Page 31

Chapter Thirty-One

K enna woke up warm again. Which wasn’t good last time, so she came awake far too fast. Sitting up in a hospital bed. But with a heavy weight across her front that she had to push against.

“Whoa, whoa. It’s just me.”

She held on to his sleeve, lying down again so she had to roll slightly toward him and look up. “Did we get married? Is that why you’re in bed with me?”

He grinned. Fully clothed, on top of the blanket. So she guessed the answer was no. He smiled slightly. “They said they were bringing me a chair, but it’s been a couple of hours, so I figure they forgot. If I ask, they might kick me out because visiting hours are over.”

Kenna moved her arm and realized she had an IV needle in her elbow. She looked at the clear bag hanging on the hook. It would be easier to bury her head in the sand and not deal with the hard emotions, but doing that wasn’t going to get her answers to any of her questions.

She ducked her head and pressed her forehead against his shirt, wanting to wrap her arms around him. Stay there forever.

His fingers slid into her hair, and he held on to her.

“You got shot.” Her ears still hurt. “I can hear now.”

“I figured the flash-bang would knock you out.”

“I saw it coming and hid behind Woodford.” Talking was tiring her out. “Tell me all of it. Tell me you got Amara and Zeyla.”

“Ramon and Stairns covered that part. They got your location from the necklace.” He shifted. “I don’t know where it went, but when we find it, we’re keeping that thing because it saved your life.”

She agreed. “They’re okay?”

“Zeyla is here in the hospital. She’s in a bad way, and your mom is with her.”

Kenna let out a long breath.

“Ramon is fine. Stairns got grazed. They found Bruce nearly dead in a parking lot.”

Her hands tightened on his shirt.

“He’s alive, but it’s critical. He lost a lot of blood.” Jax dipped his head. “Did he betray us?”

“I don’t know. I need to figure it out in my head, but I can’t do that right now.”

“Okay. Get some sleep?”

Kenna asked, “Your mom and sister are okay?”

“They’ll be okay.”

“And your dad?”

“He’s with Miller.”

“There are more loose ends. People. Parts of this. So much more.”

“And we’ll tackle all of it together. Okay?”

Kenna nodded against his chest. Part of that was what they’d done to her when she had been unconscious. She’d taken a pregnancy test before in her life, and it had been positive. She’d lost that baby. If she was pregnant again, she would deal with the change in direction her life would take. In the end, the answer was that simple. She’d escaped, and her baby would live free of the Dominatus . Not captive. Not bred for their purposes.

She needed to talk it over with someone, and the best person might not be Jax. He was just a little too close to the whole thing. “I need my ring.”

He let out a breath that sounded like a note of humor. “Where did you leave it?”

“My dresser in the RV.”

“I’ll have Maizie bring it when she comes back. She and Ramon were working with Langford on picking apart Woodford’s life so they can prove a tie to the judge. The one that was going to perform the wedding…he was caught by one of the Denver FBI agents, but he’s claiming he was coerced.”

“I guess he might’ve been, but he didn’t act like it.”

“They need to prove it if we’re ever going to set the record straight about what’s going on.”

Kenna let out a long sigh.

He chuckled. “I know. The whole thing sounds exhausting. It’s been a long week, so close your eyes, and I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“For saving me, I mean.”

He said, “You’re the one who saved me. You killed Woodford. With…whatever that knife was.”

“Bruce gave it to me. I have no idea.”

“Oh. I think I know.”

Kenna shook her head. “What do you mean?”

“We had a tracker on you. We followed you from the cabin to the courthouse, the whole way.”

“I had the necklace.” She frowned. “I turned it off to save the battery, but I turned it back on?” She tried to think if she’d had it at the courthouse but couldn’t remember exactly. All of it was so foggy. And terrifying.

Jax rubbed a hand up and down the outside of her arm, infusing her with more of his warmth. “Maizie said the signal was being blocked. We tracked you with that pen…knife…thing.”

“Then we owe Bruce.”

“We never would have found you otherwise,” Jax said. “I’ll be praying he pulls through.”

“When I’m up and back to work, I’m going to help him figure out what happened when he got burned and if there’s a debt he needs to pay back.”

“Revenge. Sounds fun.”

She lifted her chin and looked at him.

“You think I’m leaving again?”

Given the expression on his face, she guessed the answer to that rhetorical question was no. “I’m feeling the sudden urge to spend some time in Phoenix.”

“Your team can have the RV at a campsite. You’ll be at my house.”

“How presumptuous.”

“Get used to it. I’m not feeling the need to be apart for a while . We’ve got cases to work, a revenge plan to enact, and…some other things.”

She had no idea what to guess first. None of it would be unpleasant. “Good thing I didn’t just marry some crazy senator from Colorado, then.”

“We’re not joking about that for at least ten years.”

“Good to know.” A yawn overtook her, and she relaxed after it. Closed her eyes.

“Go to sleep.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

But she did.

For some time to come, Kenna wasn’t going to wake up without panicking at first. Wondering if she would see those people standing over her bed. Wondering if being rescued had been a dream. That Jax wasn’t here. That she was still captive, and the world hadn’t been put back to rights by her team. Her friends. Her family.

But Jax wasn’t here.

She shifted in the hospital bed and saw that the IV had been removed. Kenna started to sit up.

“I’ll help you.” Amara moved to the bedside, pressed the button to raise the head of the bed, and fluffed Kenna’s pillow. “It’s nice to be able to do something.”

“How is she?”

Amara smoothed down the blanket over Kenna. “How are you ?”

“Answer my question first.”

“Your father always avoided the painful subject in favor of something else. Like working a case.”

Kenna pressed her lips together.

Amara sighed. “Thank you for sending your friends. I know you weren’t able to organize it, but they came to us because of you.”

“They’re good people.” She wanted to hug them, but she also needed more information. Answers. And Jax. Not necessarily in that order. Jax could come in anytime.

Her engagement ring glinted on her left hand, and she smiled at the sight of it. He must have fetched it, or had Maizie bring it as he’d said, while she was sleeping. He probably thought she wanted time alone with her mother.

“This isn’t over.” She had to say it. Out loud. “At best, we took down one part of their operation.”

“I pulled the plug on the Grand Master.” Her mother looked at her own hands on the rail, grasping the metal as if she needed to cling to it. “Before we left the cabin, I made sure he was dead.”

Kenna laid her hand on her mom’s. “That’s good.”

She lifted her gaze. “I’m sorry for what they did to you.”

The not knowing was terrifying her.

“I know they put something inside you.”

“A baby? Mom, did they impregnate me?” Her voice broke, but she got the words out. “I need to know.”

Amara shook her head. “I don’t know. It’s not the only thing they’re working on, researching, and building in those labs. They don’t just create the next generation and find a surrogate. They are into all kinds of genetic research.”

“So it could be a virus for all we know? I could be patient zero about to start a worldwide plague.”

Amara held her hand. “We don’t know, but we can run some tests.”

Kenna leaned back against the pillow and groaned. “This just gets better and better.”

“Have the doctors tested your blood?”

“For what? We have no idea what they should look for. It’s too early to tell if I’m pregnant.”

“Then have the doctor give you something to prevent pregnancy.”

Kenna let go of her mother’s hand. “I lost a baby once. I’m not killing one just because it didn’t show up as part of a plan.”

“So you’ll just do nothing and let this destroy your life?”

“I guess so.”

The door opened, and Jax glanced between them. “Is everything okay?”

Kenna pressed her lips together.

Amara said, “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

“But you aren’t going to tell me how Zeyla is. And you say I avoid answering questions.” She had to take a breath. Try to settle her racing heart. Was she really pregnant? That might be better than any other alternative.

For now, it would be a “wait and see” exercise. Maybe it could be nothing, Lord. Can I ask for that?

Amara said, “She needs two transplants to be stabilized. Maizie is doing some of the legwork to get things moving along.”

“What does that mean? My people aren’t here to break the law for you.”

“No, only for you.” Amara moved to the end of the bed. “I’m glad you’re all right.”

“Am I? I have no idea.”

Jax stepped into the room. “The two of you can finish this conversation later.”

Kenna sniffed. She didn’t want to cry. It was supposed to be a happy time, with all of them free. They could heal, given the space to do that. Recovery took time.

Amara stopped at the door. “If Zeyla lives, it will be thanks to you and your team.”

Kenna watched her leave.

“Hey.” Jax settled on the edge of the bed.

She shook her head. “Don’t.”

He hesitated. “Don’t what?”

“I don’t know. But don’t.” She held out a hand, braced against his chest. Pushing him away. Holding on. Either. Both. She had no idea. “I could be a ticking time bomb for a contagion. Or I could be carrying the spawn of Dominatus . Or something else entirely. You have no idea. I could kill you.”

He covered her hand with his on his chest. “That’s the point. Whatever happens to you, I’m there for it. Whatever happens to me, you’re there. No matter what, we stick together.”

Tears rolled down her face. “I don’t like crying.”

Jax chuckled. “Laney said she just has to get it out, then she feels better.”

“She’s pretty smart.”

“So are you.”

“Says the guy who always says the right thing.”

He chuckled.

“Where are Maizie, Ramon, and Stairns? I half expected Langford to come by. Or Miller. Is everyone…” She didn’t even know what to think about what they were all doing.

Jax winced.

“Are they afraid they’re gonna get infected? Am I in quarantine or something?” She looked around but didn’t see any infectious disease things. Whatever those would look like.

“It’s not that. The doctor is going to check you out in a little while, and if you’re up to it, you can be released.”

Kenna waited for the rest of it.

He almost seemed nervous.

“What did you do?” She narrowed her eyes.

“It wasn’t just me. Maizie helped.”

“Jax…”

“Elizabeth is back from her trip. It wasn’t a cruise. She went to the small town where her uncle is the pastor of that little country church, and she was setting up the whole thing. But it’s moot now. You’re not well enough. It doesn’t matter.”

“Explain better than that.”

He winced again. “I figured you didn’t want to do the whole invitations, guest list, packed church with people we hardly know. And months of waiting. I didn’t want to wait months. We only needed a pastor, our friends, and a cake.”

“You planned our wedding?”

“It was supposed to be on Saturday. Since you got the dress and all, I figured everyone shows up at the church, and we just do it.” He hesitated. “It was a good plan, but the week got away from us.”

“I’ll say.” She tipped her head to the side. “When were you going to tell me I’m getting married…whatever day is Saturday?”

“Actually, it’s today.”

“Sorry, I was busy nearly marrying someone else.”

He leaned forward and touched his lips to hers. “There’s nothing to apologize for. You saved lives this week, and you stopped some very bad people. There are corrupt cops, feds, and government officials who aren’t operating now because what you did exposed them.”

Kenna said, “You really planned the whole thing?”

He made a face, looking unhappy. Because the plan didn’t work. “Forrest Crosby flew in from Wisconsin. She’s with Maizie in the cafeteria. Ramon took one look at her and nearly tripped over his feet. Your friend Dixie is in Denver with her husband and their son. The Rysons are at a vacation rental in Aspen that I booked for them.”

Kenna swallowed against the lump in her throat. “Thank you.”

“You’re not mad?”

“That you thought of everything, and you were going to make it as easy as possible for me? No, I’m not mad.”

Jax let go of some of his tension. “I wondered a few times if it was going to backfire on me.”

He’d had everyone she cared about come to Colorado so they could get married in a simple service with as little fuss as possible. Giving everything so she could have what she needed, as well as what she wanted.

Kenna said, “I love you, you know.”

Jax smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

“I still have a dress. But it’s dirty.” The reality of her situation settled on her like a shadow over her heart. “I could be pregnant with someone else’s baby, or a hundred other terrible scenarios. It isn’t exactly the start either of us had planned. You probably don’t want?—”

He touched her cheeks. “I want you.”

More tears trailed down her cheeks. He swiped them away with his thumbs. “It could get worse before there’s any better.”

“We never know what might happen. We have to leave the future in God’s hands.”

Kenna said, “Maybe you could help me figure out how to do that.”

“I’d love to.”

He slid his arms around her and kissed her, lingering in a place where she could be swept away in the promise of what was to come. The reassurance of his strength wrapped around her. She’d found home in the person God had brought to her when she needed him most. The future He had prepared for her.

One with Jax by her side.

No matter what happened.