax. “When, how many, and which way did they go?”
“It was Lake.” Tace wiped his chin with the back of his hand. “Two for sure, probably a few more, just an hour after you left this morning, and they went east.”
So Atherton had just been fucking with him and keeping him busy for the ambush. Damn, the Ripper was good. Jax frowned, calculating whether to take a car or a bike. He was way too many hours behind her. “Are you hurt?”
“No. Greg Lake shot Byron in the leg, but it was a through and through.” Tace nodded in acknowledgment to Raze as he maneuvered closer. “The blood’s from one of Lake’s men. I shot him in the leg and the shoulder.”
Jax rocked back on his heels. “You’ve been operating on him?”
Tace’s eyebrows drew down. “No. I patched the holes and have been questioning him, trying to find out where they took Lynne.”
Raze coughed. “You, ah, have been torturing Lake’s man?”
Tace’s eyes hardened past blue. “Yeah. Isn’t that what you’d do?”
Jax breathed out, studying his friend. “Yeah, but I’m not a doctor, and I’m trained to withstand torture, thus understanding it.” The bacteria had definitely changed the medic.
Sami rushed from around the building, her eyes wild, dried blood on her jeans. “The south is secure, and soon the front will be resecured.” She swallowed. “I’m sorry about Lynne. Greg Lake had Jill, and Lynne went out to trade herself. It was the bravest thing I’ve ever seen. She was terrified.”
Everything inside Jax revolted. “Has the prisoner told you anything?”