Blake, Abby - Soldier [Altered Destinies 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read Free Page B

her nightmares, simply wasn’t. They were going above and beyond for this case, and he couldn’t really explain why.
    Jason just watched him, no expression on his face, until Rick ranted himself out and sat down beside Zane.
    “I need to make a couple of phone calls. In the meanwhile, I want you both to clean up. Put all of your clothes and shoes in these bags. There’s a shower over there. Scrub, wash, rinse, scrub again. Make sure you get every drop of Jenna’s blood off you. I’ll get one of the nurses to grab you a set of hospital scrubs each. I want to make sure that if Jenna’s influence is somehow connected to her blood, that we at least have that under control. Agreed?”
    Rick saw Zane nod the same time he did. It had been a long time since he’d felt so vulnerable, and perversely, he was at least relieved to have his partner in the same boat. Somehow, with a lifetime of friendship to fall back on, it was good to know someone understood exactly how he was feeling.

    * * * *

    Jenna struggled toward consciousness. The fog felt thicker, heavier, but somehow she had to find her way through. Her babies needed her. Finally, she managed to open her eyes against the harsh light and strange antiseptic smell. Hospital?
    She gasped as memories crashed over her—the gunshots, the intense pain, the desperate journey to Jason’s home, the exhaustion, and finally the black fog that had held her prisoner. She moved carefully, almost surprised to have woken at all. She had only a vague recollection of reaching the apartment before she was overwhelmed by the pain and blood loss.
    Moving cautiously, Jenna flexed her arms and tried to shift slightly in the hopes of identifying how badly she was injured. She ground her back teeth together, determined not to cry out at the pain she knew would follow.
    She almost cried out at the lack of pain, at the feeling of never having been shot. Had she dreamed it? Was this another of the Professor’s experiments? Where the hell was she?
    “You’re in a hospital, Jenna.” The calm, quiet voice came from her left, and she quickly swung her head in that direction, a little shocked to hear a woman’s voice. None of the Professor’s assistants were women.
    It was almost like looking into a mirror. What the fuck? Next time the Professor came near her she was going to tear him apart with her bare hands. What sort of experiment could he be running that would make her imagine that she’d been shot or that her babies had survived their birth even though she knew otherwise? Why would she be seeing her own face on another woman?
    “Jenna,” the woman said kindly. “I know this must be pretty strange. I remember how I felt when Gabe and Rafe finally rescued me.”
    “Rescued? Rescued from what? Who the fuck are you?”
    “I am the reason you’re not strapped down to that bed. Stop being such a bitch and listen to what I have to say.” Wow, it wasn’t just like looking in a mirror. It was almost like listening to a recording, too. Every inflection, every facial movement was exactly the same. Had the Professor perfected cloning now? She knew he’d considered it but didn’t think he’d made too much progress in that field.
    “Are we calm yet?” the woman asked in such a smug, arrogant voice that Jenna wanted to leap up and hit her. Damn, wouldn’t that be interesting? Right now, she was essentially contemplating beating the shit out of herself. The Professor had outdone himself this time, and as soon as he walked through that door, he was going to understand what it felt like to have his world pulled out from under him. Fucking egghead.
    “No, I’m not fucking calm. I’m fucking pissed. Where is he? The Professor has gone too far this time, and I would like to lodge a formal fucking protest with my fists.”
    A cynical laugh came from the clone-woman sitting beside her.
    “Trust me, sister, I would happily hold that bastard down while you did it, but you’re in an Agency