Chapter 25
Sloan walked to the interrogation room in silence.
He couldn’t stop thinking about what had been said in his office.
His men were reeling from all of this as much as he was, and that wasn’t acceptable.
He needed to step it up and get his shit together for Becky, for his men, and now for a child he still couldn’t wrap his fucking head around.
The thought of resigning was still there, sitting heavy in the back of his mind, but Daniel was right.
Again.
Damn the kid.
Sloan leaving wouldn’t stop what was coming. It wouldn’t protect Becky or their child. Hell, it would make his men look weaker if their leader was seen as running when shit got hard.
Sloan smirked at that thought. He definitely wasn’t a runner. Never had been. But damn if that wasn’t exactly what he had thought about doing. Taking Becky and running as far away from all of this as he could get her just to keep her safe.
His smirk faded.
No matter how far he ran, he’d still be Sloan Murphy. Nothing would change that. And whatever was coming would still come.
So, he stopped thinking like a man who wanted to hide what mattered most to him and started thinking like the leader who would destroy anything that threatened it.
Turning the corner, he was surprised to see Rafe standing with Daniel, Adam, and Slade.
“Wanted to see what all the talk was about.” Rafe grinned, standing there with his arms crossed. “Heard the Cincinnati Branch was filled with some badasses.”
“You heard right.” Sloan gave him a nod, then shook his hand. “Glad you came, but I know you well fucker. No recruiting while you’re here.”
“Now, would I do that?” Rafe gave him a fake hurt look. “You wound me, Sloan.”
“Bullshit.” Sloan snorted, then looked at Slade and Adam. “I’m going to let you two lead this. He’s lucky he lived through my interrogation the first time. I can’t promise he would live through the second.”
Slade nodded, his expression hard. Adam’s eyes shifted toward the interrogation room, then back to Sloan.
“We’ll get what we need,” Adam said with confidence he could back up.
Sloan nodded putting his full trust in his men.
Walking toward the viewing room, Sloan opened the door to find Damon and Steve standing inside.
He listened as Rafe introduced himself before Sloan could, but his eyes went straight to the son of a bitch sitting in a metal chair with only a table separating him from Slade and Adam.
His hands itched to get around the bastard’s throat again.
Damon hit the intercom button so they could hear everything.
“I’m Dr. Buchanan.” Slade’s voice was even as he spoke. “This is Adam, who will be sitting in.”
Dr. Phillips’s eyes went to the door, and the smile that curved Sloan’s lips was pure evil. The son of a bitch was waiting for him.
Good.
The bastard better be on edge because Sloan was definitely coming for him, but not before he got the answers he needed.
“I’m going to ask you questions, and Adam will know if you are lying,” Slade said, gaining his attention.
When Dr. Phillips looked at Adam as if he didn’t believe what he just heard, Slade sighed.
“I’d advise you not to test that theory,” Slade continued, folding his hands on the table. “You are sitting in a building full of Warriors who know exactly what Sloan wants to do to you, and not one of us would stop him.” Dr. Phillips’s gaze darted from Slade to Adam.
Adam leaned back in his chair, his face unreadable. “You’re already lying to yourself. Your doctor status is not getting you out of this, so let’s not waste time making me point out when you lie.”
In the viewing room, Steve gave a low whistle. “Damn. If that asshole hasn't already shit himself, he definitely just did. Look at his face.”
Damon didn’t look away from the glass. “Shut up, Steve.”
“What?” Steve frowned. “I'm serious. I know that look, worn it a few times myself.”
"Remember when I said no recruiting?" Sloan asked Rafe, giving Steve a glare.
"Yeah," Rafe laughed, also looking at Steve.
"You're more than welcome to recruit his ass," Sloan said as a warning to Steve, then turned his focus back on Phillips. The doctor swallowed hard, sweat already forming along his hairline. Good. Let him sweat. Slade opened the folder in front of him. “Let’s start simple. Who paid you?”
Phillips licked his lips. “I already told Sloan. I don’t know his real name.”
Adam’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Slade glanced at him.
“He’s telling the truth,” Adam said, then tilted his head, still watching Phillips.
“Listen, I already told him,” Phillips rushed out, his eyes darting toward the door again as if Sloan was going to come through it any second.
“This guy who called himself Mercer came through a private fertility research grant. Everything looked legitimate at first. The money. The paperwork. The clinic access. The patient files. All of it.”
“Who you said wasn’t human.” Slade frowned. “How do you know he wasn’t human?”
The doctor visibly gulped as he looked at Slade.
“He threatened me and said if I double-crossed him he would find me. Then he changed into something. His skin tore open like it wasn’t really his, like whatever was underneath had been wearing him.
His eyes went black, his jaw cracked, and when he smiled, there were rows of teeth where teeth should never fucking be.
” Phillips looked down, then back up, his face a mask of terror.
Sloan sent Slade a message, then waited for him to ask.
“Do you know someone by the name of Nix or have you ever heard that name before?” Slade asked the question Sloan wanted the answer to.
“No, or I would have told you.” Phillips said, his eyes shooting between Slade and Adam. “I swear, I didn’t know at first what was going on or what they planned until I was too deeply involved. And I don’t know who else is involved.”
“Truth.” Adam’s voice cut through the room.
Silence followed.
Then Adam leaned forward and grabbed Phillips’s arm. Phillips jumped, trying to pull away, but Adam didn’t let go.
“You knew before you did the procedure on Becky.” Adam tilted his head, his eyes locked on the doctor.
“Yes,” Phillips gasped, knowing exactly what Adam was saying, still trying to yank free. “I knew.”
Adam released him, and Phillips jerked back, rubbing his arms.
“Knew what?” Steve asked from the viewing room, saying exactly what Sloan wanted to know. “I hate when Adam fucking does that. Leaves us hanging like this is a reality show where we have to wait until next week to find out what the fuck is going on.”
For once, Sloan agreed. He was already moving toward the door when Rafe stepped in front of him, his hand hitting Sloan’s chest.
“Hold on, friend.” Rafe’s voice was low. “Let’s see where this is going. You walk in there with those scary-ass black eyes, and he’s going to clamp up tighter than a virgin on prom night.”
Steve’s head snapped toward him. “I like this dude. Doubt he’s ever been to a prom, but yeah, I like him.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Damon and Sloan said at the same time.
Inside the room, Phillips shook his head, shame and fear twisting his face. “I knew she was pregnant.”
For one second, everything went deadly still.
“That motherfucker.” Sloan’s fist clenched so hard his knuckles cracked.
“You knew she was pregnant and still did the procedure?” Slade shot out of his chair so fast it flew back and hit the wall.
Before Phillips could answer, Slade grabbed him by the shirt and hauled him up, his feet leaving the floor.
“You know exactly what could have happened to the child she carried, not to mention Becky. Is money worth more to you than the life of a mother and child? You sick son of a bitch.”
Phillips made a choking sound, his feet scrambling to find footing.
Adam stood and gripped Slade’s arm. “He didn’t do it.”
Slade froze, his eyes black as they cut to Adam.
“What?” Slade said, his voice low.
Adam didn’t look away from Phillips. “He didn’t do the procedure.”
Daniels words came back to Sloan as he watched the doctor struggle. Daniel had only talked to Nix, not the doctor. So if Nix had been told that the procedure was done, then maybe that’s what Daniel picked up on. Reaching over he hit the intercom.
“Let him go, Slade,” Sloan ordered, his voice hard.
Slade slowly let go. Phillips fell back into the chair, gasping, his whole body shaking as he tried to breathe.
“I swear I didn’t do it,” Phillips cried, then dropped his head into his hands. “I couldn’t. I knew she was pregnant, and I couldn’t do it. I lied and told them it was done. I figured I would be safe because they would never know I lied since she was already pregnant.”
Sloan stared through the glass, the fury inside him colliding with a relief so sharp it almost stole his footing. Becky hadn’t gone through what they feared.
“What kind of procedure were you to do on her?” Slade demanded, his voice deadly calm again.
Phillips lifted his head slowly, his face pale and wet with tears. “What?”
“Don’t play stupid with me.” Slade stepped closer to the table, his hands flat against the metal surface. “You said you didn’t do the procedure. I want to know exactly what procedure you were supposed to do to Becky.”
Phillips swallowed hard, his eyes darting toward Adam.
Adam leaned back in his chair cocking an eyebrow at him. “Don’t start lying now.”
Phillips’s shoulders shook as his eyes shifted back to Slade. “It wasn’t cyst removal.”
“No shit,” Slade snapped. “Do I look like a fucking idiot? I want to know exactly what was supposed to be done and how.”
“Embryo transfer,” Phillips whispered, then his head fell into his hands as if the shame of what he was doing finally hit him.
Slade’s jaw tightened. “Embryo transfer?”
Phillips nodded, his breathing picking up again. “They weren’t eggs anymore. Not by the time they came to me.”
Sloan’s fangs ached to tear the motherfucker apart, but he refrained giving Slade time to get all the information first.
Slade’s eyes flashed black. “Explain.”