“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?”
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.