Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
Tonight he felt restless.
Something was going to happen, he could feel it in his bones, he just wasn't sure what.
Josiah was confident that so far their cover had been maintained. They’d been diligent in answering every question the way they’d planned, acting like they were willing to betray their company and step out into the illegal to save Chelsea’s life.
Granted, that was mostly Chelsea, but then again, he was playing himself. All he’d had to do was stand around and glare at anyone and everything.
Easy done.
Because they hadn't been able to talk to anyone on this side of things, they weren't sure what to expect. They’d rescued victims of the ring who had been taken to harvest organs, including Ava, so they knew about that side of things. They’d rescued doctors and nurses who had been abducted and forced to work for the ring, including Isabella, so they knew about that side of things.
They’d even managed to take alive some of the doctors and nurses who had willingly signed up to work for the trafficking ring for money and power. Those men and women had been more reluctant to talk, but they’d managed to gather some bits and pieces of information from that side of things as well.
But they hadn't located a single person who had bought an illegal organ from the ring, so they had no idea what the next steps might look like.
At some point, they knew they would have a meeting at the clinic Dr. Wood had told them about.
From there, he had no idea where things would go and he didn't like that.
Didn't like things being up in the air.
If you couldn’t plan for every single contingency, you couldn’t ensure things went the way you wanted.
Of course, he knew in life there were no guarantees, but he’d spent six years now doing everything he could to eliminate as much uncertainty from his life as he could manage.
Playing things safe, isolating himself from anyone who could wind up hurt, had been the only way to keep his anxiety in check, and now he was stepping away from both of those things.
The woman beside him meant so much more to him than she realized.
Chelsea still believed that he was never going to love her back, but she was wrong. The issue wasn't whether or not he’d fall in love with her because he was pretty sure he already had.
The issue was whether he could accept those feelings.
They terrified him, because allowing himself to care about another person left him open to losing them.
Pushing Chelsea out of his life wouldn't be as logistically easy as cutting off his family had been because they worked together.
He could always quit, but he loved his job, it gave him a purpose, a reason to live, and …
Not seeing Chelsea every day would be losing her anyway.
Beside him, she slept peacefully. Sleeping in the bed together had been her idea, he’d wanted to sleep on the floor again. There was every chance that he’d have another nightmare, wind up hurting her again, but she’d asked and he found it difficult to tell her no.
Another time the soft rise and fall of her chest as she took soft, sleepy breaths, and the way her soft chestnut locks tickled his chin might have been all it took to calm him, soothe him enough he might get real sleep without dreams.
But not tonight.
Tonight, danger seemed to hang in the air.
If Chelsea wasn't with him, he’d be happy to wing it, take things as they happened, it was what his life had been like as a SEAL. But since he did have Chelsea with him, he hated not knowing what to expect next from the trafficking ring.
“Whatever happens, I won't let them hurt you,” he whispered to a sleeping Chelsea.
Lifting his hand, it hovered above her head for a moment.
He wanted to give in to the urge to touch her, but how much more Chelsea could he take before he gave in entirely and told her that her feelings weren't one-sided?
Giving in to the urge, Josiah lowered his hand slowly until it rested against her silky locks. Almost reverently, he smoothed his hand down the side of her head. How could a woman like her ever fall for a guy like him?
She said it didn't have to make sense, and no one had to understand it, but he found himself struggling to accept it because it felt crazy to him. He was about the least lovable man out there, well, for these last several years at least. Before that, he’d just been a regular guy, not really looking for commitment but not against the idea either.
It always seemed like if it was going to happen, it would happen in its own time and in its own way.
Now it seemed to have happened, and it felt surreal.
Buzzing had his hand snatching back, his pulse spiking, before he realized it was just his phone that he’d switched to silent when they got into bed, vibrating with a message on the nightstand.
Reluctantly, he rolled over to grab it, trying not to disturb Chelsea. She needed the sleep, and it could be nothing important.
“Hey,” he said when he picked it up, noting that Luca “Bear” Jackson’s name was on his screen.
Bear was the team leader of Prey’s Alpha Team and was providing support and surveillance for him and Chelsea while they were undercover.
Alpha Team was set up in a house across the street, but they would only intervene if absolutely necessary.
“Hey, sorry for the wake-up call,” Bear said.
“Wasn't asleep.”
“Good, because you're about to have visitors. Van just pulled up right outside your house, four men are getting out. We ran the tags, and the vehicle is registered to a Dr. Gant who works at the clinic,” Bear told him.
“Guess we know how they make contact now,” he said.
He’d just been wondering and worrying over what to expect from the clinic, and now he knew.
They were going to raid his place in the middle of the night.
Not sure what they hoped to achieve by that, but then again, the clinic had to make sure that the people they sold black-market organs to couldn’t go to the police.
Maybe this was meant to be an intimidation technique.
“We’re watching things, but I don’t think they’re going to hurt you guys. Possibly rough you up a bit to send a message of what will happen if you double-cross them, but I doubt they’ll hurt Chelsea, can't if they want their money. You know what to do if you need us.”
With that, Bear was gone, and Josiah immediately set his phone down and leaned over to grasp Chelsea’s shoulder.
“Wake up, Chels,” he murmured.
“Mmm … go way,” she grumbled, batting a hand at him and making him smile.
“Can't. Need you to wake up for me.” This time, he shook her a little harder. While she was going to have to act scared, he wanted to give her a head-up and he had minutes at most before those four men would be inside the townhouse. There were some cameras set up in the living room and kitchen, providing both video and sound to Alpha Team. He’d activate them as soon as they were taken down there, easy enough done since they were voice-activated, so he wasn't worried about what would happen there tonight, but Chelsea didn't have his experience.
“Sleepin’,” she mumbled.
Her cute, little annoyed voice made him laugh. “Sorry, Chels, you have to wake up, we’re about to have company.”
That got her moving. “Company?”
When she sat up, letting the covers dip enough, he got a glimpse at all that creamy skin he’d touched last night, since her tank top did little to cover much of anything.
Not the time to get distracted.
“Bear just called. Four men from the clinic outside the house.”
“Here? Now? Why?”
“We’re about to find out.”
“What do we do?”
“Nothing. We lie here in bed, pretend to be asleep, and do everything they ask of us. Chances are they’re going to be careful with you, maybe not so much with me.
” Josiah wanted her to be as prepared as possible for what was about to happen, and he didn't want her freaking out if they roughed him up a little.
“They’re going to hurt you?”
“Maybe. Whatever they do I can take. All you have to do is keep playing the part you’ve done perfectly so far. You can do this.” While he’d initially been skeptical about Chelsea’s ability to go undercover, she’d done everything she needed to, and he had no choice but to admit she’d been an asset.
“I won't let you down,” she vowed solemnly.
“And I will do whatever it takes to protect you,” he promised. This case was important, the ring needed to be dismantled, but Chelsea still came first.
Her hand cupped his cheek, fingers gently stroking his temple. “I know that. I trust you, Josiah. Always.”
While he couldn’t help but feel that trust was misplaced, he nodded. Then because he was supposed to be her husband, he leaned in and brushed a quick kiss to her lips, before guiding her back down to rest her head on the pillows. “Showtime.”
May 16th
1:47 A.M.
Lying in bed counting seconds made it almost impossible to pretend she was sleeping.
But what else was she supposed to do?
Josiah’s wake-up call that their temporary home was about to be invaded by strangers had her on edge.
So far, Chelsea hadn't really had to do anything particularly dangerous. Pretending to be dying in a doctor’s office surrounded by people where the doctor couldn’t make a move was easy enough.
Every time they’d left the hospital, she’d known Alpha Team was keeping watch, same as they were tonight.
They just suddenly felt very far away.
“Relax, Chels.” Josiah’s warm breath puffed against her forehead, soothing her a little. “You got this.”
“Okay,” she whispered back. He was right, she had insisted that she was capable of being part of this operation without becoming a liability, and she was going to prove him right.
It was just that she didn't like the idea of the men roughing up Josiah.
She didn't want him hurt, he’d already been hurt more than enough to last a hundred lifetimes.