Page 247 of Enigma: The Complete Collection
“Fury raged through my body hot and fast when I saw you bound and gagged to that rickety wooden chair. Your hair was damp and clinging to your neck. Your eyes were open wide with pupils dilated, and your beautiful face was stained with tears.”
He stops talking to wipe away my tears with his thumbs. “Your concussion is my fault, but I had to protect you. I didn’t mean to hit you so hard, but I had to beat the bullet. I couldn’t let him hurt you.”
His words come out strong, but his gaze remains fixed on the wall behind me. I want to speak and offer him comfort, but I can’t. My words are congested in my throat, refusing to be relinquished.
“The instant Col pulled the gun out, I charged at you. We hit the ground with a sickening thud. I sheltered you with my body as bullets, screaming demands, and wounded cries broke through the shrill in my ears. The smell was sickening. Nearly as ghastly as the scent that invaded my nostrils when I entered the barn weeks ago. It was the smell of death.”
My brain struggles to unscramble the muddled mess clustered in it. I recall the argument with Hugo, being pulled into the white Range Rover, and swinging a bat at someone, but other than that, it’s a hazy blur of confusion.
“Was anyone injured?”
My breathing stills when Isaac nods. “When an unnerving quietness filled the air around us, I cranked my neck back to look behind me. Col lay dead on the dirty concrete floor with Ryan standing over him. Alex had your kidnapper kneeling in front of him with his hands twined behind his head, and one of Alex’s agents had Col’s right-hand man cuffed and lying on the floor at his feet near the entrance of the warehouse. Seeing that all potential threats had been secured, I unwrapped you from my cocoon.”
My brows stitch. I’m truly shocked that the FBI and Ravenshoe Police Department worked with Isaac to find me.
“I'd do anything to protect you, Isabelle, even asking my arch-nemesis for help,” he explains, reading my thoughts. “We made a deal to put our differences aside until you were returned safely.”
My heart squeezes as the most inappropriately-timed smile tugs on my lips. Alex has never hidden his animosity of Isaac, so I'm surprised and somewhat pleased that they worked together. Maybe now Alex will realize Isaac isn’t quite the man his FBI file makes him out to be.
Isaac’s brows lower. “My heart plummeted into my stomach when I noticed your eyes were closed and your mouth was ajar. I removed the restraints from your ankles and wrists before laying you flat on the ground next to the splintered chair you were bound to. My hands were shaking, petrified I'd killed you. Thankfully, even though it was faint, you had a pulse.”
I reach for him, wanting to erase the lines of worry marring his handsome face. He draws in a sharp breath when my fingertips brush his cheek. “Thank you.”
His brows furrow, seemingly confused by my praise.
“For saving my life,” I explain to his puzzled expression.
Stealing his chance to refute my accurate statement, I press my mouth to his. My heart warms when his lips move sweetly beneath mine.
After giving me a heart-stopping kiss, he murmurs over my lips, “You can thank me by never leaving my sight again.”
Smiling, I stare into his eyes, which don’t look as pained as they did a few minutes ago.
“I’m not joking.”
Our heated reunion is interrupted when three brisk taps sound at my hospital room door. I smile when I see the boyishly handsome face of Brandon. Ignoring the screaming protests of my thumping head, I scamper off the bed then wrap my arms around his neck to greet him. Brandon returns my embrace before pulling me back to arm’s length so that he can assess me for injuries. His plump lips curl before his eyes shift to Isaac sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, looking sexy as sin with his hair mussed from my fingers running through it.
My pulse quickens when I notice a touch of panic in Isaac’s glistening eyes. Usually, jealousy is the only thing relayed when Brandon is around, so his fretful gaze has my nerves sitting on the edge.
“What’s going on?”
The dark, stormy cloud hampering Isaac’s eyes before we kissed returns full force. He stands from the bed and moves to stand next to me. I can feel the frenzied rush of his pulse when he encloses his hand over mine. “Hugo was shot by one of your attackers.”
The air in my body is evicted as tears well in my eyes. “Is he okay? Where is he?”
“He’s been wheeled into recovery. They said he should be in his room in around an hour.” Brandon’s voice is scratchy with emotions. “They won’t give me information on his condition as I'm not a member of his family.”
Two hours later, Isaac ushers me into Hugo’s private wing. Everything slows when my eyes zoom in on his massive frame lying motionless in a double bed. My pulse, my breathing, my heart—it all stops. Nothing but guilt is felt when I see the machines and monitors attached to him.
I can barely breathe through the tears flooding my face as I pace to his bedside. I’ve spent so much time with Hugo the last two months, he's become like a brother to me. He's my family. The only reason I haven’t collapsed in a heap on the floor is because of Isaac’s firm hold around my waist.
I choke back a sob when Hugo’s eyes flutter open. “Hey, Isabelle.” His greeting doesn’t come with the familiar drawl I’ve become accustomed to.
I rush to him, wrapping my arms around his torso the best I can while being cautious not to cause him any pain. A grin tugs my mouth when he mutters, “Are you trying to get me fucking fired… again?”
His normal woodsy scent has been overtaken by the antiseptic smell all hospitals seem to have, but he’s alive so that’s all that matters. I pull away and stare into his clouded eyes, issuing my regret for the cruel words I said to him during our fight.
“It’s all good, Izzy. We’re all good, aren’t we?”
