Sloane
The past few hours had been the most terrifying of Sloane’s life. After the first four times he’d tried to reach Ray, he’d got desperate. He’d called his mom and sister to see if they had heard from Ray, and then wished he hadn’t because the only purpose it had served was to worry them. But he didn’t have time to feel guilty. He needed to stay focused. After a moment, he picked up his cell again, and this time called Ray’s father. It was a long shot, but worth a try.
Luther must have informed his secretary to put Sloane straight through to him because when the call was answered after a half dozen rings, it was by the man himself, who greeted Sloane with a knowing chuckle.
“So, you finally came to your senses and decided to take the money, did you now?” Luther had said, his words dripping with derision.
Sloane lost his patience with the man then and snapped at him. “No, I goddamn didn’t, and I never will, so quit asking me. I’m calling you because your daughter is missing.”
A sharp silence traveled down the line, and Sloane could picture the smirk sliding right off his face.
“Excuse me?” he said, his voice filled with fury.
“Her last boyfriend—the one youshouldhave tried to pay off, by the way—took it badly when she broke it off with him. Turns out he’s a violent bastard with a list of priors as long as my arm. And now I can’t get hold of Ray.”
“Violent?” His voice had gone quiet, and Sloane could hear the worry in it. He scrubbed a hand over his face. Now wasn’t the time to be trying to make Ray’s father feel bad. He had bigger concerns.
“I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I just wanted to know if you’d seen her.”
“Not since I ran into you at her condo. You’re sure she’s missing?”
“It looks that way. But don’t worry, me and the rest of my SWAT team have all of the FBI’s resources at our disposal. We’ll find her.”
“You work for the FBI?” Luther asked, incredulous.
Sloane was done talking to him. “Yes. I’ll call you if I learn anything.”
He hung up on the man. Let him digest that. Sloane was sure that Luther was a man used to getting his own way, but he was going to have to learn that he wouldn’t get his own way with Sloane becausehedidn’t give two hoots who the man was or how much money he had.
Sloane was grateful he had his SWAT team friends around him because he thought he might have lost his mind if it hadn’t been for them. He’d been around during all the three matings that had come before his and even been an eyewitness to some of the danger that their mates had found themselves in, but throughout it all, Sloane had been somewhat detached from it all. He’d been concerned for his friends and even sympathetic, but he hadn’t really been able to grasp what they’d been going through. Now he understood it and he wished to God that he didn’t, because Sloane had never felt fear like this before in his entire life, and prayed that when he’d found Ray, he would never experience anything like it again.
Just thirty minutes after he’d told his team everything that he’d learned, Kit got a phone call from her brother informing her that Thomas Cartwright had received two parking tickets from the same location in the city, the last of which had been just that morning.
“I’ll round up the team,” Flint said. “We’ll meet you in the parking lot.”
Sloane grabbed his team leader’s arm. “You sure you can spare everyone?”
Flint stared at him like he was crazy. “Of course I’m goddamn sure,” he said. “We’re coming. All of us.”
It took no time at all for the rest of the team to answer the call, and they were piled into the team’s tactical SUV and halfway to the location when Kit got another call from her brother. Apparently, the houses in that location were large and spread out, so there were only a handful of properties in the exact location of where the parking ticket had been issued. He’d done a couple of checks and learned that the owner of one of the houses, a widow, was out of town. Cody said she was booked on a flight to return to Miami in thirteen days’ time. It felt like a long shot, but what else would have Jack have been doing there? He had to be using her house while the woman was away.
Sloane’s stomach churned as they made their way there and he’d long since given up trying to talk his bear down from the ledge. The animal was frantic. When they got to the location, the polar bear very nearly forced its way out. As it was, Sloane’s eyes and teeth shifted, and a thick layer of fur sprouted from his arms.
“Shit, I think he’s gonna shift,” Kit said.
Sloane shook his head and forced his bear back inside himself. “No, it’s okay. I got it under control.”
But how long he could keep the bear contained, he wasn’t sure. Then they swung round the final corner, and his attention sharpened.
“That’s Ray’s car!” he said, pointing to the vehicle. Near, they were near. Even if he hadn’t seen the car, he’d have known. He could feel her pull along the mate bond.
Ted jerked their vehicle to a stop, and Sloane was out before he’d even cut the engine, the rest of the team scrambling behind him.
Sloane started sprinting towards the house, but before he could reach it, a scream split the air. Ray’s scream. He ran faster, icy fear twisting around his heart. He’d barely made it into the property’s front yard when Ray came barreling out of the house, a bruise marring one side of her perfect face.
“Sloane!” she shouted and ran toward him.
At the sight of the terror on her face, Sloane lost control of his bear. He let out a roar of anguish and his body began its shift just as Jack came running out of the house, brandishing a gun. He stopped dead, staring at Sloane in disbelief.
