Page 30 of Now or Never
Chapter Twelve
Present day
“Want to tell me what’s going on?” Jax waited until they were almost back to the RV park before he spoke. Of course, he wanted to talk about it. She wasn’t going to begrudge him for caring about her, whether it was easy for her to face this or not.
“The president of Croatia’s life is in danger, and somehow that’s my business?”
“No, I mean with Bruce.” Jax glanced over for a second, then turned the corner into the RV park. Tucked behind a neighborhood, behind fenced yards and single-story houses. Not her favorite destination to stay, but it got them close to the places they needed to be to work the case.
Right now, Megan Tiller’s life was ending in that hospital room, and sticking around might mean Kenna and the baby died as well. Or Jax. For all she knew, they could’ve been exposed to something. Only the truth of what she knew aboutDominatuskept her from descending into the undertow of fear that she was also a target.
“Bruce.” Kenna shook her head. “I just don’t want to talk to him.” That was true enough. She couldn’t even think the rest of it, let alone say it out loud. “I happen to know for a fact that the president of Croatia is part ofDominatus. Why would I care that someone is trying to kill him? If they get into a war, that’s less people we need to worry about.”
“When did you become heartless?”
“Right around the time they kidnapped me and kept me locked up for weeks, performed stress tests on the baby, and repeatedly tried to reprogram my brain to believe what they believe.”
Jax jammed his foot on the brake, and the car suddenly came to a stop. She reached out her hand and braced against the glove compartment.
“I’m sorry.” Kenna winced. “I didn’t want to say that. I don’t know why I did.” She squeezed her eyes shut for a second. “I don’t know if I’m me, or someone else they manipulated me into. I don’t know if I’m saying what I want to say, or if they’ve rewired my brain.”
Now that she’d started talking, more was flowing.
He sighed. “You’ve been quiet since I got you back.”
She didn’t look at him. “You were there. You know what it was like in that place.”
Neither of them moved.
“And they did surgery on me,” Jax said, “so I’m supposed to be grateful. Like them fixing your arms.” A smidge of bitterness leaked through his tone. “Yes, I know what it was like. I can’t possibly understand what you and the baby went through. I have you back—both of you. I’m trying to be grateful for that, but I can’t help wondering when something will happen.”
“Like I’m going to suddenly turn into a robot. Or lose the—” She couldn’t even finish saying it. Kenna laid both hands on her abdomen. “We have to be careful who we trust. Where we go. But how can I live in a bunker for the next thirty years just to keep us all safe? That’s not a life. Especially not if at any moment I’m going to cough and there will be blood on my hand and…”
Jax reached over and unclipped her seatbelt. “Let’s go inside.” He climbed out and came around, opening the door for her. Held her hand, leading her to the RV.
“We need to get another dog.” She wanted to be greeted at the door. She needed the energy and love a puppy brought.
Jax smiled at her. “Come on.”
He led her to the bedroom, and she kicked off her shoes.
Kenna lay down on the covers and tugged the pillow over, tears leaking from the corner of her eye. “You can’t tell me it’s going to be fine.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “You don’t know that.”
He gathered her close, his arms around her. “Bruce isn’t going to betray us. There’s a limited number of people we can trust, but he’s on the list.”
“They told me…”
Jax rubbed a hand between her shoulder blades, a comforting gesture that enabled her to let go of a full breath. “What did they tell you?”
She opened her eyes and stared at his T-shirt. “He used to beDominatus.He never said that to us. He never even mentioned them. He didn’t tell us he had any connection to them.” Her breath hitched in her throat, and she had to gasp in air.
Bruce’s former partner, the one who’d betrayed him, had beenDominatus.Maybe not back then but definitely recently. But Bruce?
“You’re not facing any of this alone, Kenna.” He paused a second. “Whatever happens, we all face it as a family.”
She squeezed her eyes closed again. “I can see it all, every time I shut my eyes. Every time I sleep. I can hear their voices. I can feel how cold it was, out there on that buoy. I go to sleep wondering if I’m going to wake up back there, and all of this has been a dream.”
“They broke you down.”
