Page 79 of Beautiful Scars

My T-shirt—Z's T-shirt—clings to my skin with cold sweat. The digital clock on the nightstand blinks 2:47 AM in harsh red numbers. Sleep feels impossible now, the nightmare still clinging to the edges of my consciousness.

I swing my legs over the side of the bed, pressing my feet against the cool hardwood floor. The contact grounds me, helps push back the lingering panic. I need to get out of this room.

The hallway is dark but there's light spilling up from downstairs. Voices drift up—low, male voices that make me freeze for a split second before I recognize them as Wolf and Chase.

I pad down the stairs, careful to avoid the creaky third step I noticed earlier. The kitchen light spills into the hallway, and I can see them hunched over laptops and papers spread across the kitchen table.

"No, look—" Wolf points at something on the screen. "Eddie and Jake will be here tomorrow evening. If we put them here and here during the night shift..."

"Hey Angel—sorry, Sunny." Chase notices me first, his massive frame straightening. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, just..." I wave vaguely at nothing. "Couldn't sleep. Thought I'd come down and get some water."

Wolf immediately stands. "Here, let me—"

"I can get it." I move to the cabinet I saw Z take glasses from earlier. "Don't let me interrupt."

"You're not interrupting." Chase pushes back from the table. "We're just going over security protocols for when the boss gets here in a couple days."

My hand trembles slightly as I fill the glass. The boss. Levi.

"Want something to eat?" Wolf asks. "Z went out earlier and got some of those protein bars you said you liked."

The offer catches me off guard. I mentioned them in passing. A week ago. "Sure, thanks."

Chase pulls out a chair. "Join us."

I settle into the chair, accepting the bar Wolf hands me. The papers spread across the table are blueprints of the property, guard rotation schedules, security codes.

"I don't want you to get in trouble. Isn't this all super-secret, or something?" I say, taking a bite and waving my hand over the stacks of papers.

"Are you a spy?" Wolf says, his tone serious.

"No."

"Then no worries, right?" His face breaks into a wide smile, and Chase chuckles.

"So, Eddie and Jake, from Sirens? They're coming?" I ask.

"Yeah, Z called them earlier. He seems to trust them, and they jumped at the chance to make some real cash. It doesn't hurt that they seem to have kind of a sweet spot for you. They'll be part of the night shift rotation." Wolf taps the schedule. "Day shift will be mainly us and the guys coming with Levi and Colt."

"How many..." I clear my throat. "How many people are coming?"

"About a dozen." Chase's voice is gentle, like he understands why the question's important to me. "All good guys. But most of them will be sleeping in the bunkhouse out back. There's only going to be a few more guys in here. With us. You're gonna love Rex. He’s hilarious."

I manage a small smile at that.

The casual conversation helps ease some of the tension in my shoulders. I watch as they continue working out the schedule, pointing out different access points on the property.

"Main gate code changes daily," Wolf explains, making notes while Chase listens. "Secondary gates every three days. Emergency override stays the same."

Chase scribbles a number down on a piece of paper with a long list of numbers written on it.

7726. I memorize the number and a few of the locations they discuss on the blueprint. Just in case.

"These motion sensors," Chase points to red X's on the paper. "They'll be live 24/7 except during shift changes. Anyone tries crossing that line, the whole place goes into lockdown."

"The kind of lockdown where you need that override code?" I ask before I can stop myself.

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