Just One Touch (Slow Burn #5)(56)

He buried his lips in her hair, pressing them tightly to the crown of her head, inhaling her sweet scent. He savored the feel of her in his arms, her precious weight finally setting his world to rights after hours of enduring hell.

"Never do that to me again, Jenna," he whispered. "God, baby, I can't breathe when you aren't with me. Swear you'll never leave me again."

She didn't respond, but she slowly relaxed, tension bleeding from her taut muscles, and her body melded to his like the missing half of a whole. He closed his eyes and sucked in deep breaths through his nose until all he could smell was her, until all he could feel was her. Never, never did he want to experience the agony of not knowing where she was, if she was hurt or afraid. Dear God, he wouldn't survive it.

How in the hell did Caleb and Beau endure what their wives went through at the price of their gifts? How had Zack survived over a decade of not knowing where Gracie was, torturing himself every hour of every day wondering what had happened to her, if she'd been hurt, if she needed him or if she was even alive?

And sweet Jesus, but how had Sterling not gone completely over the edge after seeing Eliza throw herself in front of him, taking the bullet that would have killed him when she'd spent days in a coma, so close to death that the doctor had given her only a five percent chance of surviving?

Seeing the woman you loved suffer the unimaginable marked a man in a way that was never truly forgotten, just shoved back, only to return in unguarded moments and in nightmares never shared for the sheer rawness of having to recount them.

Isaac shuddered at just how close he'd come to losing Jenna. Already she was so much a part of his every waking thought that he couldn't imagine his world without her in it. Sweat formed on his brow and he mentally shook away the lingering terror that still gripped tenaciously at his throat.



       
         
       
        

She was here. In his arms. He was holding her and she was unharmed.

Thank God.

They pulled into the underground parking garage of a thirty-story building that looked like any other downtown structure, complete with a directory of businesses listed by floor. Only there was just one actual business, and it was directly in the center of the building, fifteen stories up. That entire floor had been converted to a fortified sanctuary, complete with a full kitchen, a dining area, two large living rooms, half a dozen bedrooms and an entire armory that held every weapon in their arsenal, many of which the military didn't even have access to.

The building could withstand just about anything but a direct hit by a missile. Isaac didn't even want to imagine the kind of money it had cost to fortify an entire skyscraper into an impenetrable fortress. In the past he'd made jokes with the best of them about the paranoia involved in creating such a massive safe zone, but right now he wasn't laughing, and he was damn grateful for Dane's meticulous, always-prepare-for-the-worst personality.

DSS's front man was a secretive man and there was likely only one person in DSS who even knew his story-Eliza. But Isaac doubted even she had the entirety of it. Dane came from obvious wealth but he didn't flaunt it and instead adopted a low-key appearance, quiet and very observant. He had connections most intelligence agents would orgasm over, but he never gave up his sources of intel-classified or not-and neither did he ever say how he got his hands on the high-tech weapons or intelligence he produced at extremely opportune moments.

His motto wasn't prepare for the worst. It was expect the worst and be damn ready to kick its fucking ass. Isaac would never crack another joke at Dane's expense again.

This building wasn't technically owned by DSS. It, and everything it contained, was brought to the table by Dane. Someone as wealthy and as well connected as Dane could easily be arrogant and attach strings or conditions to what he offered DSS and anyone working for him, but that wasn't who Dane was. He considered every single agent his family and he protected them as ferociously as a mother lion. Which was why he was slouched among the rest of the DSS men in the van. Because he was intimately involved in the majority of the missions, and perhaps what Isaac admired most about his leader was that he didn't insist on leading every time.

Isaac had seen how some of his other teammates had benefited from Dane's vast stockpile, but he'd never considered how important the extent of Dane's protection of those he considered his own was until now, when it extended to Jenna. Dane already had his absolute loyalty and dedication, but now he had his deepest gratitude because he was protecting the most important thing in the world to Isaac, and he'd never be able to repay that kind of debt.