A Bad Day for Sunshine (Sunshine Vicram #1)(99)

Sun sank to her knees beside her, but so did Levi. He put a hand on Auri’s shoulder and turned her face toward his. “Deep breaths, Red. Remember what we talked about.”

Auri drew in a deep breath as she gazed into his eyes. Sun sat back on her heels in surprise as Auri and Levi breathed together. Sun could see a calm wash over her daughter. She visibly relaxed, and Sun sat more than a tad stunned.

“Okay,” he said, his voice as soothing as cool water on a hot day. “Take another look.”

She nodded and took the picture in, turning it this way and that. Then she ran her fingers over not her name but the background of the picture.

“It’s textured,” she said. “Like stucco. Or . . . or cinder block.”

Her eyes widened, and she gasped when recognition finally kicked in. She plastered a hand over her mouth, tears already threatening to spill over her lashes. Her words were muffled when she screamed from behind her hands, “I know where she is!”


The bond that Auri and Levi had was so much deeper than Sun had ever imagined. She’d been struck dumb when he’d averted Auri’s panic attack, something she was only successful at about 50 percent of the time. But the way he looked at her, the warmth in his expression, the knowing grins he cast her way made a tightness form in her chest.

Who was this man, and where could she get one of her very own?

Logic would suggest Levi Ravinder and he was right the fuck in front of her, but things in the real world were not quite that black and white.

And yet, there they were. Levi leading a team across a frozen field, his tracking skills undeniable since no one, not even Auri, really knew where the well house was.

She’d only been there once when she was in the sixth grade, and Jimmy was the one who’d taken her, but after they made a quick pit stop, Jimmy couldn’t remember where it was, either. He only remembered it was near a spot the kids call the clearing.

While at the well house, he and Auri had found an almost empty can of spray paint, and she’d graffitied her name onto a cinder block wall of the tiny room. Sun couldn’t believe she’d do that, but thank God she had.

Sun dropped her back at her parents’ house and told them that under no uncertain terms was she to go back to the apartment alone. She would stay the night with them.

They stopped by the station for supplies, picked up Zee and Special Agent Fields on the way, and headed out, all while maintaining radio silence. They could not tip this guy off.

The minute they got close to the clearing, Levi picked up tracks. Human footprints in the snow and ground. They followed them until the well house came into view.

“Okay,” Sun said as they huddled in the trees nearby. “He’s probably in there with her now.”

“The freshest prints would suggest otherwise,” Levi said.

“What do you mean?” Fields asked.

“They’re leading away from the shed. If I had to guess, he came to check on her, then left while the sun was still out and hasn’t been back.”

“Someday, you’re going to have to tell me how you do that,” Sun said.

“Someday,” he promised.

Quincy drew in a deep breath. “Okay, let’s do this. I’ll take point.”

Sun nodded. Surprisingly, Fields let her take the lead and followed her commands accordingly. “Zee, how is your visibility from here?”

“Great, except there are no windows.”

“If you see anyone walking up, press the Talk button a few times.”

“And then?”

“Can you get a nonfatal shot out of that?” Sun asked.

“With Beth here, I can.”

Hoping Beth was Zee’s gun, she said, “Then blow his ass away. Just try to keep him alive.”

Levi armed himself with a hunting knife that could double as a sword on Game of Thrones.

Quincy held up a palm. “Hold up there, buddy.”

“Really?” he asked, unimpressed. “This again?”

“I don’t think our insurance would cover—”

“I have my own. Let’s get this girl and go home.”

They ducked down and hurried across the field, Quincy in the lead and Levi at their six.

They got to the building and pressed against it. The only door sat on the side opposite them. They had no way to see inside, to make sure no one was in there with her. She couldn’t risk it. They needed another plan. If Levi was wrong— “I’m not,” he said beside her.

“What do you—? How did you know what—?”

“There’s only one suspect. Male, size ten shoe, one fifty to one sixty. No one else has been out here, and he is gone.”

“Do you know what he had for breakfast?”

He grinned down at her. “Go get your girl.”

She tapped Quincy on the shoulder. He unfolded his tactical knife, slid it into his belt, and raised his semiautomatic to advance. Sun had only drawn her gun twice in the line of duty, but she’d never shot anyone. This would be her third draw. She hoped her record would continue.

Quincy got to the door, listened, then shook his head, indicating no sound. Sun and Fields crept to the door, and after a three-count, Quincy and Fields kicked it in together.

Quince raised his rifle and yelled, “Del Sol sheriff! Hands up!” The light on his rifle showed no other people in the room. “Sheriff!” he said.