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Ben nodded, but didn't feel any pride in what he was doing. "It should have happened long before they took you. If I'd stood up sooner, you'd have never been taken."
"True, but you also wouldn't have a team like mine to back you up. Call Katie as soon as you can. I know my team. They won't act until every detail is planned out. The more time you give them, the sooner they can get here."
Praying it would happen before anything else major did, Ben gestured to the door. "Remember your role. Lean on me, act pissed off, weak, and in pain."
"I don't need to act." Trenton took a deep breath. "Ready when you are."
Ben reached down and unsnapped his jeans but left the zipper up. He tried to force a sated look on his face as they walked out.
Trenton leaned somewhat on him, but also away from him. It looked as if he needed the help to move, but also didn't want to be anywhere near Ben at all. It worked.
Wade grinned and stood as he walked over and unlocked the gate to the cage. "Got what you needed?"
"Might have to take this one out for seconds later. He's good, but next time I want to feel those lips around my cock."
"I'll bite," Trenton growled.
Wade laughed. "Isn't that how it always is? Give them a good fuck and they get mad at you. They should be thanking us. Now that you got what you needed, I'm going to go take care of my own needs."
Ben pushed Trenton inside the gate and stepped back, waiting for Wade to lock it. "I'm going to get me another cup of coffee."
"Don't wanna watch me with her?" Wade grinned.
"Told ya, I'm into men. Wouldn't do much for me." He prayed Wade would take the girl in the back like he had Trenton, but doubted it. Wade liked being watched. He also liked doing it where the other women could watch so he could taunt them about being next. He really was a sick bastard.
With a plan set, Ben's nerves eased. It might all blow up in his face, but at least he was trying to do something. He had to trust Trenton to know what his team could handle, but he'd make sure they knew what they were getting into. This operation was huge and it was going to take more than a few guys to shut it down.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Faith walked outside and leaned against the wall, her gaze narrowing on Xander. "I thought you quit smoking."
He sighed, running his fist down his beard. "I did."
She nodded. "You're going to quit again once we get Trenton home, right?"
Xander looked directly at her, his eyes filled with pain. "If we get him home."
Faith frowned. "We've never left a man behind. We aren't leaving Trenton. Wherever he is, we'll find him. We won't stop until we do. He's saved everyone here at some point, now it's our turn to save him. We'll find him, Xan. I know we will."
"Before it's too late?" Xander dropped the half-smoked cigarette and crushed it with the toe of his boot.
"As long as he is alive, it's not too late. No matter what he's going through, no matter what's happening to him, it's not too late. I thought it was too late for me once, but you and this team showed me how wrong I was. As long as he breathes, it's not too late. He might never be the same. He might have issues to work through, but it's not too late."
"You don't know what these groups do."
She narrowed her eyes. "Do you think I'm blind and deaf? I see the news. I watch what this team does. You might try and hide some of it from me, but I know. He's probably being drugged, raped, beaten, starved, and tortured as we speak, but that doesn't mean it's too late for him. I won't give up on him because he never gave up on me. None of you did. Was it too late for me because I'd been tied up and raped? Should I have given up? Should I have come home and just accepted I was used and dirty? Fuck that, Xander. None of you would have let me, and none of us will let Trenton. No matter what's done to him. No matter what condition he comes back to us in, we will help him fight and recover, because that's what this team is about. We are going to find him, and when we do, we're all going to be there for him and do whatever we have to so that no matter how long it might take, he's going to be okay."
Xander squeezed at his beard again. "I fucking hate this, Faith. I hate we can't find him. I hate he's there, knowing we are looking for him, expecting us to barge in at any moment. We're letting him down."
"We're not. These things take time. I hate it too. I want him home. We're going to find him and get him out. He understands. He'll hold on and fight until we get there. At least he knows the team is looking. That's more than I ever knew when I was kidnapped. I still held out hope I'd be found, and Trenton is holding on to that hope too. He knows we won't stop until we find him."
Xander reached out and pulled Faith into a tight hug. She could tell by how tense he was that he was barely holding back emotions that he seldom let anyone see. She clung to him tighter, wishing she could take his pain away. She couldn't. All she could do was try and get him through this until Trenton came home. "You stink of cigarette smoke," she mumbled against his chest. He released her, but she didn't step away. "As soon as Trenton is home, you're quitting again." She pressed a finger at his chest. "You promised me."
He smiled as if he was remembering how she used to nag him to quit when she'd first moved in with him. "I promise." He took a deep breath and kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Kid."
She smiled. "I love you too, Xan. We'll get through this together. It's hard on everyone. We lean on each other until he's back with us. Then we surround him until he's okay again. We're a team. We do this together. Don't forget that."
"I won't. You're right. I need to keep it together." He stared at her. "I'm glad you came home."
