Page 22 of Knot Unwanted: Part Two

No, it isn’t. It’s barely begun.

The drive is silent save for the rustle of papers as I examine the file Ashgrave gave us. The SUV reeks of violence and unspoken questions, tension thick enough to cut.

“Start talking,” Stone finally says from the driver’s seat, knuckles gripping the wheel. “What’s in the file?”

I exhale slowly, fighting to keep my voice steady. “A facility. About forty minutes north of the city.”

“A warehouse?” Jax asks, brow furrowed.

I shake my head. I spread the schematics across my lap. “It’s a private medical research facility owned by Heath. On paper, it develops pharmaceuticals. Off the books…”

“It’s one of the Academies,” Jax finishes, leaning forward to study the blueprints.

“No,” I correct him. “She wouldn’t be that stupid. This is probably where they take the ones who need…special attention.” My stomach turns at the euphemism. “The ones who know too much.”

The ones like Hailey.

The facility is a fortress—armed guards, security cameras, a private helipad. And there, on the basement level, a series of rooms marked “Containment.”

“Jesus Christ,” Jax murmurs, tracing the outline with his finger. “This is…”

“Military-grade security,” I finish for him. “Biometric locks. Motion sensors. The works. Why would she need all that to make Botox?”

Jax’s jaw ticks.

Then his gaze shifts up from the papers to me, eyes narrowing. “You’ve been working on this. Long before tonight.”

I hold his stare. “Yes.”

The silence stretches between us, heavy with implications.

“Who was it?” Jax finally asks, voice barely above a whisper. “Who bought her?”

I hesitate, then slide a document from between the blueprints. Their eyes track my movement as I pass it to Jax. I watch his face as he reads the name. Watch as the blood drains from his features.

“They call him Cee,” I say quietly. “He was there tonight. At the gala. Standing right in front of us, and we had no idea.”

Stone’s fist goes through the glove compartment with a crack of plastic and metal. “You’re telling me thatassholebought Hailey?” The question hangs raw in the air. “I know where he lives. Let’s go there now?—”

“No.” The word leaves my mouth like a bullet.

Stone’s head snaps toward me. “No?”

I meet his gaze steadily. “We do this my way, or we bury her.”

“Fuck you,” Stone growls, but there’s uncertainty beneath the anger. “You don’t get to decide?—”

“I just did.” I cut him off, forcing steel into my voice. “You want to go after him? Fine. But he won’t be there. He’ll be somewhere with witnesses, with alibis, with lawyers ready to crucify anyone who comes at him.” I tap the facility blueprint. “This is where Hailey is. This is where we go.”

Jax exhales slowly, the sound unnaturally loud in the silence of the vehicle.

“He’s right, Stone,” he says finally. “If we go in blind, if we target the wrong place or the wrong person…”

“Finn’s alone,” Stone interrupts, his voice barely human. “He’s been alone for too long now. What if he wakes up and we’re not there? What if?—”

The words hit me like slaps across the face. My chest cracks open. Finn’s gray eyes wide with pain and confusion, machines beeping around him, no one to hold his hand, no one to tell him it’s going to be okay.

But Hailey’s time is running out faster.

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