Page 14 of Their Haunted Hearts (Detectives Kane and Alton #27)

Thirteen

As they drove to the haunted house, Jenna called Raya to check on the boys.

Tauri would be at school and he loved being there, but she missed being home with Jackson and needed to connect each day.

Her baby was still a little boy and knowing all was well and he was happy was important.

She disconnected and squeezed Kane’s leg.

“He’s fine as usual. I’m surprised he is so calm.

” She smiled at him. “He takes after you.”

Taking a deep breath, she gathered her courage. “The Beast is a safe place for us to talk, isn’t it, and our phones and electronics are safe too, right?”

“What’s wrong, Jenna? You know you can ask me anything?” Kane flicked her a glance. “Yeah, it’s very safe. Ask away.”

A secret was gnawing at her and she couldn’t live with it any longer.

The night she’d overheard Kane speaking to Jackson and telling him information she should never know.

Keeping it from Kane for so long was eating her up.

She hated not being truthful with him. “You know you can trust me, right? You should know that even if I was tortured, I’d never give you up. ”

“Where is this leading, Jenna?” Kane pulled the truck off the road and turned in his seat to stare at her.

“It’s not about you being tortured. I know you could endure that if necessary.

You’ve been trained to withstand it but that’s not how my enemies act.

They’d hurt the kids until you broke. That’s what these people do.

” He ran a hand down his face and his eyes seemed to bore into her soul. “What have you done?”

Frightened, she took in his anguished expression. “I haven’t done anything but I need to tell you something. I can’t keep it to myself any longer. I’ve been deceiving you.”

“That’s impossible.” Kane shook his head.

Jenna swallowed hard. This wasn’t going to be easy. “I have and I’m sorry, but you need to know.”

Kane stared at her, his face like granite. “I never thought I’d hear a word like deceive come from your lips, Jenna.”

This was the closest she’d ever seen Kane get to becoming angry with her and she swallowed the lump in her throat.

“I overheard you talking to Jackson when he was a newborn. You told him your name and the name of your father and grandfather. I’ve been afraid to tell you in case you told Wolfe and he took you away from us.

I know your true name, Dave. I’m so sorry. ”

“You do, huh?” Kane shook his head.

When Kane pulled out his phone, Jenna panicked. “Please don’t call Wolfe. I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”

“Look.” Kane held the phone in front of her nose.

“There are approximately two hundred and seventy-three thousand males with the name Jackson in the USA alone, so finding me would be difficult. Okay, so it’s my first name and you need to forget it, but you don’t know my last name, do you?

It’s not Daniel, and my middle name isn’t Daniel.

I suggested the name Jackson in honor of my favorite uncle.

In the military I was identified by my rank, initial, and last name.

In the field by a code name.” He leaned over and kissed her.

“I’m glad you told me. Next time, don’t wait so long.

It’s all good, but remember, I’m Dave now.

I’ve never responded to Jackson—it was always Junior—but keep that information away from Raven or he’ll get suspicious. ”

Heart pounding, she blew out a long breath. “So, we’re good?”

“Yeah, but you had me worried there for a time.” Kane pulled the truck back onto the highway. “I can’t believe it took you fifteen months to get the courage to tell me.” He smiled at her. “Am I such an ogre?”

Jenna shook her head. “No, but I understand the implications and couldn’t stand the thought of losing you. I know you’d leave to protect me and the boys. I’m sorry.”

“I wouldn’t leave you and the boys. I’d rather tear out my soul.

” Kane squeezed her hand. “We’d relocate, is all.

Maybe find an island and spend the rest of our lives on the beach.

Come what may, you’re stuck with me.” He shook his head slowly.

“You pick the darndest times to confess. We’re on our way to a crime scene. What made you tell me this now?”

Relieved, Jenna leaned back in her seat. Her heart still pounded from his reaction. “It’s hard to get you alone, and in bed at night isn’t the place. I figured you’d get mad, pack your bags and leave, and I’d never see you again. You said that once, remember?”

“I do. If it were just the two of us, they’d split us up and we’d go through what we did before.

” He glanced at her and then moved his gaze back to the highway.

“Not having me near you would keep you safe. As a couple, you’d be the liability they’d exploit to get to me.

That’s not my opinion; that’s a fact.” He shook his head.

“It would be tough but we’d be alive and we wouldn’t really have a choice.

The thing is, now we’re a family unit we’d be harder to relocate.

We could move overseas but I’d be inclined to stand my ground and fight it out.

Think about it. We take on serial killers all the time.

We have a specialist team and a fortified home.

The team wouldn’t need to know who the threat is…

as in wanting me for the bounty, they’d just see a threat.

We’d take them down and a cleanup crew would be all over it. There would be no one to report back.”

Pushing both hands through her hair, Jenna looked at him. “Someone would have sent them here. None of them work alone.”

“That’s what a cleanup crew is for, Jenna.

” He sighed. “They have their ways. Maybe they use the assassin’s phone to message his boss, saying the sighting here wasn’t me but he’s tracked me to another town miles from here.

Then his body shows in a different town.

Things like that.” He cleared his throat.

“Please stop worrying about this. If there had been any suspicious movements, I’d know.

Right now, I need you to focus on the case.

This killer is nasty and the team is relying on you. ”

Shaking the disturbing scenarios from her mind, Jenna nodded. “I’ll be fine. I hope Wolfe is there by now.” She looked at him. “We’ll process the scene, and when we’re done, I’m taking a break. I figure Raven will be needing one too. We can discuss our findings over lunch.”

“That sounds like a plan.” Kane pulled the Beast’s nose in to the curb outside the haunted house. “It looks like the gang’s all here.”