Page 7 of Rescuing Tobias

“We’re all weak. They don’t feed us much, and probably at least half of us have some bruises, nothing needing immediate care. Take care of them first,” she replied, nodding her head at the halls she knew led to rooms where the victims were being kept.

“We will. Doesn’t mean we won't take care of anyone else needing medical assistance. You said he threw you, kicked you, hit you, and shocked you, and I wasn't exactly gentle when I grabbed you. Sorry about that, I thought you were one of them.” The man kneeling before her, rubbing her arms so gently, looked so earnest it made tears spring to her eyes.

“It’s okay,” she assured them. “Now you know I'm not. None of us are.”

“Are any of the medical personnel here by choice?” one of the other men asked.

“Yeah. Two that I know of,” she replied. “But they would have been partying with the guards so you’d have them in custody. The rest of us though, we didn't want to be here any more than the people they’re cutting open and stealing organs from. We’ve all been abducted, trafficked, we’re victims too.”

A wave of exhaustion hit her, and the pain in her body that had dulled because of adrenaline and relief when she realized she’d be going home, came back with a vengeance. Every inch of her throbbed, and she closed her eyes and let her head fall back.

Probably would have slumped to the floor, but the man kneeling before her caught the back of her head in his palm and eased her down so she was lying flat on her back.

“Rest now, little firecracker, you're safe, and we’ve got this. It’s over, and you’re all going home.”

“Don’t even know your name and you saved me,” she mumbled sleepily, already drifting off.

“Tobias.”

“Tobias,” she echoed. “Thank you.”

“You can thank me, little firecracker, by keeping that fighting spirit alive when you get back home.”

He was right. She was going to need it. Because in a lot of ways her fight had only just begun.

CHAPTER 3

March 14th

2:32 A.M.

It shouldn’t bethis hard to walk away.

Tobias wasn't sure why it was.

All he knew was that Isabella Baker was connected to Prey through Connor Charleston and his fiancée, Becca, that made her family. If there was one thing he loved the most about working at Prey, it was that everyone truly cared about one another. While he didn't see the brothers of Charlie Team often, it didn't mean that he wasn't partly responsible for their safety when they were out in the field, since Prey relied on the intel he and his cyber team dug up.

Family was family, and if he’d learned one thing growing up watching his father dedicate every second of his spare time between working three jobs to keep them afloat, it was that you didn't leave family behind.

That lesson had been reinforced in Delta Force. If his team hadn't stayed with him, gotten him to safety, he would have died out there in the desert in the middle of nowhere.

But his father had always had his mother’s back, even when she no longer knew who he was. And his team had always had his back, saving his life and working extra hard because of their own injuries.

Now it seemed only right that he not leave Isabella Baker behind.

Not that she would be left behind. She and the rest of the doctors and nurses being held captive by the organ trafficking ring had all been transported along with the victims to a Navy vessel that would provide medical care before returning each person to their families.

Even though they trusted Isabella because of her connection to Prey, they’d still IDed every one of the medical personnel, and as Isabella had informed them, all but the two who had been drinking with the guards had been reported missing by family or friends.

It had taken time to transport everyone, and Isabella had insisted on being the last one, and he’d insisted on remaining with her while Rocco and his SEAL team dealt with the guards belonging to the ring. Thankfully, other than the one he’d shot, the rest had been taken alive, so there would hopefully be more intel to be gathered as each one of them was interrogated. Plus, Isabella had been compiling her own list of evidence that had been retrieved.

“Thanks for staying with me,” Isabella said in a small voice he wasn't used to hearing from her.

Given that she’d been so bold and confident, sassing at a team of highly trained special forces operators like she was talking to a class of kindergarteners, it was hard to remember that she was a victim too. She’d suffered unimaginable horrors in the last seven months, including but likely not limited to being beaten, starved, shocked with a collar, sexually assaulted,and forced to participate in helping an organ trafficking ring kill people.

Damn.

Seven months.

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