Blake, Abby - Soldier [Altered Destinies 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (4 page)

Jenna turned her attention to Jason. If he was willing to not press charges, then maybe he was her best chance to get help to find her girls.

“Jason, I really am sorry. I had no reason to not believe the Professor. I’ve known him my entire life. I didn’t think he would ever lie to me, but then I found my medical records and read all the experiments they’d done without my knowledge.” She fought back the tears even as the words tumbled from her mouth. “About how they artificially inseminated me like I was some type of breeding cow, and then stole my girls and told me they were dead.”

“We know,” Alana said quietly. “They did similar things to me. Jason is the only reason I’m free. The only reason my children aren’t being subjected to the Professor’s brand of sadism.”

“You have children?” Jenna asked inanely.

“Yes, which brings me to why we are here. How much do you know about our mother?”

“Our mother? Nothing.” She rolled her eyes. Her mother was the last thing she wanted to discuss. “I want to find my children,” she demanded, her anger spiking again. “I don’t give a shit about a woman who abandoned me before I was old enough to remember her.”

“That’s just it. She didn’t abandon us. Until a few years ago, Mom didn’t even know we existed. The Professor stole her eggs and made babies without her knowledge or consent. Kind of like what he did to us.”

“Us? As in he experimented on you, too?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah, well, I still don’t give a shit. I want to find my daughters, and then I’m going as far away as I need to keep them safe. Now either you can help me, or you can get the fuck out of my way.” She levered herself off the bed, trying to pull the drip from her arm, but then she froze. She couldn’t move, couldn’t talk. Hell, she couldn’t even roll her eyes.

Mentally she screamed at Jason and Alana, but even her telepathic voice stalled when a new woman walked into the room.

“Jenna, you will calm down, or I will keep you immobile for the rest of the day. Your choice, sister dear. Calm or frozen? What will it be?”

Oh, for fuck’s sake, just what she needed—another sister! Jenna really wanted to leap off the bed and pound the woman into the ground, but since that didn’t currently seem to be an option, she tried to rein in her temper.

“Good,” the woman said, coming closer to the bed. Jenna felt herself released from the telekinetic hold and carefully moved back onto the bed. Faced with the sort of power emanating from the new arrival, she figured it may be prudent to listen to what the woman had to say.

“Jenna,” Alana said in an anxious whisper. “Theresa and I are here to help you. We know where your daughters are.” Excitement drilled through Jenna’s heart at the same moment that dread engulfed her. If these women could locate her daughters, it was quite likely she’d need their help. That was assuming, of course, that they were the good guys in all this. Jenna had lived all her life reading reports about the way these people subverted freedom of choice and basic human rights. How could they be better than the Professor? But then again, could they be any worse?

“We can help you get them back, but we need to be sure that you aren’t working for or under the influence of the Professor. We won’t let the girls be experimented on anymore.” The new woman—Theresa?—reached over and placed her hand over Jenna’s. “We are your family, Jenna. We will help you, but we need to be certain.” Theresa squeezed her hand for a moment longer and then turned and left the room.

Jason said, “I’ll be back in a little while. There’s a buzzer beside the bed if you need anything.” The last part sounded a bit strange. If she needed Jason, or anyone for that matter, all she had to do was call them telepathically. Except...her telepathy didn’t seem to be working.

“What the hell have you done to me?”

Alana glanced around the room, looking as if she was hoping someone else would answer this question. Too bad she was the only one left in the room.

“We...um...turned off your telepathy temporarily so that you wouldn’t be able to call to the Professor and disclose our whereabouts.”

“How the fuck did you do that?” She was more confused than offended, and maybe even a little relieved. At least she knew she wouldn’t accidentally call the Professor. After all, the guy did just try to kill her.

“I...um...”

“Leave her alone. She doesn’t know how they did it. She just knows they did.” The man who entered the room was beautiful. Handsome didn’t quite describe the golden good looks and sexiest blue eyes she’d ever seen, but the words “eye-catching” and “jaw-dropping” certainly flitted through her brain.

The man beside him, though also good-looking, paled in comparison. Trouble was, the second guy exuded such amazing confidence and power as he walked forward that Jenna couldn’t decide who to look at first. Both men called to her in ways she didn’t really understand.

The man who’d spoken moved to the edge of the bed, lifted her hand to his lips, and kissed it in a corny yet heart-melting action. How could one man make her want to roll her eyes and fall for him all in one silly move?

“I’m Rick. This is Zane. Do you remember us?” She shook her head a couple of times before scattered images partially coalesced in her brain.

“You found me?”

“Yes, they saved your life,” Alana butted in. “
And
they
are the only reason you were still breathing when Jason got there.”

“Th–Thank you,” she stuttered. Really, what should she say to a person who saved her life? Jenna was raised as a soldier. She didn’t feel pain, didn’t deal with emotions. She got angry—that’s how she made it through each day. She chewed the inside of her lip as she tried to think of anything else to say, so it took a moment to realize that even though both men were smiling at her, the emotions coming off them were pure anger.

“Why did you save me if you hate me so fucking much? What? Did you think I was her when you saved me? Saved the wrong fucking twin, eh? That really must’ve put a black mark against your names.”

“Jenna, enough.” The voice was so commanding, so familiar, and so comforting all in one low tone that she closed her mouth and turned her eyes to Zane. What she saw there made her angry. She didn’t need sympathy or compassion. She wanted her daughters, and nobody, not even this well-built, good-looking guy was going to sidetrack her from her mission. She blinked rapidly to clear her wavering vision. Stupid emotions.

“Baby, we’ll help you get your girls back, but first you have to trust us.” Rick still held her hand, and he lifted his other one to push her hair away from her eyes.

“Why should I trust people who hate me?” It was supposed to sound cocky and arrogant, but somehow it came out soft and pathetic, almost like she wanted them to like her. Hell, she wanted to growl in frustration.

“Jenna, we don’t hate you. We’re angry at the fact that someone tried to kill you. We’re angry that your girls were stolen from you, and we’re a little pissed that somehow you manipulated our emotions earlier, but we’re not angry
at
you.”

“Manipulated what? How?”

Chapter Four

She said it with such open confusion and honesty that Rick was inclined to believe she really had no idea what she’d done or how she’d done it. Of course, this was Jenna, the woman who’d sliced her own leg open to try and get Jason to use his healing skills. Anyone fanatical enough to do that shouldn’t be trusted easily.

“Jenna, do you really expect us to believe that you don’t know?” Alana stood as she asked the question, her hands landing on her hips as she blew out an annoyed breath.

“I don’t expect you to believe anything! I don’t give a flying fuck what you believe. Why are you even here? What? Are you waiting for a sisterly hug? Gonna be my BFF now?”

Rick almost laughed as he sensed the swell of anger that pulsed through Alana. He’d heard that Gabe and Rafe had their hands full with their young wife, but he’d never seen the woman in action. His respect for the two men went a whole lot higher as he wondered how he and Zane should handle the coming explosion. But somehow, Alana managed to rein in her explosive temper and sighed loudly.

“When you’re ready to listen, I’ll come back.”

“And tell me what exactly?” Jenna sneered. Honestly, the woman was starting to worry him. Did she even have a nice side? Alana walked all the way to the door before she turned to reply sweetly.

“Where your daughters are, of course.”

* * * *

Holy hell, didn’t that prompt a reaction. Jenna was almost off the bed before Zane could grab her and haul her back. She fought him every inch, swinging punches and kicking as hard as she could. Lucky for him she was barefoot, or those delicate feet might’ve been far more painful.

She continued to kick out, thrashing around until Zane very literally climbed on top of her and used his full weight to pin her to the bed. Thankfully, he could also feel Rick using his telekinetic skills to stop her from throwing him off. They already knew she had rather advanced telekinesis. He just hoped the chlorpromazine drip was keeping that under control as well.

Finally, she stopped moving, almost as if she finally registered where Zane actually was. He managed to hold his hips away from her pelvis, not willing to frighten her or cause a misunderstanding. He only wanted to restrain her, not attack her.

“Princess, you need to calm down. Rick and I will help you, but we can’t do that if Jason has to sedate you again.” She seemed to deflate as the fight drained out of her, and a part of him wanted to pull her close. The saner, less foolhardy side of him understood the danger. “Now, I’m going to climb off the bed and go speak to Alana, but you need to promise me you’ll stay calm. We can’t get information and deal with your tantrums at the same time.”

Her eyes still blazed murder, but she closed the lids and nodded slowly.

Zane levered himself away from her, careful to avoid accidentally touching her intimately. He needed her to trust him, but throwing sexual attraction into the mix would cause all sorts of problems.

He called Alana telepathically as he headed for the door.

* * * *

“Why would you help me?” Rick was a little surprised by the question. He’d spent most of the day wondering where to start looking for her girls, not considering
if
they should.

“Because you need help,” he answered quietly.

“I don’t need help. I don’t need anybody. I just want to find my girls and disappear.”

“Baby, we can help find your girls
and
keep you all safe.”

She closed her eyes, and for the first time since this all began, he sensed her fear. She’d managed to hide it behind her anger, bury it beneath layers of bravado, but at that very moment, he felt her fear and understood her reactions. She’d been kept helpless—even with all her skills—by people who didn’t give a damn who they hurt, so she needed her anger to feel in charge of the situation, and he wasn’t about to take it away from her.

“Okay, how about this. Zane and I will work with you to find your daughters, help you set up a safe house, and be around if you ever do need us.”

She nodded, her eyes still closed, and he sensed that she was very close to crying. He grabbed her hand again, pulled it into his left, and chafed the cold skin with the right. Something inside him demanded that he help her. He hesitated, worrying that she may be influencing his decisions again, but then realized the decisions were the ones he would make even without her influence.

* * * *

Jenna closed her eyes against the tears that threatened to fall. She’d been alone for so long it seemed impossible that there would be anyone willing to help her just because she needed it. But here she was, not only alive, but being offered assistance, genuine assistance, not the type that came from her ability to implant ideas. Her fingers curled inside his warm hands as she struggled to hold on to her anger.