Page 53 of Speechless
Pleased with the image, she relaxed fully into his body, her faith in him absolute. Mouthing her thumb, she watched the doorway through half-lidded lashes. Connor said the agent wasn’t a bad man; if he believed that, she trusted his instincts.
“My little girl likes her juice,” Hadley commented as he came back into the room, two steaming mugs gripped in one hand and a glass of OJ in the other. “The sugar’s good when they’ve had a shock. Hope you don’t mind.”
“She likes juice. She’s a good girl.” Connor’s lips brushed her hair.
“I can see that.” Hadley’s eyes asked a question as he handed Connor the glass, then the mug when he placed them carefully on the table beside his chair. Content to abide by Connor’s decision, he situated himself back on the couch and lost all trace of the agent and gained an edge not unlike Daddy’s. “My little girl likes to help people. Would you like to know what she does, Jenna?”
She peeked curiously, fascinated by the change in the agent. In one respect, he reminded her eerily of Sire, the almost reptilian shedding of one personality into another. But Sire only morphed from cruel to vicious to murderous sadist; there was nothing to spread out his poison.
The man on the couch mirrored Connor’s body language, easy yet protective. He was another warrior, she realized. With a bow in his hand instead of a sword, and a quiver of arrows down his back.
Two warriors joining forces for her.
Courage and valor couldn’t stand strong with venom eating away the base of them. Eventually, they would corrode, tumbling into the abyss to join her in the dark, or they would evolveintothe dark. Become it, embrace it, be the heart of it like Sire had become.
“My girl hasn’t had your hardships, Jenna. There’s not many who can say they have. But she—Delilah—is a good person, just like you. Her biggest wish is to help girls like you find their way in life after they survive hell. Daddy rescues them, Delilah does the hard work and puts them back on track.”
Still listening, Jenna studied his face, drawn to the honest earnestness he displayed. He had a cadence to his voice, slow and deep, and she just knew he’d be calm no matter what calamity happened.
“I think you’re someone who likes to help when she can. Would you help me, Jenna?”
Submissive ears pricked. She liked being useful, although she hated how Sire made her do things under duress. Pleasing people, especially Connor and Sarah, gave her a warm feeling way down deep in her tummy. She looked at Connor, gauging his reaction.
“Do you want to help?” he asked quietly.
Jenna nodded. The adult part of her brain she sheltered behind her little facade objected, well aware of what was needed to help. Stripping her down to the bare bones of the knowledge she contained about the man who terrorized her dreams, whose scars embedded in her flesh down to the soul.
Hadley beamed at her. “Would you mind if I got my toys out, Jenna?”
Connor’s hand rubbed her thigh as Hadley reached inside his jacket pocket, pulled out a palm-sized tablet and his phone. “Came prepared for a friendly visit, Agent.”
“Hazards of the job, Doc. Fully prepared at all times, on duty or off.”
Jenna watched him press buttons with long fingers. Connor had long fingers as well, with broad palms. Magic hands that made her feel good when she was upset, soothed away pain and fear with confidence.
Sire had heavy hands. Not thick and clumsy, but he wielded them without thought. No, that wasn’t true. He took great delight in considering just how to use them to maximize his desired effect.
Particularly when he was killing people.
She shuddered.
“Could you pass me that duvet?” Connor asked the agent, tugging her firmly against him as the tremor rippled through her from head to toe. He wrapped it around her, leaving half hanging over the recliner arm, but ensuring she was snuggled tight. “You might not get it all today, Hadley.”
“Honestly, I’ll take what she can give me. Dribs and drabs are fine. This isn’t about breaking her into pieces, Connor. She’s the only real lead I’ve got to take this fucker down.”
Jenna giggled to herself. Such bad language.
“Well, that’s a pretty sound. Ready if you are, Doc.”
“Tread carefully,” Connor warned. “She struggles enough with nightmares; this could open the floodgates.”
Hadley nodded and pressed a button on his phone. He stated the date and time, their location and the people in the room. Some jibber-jabber about case numbers which Jenna didn’t pay much mind to, and he described her current condition asexhibiting childlike regression.
“Jenna, can you tell me where you were before you came into Connor’s care?”
Hell, she thought as the word fell from her lips, then, “Shed.”
“You were kept in a shed? Can you describe it for me?”