Page 77 of Beautiful Scars: Unshakeable

Colt enters first, his expression focused. "What's the plan? We need to establish a search pattern—"

"Wait for the others." The words come out rougher than intended.

Sunny bursts through the door next, Levi right behind her. "Did you find her? The cameras must have caught something—"

"Everyone needs to watch this." I hit play before I lose my nerve.

The footage rolls in crystal clear high definition. Jade at the door. The shadow. The chokehold. The efficient carry off.

"No." Sunny's voice breaks. "No, no, no—"

Colt hasn't moved, hasn't blinked, hasn't breathed since the video started. His face has gone completely blank, but his hands are shaking.

"Time stamp shows 23:20," I force myself to continue. "During the gate breach. They used our response protocols against us. Drew our attention forward while—"

"SHUT UP!" Colt explodes, slamming his fist down on to the table. "Just... shut up with your fucking analysis for a minute!"

Sunny crumples to the floor, her sobs echoing through the room. Levi drops beside her, trying to gather her into his arms, but she fights against him.

"We have to go get her!" She scrambles to her feet. "We have to—they can't be very far yet, we have to—"

"Sunny." I catch her shoulders as she tries to bolt past me. "Listen to me. We're going to find her. But it's been over two hours. They could be anywhere by now."

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" She shoves against my chest. "You know what he's going to do to her! This is JADE! This is—this is my fault, oh god, this is all my fault—"

Behind me, a loud crash is followed by another and another. I turn to see Colt systematically destroying the room, ripping monitors from walls, smashing equipment.

"Colt!" Levi springs to his feet and moves to restrain him, but Colt swings wildly, catching him in the jaw.

"You were supposed to be watching!" Colt roars at me. "You were supposed to have eyes on everything! What's the point of all this if you can't even—"

"I know." The words stop him mid-swing. "I know, Colt. I But destroying our equipment won't help find her."

Sunny's still struggling against my grip, her whole body shaking. "Please, please, we have to go now, we have to find her—"

"Angel." I turn her to face me, forcing her to meet my eyes. "Listen to me. This was coordinated. Well executed. They knew exactly when to strike, exactly how to distract us. We need a plan."

"But it's JADE!" Her voice cracks on the name.

"I need to at least try to track their exit route." I look over her head at Colt, who's breathing heavily, his knuckles bleeding. "Give me an hour."

"An hour?" Colt's laugh holds no humor. "That means he'll have had her for three. Do you know what can happen in three hours? He could kill her by then."

"He won't." I keep my voice steady, certain. "Jade is his way to get to Sunny. She's valuable to him right now. He did this to prove he can reach anyone, anytime. He won't hurt her—it would ruin his game."

Sunny goes completely still in my grip. "The other girls. The ones he killed to send messages..."

"Were strangers." I finish her thought. "This is different. This is personal. He'll want to draw it out."

"That's supposed to make it better?" Colt advances on me, his eyes wild. "Knowing he's going to torture her slowly instead of just killing her?"

"No." I meet his gaze steadily. "But it gives us time to figure out what we're doing."

The room falls silent except for Sunny's quiet sobs. I can feel her trembling when I pull her into my chest. Colt's hands are still shaking with rage. Levi stands between us all, his jaw already bruising from Colt's punch.

"You have one hour, Z." Colt's voice is deadly quiet. "Then we move, with or without yourpermission."

The tone is well deserved. I fucked up.

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