Raze cut Tace a killing look across the conference table. “I do not need ice for my balls. Stop offering.”

Tace grinned and drew out a chair to sit. “Just tryin’ to help, pard.”

Sometime in the very near future, that Texan accent was going to get the medic punched in the face.

Jax waited patiently at the head of the table, taking turns between glaring at the empty doorway and glowering at Raze. Bruises mottled the left side of his face, while his right side sported a darkening black eye. A small cut near his chin had stopped bleeding but still looked red and painful.

Raze grinned and then winced when his busted lip protested.

Vinnie and Lynne stumbled through the doorway.

Raze leaned back. Vinnie’s hair cascaded wildly over her shoulders, and a very pretty pink blush colored her classic features. Her blue eyes were watery and a little unfocused.

He stood and grasped her arm, leading her to sit next to him before she could take a seat across the table. To his surprise, she followed easily and sat, both hands holding a leather bound journal.

The smell of tequila wafted up.

Jax yanked out the chair to his right. “Lynne?”

She inched across the room and dropped into the seat, turning a brilliant smile on the Vanguard leader.

Raze turned Vinnie’s chair so she had to face him. “Have you been drinking?”

She shook her head and hiccupped. Damn, she was adorable. Sexy and adorable.

Sami snorted from the end of the table, where she had her boots firmly planted as she kicked back in the executive chair. “It’s not nice to drink alone.”

“Just one shot,” Lynne slurred, her eyes nevertheless alert. “It has been so long, I guess it really affected us.”

“We’ll talk about it later.” Jax shook his head. “Raze? Tell us everything you know about the Mercs.”

Raze left his hand on Vinnie’s chair, wanting to explore this new aspect of her later—now was the time to work. He needed to trust Jax and his guys with the Mercs. So he took a deep breath and related everything Ash had told him, as well as what he’d picked up on his own through the last few months. “I don’t think the Mercs want to harm Vinnie, but I don’t trust their long-term plans after they get the information they want from her.”

“There’s only one way to find out,” Vinnie mumbled.

Raze shook his head. “No. Now that I finally know where the exchange is supposed to take place, I’m going in to get Maureen, and you’re staying here. It’s too risky to turn you over. It’s not going to happen.”

Her eyes widened. “You’ve agreed already. It’s the only way to find your sister.”

“No,” Raze said.

Jax nodded. “Agreed. You, Sami, and I will go in fast and stealthy.” He stood and walked over to where a bunch of pictures showed the Civic Center.

Raze eyed the pictures. “What I wouldn’t give for an air attack.”

“Amen to that,” Jax said absently.

Vinnie slapped her hands on the table. “I should go to the rendezvous point, and we should negotiate from there.” She turned her gaze on Raze. “Greyson Storm wants information from me, and I’m happy to tell him what I know, which isn’t much. I can convince him of that, he’ll turn over your sister, and then we can all live safely behind Vanguard walls.”

Raze barked out a laugh, with Jax not far behind with his own chortle.

Vinnie’s lips turned down, and her chin jutted out. “What is so funny?”

Lynne elbowed Jax in the gut, and he stopped laughing, cutting her a warning look. Then he focused back on Vinnie. “Doc? Greyson Storm ain’t letting you go if he gets his hands on you. Like it or not, you’re a valuable commodity with your knowledge of sociopaths and the president.”

Vinnie sat back, her frown deepening.

“In addition, I’m thinking Shadow here has figured out the same thing about his sister. Does she have value to Greyson?” Jax drawled.

Irritation clawed through Raze. “Yes.”

“Why?” Sami asked from behind her boots.

Raze sighed. “Maureen is one of the top agriculture and food growth specialists in the world. She was working at the university on a research grant to grow food for undeveloped countries.”

“Food. Well. That’s not very important,” Jax said, a snap in his voice.

Raze couldn’t blame him for the anger. “I know. She’s valuable as more than a bargaining chip. Even if we pretend to trade Vinnie, no way will Greyson let Maureen go. It’d be like you letting Harmony go.”

Lynne lifted an eyebrow. “That’s because he adores me.”

Raze shook his head. “Adoration or not, there’s no way the Vanguard leader lets Blue Heart leave, even if she wanted to go.”

Lynne glowered. “That’s not true.” She twisted to face Jax. “Right?”

He met her gaze. “We’ll discuss it later.”

Her head lifted, and awareness dawned. “You bet your ass we will.”

Jax gave Raze a killing look. “What do you know about Greyson Storm?”

“He’s ex-military sniper. I knew of him, and he knew of me, but that’s about it. I believe he was one of the best,” Raze said.

“How did he get your sister?” Lynne asked, scooting her chair away from Jax’s.

“She stayed at the University to continue her work, knowing the country would need viable new food sources. Greyson captured her there, I believe.” Raze forced fear out of his gut. His sister was fine. She had to be.

Jax yanked Lynne’s chair back in place. “He took your sister, knowing of your ability to hunt and track anybody. He figured you’d be able to get your hands on Vinnie.”

Raze leaned back and fingered the pounding bruise on his forearm. “That and the fact that I worked with the FBI right when Scorpius started making serial killers. I was reassigned, and I took care of some of the worst.” He didn’t need to go into details. If there was somebody to hunt, he was the guy, and the government had known it. “There’s a good chance Greyson believes Vinnie and I crossed paths.”

“But we hadn’t,” Vinnie said.

“That you knew of,” Raze drawled. “I took point in Charleston when you were trying to capture the Ripper who’d killed all of those roller hockey players.”

Her mouth dropped open. “We didn’t catch him. He ended up dead.”

“Yeah,” Raze said softly.

She leaned back, her eyes widening as she must’ve realized he’d taken the shot. “Did you see me?”

“Yes. Part of my orders were to ensure your safety. Then I got called to work with the Brigade in Colorado, and I left. Next thing I heard, about two months later, was that the president had you and Greyson wanted you.” At that point, his entire focus had changed.

Jax leaned forward. “Wait a minute. Are you AWOL?”

Raze shrugged. “Hell if I know. The government has broken down. The Brigade is still alive and kicking, but I was just on co-assignment with them.” The Brigade had been created as a first line of defense against Scorpius; now they’d branched out to protect key infrastructure. Who knew if they still existed or even answered to the president. “The military is fractured, and the president’s elite force, which answers directly to him, is small and primarily comprised of former Secret Service agents.”

Jax nodded.

“Besides,” Raze murmured, “if I’m AWOL, you and Tace probably are as well.”

Vinnie leaned forward. “The best plan is for me to head to the rendezvous point, meet Greyson, talk to him, and then go from there. Maybe he doesn’t have to turn over your sister. Perhaps she wants to stay with the Mercs and continue her work in their territory. The key is to make sure she’s willing and that nobody has hurt her.”

Raze breathed out. “It’s too risky.”

“We could cover her,” Sami said. “If there’s a way to reach an agreement with the Mercs, some sort of postapocalyptic treaty, shouldn’t we try? I know it’s risky, but the payoff could be huge for us.”

Lynne nodded. “Especially if they have food resources. That’s huge right now.”

“Who knows what type of fuel and even medicinal provisions they’ve picked up from the university,” Tace said. He sat back. “I hate the thought of bending to blackmail, but if there’s a chance for cooperation, having the Mercs as an ally when Twenty and the president’s elite force attack would be a definite plus.”

Raze shook his head. “Absolutely not. I was wrong to even consider a trade in the first place.”

“Not your decision,” Vinnie countered. “It’s mine.” She looked toward Jax. “Plus, how do you know the Mercs are bad? I mean, the president has put out misinformation before. Perhaps he’s spreading rumors not only about the Mercs but about Vanguard.”

Jax studied her thoughtfully. “Keeping us from becoming allies would certainly fit his agenda.”

Vinnie nodded. “My job was to profile the most dangerous sociopaths in our world, and I was good at it. I found them, and I captured them, and then I studied them. Meeting with Greyson Storm doesn’t scare me.”

Raze pulled her chair back. “You’re not in a fully protected prison facing a shackled convict, damn it. Greyson is dangerous.”

“I know,” Vinnie said, reaching out to pat his hand. “This isn’t just about helping you or getting your sister back, although that’s a good goal. This is bigger. Aligning with the Mercs gives us strength, and if they do have food and medicine . . .”

Damn it. He should’ve just gone himself the night before.

Jax studied everyone. “All right. We need two plans. The first, a plan for meeting Greyson on his terms in Thousand Oaks. If that goes bad, we need a secondary backup plan for taking his headquarters.”

Sami eyed the map. “The doc has a good point about rumors. The Mercs have a terrible reputation, but do we know any details? They’re known to hunt and kill and fiercely protect their territory, but we’re known for the same things.”

Raze fought the urge to tie Vinnie to the radiator again. This was his fault. If anything happened to her, he’d live with the pain forever. He shook his head. “That’s the fucking problem. We don’t truly know a damn thing about them.”

“We’re about to find out,” Jax said. “We’ll meet and strategize after lunch. Everyone be back in an hour.”

Raze sure as hell didn’t like how the meeting had gone, but he was taking the reprieve to have a little chat with Vinnie, whether she liked it or not. To avoid an argument in front of everybody, he smoothly stood and lifted her, tossing her easily over his shoulder.

She yelped.

He didn’t have a claim on her, not one strong enough to prevent her from going on a mission. But there was no doubt in his mind that a claim would be forthcoming, and it was time they set some ground rules.

She stilled for the briefest of shocked seconds and then punched him square in the kidneys.

His responsive smack on her tight ass echoed through the entire first floor.

She struggled like a crazy woman as he made his way out of the offices and upstairs to their apartment, where he swung her over and tossed her stubborn butt on the bed.

The woman bounced twice. “You are a damn Neanderthal who needs to enter this century,” she yelled, flipping the leather-bound book onto the bed next to her.

He crossed his arms and gave her his most intimidating look.

She glared right back.

“I don’t have a right to forbid you to go on this mission.” If he could figure out a way to go on his own before Jax’s plan came to fruition, he’d do it.

“Damn straight,” Vinnie spat, shoving to her feet.

Hot blades pierced inside his chest. “I’m asking you not to go,” he bellowed, his ears ringing with temper.

Her chin lowered, and raw fury darkened her stunning eyes. “Too fucking bad.” Her voice lowered to pure challenge.

“Oh, baby.” He had no idea where they stood, but she was about to find herself buck-assed naked with him sprawled over her. He didn’t have the right. He needed to earn the right. Even though he wanted to quash her stubbornness, he wanted her with him more. On his side and having his back. Obeying him out of loyalty alone. “This is a dangerous world, and I call the shots with missions.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “We’re not a couple, Shadow.”

His last name. She always used his last name when she was trying to distance herself from him. “I think we are.” He didn’t understand it, and they’d happened way too quickly, but they were together. Period.

“You wanted to sacrifice me,” she said, hurt glimmering with the anger in her eyes.

“Until I fucking met you,” he ground out. Not for a second would he have been able to turn her over to Grey, and she damn well knew it. “Now I’m willing to take a risk with my own sister’s life just to keep you safe. That has to count for something.”

Vinnie paused. “That counts for a lot. But it doesn’t give you license to make my decisions.”

“What does?” he asked softly.

She blinked several times. “Nothing does.” Slowly, she lifted a shoulder. “It’s not who I am.”

He rubbed his battered chin. “When it comes to military missions, when it comes to safety, there has to be a chain of command.” If he was crazy enough to allow her on the mission, then she couldn’t question him if he gave an order. “You understand that, right?”

She swallowed. “I think so.”

That meant no. “Submitting to me doesn’t make you weak,” he whispered. “It shows strength.”

Her chin jerked up. “I’m not submissive.”

Ah. There it was. The crux of the issue. He could handle this. “Okay. New terminology. If we’re on a mission, or if we’re in danger, you’re the dominant one if you do as I say.”

She chortled. “That makes no sense.”

“Neither does courting danger just to spite me or show me your independence,” he said evenly. He knew, with every fiber of his being, that threatening her to gain compliance would backfire. Yet truth was truth. “You can push me all you want, you can even get away once with kicking me in the balls. But, baby, you go on a mission and ignore my directives, and I ain’t going to go easy.”

She shook her head. “I have a brain, Raze.”

“Yes, I know. An impressive brain.” There had to be a way to get into her head and make her see reason. The mere idea of anything harming her made him want to punch through the nearest wall. “How many close-combat situations have you experienced?”

“None.” Her mouth tightened.

“Right. So logically, it makes sense to listen to those with experience.”

She huffed out a breath. “We’re not talking about me being an idiot on a mission. We’re talking about you being bossy, overprotective, and overbearing just because we’ve slept together. You’re the one whose focus is fractured, not me.”

Damn if she hadn’t just nailed him with the truth. He nodded, falling into acceptance. “Right. You’re right.”

Triumph lit her eyes.

“So here it is. If you do one thing—and I mean one little titch of a thing—to put yourself in danger on this mission, or if you disobey one order of mine, I swear to fucking God I’ll make sure my focus is never fractioned again.” He let the truth flow.

She frowned. “Meaning what?”

He finally let her see the guy he rarely allowed himself to be. “I’ll tie you to that bed, I’ll shackle you to that radiator, I’ll beat your ass until you can’t walk . . . in order to keep you safe and keep you here.”

She drew back. “You’re a chauvinistic asshole.”

He shrugged, his focus finally narrowing and settling. “So be it. I’m Raze. Nice to meet you.”