Page 52 of Rescuing Nathaniel

The thirty-year-old former SEAL was the only one who hadn't left his station to come and greet her, but she wasn't offended. The man had some deep scars because of an attack that had ended his career and killed the rest of his team. Josiah wore anger as his shield, and Chelsea was the only one who seemed to see right through it, not that any of them took Josiah’s anger personally.

“We shouldn’t have left you alone at the hospital,” Teresa said as she stepped up to draw Ava into a hug.

“You were here, working. And you haven’t gone home yet,” she reminded her friend.

“Still, I hate that you were alone and they tried to get to you,” Teresa added.

“No one thought they would come back, that’s on us,” Raven said. “We should have known better and assigned you security.”

“I don’t think any of us could have predicted they’d try to grab me a second time,” she assured her boss. Ava wasn't blaming anyone other than the trafficking ring themselves. She knew that Prey was one big family, and if anyone had had even a hint of an idea that she wasn't safe she would have been surrounded by more security than the President.

“Still, we all feel bad,” Tobias Ashford said as he moved stiffly to her side to give her an awkward hug. Tobias had been in Delta Force before an injury to his back got him kicked out. Even after surgery and intense and ongoing physical therapy, he was still in near-constant pain.

“Then let’s all just be grateful it didn't work, and I'm fine, and focus on finding these people and shutting them down.” The last thing Ava wanted was for any of her team to blame themselves. All she wanted was for this whole ordeal to be over and it wouldn't be until they had the main players in custody and the ring shut down.

“We’re working on it,” Raven assured her.

“Everyone, this is Nathaniel,” Ava announced, indicating the man who stood so protectively at her side. Without him there, Ava knew she wouldn't feel as safe as she did. No one was getting to her while Nathaniel was there. “And this is Chelsea. Teresa. Raven. Tobias. And the guy over there pounding his keyboard like he hates it, is Josiah,” she said, pointing each person out for Nathaniel’s benefit.

“Thanks for saving her,” Chelsea said, giving Nathaniel a hard hug.

Seemingly startled by Chelsea’s affection, Nathaniel awkwardly patted her back. “She did half the work on her own.”

The pride in his voice warmed her, and when Raven indicated that they should all take seats at the conference table, his hand landed on the small of her back as he guided her into a seat. He took the one beside her, and even though she knew she was safe at Prey, having Nathaniel’s presence beside her helped her keep a clear enough mind that she could function.

“We have a lot to go through,” Raven informed her once they were all seated. All but Josiah, who remained in his dark little corner, his fingers flying over the keyboard. Ava knew he was listening, though, and if he found something he would let them know immediately. While Josiah was difficult to get close to, she knew he was hard-working and dedicated, and whether he kept his distance from her and their team, he had their backs.

Something in the way her boss was looking at her, the way the rest of the team was looking at her, too, had the fine hairs on the back of Ava’s neck rising.

Whatever they had to tell her they didn't want to.

“What's wrong?” she asked, glancing at Nathaniel to see if he knew what was going on. His gaze met hers, quiet and steady, a rock to grip onto in the storm that had become her life. It seemed like he knew what they were going to tell her and was using his presence to ground her.

“Nathaniel’s team tracked the ship you were on,” Raven said gently. “But by the time they boarded it, there was no one left.”

“No one left as in the traffickers somehow offloaded everyone before Nathaniel’s SEAL team got there? Or no one left like …” She couldn’t even bring herself to say the words.

Because she knew.

Knew the answer.

And knew what had caused it.

“My team waited until the ship was close to docking because they wanted to know where it was going so we could learn who might be behind the ring. But when they raided it, everyone on board the ship was already dead,” Nathaniel said softly.

All those people, just like her, plucked away from their lives, tied to beds, operated on against their will, all dead. She was the only survivor.

Nausea churned in her gut, and she pressed a hand to her stomach.

“What about the doctors and nurses?” Surely they weren't dead, too. If they weren't on the boat when it was raided, they must have gotten off at some point.

“Dead,” Raven told her. “Looks like many were injured or killed when the helicopter crashed into the ship. The rest were systematically slaughtered, both victims and personnel. The captain and two other men looked to have died from self-inflicted injuries.”

So they’d been the ones to kill everyone else, then when they realized they’d be captured likely ended their own lives.

“How many?” Ava asked.

“Fifty victims, around seventy-five staff between the doctors, nurses, cleaners, and cooks,” Tobias answered.

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