“It was her, dammit!” his sister shouted, fists clenching in anger, her heart thumping like wild as tears ran down her face. “I think I’d know my own sister, no matter how long she’s been missing!”
Connor wanted to tell her she was wrong, that Hannah wasn’t simply missing. She wasdead. “So that’s it? That’s why you came all the way to Dallas? So you could try and convince me that you saw Hannah?”
His sister wiped the tears from her face with a furious hand. “No. I didn’t come to tell you that. I came to bring you home with me so you can help me find her.”
Shit.
“I’m not going back to LA with you,” he said quietly.
“Why not?” she demanded. “I told you I saw her. I can’t believe you’re going to sit here and act like it means nothing.”
“It means exactly nothing!” he growled back, hating that he was shouting at his sister but unable to stop himself. “You didn’t see Hannah because she’s dead. And you’re crazy if you think any different.”
Jenna froze, all the color draining from her face.
Connor caught movement out the corner of his eye, and he saw Kat sit up straighter, like she knew something had just gone very wrong.
Fresh tears spilled down his sister’s face. A split second later, she was slamming her plate on the coffee table. She was off the couch like a shot, grabbing her weekender and purse and heading for the door.
“Jenna, stop!” he called out, jumping to his feet and hurrying after her.
He finally realized what had set her off. The one word his sister had heard too many times.Crazy. He hadn’t meant it that way, but it didn’t really matter at this point.
She jerked away from him and ripped open the door without saying a word.
“Jenna, don’t go,” he begged.
But it was too late. The damage was done. And all Connor could do was watch helplessly as she ran out of the apartment and kept going.
He started to chase after her, but then Kat was at his side, her hand on his arm. “If you follow her, she’ll only run faster. You have to let her go for now.”
Connor knew Kat was right, but that didn’t make it any easier.
Chapter 18
The compound was quieter than it normally was for a workday as she and Connor slipped through the gate, locking it again behind them. It reminded Kat of those times when she was a feline and she and Connor would come here on the weekends to run the obstacle course together or rappel down one of the training buildings. It had always been fun and relaxing. But as much as Kat would have preferred it, today they weren’t here to run around the obstacle course or slide down the sides of buildings. No, this morning they were getting together with Trevor, Hale, and Rachel to have a videoconference with Davina because she’d found some information on Marko.
As they reached the admin building, Connor took his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the screen, then put it away without saying a word.
“Nothing from Jenna yet?” she asked as he held open the door for her, even though she already knew the answer.
Connor shook his head but didn’t say anything. He’d been unusually quiet since his sister had run out of the apartment the previous day. The conversation between the two of them had been a horrible scene to watch. Like a slow-motion train wreck. As soon as Jenna mentioned seeing Hannah, Kat knew there was no way in hell the evening was going to end well. It had simply been a matter of how big the explosion would be.
The answer to that would benuclear.
When Connor had called his sister crazy, it had been like watching a video of one of those old buildings implode. Jenna’s eyes had first filled with pain, then tears, and finally anger. Five seconds later, she’d left. Kat knew nothing good would come of chasing after her, which was why she’d convinced Connor not to. Going after her would only have pushed the anguished woman farther away—maybe forever.
“I don’t even know where she slept last night,” Connor said, stopping to look at Kat as he closed the door behind them. “I mean, did she get a hotel or drive straight to the airport and leave? Hell, what if she spent the night in her rental car to save money?”
“I’m pretty sure we can rule out that last one,” Kat said.
In some ways, Jenna would never be anything but Connor’s baby sister in his eyes. In his mind, she was still the same little girl she’d been when Hannah had gone missing. Too scared and too damaged to function on her own. That clearly wasn’t who Jenna was now, but Kat doubted Connor would ever realize that.
“Jenna said she had plenty of money from all those overtime hours, so I think it’s safe to say she’s not living in her rental car.”
He nodded. “I guess you’re right. Do you think she went back to LA then?”
His voice was barely above a whisper, and the pain in those words made her heart ache. Connor was fully aware of what he’d done and how badly he’d screwed up. He also knew there might be no way to come back from it.
