Though she was aware of her surroundings and was no longer lost in the hell she’d descended to briefly, she remained quiet, only her eyes moving as they followed his every movement. When Shadow entered with the medicine and a glass of water, she didn’t even protest. She allowed Shadow to slip it onto her tongue, and then Isaac quickly held up the glass of water so she could swallow it down before the bitter taste filled her mouth.
She sank back onto the pillow, tears filling her eyes as she stared blankly at the ceiling, avoiding the gazes of both Isaac and Shadow. Shadow sent a look filled with deep concern Isaac’s way. Isaac stared bleakly back at him, having no idea what to do or say. He couldn’t fix an unknown problem, couldn’t fight an unknown enemy combatant.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Shadow murmured, his gaze flickering back to Jenna, the look of worry growing deeper on his face. “I’ll see what I can find out.”
“Thanks,” Isaac said hoarsely.
Jenna was already succumbing to the effects of the sedative. Her eyelids grew heavy and she blinked several times as if trying to fight going to sleep. Her eyes closed and remained closed and Isaac thought she’d drifted off, but as he was about to turn to go back into the living room, she sluggishly opened her eyes and they tracked sideways until they found him.
A tear trickled down her cheek, her paleness even starker than it had been before.
“I was loved,” she whispered. “My father. He loved me.”
Isaac’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean, honey? Did you remember something?”
But her eyelids had fluttered closed after her cryptic statement, and this time she gave a little sigh and didn’t reopen them. Soon her even breathing and the soft rise and fall of her chest registered the fact that she was sleeping peacefully.
Isaac sank down on the edge of the bed and buried his face in his hands for a long moment. What the hell had happened to her in there? Why the fuck had he left her alone? He hadn’t left her by herself until today. And she’d paid dearly for his negligence, because she’d been left alone to deal with whatever ghost from her past that was now haunting her.
TWENTY-FOUR
WHENIsaac strode back into the living room, his entire demeanor demanded answers without him having to say a word. Brent looked up at him and Isaac didn’t like what he saw in the other man’s eyes.
“It’s certainly understandable why she was in complete shock and meltdown,” Brent said grimly. “She was flipping through the channels and enjoying new discoveries and was completely unsuspecting of the cement truck that got dropped right on top of her out of nowhere.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Isaac demanded.
“It would be a hell of a lot quicker and easier if you just watch it,” Brent said. “I’m not even sure I can explain the shit storm that’s currently brewing. The hell of it is, I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. It could go either way.”
“Or it could be a fucking setup,” Zeke growled.
“God damn it, quit with the speculation and just play the fucking thing. While we sit here arguing, there’s a woman in the other room who has so much hurt and confusion in her eyes that it puts knots in my stomach just to see it, and I can’t do a damn thing until I know what the hell she saw that was so traumatic for her.”
“It’s not very long,” Brent muttered. “I think you’ll find it explains her reaction quite a lot.”
Even having seen Jenna’s complete breakdown and hearing the reactions from his men who’d watched it while he was taking care of her in the bedroom, he was utterly unprepared for the scene that unveiled on the television in front of him. Never would he have imagined this happening, and he had no idea what to think or how to feel about the woman’s claims.
His mind went back to Jenna’s childlike “Mama” as if she’d recognized the woman or had vague memories of her. Not much had been said about her mother in their brief conversation regarding her past. She’d had more concrete memories of her father, but she’d seemed to struggle when attempting to conjure up an image or a recollection of her mother.
Christ, no wonder she’d seemed so stunned, lost and bewildered. How she’d come to ever be in the cult was a question that had haunted her from the time she was old enough to question it. Had she been loved? Had her parents wanted her? Had she been taken from them or had they given her into the keeping of the cult, and were they even alive?
She’d had happy memories of her father, and now to find out that he’d been killed trying to prevent her abduction? It was little wonder she was so devastated, but even so, the knowledge that she had been loved seemed to give her a small measure of comfort. Her last words before she’d drifted to sleep were that she’d been loved.
He wanted to weep for her and at the same time he wanted answers for her. But where did the mother fit into the equation? His suspicious side considered the timing of her mother appearing on national television to plead for information regarding her daughter highly coincidental, given the fact that a powerful drug lord was desperate in his bid to own her like a prized possession.
But the mother’s appearance and subsequent plea could very well have to do with the cult making national headlines when the tragedy was reported on local and national networks alike. On the surface her story seemed plausible enough, but fuck! What was he supposed to do? Forbid Jenna from being reunited with her mother because the timing was suspicious, since it was his goddamn job to be suspicious of anyone trying to get close to his woman?
Hell, he didn’t even know Jenna’s feelings on the subject. She’d received a shock she hadn’t expected in a million years, and that had come on top of the other stressful events she’d endured in such short order. How much more could she take before she crumbled under the weight of the shit constantly being piled on her?
Frustration simmered and boiled in him, threatening to explode. He hated this feeling of helplessness. Of not knowing what to do to make everything better. To give her the kind of life she deserved, a family who loved her.
“This is heavy, man,” Shadow muttered. “What the fuck are you going to do?”
Isaac sighed and ran his hands over his face. “It depends on what Jenna chooses to do with the bombshell just dropped on her. It’s our job to make damn sure that everything checks out and she’s protected at all costs.
“Before we get Jenna’s hopes up or dashed, I think it would be a good idea if we did some discreet investigating on the mom and just see if she checks out. We can’t be too careful until Jaysus is taken down for good, and we can’t just waltz Jenna out in public for a reunion with her mother. It would end up being a fucking bloodbath.”
“We’ll get on it right away,” Shadow said. “You just worry about Jenna and finding out how she’s handling the news and figure out what she wants to do with it.”
