He turned back as everyone fell into position, and then he issued another order to Wade and Gavin to have their men take out everything in the west wing and secure it and then make damn sure no one slipped through the cracks.
Isaac’s muscles twitched with nervous energy and the readiness to finally take out the son of a bitch who’d made hunting Jenna down and owning her like some prized possession his obsession. And he was obsessed. With the idea of immortality. Jenna had nailed it right on the head when she’d taunted him with his quest for immortality, as if he were a complete moron to believe any such thing existed and that when he’d gotten wind of her abilities, he’d convinced himself that Jenna could simply keep him alive for eternity. The faulty point in his reasoning, proving what a stupid, unstable fuck he was? The fact that Jenna wouldn’t live forever and when she was gone, the miserable bastard would blessedly have left the earth as well.
No, Jenna wouldn’t live forever, but she sure as damn well was going to live for a very long time, because Isaac was going to make it his life’s obsession to keep her safe, protected, happy and well. If he had to put her in a bulletproof bubble to ensure her protection, then he’d damn well climb into it with her and stay there with her forever.
He swallowed back his sudden insecurity, because Jesus fuck, he was as crazy and obsessed and over the top as Jaysus, only Isaac’s obsession was with making her laugh, smile, giving her every single thing, no matter how large or small, her heart desired from now until the end of their time on earth together. And then he’d simply follow her into the afterlife, where he’d continue driving her every bit as crazy as he knew he’d likely drive her in this lifetime, and he felt not one iota of remorse, nor would he ever apologize, for his brand of obsession.
He didn’t give two fucks what anyone thought or that people would most assuredly think he’d lost his damn mind when it came to Jenna. Some might even draw comparisons between him and Jaysus, the only difference being the motivation behind their obsession with the same woman. All he cared about was what she thought and that she was happy and that she loved him enough to put up with his suffocating, overprotective manner of showering her with all the love he felt for her.
Those thoughts carried him through the entryway to the not very well fortified or defended compound, and finally to the staircase leading up to the east wing where the two military teams had held up. The leader of Team One nodded to Isaac and issued a small salute of respect, then motioned for him to fall in behind his men as they started up the stairs. As Dane had stated, he and Shadow took Isaac’s six while the others fanned out to ensure no one got up those stairs behind them, trapping them between whatever manpower Jaysus had remaining with him and whoever would be coming up the stairs to box them in.
Isaac had absolute confidence not only in his own teammates, whom he knew would give their lives for one another without hesitation, but also in the two black ops groups Dane had managed to pull out of his ass and also the men Wade and Gavin had brought to the table. Having been acquainted with both Wade and Gavin for a while now, he had total respect for the power they wielded and the fact that they put the protection of their loved ones above all else. And now they were extending that protection to Jenna. They spoke of debt they would never be able to repay, but it was Isaac who would be buried under a mountain of debt to so many people that he’d never be able to dig himself out to repay them even if called upon to do so.
They were literally saving his entire life, his entire world.
At the closed door where Shadow had reported Jenna being held by an obviously completely-over-the-edge Jaysus, the leader of Black Ops One held up his hand for the others to hold up. He pressed a device to the door and then put his ear to it and listened closely. Then he frowned.
He held up his hand and gave his men a quick signal.
“He says it’s way too fucking quiet for his liking,” the man standing closest to Isaac said.
Isaac’s heart damn nearly exploded on the spot. Oh dear God, what did that mean? Were they too late? Had he killed her?
The leader mouthed “on my count,” and then quickly attached an explosive device to the door and motioned everyone to take several steps back.
“No mercy,” the leader murmured. “Go in fast and low and take out anyone who isn’t Jenna Wilder. We don’t pull this off just right and he has a chance to kill her. Understand?”
Jesus, did Isaac understand. Sweat made his hands clammy and his chest was about to explode under the force of his heartbeat.
Then the leader did something unexpected. He lifted one eyebrow, and then a look of amusement twisted his lips. What the fuck?
“I tend to forget that not everyone locks the door,” he murmured. “No need to blast our way in and take the risk of getting Jenna killed if we can simply ease the door open and opt for a sneak attack. This idiot has already proved he’s not the smartest tool in the woodshed.”
He motioned everyone into position, pointing at each of the men and ordering them to take a different part of the room so that everything would be covered simultaneously. Then he held up his fingers and signaled “three, two, one,” before he soundlessly eased the door open, cracking it the slightest amount.
They all froze as the door was opened wider in preparation for them to rush the room when they finally heard the heavy silence broken.
“You don’t want to do this.”
Isaac’s brow furrowed and he exchanged “what the fuck” looks with Dane and Shadow. It was Jaysus, a very nervous, scared-shitless Jaysus, sounding as if he were about to piss himself. What the hell was going on?
They froze yet again in the act of moving through the door, only this time, it was Jenna’s voice they heard loud and clear, and so devoid of emotion that it scared Isaac shitless.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” she said in a voice Isaac didn’t even recognize. “You have no idea what I want, you worthless piece of a human being.”
“What do you want then?” he asked, stammering and sounding extremely flustered. Then he began begging, and that’s when Isaac knew shit was about to get real. “Please. I’ll give you whatever you want. Anything. Money. Power. You name it and it’s yours.”
“Jesus H. Christ. The man is crying,” the black ops leader said in disgust.
Then they heard the sound of a gun being cocked.
Oh God no. Isaac’s panic flared. They had to get in there now.
“What I want is for you to die,” Jenna said, her voice weak and trembling, but full of conviction. There wasn’t a single man outside that room who didn’t believe her.
“Go, go, go!” the team leader whispered harshly.