Just One Touch (Slow Burn #5)(46)

He charged into the common room and swore when he found it empty. He ran to the kitchen, a knot so big in his stomach he nearly threw up. Finding the kitchen dark, he roared her name again, and the sounds of movement all over the house could be heard as the other DSS members and their wives scrambled in Isaac's direction. 

"Has anyone seen Jenna?" Isaac barked as everyone spilled into the living room. Looks of dread filled their faces, giving Isaac all the information he needed to know. She wasn't with any of them, and no one could have goddamn well snuck into the bedroom and stolen her right out of his arms. Which meant only one thing, and it was retold on every single one of his teammates' faces.

"Fuck!" Shadow swore.

Isaac stood there in shock, not understanding what he knew had to be true. He was numb to his toes and he couldn't form a single word to save his life. Dear God, why had she run? Had he been completely and willingly played? Had he been so wrong about her?

No way. He couldn't-he wouldn't-believe that she'd been one big lie, using him until she no longer needed his protection. He refused to accept that. There had to be another explanation.

He watched the others as a slow realization crept into their expressions and he wanted to punch something, wanted to tell them they were fucking wrong, until Knight quietly called his name.

He numbly turned to see Knight standing over the escape hatch in the common room, a grim expression on his face. "You need to see this, brother. The hatch isn't fully closed, meaning someone used it since last night after we did a lockdown of the house."

Isaac lost it. He slammed his fist into the wall, sheetrock shattering as a sizeable hole formed where his hand struck.

"Isaac, stop." Eliza's soothing voice sounded close to him, but he didn't want to be soothed. He'd just had his fucking heart ripped out of his chest. Nothing was going to ease his pain or the tearing sense of betrayal that was like a knife to his chest.

But it was Ramie's words he latched on to, turning to her the moment she spoke.

"I can find her, Isaac," she said in her soft way, with eyes too old for her face. Eyes haunted by the grisly murders of the vicious predators she'd been victim to and played an instrumental part in bringing to justice.

"Ramie, no!" Caleb's pained protest sounded. "Baby, please don't do this to yourself, for God's sake. You have no idea what you'd be walking into."

Despite the brief hope that had beat in his chest when Ramie had first spoken, Isaac didn't want her risking herself for a woman who'd betrayed them all.

"Caleb, if she left on her own, then what could I personally experience that would be so horrible?" Ramie asked, with the mild exasperation in her voice that often accompanied her responses to her husband's concerns. "But at least I'll know where she is, if she's safe and why she left," she said, directing the last at Isaac as if knowing all too well that he wanted answers.

Oh hell yes he wanted to know why, god damn it.

"I want to know even if he doesn't," Shadow said, irritation evident in his tone. "Not only do I owe her, but I don't believe for one fucking moment that she played any of us. If she left, then she had a damn good reason in her mind to leave. I'd like to know what it is before we play fucking judge and jury on a woman we don't have any business judging until we have all the facts."

Knight shifted from his position in the doorway. "I agree. Not for a second do I believe she was playing us. We need to figure out what the hell scared her so badly that she ran, and we need to do it now. Where does the escape hatch lead to? For all we know, that's where she could be now while we stand around wasting time."

Isaac blinked, mentally kicking his own ass. While he was wallowing in fear, grief and disbelief, his teammates were demonstrating more faith in Jenna than he was. What kind of a fuck-up did that make him? It was his own damn fault she'd managed to sneak out of bed in the first place. She should never have been able to so much as get out of his sight.



       
         
       
        

Dane spoke as Isaac started moving toward the hatch. "The tunnel leads through a section of dense forestation and then into an opening about half a mile from the house. Shadow, you're with me. We'll check the tunnel and see if there's any sign she went that way. The rest of you fan out and cover every possible escape route."

His face softened slightly as he looked in Ramie's direction. "A decision needs to be made quickly. The choice should be Ramie's alone, and it's worth saying, if we'd wrapped the ladies in cotton in the past like we keep trying to do now, Lizzie wouldn't be with us today."