Page 14 of Beautiful Scars: Unshakeable

Iwipemyhandson the rag, but the blood refuses to come off. My knuckles ache. The metallic scent clings to my clothes, a reminder of what we've become in our desperation to find Sunny.

Levi's head snaps up from his place on the couch when I finally make my way up from the basement. His eyes are wild with a mix of hope and dread. Colt lounges against the wall, deceptively casual, but I catch the tension in his shoulders.

"She's not there anymore." The words taste bitter. "Garrett moved her yesterday morning. Early. Before sunrise."

Levi's fist connects with the wall. "Fuck!"

"The guard gave up everything else though." I sink into a chair, my body heavy with exhaustion. "Three other locations, all with the same setup. Underground rooms, private quarters for that piece of shit."

"And Sunny?" Colt's voice carries an edge I rarely hear.

"He said she wasn't in good shape when Garrett took her out." My jaw clenches, remembering the guard's description. Asshole had smiled while telling me that part. His smile didn't last long.

"What did you do with him?" Levi asks, though his tone tells me he already knows.

"He won't be talking to anyone else." I meet his gaze. "Chase and Ty are handling disposal."

Colt pushes off the wall, pulling out his phone. "We need to move fast. If we hit all three locations—"

"He'll know we're coming," I cut in. "The guard mentioned they rotate staff between facilities every other day and switch shifts. The minute we show up at one, word will get back to him."

"Then we do it simultaneously," Levi suggests, pacing like a caged animal. "Split up, hit them all at once."

I shake my head. "Too risky. We don't have the manpower to hit them all sufficiently. We'd have to make choices, sacrifices. It would be a guess as to which one he has her at, if any. And if we guess wrong or go in undermanned..."

The unspoken truth hangs heavy in the air. If we guess wrong, Garrett will have time to move her again. Or worse.

"What about surveillance?" Colt suggests. "We could watch all three, track movements."

"That could take days—weeks," Levi growls. "She might not have that time."

An image of Sunny standing in the kitchen wearing one of my shirts flashes through my mind—her small smile, her laugh. The thought of her back in Garrett's hands for possibly weeks makes my stomach turn.

"We need more intel," I say finally. "Someone higher up than a security guard. Someone who knows Garrett's movements."

"The hospital connection," Colt snaps his fingers. "New Dawn has to have someone coordinating with the medical staff."

"Start there," I agree. "But we need to be smart about this. No more beating down doors and terrorizing street dealers." I look pointedly at Levi.

Levi's jaw works, but he nods. The rage still burns in his eyes, but there's something else there now—fear. The same fear that's been eating at me since she disappeared.

"Wolf's running backgrounds on the hospital staff," I continue. "We focus on anyone with financial ties to New Dawn or unusual deposits. Find the weak links."

"And then?" Colt asks.

I stand, my muscles protesting. "Then we make them talk. But this time, we do it clean. No mess, no bodies, nothing that could get back to Garrett."

"Time's running out," Levi says quietly.

"I know." I head for the door, needing to breathe air that doesn't smell like blood and death. "But we do this right, or we might as well give up now."

Chapter Seven

Sunny

Themattresscreaksundermy weight. It's a gift I'm supposed to be grateful for—along with the clean sheets, soft pillows and fresh towels. They're my "reward" for being good. For not fighting back. For letting him—

I close my eyes, waiting out the pit that settles in my stomach.

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