by Abby Blake
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 st
ill 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.
She knew that she wouldn’t gamble her girls’ safety on her own stupid pride, but she couldn’t—wouldn’t—find the words to tell him. Truth was, she needed help to find her girls, help to get them to safety, and help to keep them that way. She had no idea how she was going to support them once she found them. She just knew she had to find them.
“Jenna.” Zane called her attention as he walked back into the room. “Your girls are safe. They were rescued about six months ago from a rogue facility up north.”
“Where are they now?” she demanded, trying to sit up again.
“That’s the part Alana was trying to tell you.”
“What the fuck does that bitch have to do with anything? Why does she know where my daughters are, and why didn’t she tell me that first?”
“Princess, you practically threw her out of the room. She sat here for hours waiting for you to wake up. She was really angry when you attacked Jason, so even he’s surprised that she turned up to talk to you in person.”
Jenna wasn’t sure what to make of that. Like all of her skills, her empathic senses seemed dulled, not up to par, and she’d only sensed hostility from the other woman. Could she have missed something important?
“Jenna, Alana is your identical twin sister. We suspected as much, but Jason did a DNA test just to be sure. It came back a perfect match.”
“So we share DNA, so what? Doesn’t mean I have to like her.”
“Well,” he said as he chuckled quietly, “I suppose that’s true, but you might find what she has to say quite interesting.”
She wasn’t in the mood for twenty questions. She just wanted answers, and then she wanted out of there. “Just tell me what she wanted to say.”
“I wanted to tell you personally”—Alana’s angry voice sounded from the doorway—“that I have your daughters.”
“You what? How? Why? Give them back to me right this fucking instant or you will regret the day you were born.”
“Jenna, stop talking. Seriously, woman, you are going to talk yourself into the biggest hole, deeper than you can dig yourself out of.” When he had her attention, Zane held her chin and whispered. “Alana is here to introduce you to your girls, not keep them away from you.”
“She is?” It still didn’t seem possible. Why would these people want to help her? She was their enemy, wasn’t she? Her telepathic block must’ve been faulty, too, because he answered her unspoken thoughts.
“No, princess, you’re as much a victim of the Professor’s schemes as your girls are. Alana and your sisters can help you. You just have to be willing to accept it.”
“I can have my girls back?” She couldn’t deny the excitement unfurling in her chest. She’d lived without them for seven long years, had only known they were alive for less than a week, but she felt like she could take her first full breath in a very long time.
“It’s a little more complicated than that,” Alana said quietly.
Jenna was about to explode, but Zane’s hand covered her mouth before the words could escape. “When Theresa rescued them, we did DNA tests, and that showed me as their mother. We knew there was a chance that you and I were identical twins, and considering the facts that we had at the time, it was more likely that they were your daughters. They were too old to have been mine. They would’ve been conceived almost a year before I was taken by them.”
“Taken? As in abducted and experimented on?”
Alana nodded, absently rubbing her wrist. “Yes, experimented on and worse. For six years, they held me against my will. Jason got me out, but not before they’d implanted me with an unknown embryo.”
“Embryo? Whose baby is it?”
“She’s my baby. It doesn’t matter who the biological parents are. I carried her. I birthed her. She’s my baby.” Jenna sensed a whole lot more to the story than what Alana was saying, but for once, she kept her mouth shut. Although that may have had something to do with the fact that Zane had left his hand over her mouth and currently caressed her lips and jawline with his slightly calloused fingers.
“I’ve been raising Kara and Hailey as if they were my own, but I always suspected that they were your children in a genetic sense. What we didn’t know was whether you carried them yourself of if they were given to a surrogate to birth.”
“They’re mine. They’re mine.” She could feel her emotions boiling close to the surface, but she couldn’t call them back. She shook as the words tumbled uncensored from her lips. “I carried them to eight months, and then the Professor said they died when they did an emergency caesarean. He told me it was better that I didn’t see the corpses. God, I thought he was being kind. I trusted him to keep me and my girls safe. Fuck, how useless am I?”
The tears did come then. All the years she’d lived in the compound, learning, training—it was all lies. Was anything she knew true?
Rick was already running his hand soothingly up and down her arm. Zane stood over her, forced her to look and him, and said very quietly, “We are here for you, princess. Whatever you need.”
“I need my girls.”
Alana moved closer to the bed. “I’ll set that up, but you need to be patient. They’re only just now beginning to adjust to their new lives. We need to be able to do this without upsetting them.”
Jenna nodded. As much as she wanted to grab her girls and run, she wouldn’t upset them. She needed to meet them, even if it was under Alana’s terms.
“Whatever it takes,” she said decisively.
Chapter Five
Rick breathed a little easier. He hadn’t felt Jenna try to influence him or Zane throughout the entire conversation. Jason was monitoring him from the next room, so he felt fairly certain that his own conclusions were accurate. Either Jenna’s skill had kicked in accidentally when she was semi-conscious or she chose not to use it at this point. Whatever the reason, Rick was really glad that the emotions he fe
lt were his own and not some projection from Jenna.
Strange how much a part of him wanted to deny the feelings that she stirred. He was attracted to everything about this woman. Her looks, her personality, even her anger. How was that even possible? Was he a closet masochist? Did he enjoy the feeling of having his balls in danger every moment that he spent with her?
He watched in amazement as Alana moved forward, placed a soft kiss on her sister’s cheek, and whispered, “Welcome to the family.”
* * * *
Zane smiled as he watched Jenna try to hide her agitation. It had taken three long days to set this up. Three days of sitting in the hospital listening and watching some of the most spectacular tantrums he’d even seen. Once they’d removed the chlorpromazine drip, she’d been even wilder. Zane had found himself needing to physically restrain her so many times that he and Rick had taken turns lying beside her on the bed and holding her spoon-fashion. Ironically, that was when she seemed calmest and the only time she seemed to welcome anyone’s touch.
“Girls, this is my sister, Jenna,” Alana said to the two young girls as she and Jenna walked into a playroom ahead of him. The two girls, so much like their mother, looked up with identical smiles on their faces.
“Hello, Jenna. Did you come to play with us?” Jenna looked a little uncomfortable as the girls grabbed a hand each and dragged her toward the toys on the play mat. “We’ve got dolls and board games and computers and a train set but the train set is for boys and we’re not boys so we don’t usually play with it but we’ll play with it if you want to play trains because we want to play whatever you want to play.”
“Kara, honey. Maybe you should let Jenna find a seat before you overwhelm her with games.” Zane couldn’t hide his amusement. He was still trying to understand how Kara could say so many words without taking a single breath when the child in question ran and grabbed his hand also.