Page 68 of Beautiful Scars: Unshakeable

Wolf appears in the doorway. "Perimeter teams reporting in. No signs of physical breach. Motion sensors and cameras are coming back online sector by sector."

I nod, processing. "Double the patrols. Four—man teams, overlapping routes. I want eyes on every approach."

"Already on it." Wolf hesitates. "Boss... this feels like a test run."

"I know." The thought's been gnawing at me since I saw that military grade tech. Garrett's showing us he can reach us, proving he has resources we didn't expect. But why show his hand? He has to know that even if he managed to take out our whole system, there’s no way he’d ever get to Sunny.

Footsteps in the hall make me turn. Zane guides Sunny into view, his hand protective on her lower back. She's wrapped in a blanket from the bed, looking small but determined.

"All clear?" Zane asks, eyes scanning the room.

"For now." I fill them in quickly—the sophisticated tech, the attempted system hack, Colt's ongoing work to secure everything.

Sunny listens intently, her face pale but composed. When I finish, she asks the question I've been avoiding: "He's gotten better at this. He's really not going to give up, is he?"

"No, Angel." I pull her close, breathing in her familiar scent. "But neither are we."

Jade appears with coffee, passing out cups with quiet efficiency. The familiar routine helps settle everyone's nerves as we gather around the main console where Colt works.

"I can get basic systems operational pretty quick," he explains, accepting coffee from Jade with a grateful smile. "But doing this right, making sure there are no backdoors or hidden surprises? That's gonna take time."

"How long?" Zane asks.

"Most of a day. Probably closer to two depending on what I find." Colt's fingers never stop moving across the keys. "We'll need security teams working rotating shifts until everything's verified clean and I can put it back online."

I share a look with Zane. Neither of us will sleep until this is done, but the rest of the team is going to need sleep to stay sharp.

"Wolf, set up the rotation schedules," I order. "Four hour shifts, no one works alone. I want our best people on night watch."

"Got it." He moves away, already coordinating through his radio.

Sunny leans into my side, exhaustion clear in the slump of her shoulders. Zane notices too, his hand coming up to rub slow circles on her back.

"Let's get you back to bed, sweet girl," he murmurs.

She shakes her head. "I want to help."

"You can help by resting," I tell her gently. "We need everyone at their best."

"He's right," Jade chimes in. "Come on, I'll stay with you while the boys play hero."

Sunny hesitates, looking between Zane and me. I press a kiss to her temple. "We'll be right downstairs. Nothing's getting past us tonight."

"Promise?" Her voice is small, and it breaks my heart.

"Promise." Zane's voice carries absolute certainty. "Go rest. We've got this."

We watch as Jade leads her upstairs, then turn back to the screens where Colt continues his work. The night stretches ahead, full of security checks and system repairs. But underneath it all, one thought keeps circling:

Garrett's not just coming for Sunny anymore. He's declaring war on all of us.

Chapter Thirty

Sunny

Itracemyfingersalong the edge of the kitchen counter, counting tiles to keep my mind occupied. Five days since the power went out. Five days of jumping at shadows. Five days of watching the men I love try to hide their worry from me. I pretend it's working.

"You're doing that thing again." Jade bumps my hip with hers as she reaches for coffee. Her new nose still throws me off sometimes when I look at her—but her attitude remains pure Jade.