Page 70 of Rescuing Tobias

She was more sure than not that they would allow her to carry to term.

Was that enough to take this massive risk?

“I need to know if you're strong enough to help,” Isabella told the other woman, who still hadn't given her name.

“To help?”

“Escape. It’s what I spent seven months trying to do. It didn’t work, but I wasn't giving up. Wasn't going to let them break me.”

“You were rescued, though, right? And you said your baby’s father is going to be looking for you. So there’s hope someone will find us.”

“There’s hope. But you don’t have seven months to wait. As soon as you get over your reaction, it will start.”

The woman swallowed audibly. “They’re really going to take my organs?”

“They are. They want my skills and my baby. But I'm not going to spend another seven and a half months waiting to see if I'm rescued. If we want to save our lives, we have to take things into our own hands. I just need to know if you're up for it.”

Hazel eyes studied her for a long moment before the woman gave a shaky nod. “Trinity. That’s my name. And I can do whatever you need me to do.”

There was determination in the woman’s voice, and Isabella believed that Trinity could help. A lot could go wrong, and both might wind up paying the price. For Trinity, that might mean enduring surgeries where she was awake and aware, or the refusal of pain meds after they’d removed her organs. For herself, it would mean beatings or shocks with the collar, both of which could end her baby’s life.

But if she did nothing, her baby’s life was forfeited anyway.

“I’m going to untie you. Then I'm going to go out there and fake needing to throw up,” Isabella explained.

“Fake it?” Trinity asked doubtfully, eyeing the gash on the side of her head and then dropping her gaze to her stomach.

“Okay, it’s not really faked. I’m still nauseous from the concussion and a bit of morning sickness. Which is even better because I can likely throw up all over the place out there. That should be enough of a distraction. But it’s not going to be easy. I haven’t been here long enough to know how many guards there’ll be, but it’ll be a lot. There’s an outside door three down from this room, but I don’t know what you’ll find when you get out there. You're still weak, but you’ll have to move fast. Steal a vehicle if you can, otherwise run. It won't take them long to know you're gone so you're going to have to be smart.”

“I’ll find a way to get to help, I swear,” Trinity assured her.

“Then let’s make this happen.”

“Aren't they going to punish you when they find out I'm gone?”

“Oh yeah.” Not something she was looking forward to, but she was prepared to do whatever it took to get back home.

“Thank you,” Trinity whispered.

“For what?”

“Risking everything to give me a chance at getting away.”

“You’ll need to find help as soon as you can. When you do, I need you to ask someone to call Prey Security for you.”

“Prey Security? I've heard of them. They’re a huge private security firm.”

“They are, and my baby’s father works for them. They’re already investigating the ring and they’ll be the best ones to help. You need to be quick, though, Trinity. Because once they know you're gone, they could clean house and kill us all or transfer us to another location.”

“I can do it. I won't let you down,” Trinity vowed.

Making quick work of undoing the woman’s bonds, she helped Trinity sit up, made sure the woman was steady enough to stand, and then pushed her back down.

“I’m going to cover you with the blanket, and I need you to look like you're still unconscious. They don’t trust me, and they might look in on you first.”

Trinity nodded and immediately closed her eyes and worked on slowing her breathing.

Taking a deep breath of her own, Isabella pressed a hand to her stomach, gave her baby the caress she could, and then stumbled toward the door, hoping against hope that this worked.

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