Page 45 of Beautiful Scars: Unshakeable (The Beautiful Scars Duet #2)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Levi

I sit forward in the hard-backed chair I pulled up next to the bed.

Jade grimaces as she shifts positions trying to sit up and get comfortable.

Her face is a mess of purple and dark blue bruises but nothing is broken.

It’s a small mercy, but one to be thankful for.

Colt is perched beside her, his hand steady on her back.

If there were any way around it I wouldn’t be here right now—I’d be downstairs helping get trucks loaded and doing equipment checks so we can get out of here as soon as possible.

I’d save this conversation until she’d had some time to process everything that’s happened to her.

I’d wait until her wounds weren’t so fresh, until Colt was comfortable with all the questions I need to ask.

But I can’t.

The signal from the tracker has been steady so far. That could change at any minute, and we need to be ready.

The truth is none of us knows what we're going to be walking into.

None of us except Jade.

"Take your time," I say, though patience has never been my strong suit. Not when Sunny's out there somewhere with that monster. "Anything you remember could help."

Jade's fingers twist in the blanket. "He talked. A lot." Her voice cracks. "About you, mostly. And Z."

My jaw clenches. "What did he say?"

"That you didn't deserve her. Either of you." Jade's eyes meet mine, haunted. "He was... obsessed with you Levi. Said you'd taken enough from him in this life, that he'd die before he let you take anything else that was his."

The words make no sense. I've never taken anything from Garrett Coleman except maybe a little of his pride. "Did he elaborate?"

Jade shakes her head, then stops, wincing. "No. Just kept circling back to it."

Colt's hand tightens on Jade's shoulder as she starts trembling. I recognize the signs of an impending breakdown and ease back, giving her space.

"There's more," she whispers. "He... he wanted me to see. Before he sent me back." Her breath hitches, and she wraps her arms around herself. "He brought me to the place he's planning on keeping Sunny. Said he was making a special trip so I could tell you how happy she was going to be with him."

Jade's voice breaks completely, and she covers her mouth with her hand, trying to hold back a sob. Her shoulders shake with the effort of containing her emotions.

"Baby, you don't have to—" Colt starts, but Jade cuts him off.

"No. They need to know." She looks at me with tears streaming down her face, her usual confidence shattered.

"He has this whole place he built just for her.

It looks like a normal house, but it's not.

The basement—" She stops, swallowing hard.

"The basement is an exact replica of her apartment.

Every detail, down to the color of her bed sheets. But there's... there's another room."

Her voice drops so low we have to lean in to hear her.

"The things he has in there... the tools, the equipment.

.." She shudders violently. "He showed me everything and told me everything he plans to do to her.

It's a fucking nightmare. A whole room he built just to torture her.

He was so proud of it. He kept talking about how perfect it would be—how it might take a while but she'd learn to love it. "

She looks up at me, her eyes haunted. "Levi. The things he's planning. They'll kill her."

My vision goes red. The arm of the chair splinters under my grip.

"I'm so sorry," Jade sobs.

"This isn't your fault," I say roughly, standing. I need to get out of here before I lose it completely. "You survived. You’re here. That's what Sunny wanted, That's what matters."

I stride from the room, my mind racing. Nothing about this makes sense.

Why would he bother to risk showing Jade where he was going to be keeping Sunny?

The tracker shows Sunny at an off-grid location in the middle of nowhere.

The team we sent ahead to scout for us shows minimal security, like Garrett feels safe there.

Which means that the main security is most likely hidden.

I find Z in his office, surrounded by maps and more photos. "We need to talk."

He looks up, reading my expression. "Jade remember something?"

"Yeah." I pace the room, unable to stay still. "Garrett's fixated on me specifically. Kept telling her I'd taken enough from him and he wasn't going to let me take anything else."

I don't mention the rest of what Jade said. One of us needs to have a clear head.

Z's eyes narrow. "That makes no sense. You barely knew him before—"

"Exactly." I slam my hand on his desk. "None of this adds up. The tracker's been stationary. No security. It's like he's not even trying to hide."

"You think he found it." It's not a question.

"I think we'd be idiots if we didn't assume that. I think we're being played." My stomach churns at the thought. "What if he found the tracker and this is all just another game? Leading us exactly where he wants us?"

Z stares at the surveillance photos. "It's possible. But what choice do we have? It's all we got."

"You're right." I study the satellite image of the isolated house where Sunny's signal has been coming from. "We go in anyway. But we have to be careful."

"Agreed." Z pulls up the building schematics we've gathered. "We need to plan for every contingency. If this is a trap—"

"Then we spring it." I trace the property's perimeter. "But this time, we make sure that bastard doesn't walk away."

The real question burning in my gut—what did I supposedly take from Garrett? And why do I have the sinking feeling that whatever it was, it has something to do with why he's so obsessed with Sunny?

Zane

I watch silently as Chase and Rex load the last of the gear into the trucks.

Every piece of equipment has been checked at least three times.

We've planned for every contingency—ambush, traps, decoys.

But preparation can only take us so far when dealing with someone like Garrett. As we've learned before.

My fingers trace the satellite images spread across the hood of my truck.

The location seems perfect to hold someone.

A newly constructed house a hundred miles outside any city limit, surrounded by thick, dense trees.

Plenty of cover and escape routes. None of our surveillance shows any security which most likely means it's well hidden.

There's only been one SUV coming and going and staying.

Either Garrett's gotten sloppy, or he truly believes he's safe from us. Neither option sits well with me.

"Final weapons check," Wolf calls out, his voice cutting through the pre-dawn silence. The metallic sounds of magazines being loaded and safeties clicking echo across the yard.

Levi stands at the edge of the driveway, his shoulders rigid with tension. I know that look — he's replaying every moment since Sunny disappeared. The note. The override codes we gave her. The tracker signal that could be leading us straight into a trap.

"She knew exactly what she was doing," I say, moving to stand beside him. "Taking that jacket wasn't random."

"Doesn't make it better." His voice is raw. "You saw her after Jade was taken. She was..." He trails off, but I know what he means.

The image of Sunny curled in that chair, eyes vacant, barely responding when we tried to reach her—it haunts me too. And now she's been with Garrett for almost three days. The possibilities of what he's done to her twist my gut into knots.

"We'll find her," I say, but the words feel hollow. Finding her isn't what worries me most though. It's how much of her will be left when we do.

Colt approaches, tablet in hand. "Perimeter team's in position at the target location. No movement detected in the last six hours."

"Too quiet," I mutter, studying the thermal imaging feeds.

"Underground," Levi says, echoing my thoughts. "Like the warehouse."

The memory of those basement rooms, the medical equipment, the chains—I force it away. Focus on the now. "Three entry teams. Wolf takes point on the main floor, Chase covers the perimeter, we go below."

"If she's there." Levi's hands clench at his sides.

"She's there." I have to believe that. Have to believe the tracker signal is real, that we're not walking into another of Garrett's games. "But what condition..." I let the sentence die.

The question hangs between us—will we recognize the Sunny we find? The woman who brought light into our darkness, who made me believe in second chances? Or will Garrett have broken her beyond repair this time? She fought so hard to come back before.

"We should have seen it coming," Levi says. "After Jade. She was too quiet, too..."

"Resigned," I finish. The word tastes bitter. We'd known she was slipping away back inside herself, but we hadn't been able to stop it. We'd underestimated how far she'd been gone.

Rex approaches with the final equipment check. "Comms are up. Medical team standing by."

I nod, shouldering my tactical vest. The familiar weight is comforting and pushes back the emotions threatening to cloud my judgment. "Move out in five."

The team disperses to their vehicles, leaving Levi and me alone for a moment. Neither of us says what we're thinking—that even if we get her out, the real battle might just be beginning.

"Z," Levi's voice is barely audible. "What if..."

"Don't." I cut him off. "We deal with what we find. Whatever state she's in, whatever he's done, we bring her home. We’ll deal with whatever we need to, after she’s safe."

He nods once, sharply, but I see the same fear in his eyes that churns in my gut. We both remember.

The sky is fading into a deep black as we climb into our vehicles. The tracker signal blinks steadily on the dashboard display—our only link to Sunny.

I start the engine, checking the team's positions one final time. Everything is in place. We're as ready as we'll ever be. But as we pull out of the compound, I can't shake the feeling that whatever we find at that house will change everything.

The convoy moves silently through the streets, each of us lost in our own thoughts, our own fears of what's waiting for us.