Page 55 of Rescuing Josiah
“Definitely. You too?” Amy asked.
“For sure,” Chelsea answered. “Have you seen any kids here? I can't think of much worse than having to bring your precious baby here, knowing this is probably your last chance at saving them.”
“Couldn’t agree more,” Amy said. “We haven’t seen any kids, and we’ve been here for months. Skin transplants are tricky. Oh, wait, there is one kid here sometimes. A little girl.”
A little girl.
Desiree Tilly’s daughter?
If the kid had been spotted here, there was every chance that Desiree was either living here or at least visited from time to time.
“Is she a patient?” Chelsea asked.
“I'm not sure,” Amy replied. “She doesn’t look well, so I'm guessing she’s sick, but she’s the only kid I've ever seen here, and she loves playing outside in the gardens. Maybe she’s just the daughter of someone who works here.”
Looked like they would be spending the majority of the day in the gardens.
They were running out of time. They were meeting with their “donor” at some time this afternoon, and then tomorrow, Dr. Gant was planning on doing Chelsea’s surgery. Obviously, they couldn’t let things get that far, which only gave them approximately twenty-four hours to find out if Desiree was here.
Either way, Prey would raid this building sometime today or tomorrow, and in doing so would effectively shut down the trafficking ring. This was clearly their main base, and there was no way they could maintain their operation without it. At least it would take them a while to rebuild.
But Desiree Tilly wasn't just in this for the money and power, she was also in this to save her daughter’s life. Which meant she was never giving up. She’d find a way to rebuild no matter how long it took her.
While he understood that level of desperation, he would do anything within his power for Chelsea, especially if it was to save her life. The woman couldn’t be allowed to keep doing what she was doing.
May 17th
10:22 A.M.
“This is ridiculous, we can't just wander around out here all morning.”
“Why not?” Chelsea asked, tilting her head up to glance at Josiah. There was something different about him today, something changed last night. It wasn't like he was a completely different man or anything, but there was a softening to him. The way he looked at her, there was a tender affection that hadn't been there before.
Wishful thinking, maybe, but she didn't believe so.
He was trying, doing the best he could to battle his demons while simultaneously working this operation and keeping her safe.
That he was trying meant everything to her. She was so proud of him, and she found herself falling deeper in love with her grumpy SEAL.
“Because we’ll look suspicious.”
“Nah.” Chelsea shook her head, then swept an arm around the gardens. “We’re not the only ones out here. Other couples are wandering about, too. It’s why they have the grounds. If they were onto us, they would have killed us when they broke into the townhouse.”
“Unless they suspect we were the reason Dr. Gant’s office was unlocked last night.”
Josiah was certainly being Mr. Worrywart this morning. “I doubt the guard even mentioned it to the doctor. You heard him, the door is often left unlocked, and he’s annoyed about it. Annoyed but accepting. I don’t think he would have said anything. Even if he did, I'm sure Dr. Gant would just assume he’d forgotten like he usually does.”
“And if he doesn’t assume that? If he decides to go check the security footage and realizes the cameras were down for a short time, who do you think he’s going to suspect?”
Well, the answer to that was easy.
Them, of course.
But still she couldn’t help but feel that Josiah was fixating on the what-ifs without any evidence. “Stop borrowing trouble.”
“Need to be prepared for all scenarios.”
“You are. We are. We have the trackers. They aren't going to kill us right away. Prey will be here within hours of us activating them.”
