Page 98 of Beautiful Scars

"Chase? Chase, respond." Nothing but white noise.

"Levi," I try, fighting my way toward the back hall. "We need—"

The comms go dead.

Everything clicks into place too late. The fight. The strategic positioning. The disabled communications.

We played right into his hands.

Sunny

Thebathroomdoorcreaksas I push it open, the sound oddly loud in the empty dressing room. Muffled chaos filters in from the main floor—crashes, shouts, the heavy thud of bodies hitting tables.

It's all wrong.

I move faster, reaching for the dressing room door. My hand wraps around the handle just as a familiar cologne hits my nostrils. A scent that still haunts my nightmares.

"Hello, Princess." His breath is hot against my neck. "It's been a while."

My body freezes—I can't move. Behind me, Garrett chuckles – that same awful sound I remember from all those nights I tried to forget.

"I've missed you."

I try to scream, but his hand clamps over my mouth. Something sharp pricks my neck. The room starts to tilt.

"Shhh," he whispers, and I feel his smile against my ear. "He couldn't stay away could he? You're mine Sunny. Always have been. It's gonna be just like old times."

Through the spreading darkness, I see the dressing room door burst open. Levi's face, twisted in rage and horror. Z behind him, reaching for his gun.

The emergency exit behind us crashes open, the alarm adding to the chaos. Two men in security uniforms—not club security—rush in. There's a loud bang and smoke fills the room, thick and disorienting. I hear shouts, gunshots, the sound of bodies colliding.

But they're too far away. Too late.

The last thing I see as consciousness fades is both of them fighting through the smoke, their shouts muffled like I'm underwater, while Garrett drags me backward through the emergency exit. Levi's voice breaks through the haze, screaming my name—my real name. "SUNNY!"

Then nothing.

Levi

Thesmokeburnsmylungs as I fight through it, but I can't see her anymore. Can't reach her. The emergency exit slams shut with a finality that stops my heart.

"NO!" The word tears from my throat, raw and desperate. I slam into the door, throwing my shoulder against it with enough force to make the hinges groan. It gives way to a empty alley and the sound of squealing tires.

Gone. She's gone.

Z appears beside me, gun still drawn. "Chase! Status on the alley cameras!"

Only static answers.

My legs give out. I slide down the wall, the brick rough against my back. Seven years ago, I walked away thinking she was dead. Now I've watched her be taken, alive and terrified, and I couldn't stop it.

"I promised her," I whisper, my voice breaking. "I promised I wouldn't let him touch her again."

The sound of fighting still echoes from inside. Colt shouting orders. But all I can hear is Garrett's laugh, see Sunny's eyes as they closed, feel the weight of another failure crushing my chest.

We never had a chance. He played us like a fucking conductor.

And now she's gone.

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