Page 11 of Beautiful Scars: Unshakeable

"And now they have her again." Something crashes on their end. "We have to—"

"We will," I cut him off. "But smart this time. This is bigger than just getting to Garrett. We have a lot more to consider."

I gather the files and head downstairs, my boots heavy on each step. The main room of the house is a mess—papers everywhere, half-empty coffee cups, and tension thick enough to choke on. Levi paces near the window, while Colt's hunched over his laptop at the kitchen counter.

"That house on Maple," I say, dropping the files on the table. "The one I followed those women to. It's our best lead."

Levi stops pacing. "You think she's there?"

"I'm not sure." I run a hand through my hair. "Garrett's not stupid. It seems like the kind of place he'd keep her. High security. Hard to access. If she is there, someone has to have seen her and knows it."

"I sent Ty out for more surveillance," Colt says without looking up. "It's going to take time to get the information we need though. I told him to be thorough. We can't afford a mistake."

It'smid-afternoonthenextday when Ty finally returns. He pours himself two fingers of whiskey before settling into one of the living room chairs. Colt and Levi file in after him.

"It looks like they run a pretty standard rotation of guards. Four men minimum at all times. They rotate out every four hours. Very discreet." Ty's voice is strained with exhaustion as he speaks. He pulls out his phone and starts scrolling through images.

"These guys seem fairly well trained. But if we're going to take one of them, I'd go with this one." He taps the image of a shorter man who’s standing at what looks like the far east perimeter of the property. "From what I saw, he's sloppier than the others—more easily distracted, and definitely younger. Takes a five minute smoke break behind the garage every hour he's on shift like clockwork."

Levi studies the photo. "When's his next shift start?"

Ty checks his watch. "In about three hours. But we need to be sure and think this through. These guys aren't just muscle—they know what they're doing. They're organized. They'll have protocols, backup plans."

"I don't care how sophisticated they are." Levi's voice carries that dangerous edge. "He's ours. I'll make the asshole talk."

"That's exactly why you're not doing the grab." I meet his glare with a steady, even gaze. "You're too close. Too angry. We need him coherent enough to give us useful information."

Colt closes his laptop. "Z's right. You'll get first crack at him after we have him secured, but the extraction needs to be clean."

"Fine." Levi's jaw clenches. "What's the plan?"

I spread out a map of the neighborhood. "Simple is the way to go. It needs to be dark, which means we wait. We're looking at 2100 hours. I'm thinking Ty and Chase create a distraction on the west side—nothing too obvious. Wolf takes out the cameras. I grab our guy during his smoke break. We bring him back here."

"And then?" Levi asks even though we all know what comes next.

"And then you can get your answers." I start marking entry and exit routes. "But remember—we need information about the whole operation, not just Sunny. You need to maintain control."

"Three days now," Levi mutters, more to himself than us. "She's been gone three fucking days."

The weight of those words settles heavy in my chest. Three days of her alone with that monster. Three days of not knowing if she's even...

No. I can't think like that. She's alive. We'll get her back.

I turn to Levi. "You need to get your head straight before we do this. Channel all that anger into something useful."

"Don't tell me how to—"

"I'm telling you because I need you focused." I step closer, lowering my voice. "Because when we find her, she's going to need you thinking clearly. Not lost. The last thing she'll need is another monster."

Something shifts in Levi's expression—a flash of the man he used to be before all of this became his life. He nods once, sharp and decisive.

"Wolf's got the tech ready," Colt announces, phone in hand. "Says it'll take about ten minutes to loop the cameras."

"Good." I check my weapon, more out of habit than necessity. "Let's work out the timing. This has to be perfect."

The plan comes together quickly—years of working together makes the process almost automatic. But underneath our efficient planning, we all feel it. The urgency. The fear. The knowledge that every minute we spend preparing is another minute she's in his hands.

I catch my reflection in the window—dark circles under my eyes, jaw tight with tension. Those early mornings Sunny and I shared over breakfast feel like forever ago. The way she'd smile, small and genuine, when I'd slide extra bacon onto her plate. How she'd duck her head when she laughed, like she was surprised and a little embarrassed by her own joy.

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