“Of course I’m not angry. I love Eliza dearly. She’s my whole world.”
Jenna seemed stunned that he would openly express his love for his wife. Then she blushed and looked downward once she realized everyone was staring at her.
“I’m sorry. It wasn’t my place to question you.”
Jesus, but this got weirder by the minute, and Isaac had a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“Come on, let’s go inside or Eliza’s going to wonder where we are,” Sterling said, motioning for everyone to precede him into the house.
Isaac fell into step beside Jenna, making sure she was steady enough to make it on her own.
When they entered the house, Jenna stepped away from Isaac, a look of wonder on her face. She began examining the contents, stopping to run her fingers almost reverently over some of the pictures and knickknacks, allowing her hands to slide over the expensive furnishings.
At times, her lips pursed and her brow furrowed in confusion as if she had no idea what some of the items were. The others watched her odd behavior and exchanged puzzled glances.
“Is this where you live?” she asked Sterling in a soft voice.
“It’s one of the many residences I own,” he replied. “But this isn’t where Eliza and I make our home.”
“It’s beautiful,” she said wistfully. “Is this what all homes look like?”
Isaac’s heart nearly shattered on the spot. What kind of hell had she endured in her life that she didn’t even know what a normal home looked like?
“Where I was kept looked nothing like this,” she said sadly. “I’ve never seen a real home. It must be nice.”
Then, as if realizing she was revealing something she wasn’t ready to share, she clamped her mouth shut and looked down at her hands, effectively ending any further outbursts. Instead she retreated to the far end of the living room and wrapped her arms protectively around herself and withdrew.
There wasn’t a single man in the room whose expression didn’t reflect absolute fury.
“Hey, isn’t the game on?” Dex said, flopping onto one of the couches and pointing the remote at the television. It was obvious he was trying to take the focus off Jenna and alleviate the heavy tension filling the room.
As soon as it flashed on and the loud noise filled the room, Jenna nearly jumped out of her skin and let out a startled cry. She looked in horror at the TV screen, rooted to the spot where she was standing.
“What is that?” she demanded in an almost hysterical tone. “What is that thing?”
By now, however odd Isaac’s teammates considered her behavior before, now there was genuine concern, and it was obvious no one knew how to handle the situation.
Isaac tentatively put his hand on Jenna’s shoulder, feeling the tension radiating from her in waves.
“It’s a television, honey.”
He didn’t think it was possible for her to look more horrified.
“Turn it off!” she said in a shrill voice. “It’s the devil’s instrument. It’s evil. It isn’t allowed. It’s forbidden!”
She was near tears, her hands curled into tight fists at her sides as Dex quickly turned off the TV.
Eliza poked her head into the living room. “Soup’s on, guys. Come and get it while it’s hot.”
Isaac left Jenna staring at the television, shaking so hard that her teeth chattered. He murmured to Eliza so Jenna wouldn’t hear.
“I think it best if Jenna and I eat out here and the rest of you eat in the kitchen. I need time. Something is very wrong here and she’s beyond upset. This situation is so fucked up I can’t wrap my head around it. I need to get her to talk to me and tell me everything fast, and she’s not going to do that in front of a room full of people.”
“If I can do anything to help, you know I will,” Eliza said, compassion in her voice.
“I know, Lizzie, and I appreciate it. Jenna isn’t like anyone I’ve ever known. It’s like she’s a child in an adult’s body and she has no knowledge of everyday things you and I take for granted. I have a very bad feeling about what her life has been like.”
“You only have to look into her eyes to see that she is one very damaged woman, Isaac. You’re going to have to take it slow and not push too hard.”
“I just hope I can get her to trust me enough to open up because until she does, we’re flying blind. We have no clue who’s after her, though the reason is evident enough. We’ve already been through this with Ramie and Ari, but this is way beyond what we faced protecting them. I think she’s been held captive and forced to use her gift for a very long time. That she managed to escape tells me more than I can handle without losing my shit.
“Whoever is after her means business and they aren’t going to give up. They shot me and they shot Shadow. If it weren’t for Jenna, I would have bled out and died within minutes.”
Something dark and feral flashed in Eliza’s eyes.
“Don’t even think about it, Lizzie,” Isaac warned. “You’re still on leave whether you like it or not and you’re not fully healed from your own brush with death. If I think, even for a minute, that you’re plotting anything, I won’t hesitate to rat you out not only to Sterling but to Dane as well.”
Annoyance shone in her expression. Scowling at him, she walked back to the island and prepared two plates, gathered utensils for him and Jenna, and then shoved them at him.
“I’ll make sure y’all get the privacy you need,” she said, despite her irritation. “Wade and I will be shoving off after dinner anyway, but he’s leaving several of his men around the perimeter of the property to keep an eye on things.”
Isaac grinned. “You know you love me, Lizzie.”
She rolled her eyes and then made a shooing motion with her hand.
Isaac walked back into the living room, where Jenna still stood rigidly in the same spot he’d left her. He sighed and then sat down on the couch, setting the plates on the coffee table.
“Come eat with me, sweetheart. I don’t even want to think about when the last time was that you had a decent meal.”
Jenna moved forward, eyeing the plates. As she sat down, she sniffed appreciatively. Her eyes were wide when she took in the steak, baked potato with all the fixings and grilled asparagus.
Her gaze was hesitant when it lifted to Isaac’s. “You mean I can have all this?”
He frowned. “Why the hell couldn’t you? As you can see, I have my own plate.”
She twisted her fingers nervously together until she was wringing her hands. “It’s just that I was never allowed to have . . .”
She broke off, immediately closing herself off once more, and then picked up the fork and knife, looking down as if she didn’t know which part of the meal she wanted to try first.