Just One Touch (Slow Burn #5)(18)

"Isaac, what are you doing?" she asked in bewilderment.

"You're hurting, and there's no way in hell I'm making you walk through the woods in the dark."

"You can't carry me the entire way," she said, embarrassment clouding her words.

"Can't I?" he challenged. "Honey, you're a tiny slip of a thing. I barely notice the extra weight. Besides, we'll move faster this way, and the quicker we get to the rendezvous point the safer you'll be. And when we get there, I'm having you checked out by a doctor. I'm worried you may have broken some ribs and by the way, Jenna? You're going to tell me exactly how you got those bruises. Every single one."

His tone was fiercer than he intended, and she stiffened in his arms, whether in fear or embarrassment he didn't know.

"I will never hurt you, Jenna," he said softly. "And there is nothing for you to feel shame over. Ever. Do you understand me?"

She buried her face in his chest, avoiding both of his statements, but it didn't bother him because by burrowing closer into him, she'd displayed another gesture of trust, even if she wasn't aware of it.

A dark vehicle loomed ahead and Isaac quickened his step, wanting Jenna out of harm's way as quickly as possible. Then the unmistakable whine of a bullet striking metal sounded just as Shadow grunted beside him.

"Fuck. Fuck!" Isaac roared. He vaulted toward the open door and threw Jenna into the backseat, where Knight broke her fall and immediately pushed her down to the floor, out of the line of fire.

"Shadow, you hit?" Isaac demanded as his teammate threw himself into the front seat of the SUV.

"Doesn't matter," Shadow growled. "Let's get the fuck out of here."

The man Sterling had sent to drive them to the safe house wasted no time and floored it, roaring through the wooded area while Zeke, who was in the third row seat with Dex, lifted his head, staring toward the front seat.

"Shadow, man, did you take a hit?"

"I said it doesn't fucking matter. We have more important shit to worry about right now," Shadow snapped. "It's nothing."

Despite Knight's attempts to keep Jenna down between him and Isaac, she lifted her head, her face a mask of sorrow as she stared at Shadow. Tears gathered in her eyes and Shadow swore, but he didn't bite her head off or even raise his voice. Instead he gentled his tone into one Isaac had never heard his teammate use.

"I'm okay, sweetness. I've certainly had worse. Now you need to stay down until one of us tells you it's safe to come up."

Ignoring his soft command and shaking off both Knight's and Isaac's hands as they tried to pull her back, she leaned over the front seat and gently peeled Shadow's T-shirt up his side to reveal blood flowing downward from either a graze or a direct hit.

"I'm so sorry," she said in a devastated voice, tears welling in her beautiful eyes.

Before anyone could set her straight on the fact that she had nothing to be sorry for, she reached out and placed her hand over the bleeding wound, splaying her fingers wide. She closed her eyes and strain became evident on her face. The others watched her in fascination, but Isaac had already witnessed the miracle she was and he didn't like that she was going through it all over again. Even if it was necessary.



       
         
       
        

Shadow's grim expression eased, and then he relaxed and stared at Jenna in astonished disbelief. Then he closed his eyes, and Isaac could swear that the deep lines and grooves that were permanent fixtures on his face eased as peace overtook him. He looked caught up in the most beautiful experience. To Isaac's further amazement, when Shadow finally opened his eyes, there was a light sheen of tears, gone nearly before they'd registered.

Jenna's hand fell away and she slumped over the back of the seat she'd leaned over to get to Shadow, her strength seemingly sapped. Tentatively, Shadow feathered a hand over her hair, caressing the strands as if to offer her even a fraction of the comfort she'd just given him.

"That was the most incredible thing I've ever felt-experienced-in my life, Jenna," he said, every word laced with sincerity. "I don't know how to thank you. Not only for this, but for what you did for Isaac. I haven't felt peace since I was a child and you gave me that. I felt warmed from the very bottom of my soul, from the inside out. In places that have been cold longer than you've been alive. I don't pretend to understand your gift, but what you need to understand is that you are a gift. A very special gift. More special than you'll ever know, and if I had to guess more special than anyone has ever made the effort to make you feel. I don't lie, Jenna. I don't say smooth shit to make people feel better. I'm not one to spare feelings. I'm blunt and I say it like it is. Always. And I'm telling you that you are a beautiful person inside and out, and furthermore you have the most beautiful soul I've ever encountered in my entire life. That's twice you've saved someone you don't even know at great risk to yourself. I know you're scared and I know it's likely you don't trust anyone and that you can't afford to trust anyone. But I'm making you a promise right here and now. On my life, Jenna. On my life. Isaac will protect you. I will protect you. We will protect you. Isaac is a good man, one of the best, and you'll always have my gratitude for saving him instead of saving yourself. You can trust him. He'll never let you down. And the rest of us will have his back the whole way. You aren't alone in this. You can trust all of us because we're going to make sure those assholes never get their hands on you again. Do you understand what I'm saying?"