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Annoyed, she pulled it back and cradled it beneath her breasts. She didn’t know exactly what was going on or what they intended, but she knew she didn’t like it. Her eyes landed on the silver tray and widened. Everything snapped out of that horrible blurry glaze and into clear focus.
“Well if she’s a Jane Doe,” the woman said quietly as she opened a cupboard door. “You could call her Jane for the moment.”
Connor tilted his head and studied her carefully. “I don’t think she’s a Jane, Sarah. We’ll think of something. A name that suits her until we know her real one.” He made a soft, considering sound. “I quite like Jenna.”
Something inside her perked its head up in interest. She met his gray eyes for a second before she dropped her gaze to his hands. But her excitement at having a name, of beingsomebody, couldn’t quite be contained. She placed her hand on his for just a moment, then snatched it away again.
Jen-nah.
“I think she likes it, Sarah. Job well done,” he said with a laugh in his voice. He stroked his hand down her arm until he reached her fingers. “Hello, Jenna.”
She smiled at him shyly.
With his eyes on hers, holding her captive in the stormy gray, Connor spoke in a quiet voice. Soft enough, Jenna realized with a frown, for her to ignore the words in favor of the wonderful distraction of his eyes.
The other woman, Sarah, picked something up off the metal tray and handed it to him. Efficient in every movement, she came around and cupped a small hand under the protruding joint of Jenna’s elbow before deftly wrapping an elastic band around the bicep and tightening it.
Jenna shifted uncomfortably, trying to take her limb back under her control, but between the couple holding her, there was nowhere to go.
“Once this goes in, baby, you won’t know a thing. I’m not giving you a heavy dose, just enough to let you float while we get the painful parts out of the way.” Connor ran a fingertip over the crook of her arm, over and over again, as light as a butterfly.
She swung out when he picked the syringe up. Her pathetically bony fist bounced harmlessly off his shoulder, and panicked, she hit him again.
“Relax, Jenna. You don’t need to fight me, I swear.”
The needle struck her vein with precision, so smoothly she barely felt a scratch. But she knew, sheknewher time was up when her body went suddenly limp and pitched forward into Connor’s arms. Her mind protested, surrendered, protested and capitulated.
“There we go, baby. That’s it, let everything go. Good girl,” Connor whispered to her as her eyes fluttered closed. “I’ll see you in a little while. Rest now.”
Her face pressed into the side of his neck and every breath she took drew his scent inside her. She hovered beneath the heavy weight of whatever they’d given her, but she was still aware.
“Okay, Sarah, let’s get her comfortable. Her back needs treating but we’ll see to her front first. No point applying meds to her back only to have them rub off when we attend to the rest.” Connor’s voice was low, firm.
Jenna tried to cling to him as he stripped her of the blanket, laid her down on the table, but her hands and fingers wouldn’t work. She cringed at the feel of hands on her exposed body.
As the warmth of him faded from her skin, she felt a tear slide down her temple.
Chapter Two
“When you’ve got the video recorder up and running, I’d like you to start the pelvic exam, Sarah. I’m going to take care of her vitals, get some photos. Cal will want a rape kit doing, and I want the full range of swabs for testing. If they’ve hurt her sexually, if they’ve passed on STIs or STDs, we need to get on top of them.”
His nurse gave him the fisheye. “Are you sure she’s out, Connor? I’ve been a nurse a few years and I’ve never known a patient cry under sedation.”
“I’ve given her all I can for the moment. Her body weight is well below par. Giving her an additional dose might send her deeper than her body can handle.” He placed his hand gently on Jenna’s forehead. “We’ll just have to play it by ear. Start the pelvic exam, and we’ll see how far we get before she comes around. What’s in her system should be enough to keep her out.”
Even as he said it, he doubted his own words. Realistically, he was right. Jenna’s low body weight meant her systemshouldbe controlled easily by a low dose of sedative. But something niggled at him and left him uncomfortable.
Dutifully, he checked her breathing and heart rate, speaking loud and clear for the video record. Both suggested his patient was well under the sedative and far away from any fear or pain, much to his relief. He gave a somewhat cold and clinical description of the marks vandalizing the front of her body, the horrific brand above her breast.
His protective side had already kicked into gear, he knew that much. From the moment she’d clung by her fingertips to his leg, that instinct had exploded into life. Seeing what had been done to her, what she’d suffered through at the hands of another, was almost enough to send him into an animalistic rage on Jenna’s behalf.
“No sexual assault,” Sarah murmured from between their patient’s upraised knees. Her tone carried a note of surprise that mirrored Connor’s own shock.
“Are you sure?”
“No vaginal or anal damage. Her hymen is still intact,” Sarah said in a low voice. “Whatever they’ve done to her has all been physical and mental as far as I can tell. She might tell you different if—when—she can talk.”
That just didn’t make sense. Why have a beautiful young woman at your mercy and do nothing but beat and torture her? Surely if a person was that sadistic, rape and sodomy wasn’t a short step behind.
