Page 44 of Rescuing Josiah
Claiming Chelsea’s hand, he kept her tugged close to his side as the men put the blindfolds on them, then guided them outside and down to a vehicle. Part of him had been worried they’d be transported in the back of a van, or separated perhaps, but instead, they were both helped into the backseat, buckled in, but not restrained in any other way.
As the engine revved to life, and they started moving, Chelsea leaned in against him, her head resting on his shoulder. “We’re really doing this,” she whispered.
To anyone else, the words would likely be interpreted as joy that she would receive her supposedly life-saving transplant, but he knew what she really meant.
“We’re really doing this,” he agreed. The real issue, as far as he was concerned, was what he would doafterthey had dismantled the ring. Could he really annul this marriage to Chelsea and pretend it had never happened, or was he already in too deep?
May 16th
8:36 A.M.
It felt like they’d been driving forever.
Realistically, Chelsea knew it couldn’t have been more than a few hours, but blindfolded like this, with nothing to look at to help keep her distracted, time seemed to go so slowly. She had no idea if they were driving around in circles since she couldn’t see. For all she knew, they were only a few miles from the townhouse they’d been renting.
Wherever they were, she knew Prey would be able to locate them thanks to the trackers Teresa had created and trialed justa couple of weeks ago. Although that wasn't really what was helping her remain calm.
It was the man beside her.
Strong and powerful, confident in his abilities, Josiah was everything she needed to feel relatively safe, as safe as she could given what they were walking into.
Their fingers were laced together and resting on Josiah’s thigh, and Chelsea wasn't ashamed to admit she was sitting as close to him as she could manage without climbing into his lap. No one had spoken the entire journey, and music played in the car, something classical that she wasn't paying attention to.
Knowing men with guns were sitting all around them, and she had no way of gauging their current state, whether they were relaxed, on edge, eyeing up her and Josiah as threats, or leering at her even though she was mostly covered now, had anxiety constantly churning in her stomach. Each time it felt like it was swelling too big to contain, she’d hold onto Josiah’s hand a little tighter, and without fail, his thumb would begin to trace small circles on the inside of her wrist.
By the time the car finally seemed to roll to a stop, Chelsea knew it had to have been hours they’d been driving because the sun was warm on her skin as sunlight poured through the car windows.
“We’re here. Your home for the next several weeks,” Dr. Gant announced, and she let out a relieved breath knowing they were really there.
Now all they had to do was hope to spot Desiree Tilly or find a way to request a meeting with her without looking too suspicious. Once that was done, they could activate their trackers, and Prey would come to shut things down and take everyone involved into custody.
They were so close, and it filled her with a rush of pride to know she was going to be a part of taking down this dangerous ring.
Fresh air washed over them as someone opened the door beside Josiah, and he slid out, keeping hold of her hand as he did so. When they were both standing, someone undid the blindfold tied around her head, and she hated the way the man let his fingers linger on her skin. She’d been sitting in the middle of the row, and she was glad that no one had sat on her other side, because she wasn't sure she could have kept her cool with one of these men looking for opportunities to touch her, which she was sure they would have done.
Bright light flooded her eyes as the blindfold fell away, and she had to scrunch them shut against it. Too long stuck in the dark made her eyes uncooperative, and she was glad she still had Josiah to cling to. He had quickly become her rock, and she wasn't sure how she was going to go back to the way things had been before once this was over.
That was a worry for another day, though.
Blinking her eyes open tentatively, Chelsea took in her surroundings. Despite knowing what happened here, she couldn’t help a small gasp of approval falling out at the sight of the stunning mansion before them and the perfectly manicured grounds.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Dr. Gant asked, and she nodded in agreement.
“Is this the clinic? I was under the impression that’s where we were headed. I know you said we were going to a house where we’d stay until I was well again, but I didn't realize you meant a house like this,” she said.
“This is separate from the clinic. The clinic is where we mostly focus on testing, treatments, appointments, that sort of thing. But since Dr. Wood has already found you a match, wethought we may as well bring you right out here. Think of this place as a cross between a hospital and a rehabilitation facility. We have operating rooms and state-of-the-art rehab equipment. But we also have beautiful rooms you’ll stay in before your transplant, and then once you're past the first several days or possibly weeks after surgery, depending on how you feel. There are tennis courts, swimming pools, libraries, games rooms, and spa facilities. We have vegetable gardens and orchards, if you're interested in cooking your own food we have kitchen facilities, otherwise we can provide all meals. Basically, this is a luxury resort you’ll recover in after your surgery.”
So while the people with enough money to buy themselves a black-market organ were enjoying a luxury spa resort, those abducted and cut open were left tied to beds in rooms on ships or hidden, rundown clinics in countries scattered across the globe.
The injustice of it all had her fuming, but she tamped down her rage and instead shifted her gaze from the impressive mansion and grounds, to the man standing beside her. “How long until I have my surgery?”
“We’re hoping within the next couple of days,” Dr. Gant replied.
That meant they only had days to confirm a sighting of Desiree Tilly or get access to her, because there was no way to fake a dying kidney once a surgeon cut her open. It didn't give them long, but she believed they could do this. At worst, they’d have to call in Prey without a Desiree Tilly sighting and hope that one of the doctors here would cough up her contact information for a plea deal.
At least this place seemed like a headquarters of sorts. The old cruise ships were clearly being used to try to circumvent being caught by mostly keeping to international waters. The smaller clinics that had been raided a couple of months ago werealso not the kind of place you could imagine the head of the ring hiding out.
But this place …
