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  April swallowed, her gaze going to the rough hilt. At least it was in a sheath. “Through me? How?”

  “Two ways. First, you’re going to assist Damon with integrating the Mercs into Vanguard territory, so you have a reason to spend time together,” Jax said.

  Easy enough. “Okay,” she said.

  “And second, he’s going to romantically pursue you. Big time,” Jax finished.

  Her body flushed hot. “Huh?”

  Damon smiled, and this time a dimple showed in his left cheek. “This might be my favorite mission ever.”

  Warmth spread into her face, no doubt causing her to look like a tomato. Courage. She had to be brave with these guys. “Why don’t I pursue him?” she retorted with as much spirit as she could drum up.

  “Great plan,” Damon said instantly, oozing charm.

  Jax cut him a hard glare. “Knock it off.” He faced April. “The church knows you and has watched you for months. You’re not the type to pursue anybody. But they don’t know Damon. We can make him into anybody we want right now.”

  Geez. Okay. So she wasn’t a femme fatale. She’d been with one man her entire life, and then he’d died. So she truly had no argument. Except the idea of sexy Damon chasing her, a widow from suburbia, was ridiculous. “So we pretend a romantic, ah, relationship?”

  “Why pretend?” Damon asked smoothly.

  She gaped. Was he actually flirting with her?

  Jax picked up his knife. “I told you to knock it off. I meant it.” He glanced at them. “We’re going that route, but we might have a problem.”

  Damon’s gaze narrowed instantly. “Why?”

  “Because you’re black,” Jax said bluntly, turning to look at her, “and she’s white. Very white.”

  April’s mouth gaped open. “Jax.” Had he just said that?

  The Vanguard leader met her gaze head on. “I don’t have time to be politically correct, April. You’re white, he’s black, and this church has rules we don’t know or understand. They’re secretive, and my gut tells me something is wrong there. There’s something bad going on, and racism might just be a part of it.” He shrugged. “Or not. We just don’t know.”

  “But still,” she protested.

  “I don’t have a racist bone in my body,” Jax muttered. “I’m Hispanic, and I have Native American, Korean, Anglo-Saxon, and Texan lieutenants.”

  She coughed. “Texan isn’t a race.”

  “It should be,” Jax returned. “Tace is one of a kind. But my point is, even though we’re not racist assholes, the Pure church might be. They might not like interracial couples. Or premarital sex. Or blondes with big boobs. Who the hell knows. I want you to be prepared for that.”

  Damon looked at her, his gaze warm. “I like that you’re offended and surprised by this. By the way.”

  She shifted in her seat. He was just too much. Dark eyes, rugged jaw, cut cheekbones. His chest was wide and muscled. With a gun strapped to his thigh and a knife to his calf, he oozed deadliness. That shouldn’t be sexy…but it was. But she had no business viewing him like that. This was a mission—a job. “I don’t know how to be pursued,” she blurted out.

  His chin lifted, and a different light entered his eyes. A predatory glint. “Then this should be fun.”

  Panic engulfed her, so she remained quiet.

  Jax sighed and shoved away from the table as if bored with the entire conversation. “You two talk and come up with a game plan. April, last time Damon was here, we had him throw a fit about being around people who’d survived Scorpius.”

  “It wasn’t exactly a fit,” Damon drawled. “More like a loud objection. A manly one.” He winked again.

  Was he teasing her now?

  Jax grumbled and stood, heading for the door. “Whatever. I’d like to get things in motion tonight. Damon—you’re taking point. Figure it out.” With the last words, he stomped out the door, shutting it loudly behind him.

  Quiet descended.

  Her throat clogged. “Um. What does taking point mean?”

  Damon studied her, his gaze serious now that Jax had left the room. “I’m in charge of mission parameters.”

  Considering she’d never been on a mission in her life, she was okay with that fact. “Which are?”

  He leaned toward her, wafting the scent of a wild forest her way. “We’ll use our real jobs as a cover for this mission. Our first meeting will be today at noon, in the park that’s been set up middle territory for the kids, to work on integrating the Merc soldiers into Vanguard.”

  “So we really do the job while also doing the other job,” she said, blinking. This was confusing.

  “Yeah. The more natural we are, the better.” He reached out and planted his hand over hers.

  Heat and electricity zapped through her. She looked at the difference in them. His hand was big enough to completely engulf hers and had scars across the knuckles. From fighting? She lifted wide eyes to him. “I don’t know how to act. To pretend.” She’d worked at a dentist office before Scorpius had descended, for Pete’s sake.

  “Just be you, blue eyes,” Damon said. “React exactly as you would normally.”

  She pulled her hand from beneath his and set it in her lap. “Okay.” There was no reason for them to hold hands. Why couldn’t she breathe? His simple touch had overwhelmed her and forced sensations into her body she had no business feeling. “We don’t need to pretend now.”

  His eyes glittered with a light she couldn’t quite read. “Who’s pretending?”

  Acknowledgments

  I’m thrilled to bring the fourth book of the Scorpius Syndrome to readers, and I have many people to thank.

  Thank you to my wonderful family, Big Tone, Karlina, and Gabe. I love you very much.

  Thanks to Asha Hossain Design for the fabulous cover, Chelle Olson for the fantastic edits, Michael Pauley for the wonderful audio narrations of the Scorpius Syndrome Books, and The Killion Group for the great publicity plan.

  Thank you to my agent, Caitlin Blasdell, who gives fantastic advice across the board, and who has been with me through six series. Thanks also to Liza Dawson and the entire Dawson gang for their hard work and support.

  Thanks to Jillian Stein, Minga Portillo, Anissa Hammons, Rebecca’s Rebels, Writer Space, and Fresh Fiction for getting the word out about the books.

  Thanks to my constant support system: Jim and Gail English, Travis and Debbie Smith, Donald and Stephanie West, Jonah and Jessica Namson, and Herb and Kathy Zanetti.

  Other books by Rebecca Zanetti (in order)

  The Scorpius Syndrome Series

  Prequel: Scorpius Rising

  Mercury Striking

  Shadow Falling

  Justice Ascending

  The Dark Protector Series

  Fated (Book 1)

  Claimed (Book 2)

  Tempted (2.5)

  Hunted (Book 3)

  Consumed (Book 4)

  Provoked (Book 5)

  Twisted (5.5)

  Shadowed (Book 6)

  Tamed (6.5)

  Marked (Book 7)

  Realm Enforcers (Dark Protector spinoff)

  Wicked Ride

  Wicked Edge

  Wicked Burn

  Wicked Kiss

  Wicked Bite

  * * *

  Dark Protectors: Reese Family

  Teased

  Tricked

  Tangled

  The Sin Brothers series

  Forgotten Sins

  Sweet Revenge

  Blind Faith

  Total Surrender

  The Blood Brother series

  Deadly Silence

  Lethal Lies

  Twisted Truths

  The Maverick Montana series

  Against the Wall

  Under the Covers

  Rising Assets

  Over the Top

  * * *

  COMING in 2018:

  * More Scorpius Syndrome Books

  * A return to the Dark Protector
s—Spring 2018

  * The Requisition Force Series, starting with HIDDEN, Book 1 - Fall of 2018

  To keep up to date:

  www.RebeccaZanetti.com

  https://www.facebook.com/RebeccaZanetti.books

  http://rebeccazanetti.com/rebeccas-newsletter/