The same was going to be true this time around.
If her plan didn't work and she wasn't rescued, then she would die knowing she’d created whatever havoc she could.
“In case you didn't hear, I said I hate you all,” she screamed again, then looked around the hospital room with irritation. There were things she could use as weapons lying right around her, yet they had her tied to the bed so she couldn’t get to them.
“We heard you,” a woman who looked to be in her late fifties snapped as she breezed through the door. The woman was dressed in a doctor’s coat, with a stethoscope hanging around her neck, her light brown eyes were narrowed, and her lips pursed into a thin line.
“Good.” She eyed the woman defiantly as she approached the bed. One thing she knew for certain from the work she and her team had been doing looking into the ring, and from what she’d learned from Ava and Isabella, as well as her own time spent as one of the ring’s captives, was that none of the medical personnel were to be trusted. They weren't all here by choice, and some of them could maybe be persuaded to help, but she couldn’t rely on that.
Besides, this woman didn't appear to be here under duress.
“I’m glad we were able to get you back. Thanks to you and your team’s constant interference, we have to keep shuttingdown branches and trying to scramble to set them up in other places.”
“If you're waiting for me to cry you a river, you're going to be waiting one heck of a long time,” Teresa informed the older woman.
“Things can go easy for you here, or hard, up to you,” the woman said, the arrogance rolling off her so strong Teresa literally rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, yeah, got it. You guys really care about me, and you want to make my stay with you as pleasant as it can possibly be. Course you do. In case that wasn't abundantly clear, that was sarcasm.” The more Teresa talked back to the woman, the more empowered she felt.
Their goal was to strip her of power, strip her of humanity, and treat her as nothing but a collection of organs they could sell for profit. Well, she was going to spend every second of her time there reminding them that she was a human being, and if they wanted to murder her, they had to admit to themselves that was what they were doing.
“You think being a sarcastic brat is going to save you?” The woman scoffed.
“Nope. Not at all.” If anything was going to save her, it was the little trick she had up her sleeve. And if it didn't work out, she had no doubt that sooner or later, Prey would find the head of the ring and destroy them. “But you have to know Prey isn’t giving up, and we always win.”
“This isn’t some movie where good triumphs over evil.”
Teresa laughed. “Oh, lady, don’t you know, movie or real life, goodalwaystriumphs over evil. It’s not a matter of if Prey is going to close you down, it’s only a matter of when.”
Muttering under her breath, the doctor proceeded to check Teresa’s vitals, and as she watched the woman work, her gaze fixed on her own wrist, praying that the small device insidewould remain undetected. It was her gamble, something she’d been working on for a while now, but it was still in the early stages, in fact, this was the first time it was being trialed.
It was still a prototype, still just something she worked on in her spare time, but she was putting her entire life in its hands.
May7th
10:16 A.M.
“You let her do what?”Micah roared.
While his tone of voice didn't indicate it, he was very much aware of who he was yelling at. Very much aware of the money and power Eagle Oswald and the rest of his family wielded. They wielded it for good, taking the fortune they’d inherited and turning it into a billion-dollar company that saved lives.
They did a lot of good, but Eagle had connections everywhere, and Micah knew if the man so chose he could end his career with a single word.
The idea scared him, but not as much as knowing he could lose Teresa.
And what he’d just learned sounded very much like she’d gone back to her apartment with the idea of playing bait.
Without consulting him.
Not that she was obligated to talk through any ideas she had with him, they weren't a couple anymore, weren't even friends, although it definitely felt like something was building between them again, but he thought she would have mentioned this. At least clued him in because he was her bodyguard, and everything to do with her safety was his business.
But she hadn't told him.
Hadn't told anyone other than Eagle and Raven, if the expressions on the faces of the rest of her team were anything to go by.
“I didn'tlether do anything,” Eagle said mildly, seemingly unperturbed by Micah’s attitude, which he supposed was a good thing and meant he wasn’t going to lose his job for confronting the billionaire retired SEAL.
“Teresa talked to both of us about her idea and we both agreed that it was a good one,” Raven added, her tone a little less arrogant than her brother’s. “While we had all hoped it wouldn't come to this, Teresa knew the risks, and she was prepared to take them for a chance at bringing down the trafficking ring once and for all.”
