20 Questions

Chapter 116

Hunter

Jenna is petrified, only radio silence on the way home. On our thirty-minute drive back, she sighed fourteen times. Yes, I counted them. We communicate well, but this is a conversation that didn't need to take place on the road. Elijah didn't hear it because he was talking into the device on his wrist, but I captured the faint gasp that fell from her lips when she overheard the gruesome words he said. Words of torture. So, for her sake, I held off talking to her about it until I could hold her hand and give her my undivided attention. She deserves that. She needs that.

Elijah and two members of his team will be staying at the house until the mission is complete. It makes sense logistically and I assume it would make Jenna feel safer. She doesn't know that she will have a private detail with her when she returns to work, but she will soon enough. She'll be anything but pleased, but it's nonnegotiable. There are some things I am flexible with, but this is not one of them. I wish she could just stay home until this is all over, but I don't have a timeline to give her and I know she can't miss work. She's essential to her staff and that can't be put on hold, not even for a homicidal lunatic.

When we pull into the garage, my phone chimes. I slide my finger across the screen and read Elijah's message.

Stay in the truck. We are going to sweep the house once more. I'll let you know when you can exit your vehicle.

All business, this one. I know this is going to take a bit so I use this time to reassure my frightened wife. She has her seatbelt unfastened, but she stays frozen in her seat, following my lead.

"Baby?" I say softly.

She moves her eyes to me and the anxiety clouding those gorgeous greens rips through me. I keep my voice calm and steady, gentle like she needs it to be.

"Yeah?"

"Are you ok?" I ask before she inhales and exhales deeply, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Honestly, I don't know. This is a lot."

"I know it is, beautiful, but this will all be over soon enough. After that, we have our whole lives ahead of us. Just know that I love you more than anything in this whole world and I will never let anything happen to you."

I know she wants to tell me I'm wrong. Argue that there's no guarantee that everything will be ok, but instead, she simply nods. She's doing her best to be strong for me and that makes me love her that much more. I don't need her to always be tough, I just need her to trust me. I wasn't lying to her when I said that I am prepared. More prepared than I've ever been and ever will be. Elijah and I have devised a solid plan. And if we discover any issues with that one, we have plans B, C, D, E and F. I just need her to hold on a little longer.

"So, what do I need to know? How do I fit into this plan?" she asks.

"You are going to be kept out of it as much as humanly possible. You will be in the know, but you won't be an active participant – especially not after he is captured."

"Oh, thank God," she says, blowing out an enormous sigh of relief. This makes me smile. As tough as she is, she is not cut out for the horrid repugnance involved. Her heart is too big and too warm to inflict pain or torture on anyone, no matter how much they deserve it. I want to keep it that way. I want her soul to remain pure and innocent. I may carry a darkness within me, but she will always radiate light. "Ok, so what do I need to know for right now?"

"For right now, Elijah and two members of the team will be staying at the house with us," I inform her. Her eyes grow wide and she opens her mouth to object, but I hold up my hand to halt her rebuttal. "They will be staying in the basement and completely out of our way. They are obviously there for protection, but I also need them there to strategize. You will hardly even know they are there."