Page 66 of Rescuing Josiah
She was perfection, she was everything good and right with the world, she was light in the dark, and for some reason, she actually loved him.
Miracle.
There wasn't another word to describe it.
“She’s everything I’ll never deserve,” he whispered aloud, more to himself than the doctor.
If he did this, if he let all the rage inside him flood out, and kill the man before him, it would be killing in cold blood. It wouldn't be following orders like when he’d been a SEAL, it wouldn't be for any noble reason like making the world a safer place and saving lives. The doctor was going to prison for the rest of his life. Prey were already there, it was a done deal. The trafficking ring would be demolished, but if he did this, there would be no coming back.
All he’d be doing was proving he wasn't good enough for Chelsea.
His fears that the anger inside him was too dangerous would be proven true, and he would have been right to keep everyone at a distance these last several years.
Right this very second, he stood at the precipice, what he chose to do would shape the rest of his life. These last few days, he’d thought that his future depended on whether or not he could let Chelsea in, but he’d been wrong.
Instead, his entire future depended on what kind of man he wanted to be. Someone who was ruled by anger, who killed in some misguided need for revenge, or someone who valued the life they’d been gifted.
“Get up,” he growled, grabbing hold of the doctor and yanking him to his feet.
“You’ll never deserve her,” Dr. Gant sneered.
“I know. But I want to try to be even half the man she deserves.” With that, he slammed his fist into the doctor’s head and watched with great satisfaction as his eyes rolled back and he passed out.
Making quick work of tying the man up, he hurried to the door, aware of growing commotion in the medical suites. There were no guards in the hall, but a few of the doctors and nurses were coming out of their rooms.
Most gave him wary looks, but they didn't try anything, and he didn't stop to take care of them. He needed to get downstairs again, check on Chelsea, and meet up with Prey.
On the stairs, he came face to face with one of the guards.
The man startled when he saw Josiah striding toward him, and when the guard lifted his weapon, Josiah launched himself at him.
Thankfully, the staircase wasn't particularly long, and he knew how to take a fall and work with gravity, not against it, to minimize injury. Tackling the man, he took him down with him, and together they tumbled down the steps, landing in a tangled heap at the bottom.
Without giving the guard a chance to come up swinging, Josiah slammed a fist into the side of the man’s head, just like he’d done with the doctor upstairs. Sensing movement behind him, he commandeered the now unconscious guard’s weapon and came up ready to shoot.
“Whoa there,” a familiar voice spoke. “Guess you won't be needing this.”
A weapon was held up as the figure moved forward. Not one, but three of them, and while they weren't who he’d beenexpecting to see, he was equally as glad to see them as he would have been Prey.
Blake “Rocco” Wise was the one who had spoken, who was now grinning at him as he stepped forward. The man led the SEAL team that had been involved in rescuing Ava and Nathaniel Trevino in Mexico, who Tobias had joined when they raided the small South Pacific clinic where Isabella had been working, and then had helped rescue Teresa.
They knew the ins and outs of this operation, but they still shouldn’t be there.
“SEALs don’t operate on US soil,” he said as he relaxed a little.
“Guess we better not tell anyone then,” Rocco said with a wink.
“No way we weren't joining this one, not after everything we’ve already done to bring down these traffickers,” Forest “Phantom” Dalton added. The man had also broken the rules when Kalee, the woman he’d fallen in love with, needed him.
“No one will ever know we were here,” Beckett “Ace” Morgan said confidently.
“Someone will if Rex gets near Chelsea,” Decker “Gumby” Kincade snickered, coming up to join them.
Everyone laughed at that, and even Josiah huffed out a small chuckle. So far, Rex had managed to get attacked by Ava, Isabella, and Teresa, although none of them knew it was him at the time. The SEAL had taken all the ribbing his team had given him good-naturedly and praised the women for defending themselves.
But he didn't want Chelsea in a position where she had to defend herself, even from someone who wasn't really a threat.
The thought was enough to get him moving, and the guys fell into step behind him as he headed for the linen closet where Chelsea should be hiding and waiting for him.
