JENNA was forced upward as she was dragged to her feet and then pushed forward, the gun never far from a vital part of her body. She was violently shaken from the sudden surge of memories and the ugliness revealed in her mother. Jenna recoiled from something so evil, wondering how her mother could have passed off acting with so much sincerity. She’d fooled them all, but Jenna most of all.
“It’s not often I get the chance to sell my brat daughter for a fortune not once in my life but twice,” her mother sneered. “When Eduardo annihilated the compound, he tracked me down and asked me to help him find you. For a price of course,” she added with a chuckle.
“Ah, here he is now,” her mother said as she shoved her toward a group of men who’d materialized from the nearby stand of trees that divided the commercial strip from a residential area.
The man she called Eduardo, Jenna only knew as Jesus, or “Jaysus” as Isaac and the other DSS men called him in order to deflate the egotism he’d wrapped himself in by comparing himself to the son of God.
Before anything else could be done or said, Jaysus pulled out a gun and quickly fired off two, silent shots at her mother, hitting her first in the chest and then right through her head. She crumbled to the ground, her white top now crimson with all the blood erupting from the enormous wound in her chest. Jenna slid to her knees, covering her ears and shutting her eyes as her silent screams echoed through her mind over and over. She wasn’t a healer with a beautiful, miraculous gift to save life. She was dirty, tarnished, a bringer of blood and death, disguised by something that appeared to be good. She should have never left the compound. Every single innocent person who’d made the mistake of protecting her and being kind had been marked for death. She was nothing more than a death sentence and she was to blame. This was her penance for daring to dream of a better life and for wanting so many of the things that had been denied her.
“Get up,” Jaysus ordered, grabbing Jenna’s arm and hauling her to her feet. “You’ve cost me far too much time and delay as it is. All you’ve done is earn the deaths of every single person who came to your aid.”
“Hands up, Jesus! Back away from the woman or you and every one of your men will die.”
Jenna heard Isaac’s voice in the distance, but she was too in shock to register how close he was. All she could think was that her own mother had betrayed her not once but twice. Her mother had killed her father, the one person who’d loved her when she was a child. And now she had put Jenna in the position of losing the only person who loved the woman she’d become. She was going to lose everything and be sentenced to hell again.
Jenna found herself roughly hauled up against the muscled body of Jesus, whose stench reeked of death. To her horror, he seemed to be looking for someone among the DSS agents who’d given pursuit. Then she saw the look of triumph spark in his eyes as he held up his gun, and Jenna began screaming and kicking and fighting as hard as she could.
Jesus merely knocked her away, instructing his men to handle her while he took careful aim and shot.
A cry of pain rose from the distance and a roar of rage and grief bellowed from Beau.
Oh no. Oh no! Jenna turned, scrambling against her captor’s hold as she watched a barrier being formed around Ari, but it was too late. She was lying on the ground in a pool of blood.
Beau’s gaze found Jenna’s through the chaotic turmoil, his eyes begging her. “She’s pregnant,” he said, his voice cracking. “We only just found out. Please help her. You have to save her and our baby.”
Jenna fought against the drugs that had slowed time and the entire world around her. It all seemed like something straight out of a nightmare, and for a moment she closed her eyes, praying she’d wake up in Isaac’s arms, being soothed while he told her it was just a dream. That she was safe. But when she reopened her eyes, she knew it was only too real. And she had to act fast if she was going to save Ari.
Isaac motioned desperately for his men to get into the best position to take out Jesus and his men the moment they got a clear shot. He could see Jenna struggling against the effects of whatever drug her bitch of a mother had given her at the restaurant. This was all his goddamn fault. None of it had seemed right from the very first, and worse, he’d allowed Jenna out of his sight, believing that nothing could happen to her in the small confines of the bathroom with him standing right outside. Damn him for not being more observant. For not insisting on taking care of Jenna himself. He’d let her and every single member of his team down and he’d never forgive himself.
The bastard had done his homework on DSS and he’d taken out the biggest long-distance threat to him at the very first opportunity. Ari.
Isaac watched, even as his men grimly reported in that no clear shot was available and they couldn’t simply start picking off Jesus’s men, because then Jenna would die.
Jenna straightened in Jesus’s hold and shot him a look of pure hatred. It was a look that told Isaac she was about to act and he silently pleaded with her not to incite the man’s anger even more. They just needed to buy more time. Just one slip-up and they’d take the son of a bitch out and lay waste to every single one of his men.
“Let me heal her,” Jenna said coldly.
Jesus laughed. “You’re in no position to be making demands. I’ll kill every last one of them and not give a shit.”
“Then you’ll lose what you most want. Me,” she said, shrugging indifferently, as if she didn’t care one way or another.
He actually looked confused for a moment and then laughed again, though this time it sounded nervous and not at all confident.
“I don’t lose. Ever,” he said, grabbing her arm and shaking her like a rag doll. “Especially when I’ve had to work this hard to get what I want.”
Both Zeke and Dex had to hold Isaac back when he went crazy, trying to get to Jenna.
“You’ll get her killed,” Dex hissed. “Hold it together until we are able to make our play.”
Isaac hated that they were right, but he hated even more having to see that bastard’s hands on her.
Jenna stared coldly at Jesus until his eyes narrowed in question. Her voice was soft but full of promise as she spoke loudly and clearly so that everyone could hear.
“Nothing you’ll ever do to me will make me perform for you. I’ll let every single person you bring me to heal die, and that includes you,” she spat.
“You say that now, but you’ll be singing a different tune when I’m finished with you,” he said menacingly.
She didn’t react to his threat and continued to stare at him unflinchingly, her voice and demeanor calm.
“The beatings, the torture, the brainwashing, every single thing they did to me while I was their prisoner worked because I didn’t know any different. I had no knowledge of the outside world, and I knew I had to endure and play their game until I could one day escape.
“If Ari and her baby, Isaac and all the others die, then I have nothing to live for anyway. You’ll have taken every single thing that matters most—the only things that matter to me in this screwed-up world—so it doesn’t matter what you do to me. I’ll never give in,” she vowed, her voice so cold and defiant that the drug lord seemed genuinely flustered.
And it froze Isaac to the bones, because he knew she meant every single word of her threat. He knew she would defy Jesus until her very last breath. Never in his life had he been this terrified. So unsure of himself and utterly helpless to save the woman he adored beyond measure.
“Then what do you propose?” Jesus asked, arching one eyebrow at Jenna.
“An exchange,” she said softly. “You let me heal Ari and you let everyone go without further incident. In exchange, I’ll go with you and do whatever you want. You’ll always have leverage over me because I’ll do anything to keep them alive, to keep Isaac alive.”
“God damn it, no, Jenna!” Isaac shouted hoarsely. “You aren’t going anywhere with that son of a bitch!”
Her gaze found Isaac across the distance and instantly her eyes filled with love, so much love. “It’s my choice to make, and I choose to save Ari and her baby and the rest of you. You are all the very best part of my life, and knowing that you’re all alive and well will be all I ever need. I can survive anything as long as I know you’re all safe.”
Then her gaze turned back to the drug lord and her eyes narrowed in warning. “Don’t ever think of double-crossing me, because if at any time I even think you’ve broken your word, I’ll let you or anyone else die without a single regret, even if it means my own death.”
There was grudging respect in the drug lord’s eyes but also a smugness, as if he believed he still held the upper hand. He was a fool. Jenna was being absolutely honest in that she felt she had nothing to lose if everything was taken from her. Isaac knew because if he lost her, no force on earth would ever stop him from seeking vengeance, even if it cost him his own life. Because without her, he had no life. No reason for living. None of the reasons he’d worked and been so passionate about his job at DSS would sustain him if he lost the one person who mattered most to him. Just as Beau, who was kneeling brokenly over Ari, would never survive the loss of his wife and child. As much as he hated Jenna bargaining with the devil over being able to heal Ari and give her and her child a chance, he knew that in Beau’s place he would beg, give anything, make any promise even to the devil himself to ensure that his wife and child survived.
Finally the drug lord nodded his head. “All right. We have an agreement. You may heal the woman, but not fully,” he said, his tone a warning. “I’ll not have her well enough to use her powers against me, and I’m well aware of her abilities, so don’t try to fool me by downplaying them.”
Isaac glanced at Caleb, shooting him a warning stare. It was obvious Jesus had studied up on DSS and knew of Ari’s power, but he hadn’t even looked in Ramie’s direction or mentioned her name. As their gazes locked, Caleb nodded his understanding and pushed Ramie back, obscuring her from view as he slowly retreated while attentions were focused on Jenna and Ari.
Yes, Ari was likely the most powerful weapon in their arsenal, but only as it pertained to brute force. Ramie was every bit as powerful and every bit as valuable a weapon and if, God forbid, this went like Jenna wanted and they weren’t able to stop Jesus from taking Jenna with him and escaping, they’d need Ramie to locate her.
Jenna looked in Gracie’s direction to where she was solidly behind Zack, who acted as a barrier between her and danger, risking his body for hers.
“Gracie,” Jenna called out loud enough to silence the others, who now looked at her with even more curiosity.
Some of Jesus’s men shook their heads and muttered that Jenna was loco. That she was of the devil and would bring death upon them all. This angered Jesus and he barked an order for them to shut up.
But his men were right—only it wouldn’t be Jenna who brought death and the bowels of hell down on their heads. Isaac and his men would be the ones to carry out that mission, and it would be the most satisfying mission of his life.
“Does he tell the truth?” Jenna asked Gracie in a solemn voice.
Gracie peered around Zack’s back much to his protests and then stepped out to the side, nearly causing Zack to lose his mind. But Gracie had decided that if Jenna had risked so much in order to save Ari, she wouldn’t be the only one to do so.
Gracie reluctantly nodded, staring at the drug lord with a mixture of fear and disgust. “He speaks the truth.”
Jesus was visibly confused as he yanked his gaze between the two women. Then he frowned, his brow crinkling as he stared at Gracie, as if finally realizing her ability.
“If you think to change the deal in any way, I’d advise against it,” Jenna said, steel in her voice. “If you don’t keep your word, then neither do I.”
“Then how do I know you’re telling the truth?” he said mockingly to Jenna.
She nodded her head in Gracie’s direction. “Ask her,” she said defiantly.
Jesus snorted. “Oh, I’m supposed to believe she really reads minds.”
Gracie’s expression became one of disgust, and then she began to recite in great detail precisely what the drug lord was currently thinking. Like how a bunch of uppity women who hadn’t ever had to deal with a real man and who’d been allowed to get away with far too much, especially when it came to disrespecting the men who had power over them, should all be firmly put in their place by a real man like himself. She looked like she wanted to throw up when she added that there was nothing more that he wanted than to be able to fuck the truth into them all so that by the time he was finished with them, they’d know who their lord and master was.
His eyes widened, but he seemed amused and not at all regretful of the broadcasting of his thoughts. He smirked in her direction, as if to tell Gracie she was certainly included in his lascivious fantasy. Then he raised his hand. “Okay, okay, then tell me, is Jenna telling the truth? If I honor my end of the bargain by allowing her to heal the woman and allow the rest of you to go free and unharmed, then she’ll go with me without fighting and do every single thing I demand of her?”
Gracie’s eyes filled with tears, which should have been answer enough, but again she nodded and then choked out, “Yes, she will never break her word as long as you don’t give her cause to do so by breaking yours.”
“Very good,” Jesus said with smug satisfaction.
He shoved Jenna forward in Ari’s direction, his and his men’s guns trained on her and all the others as tensions rocketed in the area.
“Make it quick,” he barked.
Jenna stumbled past her mother’s body, her face whitening. She closed her eyes and continued on, squaring her shoulders even as pain burned brightly in her eyes. Pain and so much betrayal that it sickened Isaac. Betrayal he was part of, because he’d failed to keep his promise to Jenna.
“Everyone away from the woman except Jenna,” Jesus barked. “Anyone make a single move not to my liking, then I open fire and I’ll kill every last one of you fuckers.”
Jenna found Isaac standing in the distance, and her eyes filled with tears. “I love you,” she mouthed.
Before he could respond, she turned and found Beau, who was being forced to leave Ari’s side by his own men and was putting up one hell of a fight.
“Beau,” Jenna called softly.
Beau stopped immediately and turned to face Jenna, his eyes bright with tears, his face a picture of complete devastation.
“I’ll save her and your child. Please trust me. I’ll do just enough that if you get them both to the hospital, I vow on my life, they’ll be okay.”
“I’m trusting you with all that I am and all that I have or will ever have,” Beau said in an aching voice. “Please save her, Jenna. You’ll never know what your sacrifice means to me. Never. I owe you a debt that can never be repaid. But know that I will do everything I can to try.”
Jenna knelt beside Ari and gathered her hands in hers, and spoke gently to the woman to ascertain whether she was conscious or not. Ari’s eyelids weakly fluttered open and she looked up at Jenna with pain-filled eyes, tears pooling in a swirl of arresting colors.
“You have to save my baby,” Ari whispered. “He shot me in the stomach. I’m so afraid my baby is lost.”
“Never give up hope,” Jenna said. “I need you to lie still and try to believe. Have faith and don’t give up, Ari. You can’t give up. I need you to help me by doing that.”
Without further delay, Jenna placed both hands directly over the abdominal wound, blood covering her fingers and palms, and she closed her eyes, calling on the gift that at times had seemed more like a curse. But right now she embraced it for what it was. A miracle. God’s sweet mercy and grace. She sent light radiating into Ari’s shattered womb and gently cradled the tiny life in her palm, encasing her in the most radiant, warm, glowing light Jenna had ever called forth.
Isaac and the others watched, stunned as light illuminated Jenna until she appeared every bit the angel he’d dubbed her the very first time she’d used her shining goodness and light to heal him. Even Jesus looked upon the healing in astonishment, as if he truly hadn’t been certain that Jenna was all she’d been purported to be.
Ari’s entire body was bathed in the golden light and was lifted from the ground, where she hovered in midair six inches from where she’d lay a few moments ago.
Jenna began to sing a soft lullaby and it was obvious she was holding the infant’s life-form to her, refusing to let her go. The notes of the song lifted hauntingly in the air and flowed through the distance until not a single person present was unaffected by the amazing event occurring right in front of them.
“Be strong, sweet baby,” Jenna crooned. “God is with you. You are his child and he will forever grant you mercy and grace. You must fight as your mother fights and cling to the light in her womb. Never move away from that light until the time comes when you are called away. You are his chosen,” she whispered, after which she continued to hum the sweet lullaby.
Then she closed her eyes and leaned over Ari, who’d slowly been lowered back to lie on the ground, and finally it was evident that she was finished but so exhausted by the session that she continued to lie over Ari’s body as if protecting her, still too drained to move.
Beau ran forward just as Ari opened her eyes. “Ari?” he asked tentatively.
Ari’s eyes filled with tears. “I don’t know how she did it, but she saved us both and I felt the presence of our child. It was so powerful. It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever felt in my life. In that moment I knew everything would be all right. Please, Beau, you must see to her now. You can’t let that monster take her. I couldn’t bear it if she traded her life for me and my child.”
Jenna roused long enough to lift her head, though it was obvious she barely had the strength to do so.
“You must get her to the hospital to be monitored at once,” Jenna said weakly. “I did what I could to satisfy Jesus’s demand, but your child is fine and so too will Ari be. I swear it on my life.”
“Thank you,” Beau choked out.
Jenna looked up at the others, tears slipping down her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. Then her gaze found Isaac’s and he nearly fell to his knees, because her expression was one of goodbye. “I’ll always love you,” she said in a low voice. “Be the reason I can endure anything. Stay alive.”
Then Jesus appeared above her and Isaac wanted to bring down hell on him and every last minion in his devil’s army, but they were in a losing proposition and they knew it. The only ace in the hole they had was Ramie and if they did anything to fuck that up now, Jenna would die, they’d all die, and it would have been for nothing.
“Touching. I think I may have felt a tear,” Jesus sneered. “Now get the fuck away,” he said, waving his gun as his men gathered to reinforce the threat.
Isaac and the others had no choice but to back down as Beau cradled Ari in his arms and ran for the waiting ambulance.
“I believe I kept my end of the bargain,” Jesus sneered at Jenna.
She nodded tiredly. “Yes, and now I will honor mine.”
As he turned, his men still facing down Isaac and the rest of DSS, he threw Jenna over his shoulder and strode rapidly into the distance, where a helicopter waited to fly him—and Jenna—away.
Isaac turned as Jesus’s men began melting away and making their escape, looking desperately for Ramie.
“Ramie!” he screamed. “God—please, Ramie, you have to help me. Can you touch something of hers so we know where to look for her? I have the light sweater she brought with her to the restaurant but left on the chair when she went to the bathroom.”
Caleb didn’t even argue. He knew that they all owed Jenna a price they could never repay. He looked anxiously to his wife for answers, but her expression was devastated as tears sliced down her cheeks.
She looked up at Isaac with so much regret that Isaac felt dead to his soul.
“I can’t use my powers yet,” she said urgently, as if trying to make him understand. “All I ever know is what’s happening right here and now, and we know where they are now. They’re in a helicopter. I can’t tell the future and if I did attempt to use my powers now, I’d be too drained to use them again later, when they’d actually do us good and I could then tell you where they have her.”
Isaac completely lost it. His men tried to hold him back, tried to calm him, but he was adrift, with no anchor and no way to find the woman who meant more to him than life itself. Having to wait for God only knew how long, while Jenna endured hell just so they could locate her and then start to mount a rescue that might be too late, was more than he could bear.