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“I think it’ll hurt, you and them, to acknowledge who you were and why she’s gone. It’ll be hard for them to come to terms with what’s been done to you. But they’re going to look into your eyes, baby, these goddamn eyes I adore, and they’re going to see some part of her in you and know you’re one and the same. Because they’re not idiots, they’re still going to love you.”
“I only want to love you.”
Connor’s heart swelled. He wouldn’t mind being the only one she loved, but denying her heritage, the people who’d loved her long before he’d laid eyes on her, was a disservice to everyone involved in this fiasco. Sire had torn apart families, taken mothers from husbands and sons, daughters from parents and siblings. Mothers, daughters, wives, sisters…none of them had been safe from his reach, Jenna included.
But of all the ones taken, all the lives thoughtlessly ended, Jenna had survived him. They owed it to the fallen women and their families to at least give Jenna the opportunity to be reunited with her own.
“Trouble is, baby, your heart’s just too damn big to love just me.” He kissed her gently, coaxing her sorry mood into something a fraction lighter. “Now me? My heart’s so small, there’s only room for you.”
“I love you, Connor.”
“I love you too, Jenna.” Another kiss, hotter and sweeter, before he let her slide down his body. They both shivered at the contact. “Let’s go bite the bullet, baby. It’s been coming long enough.”
Luna whined and padded over, nudging her nose into Jenna’s hand. Connor turned to gather both mugs in one hand, then linked his fingers through hers, leading her into the living room.
She stopped him before they reached the threshold. “Tonight, Connor.”
“What’s tonight?”
She rubbed her toes along the carpet, flushing with color that no longer looked out of place on her face. “I’d like to be with you tonight. Properly. All the way with you.”
Well shit, now his cock was awake, primed for action. He decided it would be insulting to question her, and he sure as fuck wasn’t about to reject her. It was her choice, a more well-informed one than before, and he wouldn’t argue it. “Okay. If that’s what you want, tonight’s the night.”
She nodded once, bit her lip, and tightened her fingers through his.
Assuming they were ready, Connor walked into the room, Jenna beside him and the dog at their heels. He caught Hadley’s look of delight as he saw Luna and offered the mug of black coffee before taking Jenna to the recliner. With her snugly curled on his lap, he focused his attention on the agent.
“I love that fucking dog,” Hadley murmured, staring at her with envy.
Luna dropped into her position beside the recliner, rolling onto her side. As long as she was near Jenna, she was happy.
“Okay, so I’m guessing you both know why I’m here. I’m sorry it’s taken so long—there was a mix-up with samples in the lab, and some went missing. We’ve had evidence tampered with, case files walk, and photographic evidence destroyed.” A dark expression crossed over Hadley’s face. “Since news of Jenna hit the bureau, things have been going wrong left, right and center. Two lab techs were arrested and interrogated on suspicion of several crimes relating to these obstructions, and it’s likely both will be charged with aiding and abetting Sire.”
Connor’s mouth dropped open. “The fucker got to people in the FBI?”
“We’re beginning to believe he can get to whoever he needs to in order to keep up his…lifestyle. The two individuals lawyered up quickly, and shut their mouths like clams, so there’s no positive confirmation Sire is behind the damage, but it’s my gut instinct he’s involved.”
His first thought was security. “You’ve got men in town. Who’s to say they aren’t on his goddamn payroll, keeping tabs on Jenna?”
Hadley nodded. “My team went through strict screening before being assigned to this case. I personally read each file and selected the teambeforethe screening. I trust them implicitly.” He inclined his head. “But for the sake of safety, the screens are being run again, deeper than before. I’m positive they’ll come back clean.”
Connor ran his fingers through Jenna’s hair and waited.
“My team narrowed the search down to three missing females matching Jenna’s description. One from New York, one from Texas, and the last one from Colorado. DNA testing eliminated the Texan and the New York female. It also confirmed Jenna as the missing woman from Colorado.”
Silence fell over the room. Hadley let it ride for a few moments as though prepared to field a barrage of questions, then continued. “Penelope Violet Abernathy, of Denver, Colorado, disappeared from a mall three years ago this coming March.”
Penelope. Connor rubbed his neck. Penny? Somehow the name just didn’t sit right, didn’t suit her. Probably because she was and would always be Jenna to him.
“You’ll be twenty-seven on April fifteenth,” he continued gently. He leaned forward and slid a folder off the pile he’d stacked neatly on the coffee table, opening it up to take a photo from inside. He passed it to Connor. “You were a solid student in high school and college. Apparently, you love books, have an apartment full of them. You worked in a library in downtown Denver.”
Connor studied the photograph, couldn’t deny the woman looking at him with radiant green eyes was Jenna. Penelope. She was vibrant, glowing with that happiness some people possessed naturally, and the smile beaming at him was wide and genuine. Her hair was a riot of blonde waves curling down her back, and her face was full, just a touch of the teenager she’d been still remaining around the eyes.
Young and carefree, smiling earnestly at whoever was behind the camera.
Hadley handed over another photo, and this one took Connor’s breath away. He heard Jenna’s breath hitch, soothed her as he took in the family portrait. God, what a portrait.
A tall, silver-haired guy stood in the middle of the group with his arm slung around the shoulders of Jenna’s spitting image. Three small children no older than two years were sat on a lawn, surrounded by six older kids. Around the middle-aged couple, four couples were posed.
