Page 88 of Beautiful Scars: Unshakeable

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 normalhouse, 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?"

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