Vinnie stepped into her office while sipping a cup of way-too-strong coffee. Raze had been gone when she’d awoken, but he was probably out on patrol. The morning felt odd without him in it. She was getting too attached way too quickly. Time to regroup.

“Girlfriend? You need to get yourself a gag,” Lynne Harmony murmured from her perch on the love seat.

Vinnie faltered and then continued in to flop into her leather chair. “I screamed his name. He said I was going to scream his name, and I actually did it.” She shook her head, and prickly heat climbed into her face. “I have never, in my entire life, screamed during sex. I mean, not even once.”

Lynne chuckled and pushed her long hair away from her classic face. “You’re not the first, and I doubt you’ll be the last woman who gets embarrassed around here. The walls are thin, and a few of us are forming couples, so it’s going to happen.”

“Forming couples?” Vinnie looked at the rather famous scientist over her cheap coffee mug. “That’s what we’re calling it?”

Lynne smiled, her green eyes sparkling. “Sounds better than hooking up with wild, dangerous, deadly men in this postapocalyptic hell we’re all living in.”

Vinnie chuckled and leaned forward. “Do you think that’s it? I mean, that everything is amplified so much more because of the world ending? I mean, we could die any minute. So sex, feelings, anger . . . it’s all just bigger and more overwhelming than before?”

Lynne nodded. “I do think that. In my mind, when I’m rational, I do believe that’s a factor. But when I’m with Jax, when we’re together and he’s all, well, Jax . . . then I’m not sure. Maybe it’s the men we’re with now, you know? Even before Scorpius, Jax was intense, and I’m thinking Raze was as well. Perhaps it’s the men and not the apocalypse.”

“That should be a bumper sticker.” Vinnie snorted. “I mean, if we still all drove cars every day.”

“T-shirts. We could make T-shirts.” Lynne reached for a steaming mug decorated with a picture of Einstein. “Extreme situations lead to extreme emotions,” she murmured thoughtfully.

“Plus, there’s safety being tied to a warrior during war, you know?”

The scientist had obviously given the matter some thought. “Biological imperative,” Vinnie agreed, studying the woman. “Do you think you’d feel the same about Jax if the world hadn’t ended?”

Lynne took a deep sip, and color slid into her cheeks. “I actually do. He’s smart, strong, and honorable. I would’ve loved him even if our biggest struggle was how to balance the checkbook every month.” She leaned back and kicked her jean-clad legs out to cross her tennis shoes at the ankles. “Yet there’s something about this world now where we see more clearly who somebody really is.”

Vinnie lifted an eyebrow. “Meaning?”

Lynne shrugged. “When things are at their worse, true character is revealed. Jax is a survivor and so is Raze. But they go beyond making sure they survive to actually saving and shielding other people. Character.”

“The apocalypse has revealed heroes,” Vinnie said softly. She’d been in bed with a hero just hours before. A real one.

“Exactly,” Lynne answered.

A timid knock sounded, and little Lena slid inside. Vinnie had seen the young girl around the mess hall but had kept her distance, waiting for the child to want to approach her. She sat up and smiled at the petite girl. “Hi, Lena. I’ve been hoping to meet you. Would you like to sit with us?”

Onyx eyes widened, and the girl shook her blond head. She wore a pretty pink blouse beneath a denim jumper. Reaching in a pocket, she drew out a piece of glass to hand to Lynne.

“Thank you,” Lynne said, taking it. She smiled. “It’s a broken microscope slide. You know I work with microscopes.”

The girl nodded and reached into another pocket.

Vinnie’s breath heated. What would her gift be? She’d heard so many stories about Lena’s odd gifts and how they related to personal characteristics of the receiver that the little girl shouldn’t know about. Hopefully Vinnie’s gift wouldn’t be a broken watch, showing her time was up. Lena handed over a tiny green soldier that had been nearly rent in two. “Ah, thank you.” What the hell?

Lena hummed.

Images slammed into Vinnie’s brain. A little girl alone in a big house with a shaggy dog. She went with the thought. “Did you have a dog, sweetheart? One with brown eyes and lots and lots of hair?”

Lena’s eyes widened. She smiled and nodded before turning and scampering from the room.

“How did you know that?” Lynne asked.

Vinnie cleared her throat. Was she psychic? Could she read thought patterns all of a sudden? The possibility seemed to exist, but she wasn’t ready to share that fact. “Just a guess. Wanted to get to know her.”

Lynne sat back. “Uh-huh. I’ll let you off with that lame explanation for the time being. Unlike some folks here, I don’t think Lena has any extrasensory abilities. I just think she listens to everything. I’m a scientist, so she gave me this. You’re obviously with Raze, so she gave you a soldier.” Lynne swallowed, her gaze not leaving the figurine.

“Right.” Vinnie cleared her throat and set the soldier down. “My question is: Did she find it like this, or did she cut the soldier nearly in two?” There was no doubt something was tearing Raze apart, pulling him in different directions.

“I’m sure she found it.” Lynne took a deep swallow of her drink, her eyes not quite meeting Vinnie’s.

Vinnie crossed her legs. “All right. Down to business. Let’s talk.”

“No.” Lynne shook her head. “I mean, I want to talk, but not as patient and shrink. I need a friend, and we have a lot in common, so I just want to girl talk.”

Warmth spread through Vinnie’s torso. What a kind offer. She so missed the friends she’d had before Scorpius took them all away. “I’d like a friend. Okay. That works for me.”

“Good. I’m totally frustrated I haven’t been able to find a way to allow folks to permanently create vitamin B in their bodies, and I’m pissed off I don’t have a lab to work in. I need a functioning lab.” Lynne gritted her teeth.

Apparently they were talking about business and not boys anyway. “What about the Bunker? It exists, right?” Vinnie asked.

“I think so. We just have to find it.” Lynne’s face flushed with color. “And Jax is driving me crazy with his bossiness. ‘Sleep, Lynne. Eat, Lynne. Fuck me, Lynne.’” She grinned. “Maybe the last one is usually my idea.”

Vinnie chuckled and settled in for girl talk.

“And the other thing: Jax told Raze he has to leave by tonight if he doesn’t level with everyone about what’s going on with him. Why he’s here, and where that letter is he talked about when he thought he might die.” Lynne sobered. “I figured you should know about the ultimatum.”

Raze had to leave? Vinnie shook her head. There had to be some way to help him. Why wouldn’t he just level with everybody? The idea of him leaving made her chest feel hollow.

“Blue?” a male and very impatient voice echoed through the infirmary.

Lynne sighed. “What?” she hollered.

Jax Mercury appeared in the doorway wearing combat gear and a pissed off expression. “I said to meet me for breakfast.”

“I don’t work for you,” Lynne said mildly.

Vinnie leaned back in her chair. Her new friend sure liked to mess with fire.

“Fair enough.” Jax took two steps inside, ducked, and hauled Lynne over one broad shoulder. She landed with a muffled oomph. Jax turned. “See you later, Doc.” The two disappeared, with Lynne yelling in Latin.

Ah, Latin. A truly lost language. Vinnie rubbed her chin. Raze had to leave? Why the hell didn’t he just tell the truth? She kicked back in her chair and mulled it over. Wait a minute. Where would Raze hide a letter? If she were Raze . . . she knew. Oh, she could guess exactly where he had hidden it. She jumped up and set her coffee down, heading for the back door.

A spring breeze wandered over her as she shoved outside. The rain had ebbed, leaving the cracked concrete wet but drying quickly. She hustled down the rutted road, passing people on their way to different work locations, until she reached her former apartment building. The wet weeds dampened her jeans as she walked around the building to the back courtyard, easily opening her sliding glass door.

The smell of mildew and dust assailed her.

She had to pause before stepping inside. Goodness. She hadn’t had a nightmare since she’d started sleeping with Raze Shadow. How could she have forgotten the nightmares already? This place had been full of them.

Steeling her shoulders, she crossed inside, and her knees wobbled. Damn it. She needed to grow a pair. Sucking in musty air, she searched the sofa, the former bathroom, the bed, and finally reached the kitchen. She opened the stove, and there it was. A folded piece of paper. Raze must’ve left it there when he’d helped her to move.

Her hand shook as she drew it out. One word, drawn in pencil, was on the outside. Jax

Her stomach lurched, but she took the letter. The walls closed in on her, and she all but tripped trying to get outside. Leaning against the crumbling brick, she straightened the precise folds to read.

Well. A hollow pain slammed into her chest. Vinnie hunched over, as if she’d been punched in the solar plexus. Then she carefully refolded the paper. The man had nice penmanship, if nothing else. A sister. Yeah, that explained it. His motivation. The question was what she’d do with the information. Her heart hurt a little, but not nearly as much as it should. Her instincts told her Raze had been fighting himself the entire time, and no way would he have really kidnapped her.

Of course, she’d been wrong before.

He had invited her outside of Vanguard territory just a few nights ago. Had he planned to turn her over at that time? What about now? She certainly hadn’t slept with him to gain safety, but could he leave her with the Mercs now that they’d become close? Maybe not close, but closer? Lovers?

“You are such a moron,” Lucinda said, bouncing from around the corner and settling in a bunch of waist-high weeds. “I told you he was bad news.”

Vinnie sighed. “Why do you only show up when I’m thinking about being with Raze? I mean, what’s up with that?”

Lucinda tossed sprinkles through the air. “I’m your hallucination, doll. If you’re seeing me when you’re around Raze, then that should tell you something.”

“It tells me that I’m crazy and the drugs ruined my brain,” Vinnie answered, feeling about a thousand years old. “I can’t imagine he’d really try to kidnap me and then give me to the Mercs. How could he do that?”

“His sister?” Lucinda ran her thin hands over her white hair, and blue streaks emerged throughout the long strands. “I’m just taking a stab in the dark here, considering that’s what his note says. Maybe he’s in love with the Merc leader? No, that can’t be it. Perhaps he wants to stick it to Jax? Nope. Probably not that, either. I guess I’d go with the sister as an explanation.”

“Only I would have a smart-ass bitch for a hallucination,” Vinnie snapped, leaning her head back.

“Again, I come from your imagination. So you’re really the smart-ass bitch.”

“You are,” Vinnie countered and then groaned. She was actually having a spat with a hallucination. “What the heck am I going to do now?” She was hurt enough that she wanted to confront Raze right now—after kicking him in the balls.

“I like the kick-in-the-balls idea, but he’s bigger and stronger than you,” Lucinda sang in a high octave.

Vinnie blanched. “So?”

“So? Make sure he can’t knock you out or cart your ass out the front door en route to Mercenary land.” Lucinda poofed out of sight.

“I should at least get the last word with my own hallucination,” Vinnie muttered. She pushed away from the building, stopping cold at the sight of a line of men at the edge of the weeds. “Excuse me?”

Reverend Lighton stood in the middle of the group, all dressed in nice pants with button-down shirts. “Hello, Doctor Wellington.”

Vinnie discreetly tucked the letter in her back pocket, her instincts humming. “Can I help you with something?”

“You’re trespassing,” said Lighton, not unkindly.

She nodded, her heart thrumming into a quicker beat. All lined up, the men looked like a threat, despite the nice clothing. “I wanted to make sure I didn’t leave anything behind when I moved out of this apartment.”

“I understand. You’ve been infected by the plague, right?” He continued speaking as if they were attending a nice tea together.

“Yes.” Would they turn against her?

The men next to him settled their stances.

Vinnie fought the urge to take a step back. If they did something bizarre and attacked her, she could get back inside and lock the door. Of course, they could always break the glass. “Why do you ask?” she murmured.

“Just making sure. We’re having to separate into two groups to protect the Pure, as I’m sure you understand.” His eyes took on an odd glow. Or maybe it was just a trick of the light.

Vinnie shook her head, her profiling skills kicking in. “I don’t understand. We need to work together to survive this. At some point, we’ll need to move north to more fertile land, and a better climate.” While the summer was great in LA, there were drought years more often than not, and they needed water to live. Professional curiosity reared up in her. “Do you think you’re chosen, Reverend?”

He lifted his chin. “It’s not a matter of opinion. Anybody spared by the bacteria is chosen, and I’ve been anointed as the leader of the Pure. Survival is all that matters.”

In her time as an FBI agent, she’d studied cults and their leaders. This guy was almost textbook, and there would be no reasoning with him since she was not one of the Pure. “We all want to survive.” She had to find common ground with him to start a real dialogue.

He nodded. “Yes, but only the Pure will survive. You know that survivors can’t procreate, right? In less than a century, the last Scorpius victim will pass on, and the Pure will inherit the earth.”

Not the meek, huh? Vinnie eyed the men on either side of him. “Your flock?”

He chuckled, the sound filled with charm. “My friends. My family, in fact. I’m not starting a cult.”

Oh, this was definitely a cult. “Why aren’t you flanked by women?” she asked. “You don’t have female soldiers?”

One of the guys rolled his eyes.

The Reverend smiled. “No. Women know their place in the Pure.”

Vinnie lifted her head, and a chill swept down her back. “What exactly does that mean?”

“You don’t need to worry about it,” the reverend said. “Now it’s time for you to return to Vanguard territory and leave the Pure. Even though we haven’t fenced all of it yet, these blocks of Vanguard are now ours.”

Lynne Harmony sauntered around the building, tripping on a weed and then righting herself. “I don’t believe that’s been decided, Reverend.”

The men fanned out, their expressions immediately darkening.

Vinnie instinctively moved toward her new friend. “I thought you were eating breakfast.”

“Something came up for Jax, and I saw you sneak out the back door.” Lynne inched her way forward, and soon the women stood shoulder to shoulder, facing the rapidly angering group. “Looks like you found a little excitement.”

“Yes,” Vinnie said, her breath quickening. “Don’t suppose you’re armed?” she whispered.

Lynne nodded.

Good. That was good.

“Of course, I’m a complete klutz,” Lynne whispered. “But I have a knife in my boot.”

The reverend studied them. “Ladies? It’s time for you to go home.”

“Doctors.” Lynne pressed her hands on her hips. “We’re both doctors, buddy. Unlike you with your new title, we actually earned ours.”

Vinnie elbowed her. “Let’s not antagonize the narcissist,” she hissed.

Lynne lifted her head. “I’d like to understand more about your women and how they know their place. What’s going on there, gentlemen?”

“The Pure is not your concern.” The reverend motioned for his boys to part. “Go back now, please, and do not return to our territory.”

Lynne opened her mouth, no doubt to argue, but Vinnie grabbed her arm and tugged her to the road. “Let’s regroup when we’re not facing down five twitchy men.” She didn’t allow Lynne to halt and kept on walking down the road, finally releasing a sigh of relief when the men didn’t follow them.

“For a petite little thing, you sure have a good grip,” Lynne murmured, tugging her arm free. “How crazy is that guy?”

“As a cult leader, I’d say he’s motivated, ordained, and buck-assed nuts,” Vinnie said.

Lynne chortled. “Is that your professional opinion?”

Vinnie nodded. “Close enough.”

Lynne slipped an arm through Vinnie’s. “I saw you reading a letter. It had to be the mysterious one from Raze. What did it say?”

Vinnie pressed her lips together, wanting to confide in her friend but needing to give Raze options. “I’d prefer to discuss it with Raze first, if you don’t mind.” Then maybe she could talk Raze into going to Jax.

Lynne sighed. “Fine, but I can only give you the day. At that point, I have to tell Mercury. My loyalty is to him.”

Vinnie nodded. “Agreed. For now, we have a meeting to get to, and we’d better report on the Pure. I’m worried about the women and kids, and maybe some of the other men. That guy has an agenda that might include taking out Scorpius survivors. He’s looney.”

Lynne barked out a laugh. “Is a shrink supposed to use that term?”

Vinnie shrugged. “Only when it fits. And in this situation, believe me, it fits.”