Page 22 of Rescuing Tobias

“I’m fine,” he assured everyone, wanting their attention off him and back on the case at hand.

The trafficking ring was still operational as far as they were all aware, although he was sure that between the raids when Ava was rescued and the ones where they saved Isabella, they’d put a major dent in the operation.

“Ava’s here,” he added when no one looked convinced.

“Hey, don’t drag me into it,” the pretty blonde told him. “It’s been two weeks since I was rescued, my injuries are healing well. And besides, I live here for the time being.”

After learning the trafficking ring had put a tracker in her, Ava hadn't been able to return to the apartment she shared with Chelsea and Teresa. So, for now, she was living in one of the apartments in the building. It helped with her peace of mind, and this place was impenetrable, which was good because her new boyfriend, Nathaniel Trevino, had left two days ago to go back to join his SEAL team. Tobias knew Ava was missing herboyfriend, but he also knew that the two were figuring out how they would handle things long term, because it was plain for everyone to see that they were falling in love with one another.

He should have brought Isabella to Prey’s building that night.

That way, he never would have slept with her, and he wouldn't have this constant ache in his chest that had nothing to do with his injury and everything to do with the woman he couldn’t get out of his head. If they hadn't had sex, it would have been easier to keep in touch with her, but now he’d had her that way, he wanted more, and more. Tobias wasn't sure anything would be enough.

Which is why he had to keep his distance.

For both of their sakes.

No way was he going to make himself a burden to Isabella, and she deserved the freedom to make her own choices about what happened next in her life.

Besides, it wasn't like she’d reached out to him either.

After that sweet goodbye kiss in his apartment, she’d left with Becca and Connor, and he hadn't heard a word from her since. He was sure if he reached out to Connor the man would tell him how Isabella was doing, but he needed a clean break if he was going to finally yank her out of his mind for good.

One of the best ways to start working on getting her out of his head was to focus on work. This trafficking ring had to be dismantled. They’d gone after Ava, and then Isabella, and hundreds of other innocent victims.

Every single one of them deserved justice.

That’s what he could do for Isabella. He might not be able to be there for her while she healed, even though he wanted to be, and he couldn’t give her any sort of future, even if she wanted one, but he could give her this. He could give her the peace of mind of knowing that the trafficking ring that had inflicted somuch pain and suffering on her was burned to the ground and every person involved was punished.

That was all he could give her, and he hoped it was enough for her to find the happiness she deserved, even if he spent the rest of his life craving a woman he could never have.

March 30th

1:55 P.M.

“I don’t knowhow you can be so strong,” Isabella said as she looked over at her best friend.

Becca laughed. “You act like it’s a big deal.”

“It’s ahugedeal,” she countered. “And I don’t think I could do it.” Not that she ever expected to find herself in the same position her friend was currently in, but if she ever did, there was no way she could be as strong as Becca was being.

“Again, it’s not a big deal.” Becca’s eyes, a darker shade of blue than her own, sparkled with amusement, and it was so nice to see her friend happy again, relaxed, enjoying life, that for a second, emotion clogged Isabella’s throat.

“I think it’s a big deal,” she said softly. “I'd want to know.”

“Connor and I decided together that we want to wait until the baby is born to find out the sex. We’d be equally as happy with either. It would be nice to have a son since our little boy passed away, but it would be just as nice to have a little girl.”

“I get a real kick out of imagining Connor sitting on the floor, dressed in a tutu, with his nails painted, having a princess tea party with his little girl,” she said, the emotion clearing enough for her to giggle at the mental image. “He’s going to be a great dad.”

“The best,” Becca agreed. “Whether it’s tea parties with our daughter, or kicking a ball around in the yard with our son, or vice versa, depending on what they wind up being interested in, Connor is going to be the best, most involved dad ever.”

That was true. Connor would get down with whatever his kid wanted to do. She knew how bad he felt about what had gone down when Becca turned up pregnant while they were all in college, and she knew that this time around he would dote on mother and child.

He was already doting on his soon-to-be wife.

Anything Becca so much as hinted about possibly craving turned up in their house almost immediately. Whether Connor ran down to the store to get it or put in an order online if he and his team were working, he made sure that anything Becca wanted, she got. He gave her back massages, foot rubs, he ran her bubble baths, and helped her stand up even though she was barely five months along and not very big yet.

It was beautiful to watch.

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