Page 6 of Beautiful Scars: Unshakeable (The Beautiful Scars Duet #2)

Chapter Five

Zane

Once inside, I head straight for my office and lock the door behind me. I don't need any distractions while I try to work this out.

I stare at the papers spread across the table, my vision starting to blur from exhaustion and overthinking.

New Dawn Transitions. The name nags at me. I know I've heard it before. Seen it before.

My phone buzzes. Colt from his spot downstairs.

"Got preliminary data on New Dawn. They registered as a non-profit, specializing in domestic violence assistance almost fifteen years ago.

A big part of their mission seems to be helping women in emergency situations relocate and get a fresh start somewhere else.

" Papers rustle on his end. "Clean financials, perfect paper trail. "

"How perfect?"

"Like it was designed to withstand some pretty heavy scrutiny. I sent you over some of the details." Colt pauses. "Levi's here. He's still ready to tear the city apart, but he's channeling it better.

Hey, one more thing. It could be nothing, but it's a little strange.

" Colt's voice is hesitant. "I can only access records going back a little over six years, but this place seems to be heavily funded through donations.

Big donations. They aren't regular or anything, but they line up perfectly with some of the relocation paperwork. "

I sort through another stack of surveillance photos. "How much money are we talking? For these donations?"

"It varies. But never anything under a million. Most the time we're talking two to five."

I let out a low whistle. "That's some serious cash. How often?"

I can hear Colt's fingers flying over his keyboard. "You’re not going to believe this, Z. It’s not regular, but it’s happened over fifty times in the past six years."

An image floods my mind—Sunny on some darkened stage, men with cold eyes bidding on her like she's a piece of livestock. My coffee cup shatters in my grip, hot liquid and ceramic shards scattering across the files. I barely notice the burn. Forcing down bile, I speak through gritted teeth.

"Tell Levi something for me," I say to Colt, my voice rougher, more desperate than intended.

"He needs to hear it from someone he'll listen to before we get too much deeper into this.

Tell him that Garrett didn't spend seven years watching her, keeping tabs on her, just to sell her off.

She's..." I swallow hard, needing to believe this myself.

"She's too valuable to him. This isn't about money for him when it comes to her.

" The words taste bitter, but they're true.

Garrett's obsession with Sunny might be the one and only thing keeping her alive right now.

"Keep him focused Colt. We need his help, not his rage."

I hang up and begin cleaning up the mess spread across my desk.

Among the scattered papers, a photograph catches my eye—Sunny leaving Sirens, drowning in that oversized hoodie she always wore.

Her face is turned over her shoulder, worry etching her features.

My chest tightens as I pick it up, careful not to smear the coffee-stained image.

How many times had she looked over her shoulder like this?

How many moments of paranoia had she dismissed, telling herself she was being silly?

All those nights she'd hurried to her car, keys clutched between white knuckles—she'd been right to be afraid.

The thought settles like lead in my stomach.

While she was building what she thought was a new life, she'd never truly escaped her old one.

She'd been living in a cage with invisible bars.

My phone rings again. Wolf.

"You're gonna want to hear this." His voice carries an edge of seriousness he only gets when delivering bad news.

"I'm running the parameters you gave me through the database.

I only went back for the past seven years like you asked.

I'm a long way from having a final report for you, it's going to take quite a bit of time with this amount of data, but it looks like a little over fifty women admitted to Oak Valley General match the profile you gave me.

Isolated, no emergency contacts, domestic violence or assault showing up in their records. "

The number, even though I was expecting it after my conversation with Colt, is staggering. "All of them?"

"Every single one shows they were referred to the on-staff social worker. Every single one was recorded transferred into New Dawn's care." Keys click rapidly. "And, so far as I can tell, every single one of them is gone. No social media, no credit activity, no banking information, nothing."

Fifty women. Fifty lives seemingly erased.

"There's more," Wolf continues. "Pattern extends beyond Oak Valley. Found similar cases in three other hospitals across state lines."

My hand clenches around a paper, crumpling it. "How many total?"

"Still counting. Numbers keep climbing."

I hang up, needing space to process. The scope of this... it's unimaginable.

The hours blur together as I dig deeper into New Dawn's facade. Every document perfect, every certification in place. A masterpiece of legitimacy.

Something about the business structure nags at me. The way it's layered, hidden under trusts and other businesses. Similar to how...

My eyes snap open. I grab a stack of papers I pulled from one of the boxes in the basement. Papers that documented Garrett's known holdings.

There. On the last page of a signed insurance document dated twelve years ago.

New Dawn Transitions LLC, buried under three layers of shell companies, tied directly back to Garrett Coleman. He didn’t infiltrate the system. He built it.

"Son of a bitch."

I dial Colt again. "Found the connection.

New Dawn is Garrett's company. Ownership was transferred to him by Alexander Reeves twelve years ago, which lines up with Sunny's dad’s death.

He was never just some low-level dealer like Levi thought.

He's been trafficking women for years, all under the guise of protection. "

"Jesus Christ." Colt's voice drops.

The pieces slot together with sickening clarity.

"That’s how he got into her hospital room, how he got all those pictures."

"Levi needs to hear this."

"Put him on speaker."

I hear shuffling, then Levi's controlled breathing. The kind that means he's barely holding it together.

"The whole time," he says, voice raw. "The whole fucking time, they were helping him keep her."

"Not just her." I spread out the photographs of Sunny in the hospital. "They built an entire system around it. Social workers, nurses, security — all working together to identify vulnerable women."

"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's mid-afternoon the next day 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.

I force the memories away. Focus on the map, on entry points and escape routes. I go over the precise pressure points that will incapacitate our target quickly and quietly in my head until I can almost feel him in my grasp.

"One more thing," I say as we finish the final details. "Once we have him, we need to move fast. Garrett's had three days to move her anywhere and once he knows we have one of his guys, he's going to move her again. The longer we wait..."

"We won't wait," Levi interrupts. "Whatever it takes, whatever he knows, we'll get it out of him.

Now, I need everyone sharp for what's coming.

We have a few hours, so get some rest now while you can.

Set your alarms for 1900 hours. It's going to be a long night.

" His eyes move between each of us and I can almost hear some of the familiar command and authority return to his voice.

It's what he leaves unspoken that hangs in the air—once we have our target, nothing we do will be quick or clean.