The only indication she struck a nerve in Declan was his eyes widened. Jessie, on the other hand, started to go to the cottage, but Jenna blocked her.
“No, you’re not going in there, you’re not welcome in my home.”
“Jen!”
“Damnit, Jessie, my name is Jenna, and you know it. Let me tell you something. Our family might put up with your spoiled little girl antics, but I won’t. You have caused that man,” Jenna said, pointing to the cottage, then glaring back at her sister, “more damage than even Declan’s plans could. Once he finds out everything, he will hate you and as much as I want you to get what is coming to you, you’re still my sister, so we are going to come to an agreement, right here, right now.”
Jenna turned to Declan.
“You two will give me fifteen minutes to prep him for transport. Once I leave the house, you will wait for another five, then you can go in there and get him. I’m leaving. You are not going to stop me or try to bargain with me. You will take him to Keira.” Declan started to talk, and Jenna shook her head, and much to her surprise, he stopped mid-sentence. “I mean it, you will take him to Keira. If you do, I will contact her and tell her what I know and what I think will help him. If you take him to anyone else, I will not help you at all. Do you understand?”
Declan gave Jenna a curt nod of acknowledgment. Jenna pulled out the plastic bag she had placed in her coat several days ago.
“He was shot six times. I know that the bullets were laced with something although I have no idea what or how to counteract it. His bear is still within him but detached. Do you understand what I am saying? They are no longer one. They cannot communicate with each other, and everything I have tried to coax the bear out has failed.”
Jenna heard Declan’s whispered, “Shit” under his breath, and she couldn’t agree more. The great hope of the Shifter community, Cash Warren wasn’t going to be able to play Declan’s games anymore. At least, that’s what Declan thought. Jenna was going to make sure that Cash had the choice now. She would give him back everything and put plans in place, so he was never played again. It was the least she could do for him. She hoped it would also right some wrongs her family were a part of.
“There isn’t anything you can do? Even with me here, we could…” Jessie started to say, and Jenna gritted her teeth.
“I don’t know.” The power from Jessie had been filling her more and more since they were so close, but she felt something else underneath it and knew what she had originally planned wouldn’t work. Jessie was pregnant. They couldn’t combine to save anyone without risk to the unborn child her sister was now carrying. As it stood, she was starting to worry about the effects of them being so close was having on the child right now.
“If there is a chance, I will take it but not with your help. Like I said, fifteen minutes, you wait for five more and take him to Kiera. Do we have a deal, Declan?”
“Where are you going to go?” Declan asked. Jessie was standing quietly for once, waiting for Jenna to respond.
“That isn’t any of your business,” she said, the anxiety she felt because of her plans causing her to snap. “We’ve played this game before, and you swore to me you would stop. Has that changed?”
“No,” Declan said.
“Good, you also need to get Chase out of here.”
“What!” Jessie yelled. “No!”
“Yes, damn it, the draw is too much. I can feel it, can’t you? Think of your child, Jessie, you can’t be around if Cash and Chase come within ten feet of each other. Cash will drain him, he has been draining me for weeks now. You will try to compensate, and then all four of you will be in trouble.”
“You could filter it, make it not so bad. It might even help Cash.”
“Do you think I haven’t thought of that?” Jenna snapped. “I have, I’m too weak. I have been here with Cash for weeks as I fed him my gift. I couldn’t hold the connection with him any more than I can lessen what is happening between the two of us now. Fuck, can’t you see that!” Jenna said throwing her hands up in the air.
Jessie reached her hand out, but Jenna flinched away.
“No. I want to hate you, all of you for what you have done to me and that man inside, but I can’t. You are my family. I don’t want you hurt, can’t you understand that!”
“Do what you have to do, Jenna, we will wait out here. Jessie will call Chase and tell him to leave with Trace and Chance.” Jenna had already been walking away when she turned around.
“Wait. Trace and Chance are here too?” She must be weaker than she thought because she hadn’t even sensed them in the area.
“Yeah,” Declan said. “Have Chase go with Chance and leave Trace. His power might help.”
“He is telekinetic. How is that going to help?” Jessie asked.
“He can manipulate the energy that is around him. It’s how he and Chance are able to stay together, and we aren’t. If he can do that, he might be able to help Cash and his bear after I’m done.
“What are you going to do Jenna?” Jessie questioned.
“I’m going to give the man back his bear; the rest is up to you guys.” Jenna started walking again, not looking back. She could hear Jessie and Declan talking, but she wasn’t paying any more attention. She was pulling the energy she could from Jessie and reaching out further to Chase, Chance, and Trace, her body filling to the point of pain.
Opening the door, she looked at the man lying in her bed; she couldn’t do this without his consent. Opening her mind up to him, he was surprisingly quiet.
What is going on, I can feel your stress? The thick timber of his voice always created a storm of sensations to erupt throughout her body, but she needed to ignore that right now.
If I could give you back your life the one you had before you were shot would you take it?
Yes, Cash whispered her in mind.
Jenna took off her gloves, walked over to the bed, and climbed up next to Cash. Leaning forward, she kissed him softly. This would be the last time she ever saw him. Sitting back, she pulled the sheet away from his chest. His wounds were still red and angry, but she also noticed some pink. He had been healing although slowly.
What are you doing? Why does it feel like you’re saying goodbye? Cash questioned in her mind.
I’m giving you back what you lost, all of it. You won’t need me after this.
Jenna placed her hands on his chest and pushed, the usual warmth she felt when using her gift turning into fire. Cash’s upper body bowed from the bed, but she pushed further, finding that one bond to his bear. She pushed more energy in until the link strengthened, then she gave it more. No one would ever do this to Cash again; it was the only gift she could give him. She felt the tendrils of energy surround them, pushing between them, other strings coming from outside of the cottage. First, she felt Jessie’s, then Chase, and finally, Chance and Trace.
She could feel all the energy coming into her, then going into Cash. She tried to stop it, but it was too much, she couldn’t control it, and she cried out.
STOP! Cash’s voice boomed into her head like a sonic explosion.
Pulling back Jenna fell off the bed and landed on her ass. Every part of her hurt, but her head was screaming. Getting up, she grabbed her gloves and the bag she had packed earlier, staggering against the wall several times before she got her footing. Right before she walked out the door, she looked back at Cash, tears stinging her eyes.
“Goodbye.”
Jessie and Declan were closer to the cottage this time, but Jenna pulled everything she had left just to put one foot in front of the other. She wouldn’t be talking to them this time; she needed to get to the Jeep and get the hell out of here. She knew her Uncle would be waiting for her at the end of the road.
“Jenna, what happened?” Jessie asked, but Jenna just shook her head.
“Just let her go,” she heard Declan say. “Mattias is waiting, he will take care of her.”
Looking up for the first time, Jenna smi
led at seeing her Uncle Matt. She hadn’t called him, but just like always, he knew when she needed him the most. She kept walking, almost falling until he gave up his stance and came to her.
“What have you done to yourself now, sweet girl?”
Then Jenna’s world went black.
Chapter Eight
Cash started to wake up. He heard beeps and fabric rustling, but he didn’t sense any danger. Blinking his eyes repeatedly, he tried to diminish the blurriness. He had a feeling of wrongness like he shouldn’t be where he was right now. He should be somewhere else. He tried to force himself up from what he was laying on, the pain of the moving taking his breath away and starting a coughing fit.
He felt a hand on his chest, pushing him back down. He wanted to fight it, but he was as weak as a kitten.
“Hey, Cash, you need to lay back down, you’re still healing.”
Cash knew that voice. Croaking out the word water, he was grateful when a cup and straw appeared in front of him. After a few healthy swigs, he looked up to see Kiera’s smiling face.
“Welcome back.”
Kiera was a beautiful woman; she had one of those faces that never showed her age. She had worked in conjunction with NAC for years, often taking the worst cases into her facility and helping them free of charge until they could be reunited with their families. Cash guessed her age to be in her mid to late forties. Cash often wondered about the doctor and how she got caught up in all of this. She knew of them and treated shifters as well as human patients. She was also one of Senior’s closest confidants.
Their relationship or friendship was still tilted as far as Cash was concerned. Kiera was taking on all the responsibility, Senior just accepting her help, offering nothing but payment in return. Cash had spent some time with Kiera in the past, all the team members had. She was Senior’s answer to mandatory therapy. Which meant if one of them got hurt, they came to Kiera, she fixed them up, and talked with them. Sometimes, her intervention worked, sometimes, it didn’t like in Cash’s case, his wounds too deep for talking to heal.
Little things started to come back to his mind, first and foremost Rye, the baby, Bas, and Sky. Pushing himself up again, he tried and failed to maneuver his legs over the side of the bed. How bad of shape he was in was only cemented by how easily Kiera manipulated his body back into a prone position.
“Stop, Cash, you’re still not healed. There isn’t anywhere you need to be right now except in this bed, getting better.”
“How long,” Cash croaked out, lifting his hand to try to reach for the water, giving up, only making it an inch off the bed.
“How long have you been here or how long have you been in such a bad way?” Keira responded in kind.
Shit, that wasn’t good. That meant he had been somewhere else. The plane, the bullets, and the snake came back to him like a bullet train.
“What happened?”
“I don’t have all the details, but from what I do know, I can tell you were shot by members of the Affiliation six times somewhere in Canada, then thrown into a river. The bullets they used were laced with the new drug Pandora has developed. I’m sorry Cash, but you were separated from your bear for a very long time. We still don’t know the long-term effects that will have on either of you. I asked Declan to force a shift, but he wasn’t willing for fear of further damage, and Mattias was being his usual self and refused to show up before today.”
Cash asked the same question again, “How long?” Cash watched as Kiera sighed and sat down in a chair next to the bed, pulling it closer, taking his hand. Shit, this was going to be good.
“Cash, I’m sorry, but it has been several months since your plane went down.” Holding up her hand, she said the first thing to give his mind some relief. “Ryleigh and the others got out of there safely. She even had the baby, and they’re all back at Alpha now. I hear Ethan has even found his fated mate.” The small smile on her face was forced. He would wonder about that later. He was happy to hear Alpha was doing well, even happier to hear they had all found their mates. It was a load off of him; they would all be safe having found their anchors in this world, it was a good thing.
Kiera squeezed his hand and said, “Cash I need to talk to you about something.”
“What?”
“A good friend of mine insisted you be brought here. She’s the reason you are at this facility with me and not at another NAC location like I’m sure Declan would have preferred.”
That was interesting, Cash thought, he wondered why Senior wouldn’t have wanted him with Kiera. It was SOP as far as he was concerned. But that also brought up other questions. If it had been months, then why wasn’t a member of his team here? Why wasn’t Jacks? He knew if the situation were reversed, he would have been at Jacks’ bedside until he woke up. Or at least be close by.
Kiera was still talking, and he only caught the tail end of what she was saying.
“She also insisted I be the first one to talk to you when you woke up.”
Emerald eyes, flashed before his eyes.
“Who?”
“Who isn’t important, and I’m not going to get into that with you, but she’s the reason you’re alive right now. If she hadn’t found you and reconnected you to your bear, I’m afraid you wouldn’t have survived your injuries.”
“I think I have a right to know who this person is.”
“You do, but it isn’t my place to make that call,” Kiera said, sadness etched on her face.
“Okay, Kiera, I can accept that,” Cash said the words, but his mind was already dismissing them. He would find out who the woman she was talking about, one way or another.
“Thank you, Cash. I can’t tell you how sorry I am, but it has to be this way. Anyway, listen, like I was saying. She wanted me to be the first one you talked to when you came awake because as soon as I walk out this door and let Declan, Mattias, and the others know you’re awake, things are going to happen that cannot be undone.”
“What are you talking about Kiera?” Cash didn’t like the sound of this or the anxiety floating off Kiera in waves. He should be safe here. What the hell had happened while he was, well, gone, lacking the right word for what he had been?
“I guess the thing to do is start from the being.” Kiera let out a breath. “You have to know this is hard for me, but I agree you deserve these answers, and I accept that after you have heard everything, you might hate me as much as the rest of the people here.”
Fuck me, Cash thought. His mind was becoming clearer, the drugs leaving his system, but he was still groggy. He tried to rack his brain and figure out if he remembered anything about the last couple of months. Kiera was looking at him, waiting for some kind of response; maybe the drugs were still causing him issues. Shit, he hated not being in control.
“Okay, Kiera, go for it. Anything to alleviate the tension I’m feeling coming from you would be good because it’s irritating my bear.”
“Cash, I’m sorry, but that’s a good sign, one I wasn’t sure you would have. Your bear is coming back, fully. This is just, I’m going against someone I care deeply for by doing this, but I made a promise, and I won’t go back on it because to tell you the truth is the right thing to do.”
“Just say what you have to say, Kiera, I’ll deal with it all later.”
“Fine, but please stay as calm as you can, you're still healing, and I don’t want to jeopardize that.”
“Kiera,” Cash grumbled.
“Declan let everyone believe Ryleigh and the Holly Group were the first ones to find the connection between Dr. Franklin's experiments and Shifters, but that wasn’t the case. There have been others, many others, for generations.”
Cash had already figured that out for himself. Hell, Sky’s existence alone as a natural was proof.
“The woman who helped you is connected to a person from your past, a person you thought had died but has been close all along.”
“What the fuck, Keira, who?” The monitors started to blare with alarm
s; Cash knew his heart rate had increased and his breathing had accelerated. He watched as the name formed on Kiera’s lips and started to shake his head in denial when she finally got the name out, Jessie.
“No! I felt the bond sever, Kiera, you know she can’t be alive.”
“She always has been. Cash, I am so sorry, but there is more. More you need to know before they come in here and tell you. Jenna wanted to give you time to process all of this before it was put right in front of your face.”
Cash struggled to get out of the damn bed, ripping at the lines that seemed to be connected to his body everywhere.
“Please, you need to calm down.” Kiera got up and checked the IV line which was connected to his hand and pushed a couple of buttons. He could feel the sting of medication entering his veins before his body started to slow down.
“Where is she?” Cash demanded.
“I’m right here, Cash.”
Cash whipped his head around to the voice that had haunted him for years and standing right there in the doorway was Jessie. His Jessie but different. She no longer had that glow of innocence or the chubby fullness of adolescence, she was a woman. He briefly wondered why his body wasn’t reacting to her in any way, why his bear was so calm and quiet.
Senior was standing behind her with Lance at his side. Fuck, he hadn’t seen Lance in years, but his friend still looked the same, but what was he doing here with Jessie? Lance had searched right along with him, even encouraged him to keep on digging to keep the case open. But if he was here with her, then he knew. Or…
“Kiera you had no right!” Seniors voice tore through his thoughts. “Leave now, this is an NAC matter, you shouldn’t have interfered.”
Cash saw Kiera get up and walk out of the room, her head down. Before she passed Senior, she looked up to him, but Senior demanded she leave without looking at her. Cash felt sorry for Kiera; she didn’t deserve any of this, especially not Senior’s scorn. Senior was the one who should be chastised for keeping secrets. Kiera had just tried to do the right thing, and once he stopped looking at the ghost from his past and getting her out of his mind completely, Cash intended to let Senior know that.
NAC & The Holly Group - Box set: Alpha Team Page 130
