Blake, Abby - Soldier [Altered Destinies 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (2 page)

“She wouldn’t come back here. Jenna’s a soldier. She’d know The Agency would move Jason immediately. She was already suspicious about his healing skills. No way would she risk coming back here. She’d have to know it’s a trap.”

“If I have learned one thing about Davies since he took over,” Zane said as he adjusted in his seat again, “it’s to never question why he does something. The man is right too often for it not to be some freaky extrasensory skill at work.”

Rick nodded his head in agreement. Precognitive skills weren’t uncommon amongst the agents working for The Agency, but most saw only thirty seconds or less into the future. Considering Davies’ success in predicting the whereabouts of the rogues, Zane was beginning to wonder if Davies’ skills were far more advanced. Considering that Theresa and her siblings Dana, Alana, and Jason seemed to be rewriting the record books every other day, it was definitely something to consider.

“Do you believe the rumor about Jason being able to heal injuries with his telekinetic skills?”

Rick shook his head as he answered. “I don’t know, but considering Dana’s recovery, I’m guessing it’s true. If you take into account the way Davies moved him into The Agency medical division soon after and how we’re still watching Jason’s former address five months later, I’d say it’s a pretty fair assumption.”

Zane nodded in agreement as he swept the area with his empathic senses. He felt the harried emotions of the young mother struggling to hold on to a toddler in the middle of a tantrum, the calm determination of a young man probably on his way to an important business meeting, and the excitement of a group of children on a school excursion. Their teacher seemed subdued, tired, or maybe bored.

He glanced at the figure draped in a heavy coat limping slowly toward the front door of the apartments, and it took a moment to realize he couldn’t sense the person at all. He shook his head, doubting his own eyes, and was ridiculously relieved when Rick glanced at him and said, “I don’t sense him either.”

One hand on the door handle, Zane checked the safety on his handgun with the other.

They moved together, their teamwork smooth from years of practice. Zane circled to the left, Rick on the right, both of them heading toward the figure who’d just reached the doorway. It seemed to take the person great effort to force the heavy glass door open, but he managed to slip through, and it closed with a loud thunk.

Still moving stealthily, Zane approached the door and leaned on the handle to gain entry, momentarily confused when it failed to open.

“He locked it,” he growled as he rummaged through his pockets to find the key, losing precious time. Not being able to sense the guy meant they relied on their eyes and ears, and Zane’s eyes were telling him the guy had just stumbled into the elevator.

“Damn,” Rick swore. “If he’s not going up to Jason’s apartment, we’re definitely going to lose him.”

Zane found the key, crammed it into the lock, and heaved the door open. They pushed through quickly, bypassed the elevator, and hit the stairs. Seven flights wasn’t really a workout to either of them, so they made it in pretty good time. Quietly slipping through the doorway to the seventh floor, Rick took the lead, their mission now to apprehend the human they could not sense. The only people they’d ever encountered who couldn’t be sensed by extrasensory skills were rogues working for the same people who’d held Theresa’s mother, Lydia, against her will for thirty years. Rick and Zane couldn’t take any chances. If this person was here, it was a very good chance lives were in danger.

As they approached the corner that would take them to Jason’s former apartment, Rick stopped when they both heard a low moan. Zane couldn’t sense anyone, but there was definitely someone there.

Rick stole a glance around the corner and then moved quickly. Zane followed close behind as Rick aimed his gun at the person slouched against the doorway. Another low moan of pain filled the hallway.

The woman struggled to lift her head, her matted hair covering her face as she cried in agony. “Jase, I need your help.”

She seemed to lose consciousness before she managed to see either of them.

“Shit, that’s Jenna,” Rick said as he held his gun pointed at the still form and grabbed his cell phone from his pocket. Zane resisted the urge to step forward and assess her injuries. Jenna had pulled this stunt before, and the outcome could’ve been a lot worse if Jason had trusted the injuries he’d seen.

“Caleb,” Rick said into the phone. “Jenna finally turned up, but by the looks of her, she needs an ambulance.”

Zane only half-listened to the conversation, his own empathic skills straining to determine any information from the woman in front of them. To the naked eye, she certainly seemed severely injured, but if Zane had learned one thing from his years working for The Agency, things were rarely what they seemed.

As Rick ended the phone call, he nodded his agreement to Zane and then stood back so that he could get a good aim at Jenna without needing to shoot through his partner. Zane moved cautiously toward her prone form, but lost all sense of reality when he saw the bullet wounds. Jenna was literally soaked in her own blood. A quick look suggested that she had been shot several times in the back and shoulder, the type of injuries one would get when running away from someone with a gun. Or maybe several
someones
.

Rick had dialed the phone again even before Zane had thought the words.

“Caleb, send Jason.” He nodded in agitation. “I realize the risk, but without him Jenna is not going to make it. Send him now.”

Chapter Two

Several hours later Rick was still covered in Jenna’s blood. He and Zane had spent too many heart-wrenching minutes trying to stem the flow of blood from Jenna’s multiple wounds. She’d stopped breathing more than once, and only their medic training had been the difference between life and death. How the woman had even managed to make it all the way to Jason’s apartment with such serious injuries was a complete mystery.

Rick understood the value of mental toughness, but even he couldn’t imagine traveling so far with so many bullet wounds. Jenna was truly an extraordinary human being, and if Cody’s report had any truth to it, she was also a very dangerous human being.

But at the moment, she was just a woman hovering between life and death. Jason had finally arrived and sealed the bullet wounds, but her blood loss had damaged her heart. At this very moment, Jason continued to repair her heart so that the blood transfusions could work successfully. Even with all his skills—skills that proved the rumors true—there was still a chance Jenna could die.

Rick shook his head, wondering why the possible death of one woman he’d never known, a woman who was essentially the enemy, would affect him so greatly.

Zane slid down the wall to sit beside him. “You feel it, too,” he said. It wasn’t a question. They knew each other well enough to know what the other was thinking, feeling. Zane closed his eyes tiredly and leaned his head back against the wall.

They sat silently for a long time. Finally, Jason came through the doorway and stood in front of them. Rick struggled to his feet, confused by the lethargy he felt. Zane looked up tiredly but stayed where he was.

“She’s okay. I’ve sedated her, but she should be back to her normal, dangerous self when she wakes up. How about you two? Any injuries?”

“No,” Zane said, answering for both of them. “It’s all her blood, not ours.”

“I’ve sent a sample to the lab. I’ll let you know if there’s anything to be concerned about, but considering she’s lived her entire life under the rogues’ control, I’m fairly confident she’s disease-free. Next time use your first aid kits, please. The gloves and resuscitation kits are to protect you from serious diseases. You took an unnecessary risk today.”

Rick nodded his head in agreement even though he didn’t feel the same way. If they’d delayed, even just a few minutes, Jenna would’ve died, of that he was certain. Normally, he would’ve followed protocols, but saving Jenna had just seemed too important.

Jason turned to leave, but then turned back to say something. Rick didn’t know Jason very well, but the guy seemed to hesitate, like he chose his words carefully. “Thank you for saving her. Even after everything that has happened, she is still my sister.”

“Can we see her?” The words popped out of his mouth before he could bite them back. Jason studied him closely, a puzzled expression on his face, but he nodded. “I’ll show you where she is.”

* * * *

Jenna struggled to move. An invisible force held her still as her children were torn from her arms. She heard their screams, their terror, even though she couldn’t see through the surrounding fog. The noise seemed to come from all around, and she wriggled harder, trying to break her invisible bonds, trying to twist around in a vain attempt to locate the sounds. Her girls were here, held by an unknown captor. She tried to call for them, but her voice sounded weak in the fog, a bare whisper, and she gasped for air as she thrashed against the force holding her immobile.

She sensed two people, not her daughters or her daughters’ abductor, but someone else. She searched the fog, trying to see them, trying to tell friend from foe.

“Save my babies,” she whimpered. “Please.” She’d never begged in her life, but she’d beg for her girls, beg for them to be returned, but she couldn’t find them, couldn’t see who’d taken them. Panic twisted her gut as the people moved closer. She could barely see them, but they were both covered in blood, her blood. She screamed as they came closer, terrified that they would kill her before she could rescue her babies.

“No, please. Please just let me save them. Let me save my girls. Then I don’t care if you kill me. Just please save my babies.”

* * * *

Zane approached the bed apprehensively. Even sedated, Jenna thrashed around in the throes of a nightmare, her terror nearly palpable.

She mumbled incoherently, her movements and voice slowed by the sedative, but no less agonizing. She called for her babies, for her girls to be saved, and it bought him to his knees. Zane smoothed his hand over her arm, almost jumping in surprise when she latched on to him with a strength he hadn’t expected. Her eyes flew open for a moment, her focus seemingly faulty. “Please,” she whispered. “Please save my babies.”

He glanced over the bed to see Rick on the other side, his hand also crushed by hers in a death grip. Rick lifted his other hand to her brow, pushing the strands of hair away from her eyes as he uttered soothing noises.

“It’s okay, Jenna. We’ll find your babies. We’ll keep them safe while you rest.”

She seemed to react to his reassurance for a moment. Her body lost the tense, rigid hold, and it looked like she might finally rest, but her emotions spiked and her eyes flew open again. Her panicked gaze bounced around the room, her hand squeezing Zane’s tighter even as she moved away from him. When she realized Rick held the other hand, she moved back into the middle of the bed, still looking panicked, still looking terrified.

Jason came into the room, and she seemed to become even more agitated, her manner urgent, her plea heartfelt.

“Jase,” she said, her voice a croaky whisper. “Jason, I’m so sorry. Please, I need help. They lied to me, and I need help, and I had nowhere else to go. Please help me.”

“Jenna, we’ve done this dance before. Last time you threatened to kill me. Why would I help you now?” His voice was matter-of-fact, not unkind or cruel, just calm and very reasonable. “Your injuries should’ve killed you this time. You gambled your life just to find out if the rumors about me are true.”

She shook her head in denial. “No. No, it wasn’t like that. They lied to me. They told me they died, but they lied to me.” Jenna shook all over now, her body vibrating with agitation. “They have them, and I need to find them. I’ve got to find them.” Her voice rose with her hysteria, her chest lifting and falling rapidly as she gasped for air. Jason stepped closer just as Jenna gagged like she was choking and her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

“Damn,” he swore as he placed his hands over her heart. “What the hell did they do to her?” He seemed to concentrate a while, sweat beading on his forehead as he worked. Slowly Jenna’s breathing became less labored, and color returned to her features. Jason turned as a familiar woman entered the room and handed him a syringe full of medication. “Thanks, Bec,” he said as he pushed the contents into Jenna’s IV line.