the hearts to fortify himself. To reenergize and restrengthen his power. He’s just consumed the essence of himself that was in each and every cardiac muscle in those fucking jars.”
“So we’re back to square one,” Tohr said bitterly.
“Or worse,” Butch warned.
Just hold this up for me—yup, right like that.” As the doctor crooked Jo’s elbow, the female smiled. “I told you I was good with a needle, right?”
“I don’t feel a thing.” Jo shook her head. “I mean, didn’t.”
Doc Jane—as she’d introduced herself—rolled herself back on her stool, and tucked the tube she’d filled into the square pocket of her lab coat. Her dark green eyes were full of compassion, and she moved them back and forth between Jo, who was up on the exam table, and Manny, who was in a chair by the door to the treatment room.
“So, thanks to our Sarah,” the doctor said, “who is a genius researcher and a bit of a genetics wonk, we now have a blood test we can use to determine family relationships.” She smiled at Manny. “As opposed to the old-school ancestor regression, which was very dangerous. As I explained, we’re going to compare both of your samples and see what you have in common. We also have a database we’ve been adding to within the species as a whole. Sarah’s done an amazing job with this project, and it’s really going to help us when it comes to you two. Do you have any questions for me?”
Manny shook his head. “I don’t. Jo?”
Jo had plenty of questions. But not about the test. “I’m good. Thank you.”
The doctor got to her feet. Squeezed Jo’s shoulder. And left.
As the door eased shut, Jo stared at the man who might be her brother, reading the features of his face, trying to see what they shared with her own. When his eyes swung to hers, she flushed and glanced down.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t mean to keep looking at you. I’ve just never been with anyone who I’m related to—or might be related to.”
Manny stretched out his legs and leaned back in his stiff little chair. “That’s understandable.”
Jo blinked quick and tried to remember where he had left off when the doctor had come in. It had been a shock—and a relief—to find out her birth mother had not in fact died. And there was so much else to learn.
“So you were telling me about you—our . . . father?” she prompted.
“Yeah, sorry.” He lowered his forearm and pushed at the cotton ball that had been taped into the crook of his elbow. “Like I said, his name was Robert Bluff. He was a surgeon, and my mom met him at Columbia Presbyterian when she was an ICU nurse. He died in nineteen eighty-three in a car accident. Buried in Pine Grove Cemetery. I can take you to his grave sometime if you like.”
“I would. Please.”
“They were never married or anything. And she never really talked much about him. Somewhere in my stuff back at the house I’ve got some newspaper clippings on him and I’ll show them to you. And I also have one photograph. But that’s it, I’m afraid.”
“And she—our mother—is definitely alive, though?”
“Yes.” Manny cleared his throat. “She lives in Florida. I bought her a house down there a couple of years ago. She’s retired now.”
“Do you think . . . would she . . .” Jo shook her head again and tried to ignore the pain in her chest. “I mean, obviously we need to wait for the blood tests to see if—”
“Of course I’ll introduce you.” He shifted to the side and took a phone out of the white coat he was wearing. “Here, let me show you a picture. You must be wondering what she looks like.”
As he scrolled through his cell, Jo was aware of her heart pounding. And when he held out the Samsung, her hands shook as she took the thing.
The image on the screen was black-and-white, and the young woman with the thick, dark hair seemed haunted as she stared at the camera.
“I thought you’d like to see an early picture first. That’s actually when she was pregnant with me. Here, let me show you a more recent one.”
Jo gave the phone back, and couldn’t help but hope there was another snapshot, a couple of years more recent, of the woman . . . pregnant with Jo.
“How old are you?” she asked. When he told her, she was shocked. “So you’re much