Vinnie turned and ran for the back door, dodging around tables, yards behind Jax, Raze, and Tace. All three of them somehow managed to pull guns from somewhere on their bodies without a pause in their strides. The door had already closed when she and April reached it.

They ran out onto what had been an alley, quickly turning left to follow the racing men. Soldiers on patrol emerged from around buildings and street corners as they all ran toward the gunfire and the Pure apartment buildings. The fence remained in place.

A row of former crack houses shared the road with the new Pure territory, and the group took cover to the side of the nearest one.

“Status?” Jax asked the Vanguard soldiers.

The first guy was bleeding from a shoulder wound, but it didn’t seem to be holding him back any. “We called for Lighton to get out here and explain why the fence was still up, and instead, somebody started shooting.”

“What kinds of weapons do they have?” Jax snapped.

“Dunno,” Tace said, crouching against the peeling paint. “And we don’t know who the members are, so we have no clue how many soldiers they have.”

“Even one would’ve given them access to the armory,” Jax muttered. “A couple of them, and they could’ve taken anything they wanted. We’ve just started keeping track of weapons, and our system sucks.”

Tace nodded. “Yeah, but we have the good stuff locked down. So they probably have guns but no explosives or grenades.”

“We have grenades?” Vinnie asked.

Raze nudged her farther back, along with April. “Yes, but not many.”

Jax cleared his throat. “Lighton? Get the fuck out here.”

“Maybe I should negotiate,” Vinnie said, ignoring Raze and moving up toward Jax. “I’ve had negotiator training. I mean, I wasn’t an expert, and I’ve never negotiated during a standoff, but I did take a class, and I have worked with sociopaths. In fact—”

“Okay.” Jax brought her to his side, keeping her protected between him and the house. “You’ll probably do a better job than me, considering I want to cut off his balls and make him eat them.”

“I won’t start with that.” She cleared her throat. “Reverend Lighton? It’s Dr. Wellington. We need to talk.” Her voice easily carried across the street to the rambling apartment building. She tried to move out and be seen, but Jax blocked her way with his body.

“Stay covered, Doc.” His gun remained pointed at the silent building.

Raze crept up on his other side, crouched low, his gun also out and aimed.

“Reverend?” Vinnie called again.

A cracked window on the bottom floor slowly slid up. “Dr. Wellington? Please step forward so I can see you.”

Jax grabbed her arm when she tried. “Sorry, Lighton. The doctor is staying out of the line of fire. She can hear you just fine while being covered from your bullets.”

“My bullets?” Lighton yelled. “I didn’t shoot first. Your guys did.”

Jax glanced at the soldiers, who quickly shook their heads. “Not true. However, what now?”

Vinnie elbowed him, and he snapped his mouth shut. “Reverend? Is anybody hurt in there?” Her first step needed to be finding any injured. Hopefully no kids had been hurt.

“Would you care? You only want to help Scorpius survivors,” Lighton called.

She tried to inch forward just a little, and Raze stepped forward, his head shaking.

Fine. She’d just raise her voice. “Not true. I’m a doctor, a medical professional, and I want to help anybody who needs it. Is there anybody in your apartment building who needs medical assistance?” she called out, the hair on her neck rising.

“No.” Heavy curtains covered Lighton’s placement. “We just want to be left alone.”

What was he, Greta Garbo? Vinnie kept her voice pleasant. “That’s certainly your right, within reason, but you have to understand we have concerns. How do we know you don’t have prisoners in there?”

Jax nodded.

“Everyone here wants to be here,” Lighton called out.

“I’m not taking your word for that,” Jax yelled. “I want a list of your people, and I want to speak with each and every one of them. Then we’ll figure out if you can remain within my territory or not.”

Vinnie fought the urge to punch Jax in the jaw. He wasn’t helping in the slightest. “Zip your lip,” she whispered.

He frowned at her.

“Reverend? We have concerns. How many citizens do you have in there?” she called.

“About seventy,” he answered. “All here willingly.” Vinnie leaned closer to Jax and Raze. “You have records of everyone living in Vanguard?”

Jax nodded. “Yes. We instituted a record-keeping program right off the bat, and Sami has been in charge of take-ins since. We don’t know who’s been infected and who hasn’t, but we know who lives in Vanguard territory.”

Vinnie breathed out. “This is actually good. While we’re in this standoff, do a Vanguard-wide roll call to see who’s outside the fences. Then we’ll know for sure who’s inside, even if he’s not telling the full truth. He just did us a huge favor.”

“Unless not all of his members are in there.” Jax turned to Tace and April. “You two find Sami and get her master list. Have her organize everyone into groups to go building by building and check people off. Don’t forget the soldiers outside. There are seven square miles to check, as well as several of the vantage points outside the fence, and I think our numbers are more than five hundred. The sooner the better on this, folks.” Tace and April both nodded and inched to the rear of the house before running back to headquarters.

“Now we have to think of a way to keep him talking and not doing anything crazy,” Vinnie whispered. “If he’s challenged, and if he’s losing ground, I don’t know how stable he really is. Or rather, how unstable.”

“Do you think he’ll order a mass suicide or something?” Jax asked, his face darkening.

Vinnie shook her head. “I don’t think so, because his focus is on continuing the human race with uninfected survivors. He doesn’t have illusions of a god calling him home. He wants to be king right here on earth. To do that, he needs subjects.”

“Good.” Jax’s shoulders relaxed. “Is he smart?”

“Yes.” Vinnie pushed dandelion fuzz out of her hair. The sun shone down, and sweat dotted her forehead. “I think he’s very smart and charming. Charismatic.”

“A smart guy would’ve left several of his followers in key positions outside of the fence,” Jax said.

Vinnie nodded. “If this is planned, then yes, you’re right. But there’s a chance the shooting wasn’t planned.”

“Why would he lie about who shot first?” Jax asked.

It was all about perception and power. “To save face with his people. He needs them to be scared, so they follow him for safety. If you did start shooting, unprovoked, into homes where children live, then you’re scary. He’s their savior, and you’re their threat.” She needed to play into that dynamic. “Reverend? Your followers are frightened, and I’m sure you want them to feel safe.”

“They feel safe behind our new walls,” Lighton returned. “So long as they’re away from the bacteria and the carriers, they have a chance to live a long and healthy life.”

“I can’t fucking believe this,” Jax hissed quietly. “I have an armed camp inside Vanguard. With guns pointed out, and kids somewhere inside. How the hell did this happen?”

Vinnie swallowed. “These are scary times, and the reverend hit upon that. He’s not wrong in that the uninfected are probably better off away from us. Most of them, if infected, will die. The survivors will either go insane or possibly be unable to have kids. Wouldn’t you want to find a safe haven away from Scorpius if you had a chance?”

Jax frowned. “This isn’t the way to do it.”

“I know.” She rubbed her chin. “What is the way to do it? I doubt most of them are soldiers, so on their own, they wouldn’t be safe. We have the best chance of finding the Bunker, with Lynne’s brain and research, so leaving us would be a bad idea.”

“Shooting at us is a worse idea,” Raze muttered.

Vinnie nodded. “Reverend? Is there a way we could reach an agreement here that everyone can live with? I understand your need to keep the uninfected away from germs, but you must understand Jax’s need to make sure everyone inside is there willingly.”

Silence reigned for several moments.

“All right. If you want proof, I’ll send you proof,” the reverend called.

The front door opened, and seven women filed out. Four were noticeably pregnant. They all had long hair and wore full skirts beneath heavy sweaters.

Jax breathed out next to her. “Shit.”

Two of the women, the ones most obviously pregnant, walked up to the fence.

“I’m here of my own volition,” the first one said, while the second one nodded vigorously. The remaining women stood behind them, not speaking, no expression on their faces.

Jax half-turned toward her. “I could not be more creeped out right now,” he whispered.

She swallowed, and her stomach hurt. “We’d like to interview each member of your group individually. If you haven’t coerced anybody, that should be all right with you, Reverend,” she called out.

A whistle echoed from inside the building.

En masse, the women all turned and marched back inside without a backward glance.

“Did they just react to a whistle?” Jax snapped.

Vinnie stared at the empty front lawn of the apartment building, just beyond the fence. She had no words. “I wonder if seven has significance in his new religion.” There were seven women. That probably meant something, but only the reverend could explain what.

The reverend reached out to close his window.

“Wait a minute, please,” Vinnie called. “We need more than that, and you know it, Reverend. While I understand your concern regarding germs and contamination, there has to be something we can work out. There has to be somebody you trust enough to come inside and speak with your people.”

“There isn’t,” he answered.

She stepped into the sun. Raze and Jax both tensed, crowding in. “We have to work together. You have no access to food or medicine or even weapons if you lock yourselves behind that fence. Let’s negotiate. Please?” Pandering to his obvious ego was working better than any of Jax’s threats, but she’d managed to get a threat or two in there. It was true. How did the reverend hope to survive by locking them all out?

Silence came from the secured area for several moments. Finally, the curtains parted again. “I’ll agree to discuss the issue, but we’re going to want concessions on your part as well.”

Raze lifted an eyebrow, and Vinnie shook her head. She had no clue where the reverend was going. “What kind of concessions?”

“You’ll see when we talk. For your liaison, we demand April Snyder, because she hasn’t been infected,” Lighton yelled.

Jax shook his head. “I don’t think she’s up to that.”

“How about if I accompany April?” Vinnie called.

Raze stepped even closer to her, and the heat of his body rivaled the sun now beating down. “Absolutely not.”

“You don’t have a vote,” Vinnie said beneath her breath.

“Oh baby. You gave me more than a vote last night, and don’t think for a second you didn’t,” he returned.

Jax looked from one to the other. “Give me a break, you two. I have a possible hostage situation going on right now.”

“Would you let Lynne go in there?” Raze shot back.

“Hell no.” Jax turned his focus back to the reverend.

The curtains parted. “I’m sorry, Dr. Wellington, but you’re a carrier. As much as I wish you weren’t, you’re a danger to my people. You may not accompany Ms. Snyder,” Lighton yelled.

“Good answer,” Raze muttered.

Vinnie tried to take a deep breath. Standing between Raze and Jax was like being bracketed by raging wolves barely leashed. The tension pouring from the men on either side of her sped up her heart and stole her breath. If anybody could avoid a disaster, it was her, but she needed to control the Vanguard men as much as the reverend. “Everyone just calm down. If there are hostages in there, then we need to pacify the reverend and not instigate a bigger problem.”

Jax’s lips flattened out. “Shadow? I’m going to need an infiltration plan that somehow takes into account the safety of children and civilians.”

Raze nodded. “A sniper shot for Lighton would work, but we don’t know what would happen then. What if there’s a number two just waiting to take control? At least we know the name of this guy.”

“Copy that.” Jax wiped sweat off his forehead.

Vinnie shook her head. “Guys, we can’t go in, and we can’t wait them out and starve them. There are kids in there.”

“With the right team, we could go in.” Raze craned his neck. “But there are three buildings, so we’d need quite a force to do it. And what if some of our soldiers actually belong to the reverend?”

Vinnie took a steadying breath. “Reverend? We really want to work with you. You have no choice but to work with us, so let’s figure it out. Remember, you’re inside Vanguard territory.”

Lighton’s chuckle wafted through the stagnant day. “You think you hold all the cards.”

“No, sir.” Hell, not even close. There were kids and civilians in there. “We don’t.”

“You’re right about that,” Lighton said.

She closed her eyes. “I know you must have food, medicine, and weapons.” He had this planned, so he would’ve at least obtained enough provisions to hold them for a while. “Which is good. We don’t want any of your people going hungry or getting sick.”

“That’s not all I have,” Lighton said, his voice rising just enough to give Vinnie pause.

She listened for more, but nothing came. “All right. What else do you have?”

“Well, I have all the vitamin B in our possession. We cleared out the three medical arenas earlier today.”

“Fuck,” Jax muttered. “Shots aren’t due for a few more days. We wouldn’t have even looked.” He stared down at the ground, thoughts flying across his tough face. “We’ll have to go in and get those. The uninfected don’t even need the B. What if he just goes ahead and pours it all out?”

The hair on the back of Vinnie’s neck rose. “That’s not all he has. There’s something in his voice . . . it’s bad. I feel like it’s bad. I don’t know what, but that’s not all.” She let her voice rise. “That’s quite a bold move, Reverend.”

“Somewhat,” he returned.

She went with her gut. “What else do you have to bargain with?” He had more than the B. She could tell.

“Well, I guess the best chip I’m holding would be Dr. Lynne Harmony. I can’t believe you haven’t missed her yet.”

Jax flew into motion, Raze intercepted him, and both men crashed into the side of the house. Vinnie backed away as Jax fought furiously and Raze contained him.

“Stop it.” Raze shook the Vanguard leader. “That’s what he wants. Don’t give him what he wants.” Raze leaned in. “We’ll get her out. Have soldiers cover the entire territory, and I’ll come up with a plan. Trust me. I’m Vanguard now.”