“I appreciate that, Jared.” Sloan sighed, rubbing his forehead. He had given this a lot of thought. Too much damn thought. He had already put Becky in danger by just being mated to her. There was no way in hell he could do that to their child. “But I’ve looked at this from every angle, and?—”
“We’ll get more Warriors,” Jared cut him off, his voice sharp. “I’ll start recruiting myself. We’ll make sure our families are protected, always. Dammit, Sloan, don’t do this.”
“Warriors should not have human mates,” Sid said, then immediately cursed. “And if you ever tell Lana I said that, I will kill you.” He glared at Jared.
Sloan’s eyes narrowed. That statement concerned him more than Sid probably realized. For Sid to say something like that, being mated to a human himself, told Sloan just how badly this had shaken his men. They were thinking out of fear, and fear made even the strongest Warrior say shit he didn’t mean.
Before Sloan could respond, the door opened.
Duncan walked in with Daniel right behind him. Duncan was looking at his phone, but Daniel’s eyes were already on Sloan.
“King said they’ll be landing in half an hour.” Duncan looked up, his gaze going from Jared and Sid to Sloan. “What’s going on?”
“You can’t let him resign,” Sid snapped, his eyes narrowing on Duncan.
Duncan glanced at Sloan with a cocked eyebrow. “You told them?”
“Isn’t that obvious?” Sloan replied with a curse, then stood and stretched his shoulders, trying to ease the tension that had become a permanent fixture in his body.
“I don’t control what Sloan does or doesn’t do,” Duncan replied, looking back at Sid.
“Then don’t accept the position when he does.” Jared stood, looking pissed as hell. “He isn’t going to leave us to just anyone. So don’t take the fucking position.”
“You think I fucking want it?” Duncan’s expression didn’t change, but his eyes hardened. “Who in the hell would want to put up with you assholes twenty-four-seven?”
“Fuck you,” Jared and Sid said at the same time.
Daniel stepped farther into the room, his gaze never leaving Sloan. “You resigning won’t make them safer.”
Sloan’s eyes cut to Daniel, his jaw tightened. “Daniel I’ve given this a lot of thought.”
“Years of thought still wouldn’t make it right.” Daniel’s voice stayed calm, but there was something in it that made the room go quiet. “You can step away from that desk, hand the title to my dad, hide your family in the middle of nowhere, but it won’t change who or what you are. You can never walk away from being a Warrior and deep down you know this.”
“See even Daniel knows.” Sid pointed at Daniel. “You can’t walk away, boss.”
Daniel ignored Sid as he glanced toward the private suite door, then back to Sloan. “This isn’t just about your position.”
Sloan went still.
“You think walking away takes the target off her back,” Daniel continued. “It doesn’t. It only takes you out of the strongest position you have to protect her and the child as well as fight what’s coming.”
Duncan crossed his arms, his face grim, but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. Daniel was saying enough.
Sloan’s hands curled into fists at his sides. “Everything tied to me keeps finding its way to her.”
“You’re giving yourself too much credit,” Daniel replied, his voice calm but sharp enough to cut through the room. “Evil doesn’t need you to open the door, Sloan. It looks for one. What happened to Becky wasn’t because you failed to protect her. It was because someone knew how to hide in a place none of us thought to guard.”
“Medical records.” Steve whispered, but Daniel heard him.
“Medical records,” Daniel nodded, not taking his gaze of Sloan. “They picked her because at a young age she had her eggs frozen. Your name didn’t even come up until they saw who her emergency contact was. That is when she became high priority, but you are not the reason she was picked.”
Sloan listened, his mind swirling.
“And whoever they are, they already crossed a line they can’t uncross.” Daniel’s eyes darkened, and for a second the Demon Slayer stood there instead of the young man most of them still tried to see. “They know enough to find her. They know enough to use doctors, records, and procedures to get close. That doesn’t disappear because you resign. It doesn’t make anyone safer because you resign. It only weakens the only force on earth that can stop this.”
Sloan hated every damn word Daniel was saying because every damn word was true.
“You are not protecting Becky by stepping down,” Daniel said, his voice lowering. “You are protecting your guilt.”
