Page 8 of Rescuing Tobias

It was a hell of a long time to be held captive and tortured. He knew of men trained to survive torture who hadn't come out the other side of it as strong as Isabella had, and they hadn't been held for nearly as long.

How much of it was an act, and how much of it was genuine strength?

Not that Tobias doubted this woman was tough. She had strength in spades, but he had a feeling she was using bravado to hide her true vulnerabilities from him. From all of them. The sooner they got her back home and surrounded by the people she knew and trusted, the better.

“No need to thank me, little firecracker,” he assured her as she was wheeled on a gurney into a small cubicle on the ship.

The nickname earned him an eye roll, but also a small smile, and a little of her sass returned. Tobias felt relief knowing he’d helped stave off Isabella’s inevitable breakdown a little longer, and he marveled at how easy it was to tease this woman.

Who the hell was he around her?

All his life, he’d been the serious kid, the one people always called an old soul. Since his mother’s diagnosis of early-onset dementia had come while he was still so young, he’d been forced to grow up quickly. While his father never expected Tobias to take on the role of caregiver to his mother, with his dad’s loving example to follow, there was no way he wouldn't have been willing to do his fair share.

Hard work and responsibility had always been part of his life, but he’d learned other things from watching his parents’ relationship.

Number one was that he never wanted to be a burden on his partner.

While he knew his mom couldn’t help her medical diagnosis, and he knew his dad cared for her willingly, happily, out of a genuine and pure love, it was still a massive burden that his father had been saddled with. One where the only way out was to lose the other half of your heart and soul.

Before he’d been so badly injured, he’d wanted to find the same kind of love his parents shared. He wanted to have the kind of love that songs were sung about, books written about, that kind of all-consuming, blind devotion to another person where they were your reason for breathing.

But now …

Now with his injury that would be a lifelong issue, and would only get worse as he aged, he’d found he couldn’t stomach the idea of becoming a burden to a wife like his mother had been to his father.

If he hadn't ruined his back beyond repair, then Isabella Baker would have been just the woman he was looking for. She was strong, smart, sassy, independent, would be able to handle the pressures of his job, and he’d be able to handle the pressures of hers. Not to mention, she was beautiful, not even dirty, emaciated, and bruised could hide that particular fact.

“Course I need to thank you,” Isabella’s words tugged him out of his thoughts. “You're supposed to be with the others, aren't you? Making sure they’re all secure and transported wherever it is you're taking them. Yet you're here. With me.”

“Technically, it’s not my job to transport the prisoners. I tagged along on this op because it was personal to me.” Since she had a connection to Prey and had intel on the ring that would likely be valuable, Tobias wasn't worried about being honest with her, she was going to hear all of this at some point anyway.

“Personal? Did they take you too? Is that why you look like you're in pain?” There was worry in her eyes as she asked, and while it was nice to know she cared enough to show concern, how did she know he was in pain? He always thought he did a good job of hiding it.

“No. Old injury. But they took one of my teammates. I'm not active duty anymore, I work for Prey’s cyber team, the other guys are a SEAL team.”

“I'm sorry about your friend, is she okay?”

“They took her kidney, but she’s alive, and she’s like you, strong. She has people around her to love and support her, and she’s going to be okay. It was through one of the people captured when she was rescued the second time that we were able to learn about this location and a couple of others.”

“Second time?”

“I’ll tell you the whole story later,” he promised. “Right now, you should rest before the doctor is in to examine you.”

Restlessly, Isabella shifted on the bed, it was clear without her having to say it that the idea of resting was an unsettling one to her. “You saw what happened when I tried to rest earlier, I couldn’t stay asleep. I used to be a good sleeper. As a kid, my mom would always joke that I could sleep through an earthquake. Becca would always tease me that I could nap anywhere, anytime. But …” She trailed off and glanced away, and he knew there was a story there, one she wasn't ready to share yet.

“You're safe now, Isabella,” he assured her, hesitating for a moment before reaching out to clasp her hand. He’d been half expecting her to tug it away as quickly as possible, maybe not even let him touch her at all.

Only that wasn't what she did.

Instead, her fingers curled around his, clinging to him, and offering him a rare glimpse at the pain and fear she kept hidden under a thick layer of sass and bravado.

“I know it’s hard to believe it, but it’s true. Once the doctors examine you, if you're given the all-clear, you can hop on a flight back home with me. Becca already knows you’ve been found, and she and Connor are just waiting on word when they can pick you up to go and stay with them while you recover.”

When a doctor strode through the door, Tobias felt Isabella tense only because she was holding his hand. Otherwise, there was no outward sign that she was stressed. No wonder she wasn't all that keen to see a doctor after what she’d been through. Even being a nurse, she was likely going to have a lifelong phobia of doctors and hospitals.

Which made his offer that much easier to make.

“How about I stand just outside your door while you get checked over, we’ll keep the door open.”

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