Page 82 of Rescuing Nathaniel

This was it.

Once the pain overloaded her system and knocked her out, she wouldn't be waking up again. Anesthesia would be administered, and the remaining organs would be removed quickly and efficiently. Then once the final ones were gone, her body would no longer be able to function and she’d be dead.

There was no empathy on the faces of the doctors and nurses as they took their places around her bed. A final check of her bonds was given, and then the doctor nodded to one of the nurses.

Making quick work of it, the woman found a pair of scissors and proceeded to cut away Ava’s hospital gown until she was left lying naked before them. Maybe she would have been more humiliated if her gaze wasn't locked on the scalpel the surgeon held in his hand.

Knowing there was no point in fighting, that this was happening whether she wanted it to or not, and actually stopping her body from tensing and trying to fight against her restraints were wildly different things. The muscle relaxant she’d been given gave her limbs the same heavy feeling they’d had when she first regained consciousness. They were sluggish and uncooperative, her attempts to yank against the leather straps were pointless.

Placing a hand on her stomach, above where the old wound was, the surgeon quickly cut away the stitches that hadn't yet been removed, then pressed the blade against the cut.

Agony tore a scream from her lips as he cut open the older wound and she watched in horror as her blood began to spill.

He wasn't done there though, after cutting deep into her flesh, reopening the cut from her first surgery, he then began to cut into smooth skin, opening the wound further, almost as though he were performing a cesarean operation.

Only she wasn't going to be giving birth to any baby.

She was going to lose herself piece by piece.

When his hand dipped inside the wound, she screamed again and prayed that she would hurry up and pass out so she could just die and get it over and done with.

* * *

March 9th

4:59 A.M.

“You shouldn’t be here,you know that, right?”

Nathaniel turned to face Rocco, ignoring the way the world tilted slightly. It didn't matter that he felt like he’d been hit in the chest with a tank, didn't matter that pain pulsed through his body constantly, or that his head was permanently spinning.

Nothing in the world was going to stop him from being there.

Ava was there.

Or at least he prayed she was.

Because if she wasn't, they didn't have any other leads.

Four clinics were owned by the brothers, all four were being hit by different teams. He’d elected to tag along with Rocco’s team because he had a good feeling about this clinic. It was no different than any of the others, and he couldn’t pinpoint why it was exactly that he felt drawn to this one, but he did, and so he was there.

He also had a feeling like they were up against a ticking clock.

It was supposition that the trafficking ring would move quickly, but it made sense. They knew Ava had cost them not just the money they would have gotten for selling her organs but all the other people they’d killed on the boat.

Recouping losses was logical, but he felt like it was more than that.

Was it too late? Was she already dead?

No. He wouldn’t allow himself to believe that.

Couldn’t.

“Wait out here, let us go in and get her if she’s in there.” Rocco stepped up and put a steadying hand on Nathaniel’s arm.

“I'm coming,” he gritted out. If his girl was in there, he wanted to be the first thing she saw. Wanted her to know that nothing would ever stop him coming for her. She was his and he was going to glue himself to her side from here on out so nothing and no one could ever hurt her again.

Including himself.

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