This must be why Mom touched Dad when he’d get so upset with us kids.
Zan allowed himself a moment to marvel at this bit of information before he continued with his story. “It was. I’d lost what I barely remembered, but it still hurt. Then something happened when I was twenty-six that gave me hope. I was coming back from a mis...trip when this woman ran up to me, laughing, at the airport. I was exhausted and wasn’t really paying attention, until she called me Dean.” He pointed the knife at Jackie. “Now that stopped me in my tracks. When I turned, she apologized, said I wasn’t who she thought but that I looked so much like him we could be brothers. Before I could even comprehend what was happening, she disappeared into the crowd.”
Zan focused his gaze directly on Jackie, his next words unmistakable in their double meaning. “I lost my chance at finding my brother then. That experience taught me to never again hesitate when what I want is within my grasp.”
Jackie cautiously eased back into her chair, her expression not unlike prey caught in a trap.
“So now you know your bro’s alive.” Ben broke the invisible connection by stepping into his line of sight and picking up the chopped potatoes. “Why’d it take so many years to locate him— since I guess you’re older than twenty-six?”
Unconsciously, Zan twirled the knife in his right hand. “All I had was a first name and the fact he looked like me. I don’t remember a last name, though now I know that Kinigos was the pack name. Using what little I knew, I began searching various photo IDs, filtering for first name Dean and green eyes.” His eyes were hot and frustrated. “You want to know how many men named Dean who have green eyes live in the United States alone?”
Ben pressed his lips together. “Not really. But I would like to know how you got access to that kind of information.”
Oops.
He didn’t lie when he said, “I have military access to all kinds of data.”
“So you’re in the military? What branch?” Ben casually asked as he placed the potatoes in a pan to fry up.
“A special one.” Zan’s attention turned back to Jackie and caught her looking at the tattoo on his shoulder through narrowed eyes. Was she wondering if the ink represented his affiliation? Because he would be happy to tell her all about it when they were alone.
Which had him thinking. His work kept him out of the country for unknown periods of time and in places Jackie couldn’t, or safely shouldn’t, go. If he were to continue working for LunaWatch, he’d have to limit his assignments. Zan already didn’t like the idea of being gone from Jackie for extended periods of time.
Stunned by that revelation, Zan slouched in the chair. They hadn’t known each other for twenty-four hours and already he was thinking about their future. Together. This woman who not only had an established medical practice in the mountains of Colorado, she was an integral part of the shifter pack that resided there as well. A pack that was run by his brother. Even if Jackie miraculously agreed to change her life around for him and move to Virginia, he didn’t want to continue living in Russell’s home. But then not doing so would leave Jackie alone and vulnerable when he was gone. At least if they lived in the mansion, Jackie would have Russell’s mate, Marion, to keep her company.
“That’s how you found Dean?”
Jackie’s question brought Zan back from his whirring thoughts. It took him a moment to regroup. “No. Two pals of mine were here back in April, at some fair or something. At any rate, Scott, a techno-wizz, was messing around with his new phone, snapping pictures. One was of Dean. When I saw it for the first time last Thursday I finally had visual confirmation, a time frame, and location. And here I am.”
“Well thank God you never stopped looking.” Jackie said.
“God is a myth,” Ben murmured as he broke eggs into a large bowl.
“So are werewolves, yet here you are,” Jackie fired back. The smug smile on Ben’s lips made Zan suspicious that the by-play was a common occurrence. Zan fought against a flare of jealousy. He wanted to have that kind of connection with Jackie.
Hold on dammit, his brain screamed. This is going way to fast.
His wolf snarled in disagreement. Not fast enough. Mate. Take. Claim. Now!
“And what in the world are you doing cooking up all my eggs?”
“Company’s coming.” Ben retorted.
Jackie’s brows drew together in confusion. “I already have company and the three of us aren’t going to eat two dozen eggs. Speaking of which, I didn’t have two dozen eggs. When did you get those?”
Ben only smiled again. “Be a dear and get the doorbell.”