Page 5 of Beautiful Scars: Unshakeable

"I said let him go."

For a split second, I consider my options. The gun. Rex's positioning. How fast I'd need to move.

When I make my decision, I move fast. Much faster than Rex expects. In one smooth movement I release my hold and grab Rex's arm pulling myself up. I force the gun away and drive my elbow up into his face. His nose breaks with satisfying crunch and the gun clatters across the floor. He swings, but I catch his arm, twisting until something snaps. His scream echoes through the house.

Zane pushes to his feet, gasping and coughing, trying to recover. "You've lost your fucking mind." He staggers back and grabs Rex's good arm as he straightens up, contempt clear on his face. "I'm going to change and then we'll get you to the hospital. Wait for me outside. Now."

Five minutes later, Z appears. His face is bruised, but clean and he's changed his clothes. He leaves without even looking in my direction and slams the door behind him.

"Well, that was productive." Colt's voice is flat, humorless. He stands in the doorway to the command center we've set up, looking at me like he doesn't know who I am. Maybe he doesn't.

"Don't start."

"Someone has to." He gestures for me to follow him. Multiple screens show surveillance feeds from cameras set up in different parts of town. One screen flashes an endless cycle of faces searching for a match. "You're making this harder. Every person you terrorize is another dead end. Rats scatter. You're making it impossible to find a lead out there."

"We don't have time to sit around and wait for someone to decide to talk."

"No?" He turns to face me. "Then what's your plan? Beat up everyone between here and who the fuck knows where? How's that working out?"

Point taken. "I can't just sit here."

"You need to get your shit together." His voice hardens. "Either figure out how to help us find her or get the fuck out of here. As in, go back home for a while. Because right now? You're doing more harm than good."

He leaves me alone with the screens, with my thoughts. With blood drying on my hands.

The rage that's driven me for two days starts to crack, revealing something darker underneath. Something that feels too much like fear.

Chapter Three

Zane

ThelightsinsideOakValley Hospital's emergency room buzz overhead, their harsh glare making everything feel surreal. I lean against the wall outside Rex's room, arms crossed, watching the chaos of a busy night unfold. The sharp scent of antiseptic and bleach stings my nose.

Behind the door, Rex curses as they prep him for the cast. He's lucky it was a clean break. I grind my teeth when I think of the way Levi snapped. I take my anger over it, examine it, then lock it away. No room for it right now.

A nurse hurries past with an armful of packaged bandages. Two drunk college kids stumble in supporting a third with a gash on his forehead. They're laughing as they follow a different nurse down the hall. An elderly man sits slumped over in his wheelchair wheezing. I catalog all of it—each detail, each face—an old habit I've never been able to shake.

"Please, this way." A low, soothing voice catches my attention.

She comes into view centered between a cop and one of the hospital security guards. Her steps are hesitant, soft. She has long, straight brown hair that falls forward as she tries to hide her face, but I catch a glimpse of the damage. Split lip. Swollen, bruised cheek and eyes. The ice pack she holds trembles slightly.

Something in my chest starts to ache. She's nothing like Sunny physically, but that look in her eyes is familiar. It's haunting. I know that look— know what it means. I've seen it flash across Sunny's face when she thought no one was looking.

"Your boyfriend's going to be spending the weekend with us. The temporary restraining order's been filed on your behalf," the officer walking beside her says, his voice pitched low. "He won't be able to come near you or the hospital or wherever you end up staying. Here's my card if you need anything else before the court date on Monday."

My fingers dig into my biceps as I watch her take the card. Another compartment opens in my head, fills with memories of Sunny—flinching if I moved too fast, freezing in place anytime she felt cornered, getting that far off look in her eyes—and then slams shut again.

The girl disappears into a room down the hall, but I can't shake seeing her. Two days. Sunny's been gone two days. Anything can happen in that amount of time. The thought, and all the possibilities attached to it, slips past my carefully built walls and overwhelms me with helplessness.

A doctor emerges from Rex's room. "Mr. Walsh?"

I straighten, switching gears. "How is he?"

"We're finishing up with the cast now. His nose is going to need some work too, but there's no permanent damage."

I nod, already calculating. Rex will be out of commission for weeks. We're down a man when we need everyone. Another problem to solve, another piece to make fit into this fucked-up puzzle.

The girl's quiet sobs carry through the open door. I close my eyes briefly, thinking about the way Sunny had finally started to trust me. The way she'd look at me sometimes, like maybe I wasn't a monster. Like maybe she thought I could be an exception to her list of rules.

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