Chapter 11 Sloan
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Sloan
I’m just about to step out of the bathroom when the hushed yet intense voices coming from Dean’s office stop me. I put my ear to the door and listen to their conversation in hopes that it will give me something. Whether I’m looking for a reason to stay or an excuse to run away again, I’m not sure.
“You know I’ve got your back, Lancaster,” Riley says. “But this is playing with fire. She could ruin you.”
“She won’t.” Dean’s voice is firm. “Besides, after being this close to her again…” His voice trails off, and I can picture him running a hand through his hair. “Fuck, man. I can’t lose her again. That would ruin me.”
If I were looking for a reason to stay, I just got it. Hearing Dean say that he doesn’t want to lose me again lets me know that my feelings were never one-sided. I just wish he’d let me know this years ago.
“Alright,” Riley replies with resignation in his voice. “I’ll set the profile up for full access. I just need her prints and a username to get started.”
Knowing that my eavesdropping ways are about to be busted, I paste a bright smile on my face before opening the door and stepping into the room.
“Hi, Riley. It’s been a long time,” I say as I walk toward where they’re sitting at the round table in the corner of the room.
“Not as long as you think,” he mumbles before pinching his mouth closed when Dean glares at him. “I mean…it’s good to see you, too.”
Riley stands and takes a couple of steps toward me as he opens his monstrous arms like he’s waiting for a hug. He winks at me when Dean lets out a growl as he stands from the other side of the table.
Not one to pass up a chance to push Dean’s buttons, I step into Riley’s arms and hug him like I’ve done it a thousand times. Even though this is a first.
“Alright, that’s enough,” Dean says as he pulls me from Riley’s embrace, making us both laugh.
“If you can’t tolerate me giving her a friendly hug…” Riley taps himself on the chest. “How are you going to watch her give a customer a lap dance?”
“I…” Dean slumps behind me as his hands tighten on my waist. “Fuck, this is gonna suck.”
“It’s not like it’s the first time…” Riley’s words trail off when he looks at Dean’s face before his eyes drop back to mine with a sigh. “I’ve got everything ready to get you logged into Dean’s security system.”
When he waves toward the table they were sitting at earlier, I notice a laptop with some kind of device connected to it.
He explains the fingerprint pad and walks me through placing my hands and fingers on the pad to capture my prints.
Then, he switches to another device to capture my face and scan my retinas.
His hands fly across the keys of the laptop as Dean pulls me across the room to the couch.
“You’ll have access to everything,” Dean tells me as we sit with him turned to face me. “You’re the only one who has full access besides Mac and me. This office doubles as a panic room. We’ll show you how everything works to lock it down if you ever need to.”
I nod, not trusting that my voice won’t shake if I speak.
This is all becoming real, and—while I’m here for it—it’s taking me a minute to process what this means.
Dean is trusting me in ways that I never expected, and I’m beginning to fear letting him down.
Before I’m forced to speak, the tapping on the keys across the room stops.
“Okay,” Riley says. “It’s ready to go. I just need her username.”
“Dahlia,” Dean says without taking his eyes off of me. As the typing resumes, he tells me, “You are the queen of this club. I want you to act as if you own it. Everyone who matters will know that you’re mine. We’re partners in this. Do you understand?”
I shake my head, confused until he pulls a folded paper from his pocket and hands it to me. It’s a flyer for tomorrow’s grand opening, listing ‘Dancing Dahlia’ as the main entertainer, and the name of the club listed at the top of the flyer is…Dahlia’s Deception.
“I have a lot to tell you,” Dean says. “But the most important thing is that you own me, Sloan.”
“All done,” Riley says, pulling our attention to him. “You ready for the rundown, Dahlia?”
“Sure.” I let out a nervous laugh at my new name.
An hour later, Dean and Riley have walked me through every door, showing me the multiple ways I can access locked areas of the club.
They’ve explained the keypad in the office that drops the shutters over the windows and puts the room into lockdown.
Dean also shows me that there’s a fully stocked kitchen next to the bathroom.
I could live in this space for days—maybe even weeks—if it were necessary.
The only issue I have is that the two men here are the only other ones besides me with access to the room…
or to override the lockdown if it’s activated.
“Will you give Becky access since she’s the Lead Detective in your division?” I ask hesitantly.
“Fuck, no,” Dean scoffs. “She already hated me, and I just gave her another reason to when I outed us to her this morning.”
I let out a sigh as I try to think of a way to voice my concerns. I trust Dean to keep me safe. He trusts Riley to keep him safe. But I feel like I should have someone else on my side with access if things go sideways.
My little sister has always been that person for me. Despite being younger, she’s always been more responsible and cautious than me. She’s kept me out of trouble more times than I can count.
“You said we’re partners in this,” I say with a stern expression. When Dean nods, I tell him, “You’ve got Riley as your right hand. I want my sister to be mine. What if I’m locked in and hurt and you can’t get to me?”
His eyes widen as my words sink in. After turning toward Riley to have some kind of silent conversation, he lets out a sigh.
“She can’t have the same access that we have,” Dean says, raising his hand before I can argue. “But we can give her an override code to get in if there’s an emergency. It will only work if you activate the lockdown.”
“Thank you!” I throw my arms around his neck and pull him down to place a chaste kiss on his lips.
We return to the computer still set up on the table and Riley inputs the information I give him to set up Becky’s profile.
It only takes a fraction of the time since she’s being set up for emergency access only.
When he asks me for the code that will get her in, I give him our parents’ wedding anniversary, 0-4-1-1.
Once he enters it, he saves the profile before closing the laptop and packing up all of his gadgets.
“I’m glad to see you two together, finally,” Riley says as he walks toward the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow night for the opening.” He gives me a wink before adding, “Maybe I’ll buy the first lap dance.” He laughs as Dean lunges at him before dodging him and jogging out the door.