Page 12

CHAPTER 12

March 5 th

3:17 P.M.

“Are you sure you're ready for this?”

Ava met the nurse’s gaze directly, infusing every bit of strength—and desperation—she felt into her words. “More ready than I've been for anything else in my entire life.”

Truth was, this was an important step forward. Not only did she need to convince the doctors that she was strong enough and healthy enough to go home and try to salvage the shredded pieces of her life and put them back together into something with a semblance of normalcy, but she also needed to prove to herself that she could do this.

Right now moving forward felt almost impossible. There was no tangible task to focus her mind and her energy on which left her floating alone at sea just like she’d been in the life raft.

Only this time, she couldn’t count on someone coming to her rescue.

If she wanted to rebuild her life and move forward, she had to be her own knight in shining armor riding in on a white horse.

“All right then. Well, we’re only a call away. If you feel faint, nauseous, or weak, like you're going to fall over, press the buzzer immediately, don’t wait. This is the first time you're going to be taking a shower alone and probably the longest you’ll be standing up by yourself since you got here. Don’t be a hero, if you need help you ask for it, that doesn’t make you weak it makes you sensible.”

With the nurse’s words echoing in her head, Ava went into the small bathroom by herself and stripped out of her clothes. Thankfully, by the time she reached the hospital Chelsea and Teresa were already there with a bag of her own clothes packed and ready for her. It had been such a relief to pull on a pair of her unicorn fuzzy pajama pants, and a soft tank top from her collection.

Now she stripped out of her clothes, eternally grateful she wasn't in a hospital gown, the last thing she needed was any more reminders of her captivity. At least she hadn't been given a shower while the traffickers had her, so there were no bad memories associated with it, and she could just enjoy this moment to herself.

Yesterday’s shower had been with a nurse by her side, and the day before that had just been a sponge bath since her doctors wanted her to stay in bed while she rebuilt strength. But today she was going to take her time, enjoying the warm water caressing her skin, and scrub every single inch of her body until the feel of the ship and the jungle were washed away.

Turning on the water, she adjusted the temperature, then stepped under the spray. The hot water pounding against her skin felt so nice, that Ava tipped her head back so it got her face as well and stood there, enjoying the moment.

Since this was the hospital and not her apartment and she didn't want to waste too much water, she eventually reached for her shampoo, which had also been in the bag her friends packed, and washed her hair. She did a second pass after, and then two goes with conditioner. The last shower with the nurse’s assistance had been short so this felt like the first proper shower she’d had in weeks, since before she was abducted.

Thankfully, the wound on her neck and the bigger one on her stomach were covered with waterproof bandages so she didn't have to worry about them. Grabbing the bright pink loofah with the unicorn head that she’d gotten as a gift from Teresa at Christmas, she poured a generous amount of body wash onto it and began to scrub.

She scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed, and even then she didn't feel completely clean.

Better though.

Much better.

When her gaze landed on the little cut on the inside of her elbow, with the marks from her nails still around it, Ava found herself staring at it. Nathaniel’s touch had been so gentle when he’d held the tissues to the bleeding wound, and there had been so much concern in his chocolate brown eyes.

If it wasn't for her parents ruining things, would he have come back to see her again?

Would he have answered her calls? Her texts?

As much as she’d like things to be different, she’d accepted that she couldn’t make Nathaniel want to be there. She just had to be grateful that he’d saved her life and focus on the future. She wasn't sure what exactly her future looked like, well not entirely. But she knew she wanted to go home, knew she wanted to get back to Prey so she could start helping bring this trafficking ring down. Beyond that, she’d just have to wait and see.

Turning off the shower, she stepped out and grabbed a towel. They weren't as big and fluffy as her ones at home, and they were the neutral white you found in hospitals and hotels instead of the pretty soft shade of blue of her own, but they’d get the job done.

Just as she’d twisted her hair into one towel and was wrapping the other around her body the door to her bathroom opened.

Uh oh.

She’d spent too much time luxuriating under the hot spray and now her nurse had come to check on her.

Oh.

Not her nurse.

This one was a man, and not one she’d seen before.

Immediately something felt off. Even if he’d been a woman, or she’d been a man, it wasn't appropriate for a nurse to come barging in on a patient in the bathroom unless they’d pressed the buzzer indicating they needed assistance. And she found something about his eyes unnerving. They were cold and hard, not warm and sympathetic like she was used to seeing.

Was it possible …?

No.

Of course not.

How would the trafficking ring even know she was there?

Only as the man grabbed at her, not even bothering to speak a word, she knew that possible or not it was happening.

The trafficking ring had found her, and they were there to get her back. Why they would bother, she wasn't really sure. They had to know she’d already talked, but maybe they felt like they’d made an investment in her, possibly already sold off all her organs since they’d done numerous tests on her while they had her on the ship.

A hand clamped over her mouth as she was sucking in air to scream bloody murder, while the fake nurse’s other arm wrapped around her chest, pinning her arms to her sides.

She was lifted off the floor and carried back into the bedroom. In there she saw a gurney, and she realized this man intended to knock her out and pretend to be a hospital worker taking a patient for some test or other. No one would stop him, no one would ask questions, and she’d be spirited away back into the hands of the people she’d just escaped before anyone even knew something was wrong.

There had to be a way to stop this from happening.

If she could fight off a Navy SEAL, she could fight off this man too. Granted, Rex had been trying to be gentle with her and hadn't wanted to actually hurt her, but still, she’d gotten away from him.

Employing the same tactic she did that time, she used the fact he had her arms pinned to her advantage and grabbed hold of his penis, twisting, squeezing, and digging her nails in all at the same time.

With a muted growl of pain, he released her, and she scrambled away from him. She had to get to the door. If she could get out of the room and scream, he’d surely cut his losses and run.

But the man recovered quicker than she would have thought, moving to block her exit. His eyes danced with fury, and she was pretty sure that if he didn't need her alive and healthy for his buddies to pick apart, then he would have attacked her.

Instead, when he lunged at her, she darted for the call button. As she pressed it, Ava opened her mouth and screamed as loudly as she could. Never in her life was she so glad to be in a busy hospital with people everywhere. There was no way that her cries for help wouldn't be heard, and no way that people wouldn't come running.

The man knew it too.

With a muttered curse, he flung open the door and ran out just as a doctor, two nurses, and a security guard all came running in.

Relief had her knees giving out, and Ava sank to the floor, curling into a ball as the reality of what had almost happened sank in.

She’d done it.

Saved herself.

This time at least.

But it was clear the ring didn't intend to give up on her so easily, and Ava had zero doubts that it wasn't a matter of if but a matter of when they’d be back.

* * *

March 5 th

3:43 P.M.

The commotion up ahead had a knot of anxiety forming in Nathaniel’s stomach.

One that had nothing to do with the fact that he was back at the hospital to see Ava.

While he still wasn't sure that this was the best idea, there was no way he could have stayed away after he’d learned that Ava had kicked her parents out. At least not without having a conversation with her about it and what it meant.

So that’s what he was there to do.

Terrifying as it was, Nathaniel knew he had to put on his big boy pants and stop being a coward. Ava had opened his eyes in a way he hadn't been expecting. He couldn’t help but feel he owed it to the woman who had fought so hard to live and yet hadn't hesitated to throw him out of the way and take a bullet meant for him, to at least talk openly and honestly about what happened next.

It would just be a whole hell of a lot easier if he knew how to put into words what he wanted to have happen next.

As he drew closer to Ava’s room, he realized that the commotion was centered around her room.

That knot of anxiety swelled until it was a shaft of physical pain.

Something had happened.

To Ava.

Had she relapsed? According to Rocco and his team, she was doing well physically, and would likely be discharged either tomorrow or the next day. That didn't mean that something hadn't changed. After all, she had lost a kidney and then been battling infection, plus the physical toll hiking through the jungle had taken.

Or maybe it wasn't a physical issue.

The ordeal she’d just lived through was some pretty major trauma, no one would blame her if she’d had a breakdown. You could only be strong and hold it together for so long before the millions of tiny cracks running through your soul caught up with you and you shattered.

He should know, he’d been staving off a shattering for most of his life.

Jogging the last few yards to Ava’s room, Nathaniel barreled past the guard standing in the doorway who looked like he was going to try to stop him and then skidded to a stop when he saw her sitting on the bed, curled in on herself, with a doctor standing beside her taking her pulse.

“Ava?” The word came out as a panicked squeak, very un-SEAL-like, and he didn't even have it in him to care. Something had happened to her, and he wasn't going to relax until he knew what it was and fixed it somehow.

When her gaze snapped to meet his, relief flared in her round blue eyes, and it hit him right in the heart.

She was happy to see him.

More than that, she was relieved.

Whatever had happened she believed he could make it better.

“You came,” she whispered, almost in awe. “How did you know?”

“I didn't know … I don’t know,” he said as he strode across the room to stand on the other side of her bed.

“You were coming anyway?” While she looked and sounded confused by that, she clearly liked the idea. A lot, if the way her lips curled into a smile that chased away some of the fear in her eyes was any indication.

“Yeah, Aves, I was coming anyway,” he told her softly, enjoying the warm smile she gifted him even as anxiety over what had happened continued to churn in his gut. “Now can you tell me what happened?”

As he scanned the room, he saw there was a gurney along with her bed, two nurses fussed around Ava, and the doctor was watching her gravely. It didn't appear she was sicker than he’d been led to believe, so the only other explanation had to be that she’d had some sort of breakdown.

Only that didn't seem true either.

While it was obvious that Ava was upset and scared, she didn't seem hysterical in any way, and no one had sedated her or anything. Maybe they’d already given her some drugs and the effects were kicking in?

“They came for me, Nathaniel,” Ava whispered.

“They came for you? Who came for you?” There was a clear answer to that question, but it was one he wasn't interested in entertaining. It was too terrifying.

“Them. The traffickers.”

Her words filled him with dread unlike anything he had experienced before.

How could they be back? Why would they be back? It was a huge risk to try to get their hands on Ava again, and one he wouldn't have thought they would have bothered with. It was just as easy to find another victim. Unless they’d already typed and crossed Ava’s bloodwork with potential buyers, and she was more valuable to them than he’d realized.

When he got her home, he’d thought it was over, that she was safe. It had never occurred to him—to anyone—that the organ traffickers would try to abduct her a second time.

It was a mistake, and one Ava had almost paid the ultimate price for.

“How do you know it was them?” he asked, still clinging to a sliver of denial because it was by far the better option.

That earned him an eye roll, which actually went a long way toward soothing the knot of anxiety in his stomach.

“Because I'm not stupid, Nathaniel. And I'm aware of the improbability statistics, that I would be abducted by organ traffickers, rescued, and then there is an abduction attempt by someone else while I'm still in the hospital recovering,” she said, throwing in another eye roll at the end which actually made him smile.

“Sorry, Aves, just freaking out a little,” he admitted.

“Me too,” she whispered, and when she held out a hand to him, he didn't hesitate in the least to grab hold of it.

Smoothing the pad of his thumb across the inside of her wrist, he perched on the bed beside her. It was likely she’d already gone through what happened but he needed to hear it to plan their next move. It also hadn't gone unnoticed that she was wearing a hospital gown instead of her own clothes and he was terrified to know why. “Can you tell me what happened?”

Although the nod she gave him was shaky, when she spoke her voice was calm. “I was taking a shower. It was my first one alone and I took a little longer than I should have. Just as I was reaching for a towel the door opened. I thought it was one of the nurses checking on me because I was a while, but it was a man. He was dressed like a nurse, but I hadn't seen him before, and his eyes … they were cold … unfeeling.”

Not bothering to fight his instincts, Nathaniel moved so he was sitting beside her on the narrow bed and then wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Maintaining his hold on her hand, he kept swirling his thumb across her soft skin in an effort to soothe her.

“I knew it was them. I mean, I hadn't seen his face on the boat, but he was one of them, I just knew,” she said a little defensively.

“I believe you, Aves. I don’t want to because I don’t want it to be true, but I believe you.”

With a nod, she rested her cheek against his shoulder. “I opened my mouth to scream but he grabbed me before I could. I knew if I fought off Rex then I could get away from him, too, so I grabbed his penis and yanked.”

“Rex will be pleased to know your moves aren't only for him,” he said with a small chuckle.

“When he let me go, I pressed the nurse’s call button and screamed as loud as I could. He knew it was over, so he turned and ran. He didn't say anything, Nathaniel, but it has to be them. They know where I am.”

Her whisper was so small, vulnerable, and scared that his arm around her shoulders tightened convulsively, locking her against him. If he hadn't been such a coward and bailed the second he realized just how different the worlds they had grown up in had been, she wouldn't have been alone. He would have been watching over her, protecting her.

“How did they know where I was?” Ava asked.

“They must have a mole at the hospital. It would explain how they choose victims.”

“I was here a few weeks before I was taken. I needed a tetanus shot after I caught my arm on a rusty nail.”

That explained it then. Someone from this hospital was linked to the trafficking ring. If they could find out who, it would be another lead, another step toward shutting them down.

“What happens now?” Ava asked, lifting her face to look up at him. “I'm not safe here anymore.”

What happened next was he did whatever it took to keep her safe, even if that meant risking his heart in the process. He just had to hope he wouldn't come out the other side with a crack in his soul that would finally shatter him.