Sloane
Sloane slipped out the front door of his cabin and pulled it closed quietly behind him. He was annoyed to be interrupted when he was getting to know his mate, but at least things were going well with her. Despite the fact that he had essentially kidnapped her, Ray seemed to be interested in everything he had to say, which had to be a good thing. She must have been feeling the mate bond between them, even if she didn’t understand what it was yet. Gray had said it had been the same with his mate—not the kidnap part, obviously.
He fixed his eyes on the lane, despite the overwhelming tug of the mate bond urging him back inside. He’d heard a vehicle. It had to be Brody, no doubt doing his best to ‘help’, and no doubt also having rounded up Alaric. Though in fairness, hehadleft Brody to fend for himself outside the bar after he drove off, so he couldn’t really complain if he’d called their other brother to come pick him up. He’d just wished they’d gone home instead of coming here, and then he might have had some peace. They were the only people who knew of this location. And his mom and sister of course, but he doubted it would be them. Not if they knew what was going on. They, at least, would have the decency not to intrude on a mate bond.
The reason he’d bought this place out of the dozens he’d been to view was that it was so well hidden from the road and was completely secluded. He and his brothers spent the weekends fishing there and as it was so private, they could shift into their polar bear forms whenever they wanted without fear of being caught. His mom brought his sister to the cabin sometimes, too. Actually, they’d only just left, that had to be why the cabin was so clean. His mom was a neat freak. Still, it was for the best. He wouldn’t have wanted to bring his mate to a dirty den.
His mate. His perfect, beautiful, patient mate. The one he wanted to get back to. Right now.
He waited with as much patience as he could muster for Alaric’s truck to come into view. When an FBI armored vehicle rounded the last bend of the track, his jaw just about hit the floor. He squinted through the windshield. It was his team—his entire team. What in the hell were they doing there? Sloane had a couple of days off work, and he rarely got called in during his off days. And when they did call him in, they usually, you know,called.
Flint, Sloane’s team leader, was behind the wheel, and he brought the big vehicle to a stop behind Sloan’s jeep and jumped out.
“How did you find me?” Sloane asked.
Flint simply raised his eyebrows but didn’t dignify the question with a reply. They were the FBI, after all. They had ways and means. They’d probably just pinged his phone. Good job he hadn’treallykidnapped anyone, because that was a rookie mistake. Apparently, the mate bond had totally scrambled his brain, although if it meant he got to spend his life with Ray, his ray of sunshine, then as far as he was concerned, it was a fair trade.
Behind Flint, the rest of the team got out of the vehicle and glanced around.
“Nice place you got here, Ice!” Kit called out to him.
“Thanks!” he called back.
“Why haven’t you been picking up my calls?” Flint asked, his voice a low rumble, and Sloan’s eyes snapped back to him.
“Oh, I haven’t checked my phone,” he said lamely.
“Well, come on, man, we gotta go. Got shit to do.”
“I can’t go,” Sloane said.
Flint stared at him like he’d grown another head, then sprouted antlers from both of them.
“Ice, we’re up,” Flint said. “This shit’s important. We gotta go.”
Sloane winced. He hated having to let down the team, but he couldn’t simply go with them and leave Ray alone in the cabin. What if she tried to leave and ran into an alligator? It was obvious she was terrified of them.
“I’m sorry. I can’t go with you.”
Flint frowned. “Look, whatever booty call you got going on in there is going to have to wait.”
“She’s not a booty call!” Sloane shouted.
“I don’t think you’re hearing me,” Flint bit out. “We’ve been requested personally for this job on account of our special skills. Haven’t you seen the fucking news? This shit is all over it.”
“What shit?” Sloane asked.
“The daughter of a billionaire has been kidnapped. Some asshole took her from outside a bar in broad fucking daylight. They’re waiting for him to make contact for ransom. You’re the best tracker on the team, man. We need you.”
Sloane listened to his teammate with a sinking sense of dread. He opened his mouth to speak just as Flint looked at something over his shoulder.
“What the fuck?” Flint breathed.
Sloane followed Flint’s line of sight and saw Ray peering at them from behind the drapes. Flint’s gaze flicked to him before going back to the window again.
“What the fuck?” Flint said again, louder now and with genuine confusion lacing each word. Flint looked at him again.
“You know, there are other cuss words,” Sloane pointed out. “Shit happens to be a particularly good one.”
