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"That works for me." The sooner he told his side of things, the sooner he could hopefully move on and put all of this behind him. "Thank you for taking this matter so seriously when Noam came to you. I really didn't know who to turn to."
"You did the right thing being cautious. My gut says this runs deeper in the department than either of us wants to think. Anyway, I'll be in touch. Thank you for your cooperation."
"Anytime." Ben ended the call.
With hours still before the meeting, he needed something to do to keep himself busy, but all he could do was sit there and think about everything he'd seen and been part of the last few months. Grabbing a notebook and pen, he did exactly what Jason told him to do. He started with the first day he walked on-site and started writing everything he remembered down. Dates and names were lost for a lot of it, but that wouldn't matter. They could figure those things out later. The most important thing was to prove to himself that he hadn't gone through it all in vain. He was there for a reason, and that reason was to put an end to the evil, no matter how long it took or what it might cost him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Pain brought Trenton awake, not easing him from sleep, but blasting him from it like a bomb. He sucked in air and jerked as if he could move away from the pain, but it only made it worse.
He blinked tears back as he slowly opened his eyes and looked around. His shoulder was on fire and he reached up to touch it only to find it wrapped with gauze. It was then he noticed the tubes sticking out of the back of his hand.
He blinked a few more times, still trying to breathe through the pain. The tubes were I.V. lines, that much he knew, but how had he hurt his shoulder, and where was he? He looked around taking in the pale walls, small window, and tiny T.V. mounted in front of him. "Hospital." He said the words aloud but his voice was raspy and hardly more than a whisper.
Closing his eyes again, he tried to remember where he'd been, what the last thing he could remember was, and that was when it all came back to him. The trafficking ring, the sex, the rape, the others in the cage with him as gunshots rang out. Searing pain, then blackness. He recalled Ian talking to him, but couldn't recall anything he'd said.
Opening his eyes once more, he looked up and down his body, careful not to move. His shoulder had to be the worst since it was where the pain was all coming from. He also had bandages around his left thigh, but his leg felt numb and heavy. Thankfully, it didn't hurt like his shoulder did. He saw the bruises up and down his body, but they'd been there for weeks, new ones replacing old as he was used and raped at their convenience.
Did his team know he was here? That he was out? Did they all survive the raid on the mansion? Had any of them been hurt? He needed answers, but as he looked for a call button to summons a nurse, he saw it still hooked to the wall behind his bed.
"Hello? Is anyone out there?" he called, but his voice was only a whisper. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Can anyone hear me?"
The door slowly opened and he saw a man in a black suit peek in. "You're awake. Let me get the nurse."
Whoever the guy was closed the door again before Trenton could speak. Did he have a guard on his room? Why not a cop? Who was the guy in the suit? Had the team been found out? Was he being held for what he did with the team?
The door opened again and a young nurse walked in with a huge smile. "Good to see you awake. How are you feeling?"
"Hurt," Trenton said, then shook his head. "What happened?"
"I can't help you with what happened, but I do know there is a large group of people waiting for permission to come in and see you. I was told the D.A. is working on getting approval. As for the pain, I can help with that. Is your leg hurting?"
"No, shoulder." He swallowed hard. "Can I have a drink?"
"Only ice chips for now, but we'll see if I can get the doctor to allow you some water. You got out of surgery a few hours ago."
"I was shot." He meant it as a question but it came out as a statement.
"Yes. Twice. Once in the shoulder and again in the thigh. Both should heal fine with some time and physical therapy. You also have a couple of cracked ribs and a lot of cuts and abrasions." She fiddled with his I.V. for a moment, then shot something into the tube. "Just a painkiller. It might make you drowsy but affects everyone differently."
"Who's here?"
"I'm not sure who they all are. There are about eight to ten of them in the waiting room. Mostly, men, but I did see a couple of women. All the patients brought in last night are under guard and have a no visitor policy, at least until the D.A. confirms identities and finds family. For now, I can't even bring you a phone, but I expect that to change soon." She punched a few buttons on the machine that was connected to his I.V. "They'll be glad to know you're awake. Let me go grab you some ice chips and then I'll call the doctor and see if we can get you some water."
"Do you know how the others are?"
She gave him a small smile. "All I know are rumors. I'm not exactly sure what happened last night, but I will say the rumors are that a lot of people were saved."
Trenton nodded, relief sweeping through him. "Thank you."
"Here's the call button if you need it, but I will be right back with ice chips." She moved the small box from the back wall and secured it to his bed.
He watched her leave and wondered who had him under guard and why? Nothing made sense. If the team had come in to save them, then they should be here with him. Unless the police came in after and the team hadn't gotten him out first. Then he could see the police maybe having all hostages under guard, especially if they didn't arrest all of the traffickers. Witnesses were not something the traffickers would want around.
He recalled the voice yelling to kill the hostages right before everything went black. Had that been when he'd been shot?
A moment later, the door opened and the man in the black suit stepped inside. "As a favor to an old friend, I'm passing you a message from Noam. He's in the waiting room and trying to get permission to see you, but everyone from last night is under guard for now. Noam says your friends are all here and waiting to see you and everything is going to be okay."
