Page 92 of Stolen Sun

I fist the handle of my knife, ready to stab his thigh when he refuses to answer, but Isaiah rattles off an address behind me before my human target has a chance.

“You sure?” I ask over my shoulder, glaring up at the man I’m about to end.

“They have a pretty impressive tracking system. There’s three men inside that address. It’s about twenty minutes away.”

“Fuck!” The man screams, and I stab him in both inner thighs and walk away. Before we make it back inside the plane, he’s done screaming.

Isaiah sets the phone down on a table, and everyone sits around it. Zander works on gathering the things we need from the cargo bay while the rest of us discuss strategies for getting in quietly. We don’t want to create an unsafe situation for Noel.

It’s a small house surrounded by woods. An old real estate listing shows the layout of the home, so we’re able to get a fairly detailed plan together with some contingencies.

An hour fucking later, the Tahoes Isaiah rented finally show up. We jump in and haul ass to the address, parking down the street.

We walk through the woods to surround the house, staying hidden from view. The sun is rising, so we can’t use darkness to sneak up to the house.

I’m in position towards the front of the house with an ear bud in to hear from everyone else as they get in position, compliments of Isaiah. My phone vibrates against my thigh unexpectedly. Checking it, I see it’s Garrett again.

“Grant is fucking here,” Garrett says.

“What?” I growl, trying to keep quiet.

“I’m watching the cameras, and he just walked into the elevator inside this fucking building.”

“Grab him. Call me when you know who the fuck took her to Miami. We’re already in position here,” I tell him and hang up.

“I don’t know what we’re about to walk into. Grant just got in the elevator at Grant Holdings. He isn’t in this house,” I whisper into the quiet.

“Wait for Garrett to call back. This might be a fucking set up!” Zander puts my thoughts into words.

“Fuck! You’re right, but goddamn it I don’t want to fucking wait!” I’m whisper-yelling and definitely being too loud anyway.

“I’m going in to get Veronica either way, and it’s more likely that Noel is in there with her than in Birmingham with him,” Isaiah speaks.

“I’m in. Let’s do this,” I confirm.

Chapter twenty-three

Noel

The sound of a music box playing is the first thing I notice. Between sleep and reality, I’m not sure if it’s from a dream until I hear a soft voice singing.

“You are my sunshine,

My only sunshine.

When you're not happy,

My skies are grey.

You'll never know dear,

How much I love you.

Please don't take

My sunshine away."

My eyelids slide open and shut back immediately as the pain in my head roars with the intrusion of light. Trying to grasp the fragments of memories floating around my foggy brain, I hear the music box repeating itself.

---