Just One Touch (Slow Burn #5)(57)

Instead of helping Jenna from the vehicle when they'd parked, Isaac simply picked her up and cradled her in his arms, as the others scrambled out to provide a protective circle around them. They strode rapidly toward the secure elevator that would take them to the fifteenth floor, while Dane made a quick call to Caleb to assure him of their success in retrieving Jenna and made sure that all was well at the secondary location where Caleb, Beau, Zack and Sterling had stayed behind with their wives and the youngest Devereaux sister, Tori.

Dane and Isaac both had lost their minds when not only Beau and Zack but also Lizzie had insisted on going on the retrieval mission. As far as Isaac was concerned, with so many unknown variables, and the fact that they were all targets now, the wives had to be protected at all costs.

The women had all endured far too much pain and suffering, and the last thing Isaac wanted was for them to be dragged into his fight. He and the rest of his teammates and Dane would provide more than adequate protection for Jenna without endangering any of the resilient women who possessed astonishing gifts. Just like Jenna.

Isaac held it together, maintaining a tight grip on his composure as he carried Jenna to one of the far bedrooms. His teeth ached from the force of his clenched jaw, but he wasn't about to say another goddamn word until he and Jenna were alone and assured of privacy.

Dane would want a full briefing and he'd want to plan and coordinate their efforts, but he could damn well wait until Isaac had the most important thing under control and decided. Making sure Jenna never tried to run from him again, even if in her mind she was doing it for all the right reasons.

Try as he might, he couldn't calm the turmoil swirling around in his belly like a bad case of food poisoning. With every passing second, it intensified, until it threatened to burst out of him regardless of whether they had privacy or not.

When he finally reached his destination, he kicked the bedroom door shut behind them and turned to lock it, using the hand underneath Jenna's thighs. He was reluctant to even let her down, but he knew he was about to explode and he didn't want to do it when she was this close to him.

He set her down on the bed and then took several steps back, his nostrils flaring as he inhaled several times in succession.

"Why are you so angry with me?" Jenna asked softly, looking up at him with troubled eyes.

He cupped the back of his head and blew out his breath. "I'm not angry with you, baby."

She sent him a disbelieving look. "Okay, then why are you angry?"

He sent her an incredulous look, then closed his eyes and shook his head, praying that he didn't completely lose it. He was literally shaking with fury. Fury that she thought so little of herself. Fury that he'd failed to protect her. Fury over the helplessness and uncertainty he felt over whether he would be able to ensure her absolute safety until every last one of the dirtbags who considered Jenna property-their property-were either ambushed and taken out when they came for Jenna again-and they would come-or were hunted down like the animals they were and a healthy dose of poetic justice was dispensed on their sorry asses. The latter was certainly Isaac's preference, but he couldn't leave Jenna. Not even for a second, because there were two distinct and very powerful entities after her and they both had eyes and ears everywhere.

"What the ever-loving fuck were you thinking, Jenna? You walked right into their goddamn hands, and there wasn't a fucking thing I could do about it. I didn't even know you were in danger, afraid, being hurt until it was too fucking late for me to act. You have no idea how that feels, baby. No. Fucking. Clue. Because if you did, you wouldn't be able to breathe, just like I haven't. You wouldn't be able to stand, sit or do anything without your knees feeling so weak you were about collapse, your hands shaking so bad that you couldn't hit a target at ten yards with a goddamn grenade launcher! I've never felt so helpless in my life!"



       
         
       
        

His skin was clammy with sweat as all the pent-up terror finally found its release. It was all he could do to remain standing and not fall to his knees right now, he was so damn weak with relief.

"God, you can't comprehend all I imagined could be happening to you and I was helpless to prevent it. Helpless, Jenna. Sweet mother of God, I never want to feel that kind of fear again. I can taste it. I don't think I'll ever be able to get rid of the taste of it. Six hours, baby. For six hours I lost you, and I didn't know if I would get you back or what shape you'd be in if I did. I thought the worst and when I say the worst, I mean the worst. You can't possibly understand the horrific things I imagined and what that did to me."