Jenna stood in the operating room, several people running around, and one doctor yelling out orders. It was choreographed chaos; she missed this part of her profession. But the chaos in the room had nothing on the chaos going through her mind. The magnetism of being in Cash’s presence had staggered her; it wasn’t like before. He was whole now, and she was drawn to him like a moth to a light, more so. Her body and soul rebelled when she walked away, and a longing she had never felt before took up residence. But this was the right thing to do.
When she and Kayden pulled up to Kiera’s facility, Jessie had been standing so close to Cash. He had a small smile on his face like in the dreams. He was holding a baby; they looked like the perfect family. When he followed her and placed his hands on her hips, the electricity between them throbbed, but lust wasn’t love, and Cash Warren loved her sister. He also loved the man she was looking at now.
Rubbing the mark on her wrist with her thumb, she gathered her power. She was weakened from her time with Cash, and even all these weeks later, she hadn’t recovered. There had been only one time she felt almost normal, and that was a couple of hours ago. The block Cash had put in place was back with full force, and she had created a couple of her own. Her bonds to Chase and Jessie had to stay sealed. She couldn’t risk the child her sister now carried. Trace and Chance were her only hope right now. Examining their energy, she found Trace was about as low as she was, and that bothered her. Trace was strong, and he often shared energy with Chance, but right now, there was an unbalance between the two.
That made her feel even guiltier; she should have reached out to them, at least talked to them or called even. But she had been so caught up in her own problems and Cash, she had ignored her friends. She regretted she wouldn’t be able to fix that now either. It took her several minutes, but she erected a wall between all the Twin Warriors, she refused to risk any of them. This was her job to do, not theirs.
Kiera walked up to her, looking at her in question, Jenna smiled, it was forced, but she wanted Kiera to believe this was okay. That everything would be fine.
“Are you ready to start?” Kiera asked softly.
Jenna nodded. “I need you to clear the room for a little while. Is that possible?”
Kiera looked back and forth between Jenna and Jacks several times, confused, but this was something she wouldn’t budge on. Jenna had never let anyone witness her gift in action, and she wasn’t going to start now, especially now.
“He isn’t stable, Jenna,” Kiera placed her hand on Jenna’s arm, “I don’t think we can do that, is there another way?” she questioned.
“No,” Jenna shook her head, “I need to be alone. Don’t worry, I will stabilize him. Please, Kiera, this is the only way,” Jenna pleaded.
Kiera looked at her closely and nodded. Before she walked away, she squeezed Jenna’s arm. Jenna watched her go over to the surgeon, pull him over to the side, whispering urgent words. The man was in his late fifties to early sixties, partially bald and heavy set. Every time he shook his head at something Kiera was saying, his jowls wiggled.
“You will do as you are told!” Kiera’s said, her voiced raised. “Unless you wish to be barred from this facility and any further affiliation with NAC. Do I make myself clear?”
Damn, she had never seen this side of Kiera, she was usually so soft and kind, even in her professional environment. Jenna knew Kiera believed in the saying you catch more flies with honey, but this Kiera was a force. Jenna wondered if Declan had ever witnessed the transformation and hoped he had or would soon.
The surgeon turned with a ruddy red face and barked orders at the medical personnel; they started to file out of the room, the surgeon last in line.
“If he dies,” he sneered, “I will make sure that everyone knows it’s on your hands. Do I make myself clear, Ms. Smith?”
Jenna lifted her chin and looked the man right in the eyes, “Perfectly.” The doctor thought his threat held weight, but he didn’t have a clue. There wouldn’t be any retaliation against her from NAC because she wouldn’t be around after this.
Kiera stood off to the side, watching her. Jenna had felt it, but she didn’t move her eyes from the surgeon. He was trying to project his dominance on her, something that made her want to laugh. There were five men out in the other room who made this little man look like a wimp. Hell, even the man lying on the table still held more power than this man ever would. Thankfully, after a dismissive snort, the man was gone, leaving only her, Kiera, and Jacks.
Jenna waited—leaning back against the wall, her arms curled close to her chest—knowing Kiera had something else to say. She wouldn’t lie to Kiera, but that didn’t mean she would tell her the whole truth either. Now, she just had to wait for the questions to start. Kiera had her head cocked to the side just looking at Jenna; her stance pretty much reflected Jenna’s. Arms crossed defensively but calculating. She must have decided something because she let the hold she had on her body go, dropping her hands to the side.
“I don’t know what you have planned, Jenna, but I will be right outside that door. If you take longer than I think you should, I’ll be coming in.”
Jenna smiled, the fierceness in Kiera seemed to have stayed awhile. Good for her.
“I understand, Kiera, this shouldn’t take long, fifteen maybe twenty minutes. If I’m able to help him, I will.”
“Okay, then, twenty minutes and I’m through the door.” Kiera had just opened the doors when Jenna stopped her.
“Kiera, I need to you make sure all monitoring in this room is turned off.”
“Okay,” Kiera nodded, looking at the machines, quickly turning back and hitting several buttons.
When she was done, Jenna walked closer to Jacks, stopping Kiera, looking up at the cameras in the corner of the room.
“All monitoring, Kiera, it has to be all of it, do you understand?”
“What is going on Jenna, you seem different? What aren’t you telling me about this?”
Jenna looked up and let a long breath leave her lips, “Kiera I’m sorry but…”
“More secrets?”
“Always. What I do, how I do it has to remain that way.” Those were empty words, Jenna didn’t especially want anyone to see what she did or how her gifts manifested, but she also wouldn’t care if that person was Kiera. She just didn’t want Kiera to witness what she was planning on doing today. More specifically, she didn’t want her to be able to stop her.
“Plus, Declan wouldn’t like that knowledge being spread around,” she said, adding a little extra fire Jenna knew Kiera wouldn’t question. “Each member of the surgical team will need to spend some time with Uncle Matt here shortly, do you understand?”
Kiera stiffened. Just mentioning Declan would have been enough, but she added more to the veiled threat using her Uncle. Kiera was well aware of the score; Uncle Matt would wipe the surgical team’s memories. None of those people would remember Jenna ever being here or what happened after she left.
“Does that go for me as well?” Kiera asked sternly.
“No, Kiera, you know what I can do, but I prefer you don’t watch it. Please, I know this is hard for you, but it must happen this way.”
Kiera pivoted on her foot and continued through the door.
“Twenty minutes, Jenna, that’s all I am giving you. The threat of Declan or Mattias won’t keep me from coming through those doors.”
Jenna waited until she heard the door click into place, then walked over and locked the deadbolt, just to be sure. She even took the extra precaution of pushing a wheeled cart in front of the door and locking the wheels in place. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do. Walking on the perimeter of the room, she also went to the camera and disconnected the cables as well as pulling off the face of the intercom system and disconnecting several wires as well. When she was done, she walked over to Jacks.
Just like Cash, he had been shot several times, and blood was still seeping from the bullet holes. Holding her hands out to the side, Kiera removed the thin protective layer on her hands and stretched out her fingers. Taking several deep breaths, Jenna closed her eyes as she prepared, drawing her energy, centering her mind. Opening her eyes, she looked at Jackson Thorp. He was a large man, handsome, built and toned better than any bodybuilder she had ever seen, but even he didn’t hold a candle to Cash. There was no instant attraction. Jenna didn’t wonder what his eyes would look like or what the sound of his voice would be like. She didn’t wonder anything. He was truly just another patient to her.
Placing her hands on his chest, she let her gift explore. Jacks wasn’t as bad off as Cash had been, but it was still bad, his bear was detached the same way Cash’s had been. But none of the bullets had hit any major organs. This was the easy part, removing her hands she took several surgical tools and removed the bullets one by one. Every clank of the bullets dropping into the metal dish was a victory as far as Jenna was concerned.
When she was done, she replaced her hands and healed the damage. It didn’t take long or much of her energy, but since she was already depleted, it was enough to be deemed significant. Pulling back, Jenna looked up at Jacks' face. The color was returning, and his cheeks had pinked up a little. His heart rate was strong and his respiration steady and even. Now was the hard part. Closing her eyes, she focused on the connection between man and beast. Much to her surprise, Jacks’ bear wasn’t fighting her, there were no snarling or attacks. She could feel his strength. If it decided to fight her, she was in trouble.
Jacks’ bear had more bonds than Cash’s had, they splinter off all over the place. But there was one she was more drawn to then the rest. She let her gift flow over it several times before she forced herself to stop. This was the bond that connected Cash and Jacks. It was strong but flowed in reverse, something Jenna had never witnessed before, it was like Jacks was reaching out to Cash. Normally, bonds flowed back and forth, but this was a one-way ticket.
Finding the link between man and bear, Jenna started to rebuild the connection. She felt the heat increase in her body, first warmth, then fire. She held on, pushing further, connecting threads as fast as she could. The energy in her body was depleting so fast, Jenna could feel her body shaking. She had only made it halfway, the connection incomplete. Her energy tried to reach out, but she pulled it back and forced it in to make the connection.
Jenna’s heart stuttered and seemed to be unable to right its rhythm, and still, she pushed. The words only a little more chanting in her mind. She could see how close she was. Pouring everything she had left into her energy, Jenna hadn’t realized she let her shields drop. Strings of immense energy pulsed through her body like lightning. With sweat dripping from her brow, Jenna focused and filtered as much of the energy as she could to finish the connection. It took what little she had left to force her hands away.
Pain engulfed her, the energy of the Gemini too much for her body and gift to handle. She couldn’t release it because of the damage it could cause Jacks, all she could do was absorb it. Falling to her knees, she continued to draw the power. Her body felt like it was covered in lava, the pain so brutal, she couldn’t breathe. Reaching up, she grabbed the sides of her head, fearing it would crack open at any moment.
Knowing this was the end, Jenna needed to do one more thing and it took all the energy she had left, finding the bond between her and Cash she tugged, scratched, and pulled with everything she had left until the binds started to unravel. She would give him back his life, he would be able to move on with Jessie or anyone else he chose, not having to settle for second best. Lights and dots flashed behind her eyes, and Jenna knew this was it. She whispered, “I’m sorry,” then she just let go.