Jenna was trembling, both with extreme fatigue and with emotion. Her eyes were glossy with unshed tears as she stared back and forth between Shadow and Isaac.
"I want to believe you," she whispered brokenly.
Isaac couldn't stand being a passive participant any longer. He curled his hands around her shoulders, turning her until she faced him, and then he pulled her against his chest, listening to her weary sigh as he guided her damp face into his neck.
"Then believe, honey," Isaac whispered against her ear. "Everyone has to believe in something. I want your something to believe in to be me."
"Everyone always leaves," she choked out. "They never stay. They never keep their promises. They lie. They never mean what they say. They hurt . . ."
She went utterly still, refusing to say anything more. Isaac bristled with rage. He knew damn well what she'd been about to say. They hurt her. God, she'd been hurt her entire life. Treated as a subhuman. Used for others' conveniences, no doubt. It enraged him and broke his heart at the same time.
"We're going to talk about the people who hurt you," he said firmly. "But for right now you're exhausted from healing Shadow and we still have an hour to drive, so I want you to try to relax and get some rest. Try not to think or worry about anything. We're going to protect you, baby. If you believe in nothing else, if you trust in nothing else, hold this one truth to your heart. We will protect you and I will take care of you, and I don't make promises lightly. Others may not mean what they say, but I do. We all do. Our word isn't given lightly, but it is given to you."
Not even caring that the others would see or that he didn't know anything about this woman in his arms other than she was in trouble and that she was an angel, he pressed his lips to her soft hair to seal his vow.
She stiffened for a moment and then finally relaxed in his hold. Within seconds she was completely under. Warm, limp and unconscious, her weight so very precious against his body.
For a long moment, no one said anything, though plenty of looks were cast her way and Shadow's. After half an hour, Shadow turned in his seat and looked first to see that Jenna was still sleeping before glancing up at Isaac, raw emotion simmering in his usually unreadable eyes.
"Jesus Christ, Isaac. You didn't tell me how . . ." He shook his head. "Hell, I don't even have the words to explain it, so how can I expect you to have had them?"
"I was too mind-fucked at the time and convinced I had died and that she was welcoming me to heaven," Isaac said grimly.
"That was the most . . ." Again he shook his head. "Jesus, I still don't have words. It was the most beautiful, peaceful thing I've ever experienced in my life. It felt like liquid sunshine had invaded my body and warmed me from the inside out, erasing any pain, worry or guilt. Removing a lifetime of pain and regret and replacing it with something more precious than I've ever possessed. She's a fucking miracle, man."
"I know," Isaac said quietly.
My miracle.
He couldn't help the possessive claim that bubbled from the depths of his heart. It was crazy, it was ten kinds of fucked up, it was something right out of a science fiction movie, but one simple truth prevailed. She was his, and she'd been his the moment she'd laid her hands on him and he'd felt her touch all the way to his soul. She'd saved him, and there was no way in hell he'd ever allow anyone to hurt her again.
Shadow's eyes were worried as they stared intently back at Isaac. "Do you even know what her life will be like? Will always be like? She'll always have assholes trying to take her and use her and even if she had a chance at a normal life, if it got out what she can do, she'd never have a moment's peace. People would never let her be. There'd always be someone wanting her to save a loved one, someone hurt, someone dying. And it takes a piece of her every time she does it. I could feel it. I could feel what it did to her even as what she gave me was the most fucking beautiful thing I've ever been given. It chips away at her, Isaac. And if it happens enough, there won't be anything left of her and she'll be left broken."
Isaac's chest tightened and his throat knotted as Shadow's words sank in. She was already so damaged. He was right. She had little left to give and yet she hadn't hesitated to give it to him and to Shadow, two men she didn't know and to whom she didn't owe a single thing.
"You said you'd protect her," Zeke said from behind him. "That we'd protect her. But can we, Isaac? Can we really? This is way bigger than what Ari, Ramie, Gracie and Tori can do. This is bigger than all of us. How the hell can we guarantee her any kind of safety? How can we make her promises we don't know for sure we can keep?"