Page 96 of Beautiful Scars: Unshakeable

The implications of exactly how dangerous things are hit me. "Ty, get her out. Now. Whatever route you came in, go back the same way."

"She can barely walk," Ty reports. "And the chute's narrow. It'll take time."

"Time we don't have." I watch the house, mind racing. "Wolf, can you redirect that power?"

"Maybe. But one wrong move..."

A scream echoes through the comm—Sunny's voice, raw with terror. Then Garrett's, muffled but clear enough: "I know you're in there, Angel. Did you really think I wouldn't have planned for this?"

"Ty," I bark into the comm, "status!"

"Door's holding. She's... she's not good, Z. The sound of his voice..."

I can hear her crying now, that broken sound she makes when she's trying to be quiet. When she's trying to disappear.

"Listen to me," I say firmly. "Sunny? Listen to my voice. You're not alone anymore. We're here. All of us. And we're not leaving here without you. No matter what."

Her breathing hitches, steadies slightly.

"That's my girl," I continue, forcing calm into my voice while scanning for any movement from the house. "Just stay with Ty. Focus on his voice. Nothing else is real right now. Nothing else matters."

"Z?" Her voice is small, uncertain.

"Right here, sweet girl. Not going anywhere."

Metal groans—the sound of Garrett testing the door's strength. Sunny whimpers.

"Levi," Wolf cuts in, "I think I found something. The power grid... there's a weak point. But if I'm wrong..."

"Do it," I order. "Whatever you're thinking, do it now."

Because I can hear Garrett laughing on the other side of that door. Can hear the sick pleasure in his voice as he calls out to Sunny. And I know, with cold certainty, that we're running out of time.

"Ty," I warn, "be ready to move the second Wolf gives the signal. No matter what happens, you get her out of there. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

Levi's body is coiled like a spring beside me. I keep my hand on his arm, as much to keep myself in check as to hold him back.

"Hold position," I remind him. "Just a little longer."

But watching that house, knowing what's happening inside, every second winds me tighter.

Hold on, sweet girl,I think fiercely.We're coming. Just hold on.

The moment Wolf cuts the power, everything changes. The basement plunges into darkness, and the electronic choking of a generator starting floods the comm. Emergency lights flicker on casting a red glow up through the window wells. Through my earpiece, I hear Sunny's frightened gasp followed by the distinct sound of a heavy door swinging open.

"He's in," Ty reports, voice tight. "Door at the top of the stairs just unlocked."

Levi and I are already moving, following the path we mapped through Garrett's sensor grid. Without power, the plates are dead weight under the grass, but I take no chances.One misstep could still trigger whatever backup system he's got in place.

"Keep her behind you," I order Ty. "Do not engage unless directly threatened."

Garrett's laughter echoes through the comm, that same sick sound from seven years ago. "Come join the party, boys. I've been expecting you."

We breach the house through the front door, weapons ready. The layout is simple—central hallway leading to a kitchen where cellar stairs descend into darkness.

"Careful," Wolf warns through the comm. "Power's not completely dead. Something's still drawing current down there."

---