Stealing Sloane (Lone Wolf Generations #5)

Chapter 5

“ G ood morning, sunshine!” Lizzie greeted Sloane as she entered the massive kitchen of the Upper East Side penthouse. “Are you hungry?”

Sloane gave a cursory glance at the large table heaping with food—stacks of pancakes, a platter of eggs, a tray of various sausages, waffles, fruits, and what looked like burritos. “Coffee first.”

“Coming right up!” Grabbing a mug from a cupboard, Lizzie poured a generous amount of liquid from a pot into it. “Milk? Sugar?”

“Just black. Thanks.” She nodded gratefully at her host, who looked ridiculous with her strawberry blonde hair in pigtails, pajama pants, and a maternity shirt that had a graphic of a computer screen spinning wheel icon with the words “Loading” underneath it. Lizzie was funny, irreverent, and sarcastic, which made Sloane like her even more.

“Ah.” She sighed. “Thank you. Are we expecting anyone?” she asked, nodding at the table.

“Nope, just us.” She sat down. “My mate is still in London and won’t be back for a whole week, but he’s happy I have you for company. Now, let’s eat.”

“Thanks.”

While Sloane filled her plate, it was nothing compared to Lizzie’s. She had two of them stacked with food, and was making quick work of it. It was nothing short of a marvel, seeing how much she could consume, and even though she had witnessed it last night with both Stella and Lizzie, it still astonished her how much they could eat.

Apparently, a ravenous appetite was another sign of a True Mate pregnancy. After their meeting with the Alpha, Lizzie invited them to her favorite Chinese restaurant, and Sloane watched them demolish an entire meal that could have fed a small army. Afterwards, they said their goodbyes and she went with Lizzie to her and her mate’s amazing penthouse on the Upper East Side. Sloane had hoped they could get started on finding evidence—and she was also curious about Lizzie’s powers—but Lizzie insisted they get a good night’s sleep and start fresh in the morning.

“So, Sloane,” Lizzie said as she swallowed a mouthful of pancakes. “Did you like the bedroom? Sleep well?”

Sleep well? Not really. “Are you kidding? I love it. That guest room is the size of my old apartment back in Boston. Wow, are you rich or something?”

“Nah, but my mate is,” Lizzie said with a giggle. “Thank goodness because I’d probably eat him out of house and home.”

“Well, thanks for letting me crash. And thank him as well.”

“No biggie, really. My dad was a Lone Wolf, you know.”

“Really?” Jacob had never mentioned anything. Not that they ever talked about personal stuff.

“Yeah. Hence the name of our security company.”

Over dinner, Cliff and Lizzie had explained that their dads were adoptive siblings who banded together and became Lone Wolves. They had come to New York a few decades ago to fight the mages the first time, and they stayed and pledged to the clan. They also established their own security company that employed most of the family. Lizzie worked in the tech department, while Cliff and Jacob were agents, which is why Jacob was called away.

A strange sensation stabbed her in her chest at the thought of Jacob. He had left so suddenly, without any warning. While she told herself she was glad that ass was gone, she couldn’t help but feel like something was missing the entire time they were having dinner. And last night, she could hardly sleep, wondering where he was. From Cliff and Lizzie’s stories about their firm, he could be anywhere in the world in the middle of dangerous situations.

What if something happened to him?

What if he got hurt?

Or she never saw him again?

“If you’re done we can start.” Lizzie said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “Unless you’re still hungry?”

While she had finished half her plate, Lizzie’s were empty.

“No, I’m good.” She pushed away her plate, her appetite waning from worry. Get yourself together. Jacob’s just fine.

“Let’s get started then.”

Lizzie led her out of the kitchen and to her home office. A long desk took up an entire wall where four monitors were mounted side-by-side, while several PCs were stacked in the corner, the lights and faint whirring indicating that they were running.

“Good morning, guys,” Lizzie greeted as she sat down at the table.

“Can they hear you?” It still boggled her mind that hybrids existed. If Ronan had any among the Boston clan, he surely would have found some way to exploit them.

“Kinda?” She placed her hand on the monitor. “I just like to say it out loud sometimes, especially when I’m alone. But I can only really talk to a device when I’m physically connected to them.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “Ah, everything’s up and running.” Sitting down at the office chair, she swirled to face Sloane. “Let’s start.”

Sloane perched a hip against the desk. “Where?”

“I need some information.”

“What do you need?”

“Do you know anything about computers and servers?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“That’s okay. Then I need to know about how he runs his back office. Does he have an IT department? A cyber security team?”

“IT? Cybersecurity?” Sloane frowned. “I don’t think he even has a laptop. He might have an email address.”

“Oh dear.” Lizzie bit at her lip. “This might be a bit more difficult than I thought. I was hoping to get info about his computer network infrastructure.”

“Yeah I can help you with that—he has none. Ronan’s old school. He prefers face-to-face meetings, calls, maybe text messaging, but he doesn’t trust technology. Refuses to discuss business over anything electronic. And he’s so paranoid that anyone he’s meeting is wearing a wire, so he’ll sometimes have them come to the sauna at his gym.”

“Damn.”

“This isn’t going to work, is it?” A pit grew in her stomach. I should have just gone after Ronan. The belladonna would finish him off much quicker and she could put this all behind her.

“No, no, not at all. But”—she blew out a breath, sending a lock of reddish-blonde hair flying—“normally, this wouldn’t take too long. I can get into any network, find the evidence we need, and download it to my hard drive. But, from what I gather, Forte wouldn’t leave anything incriminating lying around, probably not decades-old texts or emails ordering a hit.”

“Definitely not.”

“But there’re ways around that. It takes longer, but it’s not hopeless. I’m already starting to compile a dossier on him from publicly available and not-so-publicly available information. Boston Police Department’s databases are already proving to be very helpful with tracking his whereabouts. Seems they’ve been keeping tabs on him for decades.” Lizzie grinned and began to tap on her keyboard. “So, we’ll have to think creatively. How about his security at home or place of business? Surely he has CCTVs? How about secondary devices that might be lying around, like Smart TVs, even refrigerators.”

“You can talk to refrigerators?”

Lizzie chuckled. “If it has a microchip, I can talk to it.”

Sloane thought for a moment. “I could probably list down everything I remember. The Boston clan’s main headquarters is a warehouse in the port. They control most of the traffic coming in and out of the harbor. Anyone wanting to do business there has to go through the clan.”

“Interesting.” Lizzie’s finger flew over the keys. “This is all good. I’m gonna need you to write down everything you can—everyone who works with him, their phone numbers and emails. Also, how he runs the clan, what’s the day-to-day like, his assets, other businesses.”

Sloane straightened her shoulders. “Ronan keeps his cards close to his chest, never reveals anything to his peons, or shares his plans with anyone but his Beta, Garret McCall. But I’ll piece together what I can.”

“Great.” Lizzie fished out a pad and a pen from a nearby drawer and handed it to her. “Whatever you can recall, every small detail, will help.”

For the next two days, Sloane worked for hours, trying to list down everything she could remember about Ronan and how he ran the Boston clan. Lizzie, too, worked on their case, in between her other work at Lone Wolf.

“You still haven’t found anything mentioning my parents?” she asked Lizzie. It was early evening on the third day, and Sloane was running out of information about the clan, as well as patience.

“I’m sorry, Sloane, I’m frustrated too.” Blowing out a big breath, Lizzie leaned back in her chair.

“You shouldn’t be working so hard,” she scolded. “The baby?—”

“Is fine,” Lizzie finished. “All he or she needs is a burger or four. I’m sorry?—”

“It’s not your fault. It’s been over twenty years since my parents were murdered. I don’t even know Aunt Ella gave me their real names.” She had been incoherent by the end. “Maybe there’s nothing to find.”

“Maybe not any actual evidence, but now we know almost everyone associated with the clan’s criminal activities.” Lizzie tapped her finger on her chin. “Surely the people involved in the murder are still around.”

“Garret is, but he’ll never break.”

“Surely he had help. One of them could confess and turn on him.”

“I suppose.”

“We’ll keep trying.” Lizzie reached over and put a hand over hers.

“All right, but let’s get you some dinner first, huh?”

“Sounds like a plan, I’m starving. Let’s order pizza.”

Pizza turned out to be six pizzas, with Lizzie polishing off five on her own.

“It’s still so wild, seeing you eat like that,” Sloane remarked as she took a swig of beer and finished her third slice.

“Right?” She patted her rounded stomach. “Ugh, couple more weeks.”

“Do you know if it’s a boy or girl?”

“No. Can’t, I mean. That’s another quirk of having a True Mate baby. Sonograms can’t pierce the protective magic around me. But at least I know I’ll be having a healthy Lycan baby. Or hybrid? I’m not sure. None of my hybrid nieces or nephews have shown any magic yet.”

“What age did you know you were a hybrid?”

“About seven years old. I was standing next to an ATM when it started talking to me. Thought I was going crazy, but then it started spitting out money because I told it I wanted to buy a doll.” She chuckled. “But at least it wasn’t as bad as Jacob’s first time manifesting his powers.”

Both she and her wolf perked up at the name. Truth be told, she had been itching to fish information from Lizzie about her brother, but stopped herself each time.

Not that I’m worried about him. She was only curious about his job. Yeah, that was totally it.

“Oh? What happened?”

“Mom was cooking in the kitchen one day when—” She stopped short, her face going blank. Sloane recognized that look, one that she got when her smart watch assistant, which she had named Eames, spoke to her.

“So, what happened to Jacob?” She was dying to know what his powers were. “Did he talk to the toaster and make it burn the bread?”

Lizzie blinked. “Olivia’s here.”

Damn it! “Olivia? Who’s Olivia?”

“My cousin.” She stood up. “Er, sorry. She just showed up downstairs. Wait here, I’ll be right back.”

Sloane twiddled her thumbs as Lizzie left the dining room. Glancing at the empty beer can, she sighed.

Should have ordered something stronger.

She had spied a well-stocked liquor cart in the living room. Surely Lizzie’s mate wouldn’t mind if she took a nip.

“Sloane,” Lizzie called as she returned. “This is my cousin, Olivia. Uncle Killian’s daughter.”

She glanced at the slender, willowy woman trailing behind Lizzie. She blinked twice because the woman was unearthly gorgeous, with long silvery-blonde hair and purple-blue eyes. As she came closer, she had to crane her neck because of how tall she was—over six feet, and she was wearing flats.

“You must be Sloane.” She extended her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Olivia is a world-famous super model,” Lizzie announced.

Ah, no wonder she looked familiar. She’d probably seen her on billboards and magazine covers.

“So famous, in fact, that she’s forgotten all us little people.” She smirked at her cousin.

“Lizzie,” Olivia began. “You’re exaggerating.”

“You didn’t even come home for Christmas.” She sniffed. “And you haven’t been saying much on our group chat with Charley.”

“I’ve been busy. And so have you and Charley.” She nodded at her belly. “How’s the baby?”

“Just fine. But, what are you doing here?”

“I’m in town just for the evening. And I missed you.”

“Awww.”

“Hope it’s not a bad time.” She looked sheepishly at Sloane. “Sorry if I’m interrupting your girls’ night.”

“Not at all,” Sloane said. “And this is work, actually. Not that I haven’t been having a good time.” She smiled at Lizzie. “Really, this is kind of fun.” She missed being in the company of others, especially other women. While she didn’t exactly have friends in the clan, she at least had compatriots she could commiserate with.

“Work?” Olivia’s nose wrinkled. “What kind of work?”

“Oh, it’s a long story.” Lizzie gestured to one of the empty chairs. “Sit down. Sloane, you don’t mind if I catch her up, do you? You can totally trust her.”

“Go ahead.”

Lizzie recounted all the events to her cousin, who listened intently.

“Wow. I missed a lot.” She looked disbelievingly at Sloane. “That’s so incredible. I mean, I’m sorry about your parents. But you story is amazing. I think I saw that video, but I never put it together.”

“Well, if you visited every now and then, maybe you’d be caught up,” Lizzie pointed out.

“I know.” She gave her cousin a tight smile. “I’m sorry. It’s been crazy with work. But, I’m here now, and I wanted to catch up.”

“Great, sure.” Lizzie yawned. “Hmmm … all that pizza made me so tired all of a sudden.”

“Lizzie’s been working herself to the bone,” Sloane said. “I don’t think she’s slept more than five hours every night for the past three days.”

“What?” Olivia exclaimed. “That’s bad for the baby.”

“Snitch.” Lizzie stuck her tongue out at Sloane. “Wyatt never lets me stay up anymore. It’s been fun, actually; pulling all-nighters. Like the old days.”

“When you were changing your classmate’s grades?” Olivia snickered. “C’mon, Liz, you should get to bed.”

“Oh, all right.” She yawned. “But you have to do me a favor.”

“Anything.”

“Take Sloane out for a good time.” She winked at her.

“What?” Sloane said. “There’s no?—”

“You’re bored and antsy,” Lizzie interrupted. “You need to blow off some steam. Do you like dancing? Or shots?” She snapped her fingers. “Olivia, you should take her to Blood Moon.”

“Blood Moon?”

“It’s a bar but just for Lycans,” Lizzie said. “At least, it was before we were outed. Now humans go there all the time hoping to see us shifting. But it’s still fun, at least that’s what I hear from the guys at work. You should totally go. I know you’re dying to get out of here and not be stuck with a boring pregnant lady.”

“You’re not?—”

“ Pshaw .” She waved a hand at them. “For tonight, just forget about Forte. Go and have fun. You deserve it.”

“I don’t have anything to wear that’s appropriate for clubbing.” Seeing as she lived out of one backpack, she didn’t exactly carry dresses and heels.

“Check the closet in the guest room, I have some extra stuff in there you can use.”

“Well, if you insist.” Sloane had to admit, with things seemingly not going her way, the idea of going to a bar, like back when her life was normal, sounded good right about now.

“What do you say, Olivia? Surely it’s been a while since you’ve been there.”

Olivia let out a strangled sound. “Er, yeah. I mean …” She twirled a lock of hair between her fingers. “I suppose one drink wouldn’t hurt.”

“Gooooo.” Lizzie waved at them as she stood up. “I should call Wyatt and go to bed anyway.” Walking toward her bedroom, she blew them a kiss goodbye. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t,” she said as she disappeared down the hallway.

“Uh, Lizzie never partied at bars and clubs, just so you know,” Olivia said. “She was kind of a nerd growing up.”

Sloane chuckled. “And I bet you were a party girl.”

Olivia’s mouth widened into a smile. “Oh yeah.”

Despite it being only nine o’clock, Blood Moon buzzed with activity. The dance floor was packed, and the lines to get a drink were three people deep. Music pumped through the speakers, and the crowd was full of energy and excitement.

Sloane had been to many clubs and bars and spent many a weekend night there, but there was just something about Blood Moon that was inviting. When she mentioned this to Olivia, she said it was created just for Lycans and that there were special spells and enchantments that drew their kind in and repelled humans. At least, it had before their secret came out. The line outside circled around the block, but being a celebrity, Olivia was immediately ushered in and led straight to the VIP section and their own private table.

“Do you want to dance or something?” Olivia asked as she handed her a glass. An attendant immediately came over and poured in a measure of vodka from the bottle sitting at the table.

“Thanks.” Sloane took a swig of vodka, letting the smooth liquor pour down her throat to warm her belly. She smoothed down the short plaid skirt with her other hand. Since she was taller than Lizzie, it came down to just below her ass, but it was good enough. She also managed to find a blue tube top to match it, and Olivia gave her an extra lipstick and blush she had in her purse. “And … I don’t know about dancing, maybe later? I just want to chill for a bit.”

“No prob. You’ve had a hard week. Plus, I love Lizzie, but she can be a bit … much.”

Sloane nearly choked on her second sip of vodka. “She’s great. But yeah, her frantic energy makes me tired.” They clinked their glasses together. “So, what’s it like being a famous, gorgeous supermodel? I bet guys are all over you all the time. Do you date rock stars?”

Olivia let out a nervous laugh. “It’s not as glamorous as it sounds. Four a.m. call times, freezing my tits off during bikini shoots, waking up wondering what city I’m in.” She took a swig from her own glass. “Speaking of rock stars, can you believe Charley married the Douche Hole?”

“Douche … Hole?”

Her pretty violet eyes widened. “Oh my God, I’m sorry! I almost forgot. And he’s your brother too.” She slapped a hand on her forehead. “Devon. That’s what we called him.”

“Why?”

“Because he was terrible to Charley when they first met. So terrible, in fact, that he deserved two insults—douche and asshole—thus we dubbed him The Douche Hole. D.H.”

“That’s hilarious. Tell me more.”

As Olivia told her the story of how Devon and Charley met and got together, Sloane found herself relaxing more and more. The vodka too, probably had something to do with it, but she controlled her drinking, not allowing herself to feel more than a little buzzed. In the last two years, she had never let her guard down, and while Lizzie assured her they were safe in New York, she just couldn’t risk it.

“… and so that’s happened.” Olivia finished her drink and then stood up, pulling Sloane with her. “All right, no more talking. Let’s dance!”

“I—”

Olivia pulled her away from their table before she could protest, down the stairs leading down to the main club. As she took the last step down, she felt the strangest tingling in her gut.

Her wolf, too, raised it hackles.

“What’s wrong?” Olivia asked.

“I …” She glanced around. There were so many people around them, yet … “I just have this weird feeling that someone’s watching me.”

Olivia smirked. “You’re gorgeous. Of course people are looking at you. C’mon!”

They waded through the sea of people until they reached the center of the dance floor. The low bass of the dance tune thrummed through her body, and Sloane swayed to the music. There was something so sensual about being surrounded by the heat of the bodies around her, their scents mingling. As it was in these situations, there were a few men who attempted to catch her eye or brush up against her, but when she didn’t immediately reciprocate, they moved on. She shrugged it off, as it didn’t matter to her anyway. She just wanted to dance and forget about her troubles.

A hand brushed against her waist, and she glanced behind her. A man—no, a Lycan for sure—with twinkling blue eyes, blond hair, and distinctly all-American good looks smiled back at her. His body wasn’t bad either—tall, chiseled shoulders, and a wide chest encased in a tight white shirt. She smiled back and moved backward toward him.

Her wolf growled, but she ignored it as she danced with the stranger, not quite touching him but their bodies moved together. His hand remained on her waist, but never went higher or lower. From a few feet away where she was dancing alone, Olivia grinned at her and gave her the thumbs-up.

“Thanks for the dance,” she said when the music stopped.

“I’m Adrian,” he introduced. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before …”

“Sloane,” she said, then pulled the neck of her shirt aside to show her wolf tattoo. “I’m visiting.” While he was obviously a New York Lycan, she didn’t know if he was connected to clan business. She nodded at Olivia, who was walking over to them.

“Who’s your friend?” Olivia asked.

Sloane introduced them.

“You seem like nice girls,” Adrian said. “I’m here with a couple of coworkers. How about I introduce you to them? They’re single.”

Olivia laughed. “I’m not looking, but sure. Lead the way.”

Sloane let him go ahead and trailed behind with Olivia, who held on to her arm so as not to get lost.

“He’s hot,” Olivia whispered in her ear. “Like really hot. And he’s into you.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, and it had been a really long time since she’d been with anyone. But for some reason, despite his good looks, she couldn’t muster up any attraction for Adrian.

“You should go for it, if you want to I mean,” Olivia said. “And then?—”

Sloane stumbled as Olivia stopped in her tracks, pulling her back. “What the—Olivia?” Turning her head, she saw the pretty female’s face go slack and the blood draining from her face, like she’d seen a ghost. “Olivia? What’s wrong.”

“Nothing!” She let go of her arm. “Bathroom! You go ahead, I’ll come find you, okay?”

“Sure.” But Olivia had spun around so quick and scampered off, she probably didn’t hear her. Shrugging, she turned and spotted Adrian by the bar. He waved her over. As soon as she reached the front, she halted, her heart slamming into her chest.

That couldn’t be …

Her stomach dropped.

It was definitely Jacob, leaning against the bar, sipping from a glass. His hair glinted with streaks of red under the flashing lights. He wasn’t alone, however. A woman dressed in a short, tight bodycon dress stood centimeters away from him, smiling and grinning at him as he spoke. Leaning forward, she placed a hand on his chest, the other around his neck, and whispered into his ear.

A pain stabbed her in the chest as she watched them cozy up together. She couldn’t breathe or move. Anger simmered in her chest.

What the hell was he doing here? Had he been in New York all this time? Perhaps he wasn’t even working at all. He was just avoiding her, now that he didn’t have to guard Stella anymore.

And she’d been worried about him since he left, thinking he might be in danger, and here he was partying at Blood Moon, probably sleeping with a different woman every night.

Her wolf snarled.

Well, two can play that game.

“Hey, Adrian,” she greeted. She took the drink he offered, knocked it back, then sidled close to him, slipping her arm around his trim waist.

“Oh—hey.” He was caught off guard, but he quickly recovered. “Glad you made it. This is my coworker, Jacob. Jacob!”

Jacob’s head snapped toward them. “What—” His eyes widened and his jaw went slack. “Sloane?” Then his gaze landed on Adrian’s arm around her, his green eyes flashing with anger. “What. The. Fuck.”

“What’s wrong, honey? Hey!” The woman wrapped around him like a python shrieked when he pulled her arms from his neck.

“What are you doing here?” Jacob asked as he stalked toward her.

“You two know each other?” Adrian asked, his expression confused.

“Hello, Jacob.” She smirked at him, tightening her hold around Adrian. “Fancy seeing you here. I thought you were working?”

“I just got back.” He said through gritted teeth.

“Oh, nice.” She glanced up at Adrian. “Why don’t we dance again? I enjoyed that first time.”

“Sure—”

“She’s not going anywhere with you.” Jacob bared his teeth and growled. “Get away from her. Or else.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but Jacob shot him a warning look. Adrian dropped his arm to his side. “I didn’t know you already staked a claim.”

“No one has staked a claim—hey!” she protested when Jacob seized her arm. “What do you think you’re doing?”

He remained silent as a rock, the expression on his face inscrutable as he dragged her away from the bar.

“Jacob! Stop! My arm!”

His grip loosened, but he snaked his arm around her waist and hauled her along. She dug her heels in, hoping that would stop him, but instead, he picked her up and hauled her over his shoulders, cavemen style.

Asshole!

As the world flipped upside down, Sloane contemplated thrashing and trying to escape, but to her frustration, Jacob’s firm grip on her thighs made her body go limp, a zing of lust shooting straight to her pussy.

Oh fuck, she was in trouble.