Chapter 22
Twenty-Two
S loane chewed on the end of her pen. It was a terrible habit, but when hyper focused on something, like she was currently doing with her client notes, it happened without her even noticing sometimes.
“Man, what’s a guy gotta do to get his girlfriend’s attention?” Gage waved at her from the sofa in her office.
“Sorry, were you trying to tell me something? I’m up to my eyeballs in admin tasks over here.”
He smiled. “I was asking if you wanted to take a break. You’ve been at it for hours now, and the guys are going to head over to your house later this afternoon to get some more work done on the security system. We could go over with them if you wanted to?”
“I’m not even there any more. Does it make sense for them to be doing that?”
“If he ever finds out your identity, he’ll likely go to your house first. And if that’s the case, we want every opportunity to catch him.”
She sighed. “I guess you’re right. But I don’t have time to leave the office right now. I need to?—”
“Hey, Lily! Is Sloane around?” Courtney’s voice drifted into Sloane’s office from the reception area.
Perfect timing. Sloane stood up from her desk, walking towards the door.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“Courtney’s here. I’ll be just a sec. Gotta grab my keys back from her.”
Sloane walked out to Lily and Courtney chatting, a concerned looking Lily glancing over at Sage’s door.
“Hey, Court. Everything okay, Lily?” Sloane asked.
“Oh, yeah. I’m just waiting for Sage to cry. She was super fussy going down for her nap. Not sure what’s going on with her lately.”
“That’s a bummer,” Courtney said. “Before I forget, here are your keys!” She handed Sloane’s house keys back to her. “Thank you so much for letting me grab those blankets from your closet. The dogs are going to absolutely love them.”
“I’m glad you were able to get over there. I’m sorry I’ve been so busy and distracted lately. I need to get back into a routine.”
“I know Darius misses you.”
“I miss him too.”
“I wish I could stay longer and convince you to pop over to the shelter with me right now, but Elias just dropped me off and now I’ve got to run.”
Gage walked out of her office, his dimple popping out as he smiled at Sloane.
“Hey, Court. What’s that you’ve got?” Sloane watched his brows furrow as he locked his eye onto the envelope tucked under Courtney’s arm.
“Oh, Dillon was coming out of Montgomery Defense when I was walking in here. This is just mail for Sloane. And I would have walked out of here without giving it to her if you hadn’t mentioned it. I swear I’m so frazzled lately.”
“Probably has something to do with Elias,” Lily teased.
Courtney smiled. “Yeah, it probably does.”
“Thanks for bringing it in for me. Dillon doesn’t seem to like having to come in here to drop off whatever mail I have.” Sloane laughed as she reached for the large envelope and several small letters Courtney had in her hand. “Though, I’m not sure how I feel about him not handing them directly to me. Not that I don’t trust you, Court.”
“No, I get it. I’ll give him hell for you if you ever want me to.”
Sloane smiled. “Thanks. I’ll let you know.”
Courtney turned to Gage. “Do you think you’ll be able to come back to the shelter soon? We miss you. Both of you.”
Sloane looked at Gage, but he just shook his head no.
“It’s complicated right now, Court. But I hope so,” Gage answered
“That’s good. Because Betty found a family. They’re going to get her this weekend.”
“Oh no.” Sloane’s heart fell. “What is Darius going to do? He’s going to be heartbroken.”
“That’s one of the reasons I asked about you coming back. I’m worried about him. Betty is going to the sweetest little old lady in Lark Lake, but there is just no way she can handle Darius too.”
“He’s such a good boy. I wish people would look past his size and give him a chance.” Gage leaned against the doorway to her office, sadness for the dopey giant evident on his face.
“I have faith he’ll find the perfect family soon, but that does really make me wish I could figure out a way to get back. Even if I can’t take him for a walk, maybe I could spare an hour or two to get some cuddles in with him.” Sloane looked at Gage, and smiled the second she knew she’d won.
“We can figure something out, Red. Can’t let our best boy be sad.”
“Yes! You guys are the best. I know he’s going to be so happy to see you both. I’ve got to find Ellie over at Dolly’s for some fundraising meeting with the bowling club, but text me when you are going to stop out! I’ll make sure I’m there too so we can do a proper catch up! Lily, I hope Sage feels better soon.” Courtney turned and pushed the door open. “See you guys later!”
“Sage go down for her nap okay?” Gage asked Lily as soon as Courtney was gone.
“She’s a little fussy today. But I eventually got her to zonk out.”
“Speaking of feeling a little fussy, I’m starting to get hungry. You ladies want anything from Davney’s? I was thinking about calling in an order for burgers and having one of the guys drop it off to us.”
“I’m good right now.” Lily smiled.
“I’m not hungry yet. Just feeling sad about Darius,” Sloane admitted.
“We’re going to figure out a time to go out and see him. Make sure he’s coping well without having Betty around.”
Lily nodded, her eyes dropping down to the mail still in Sloane’s hand. “Do you want me to take those for you? I can open them if you still need time to finish your notes.”
“Actually, I’m almost all caught up, if you can believe it. I’ll just take them into my office and open them. Thanks though.”
“No problem. I need another hour or two in order to finish up the billing and expenses from this last quarter. I’ll probably stick around until Sage wakes up and then head over to annoy my husband for a while.”
Sloane laughed. “That sounds perfect. Thanks, Lily.”
“Are you sure you don’t want anything from Davney’s?” Gage asked as they walked back into her office. “You haven’t eaten since breakfast and it’s way after lunch time. If you don’t feel like burgers, I can put in an order from Dolly’s.”
“No. I’ll just grab something when we head upstairs…” Sloane slid her fingers into the thickest envelope, her brows drawing together as she brushed over what felt like fabric.
She tugged, bringing the contents of the envelope out into the light. And it only took a second for her to wish she hadn’t. To wish she would have waited until she was up in the apartment with Gage. White powder erupted off the mask, covering her desk and floating into her mouth, choking her.
“What the fuck? Sloane?” She heard Gage’s voice getting closer. But she might as well have been a thousand miles away from him.
Coughing as the powder coated her throat and settled into her lungs, Sloane’s eyes searched the envelope for the sender's name. Something to say it was a joke. Something to say it was a mistake. But when she flipped the envelope over and looked, her chest exploded with panic.
“He knows,” she choked out. “Tell Kimi he knows…“
A thousand dark, cold, frightening miles away.
Back where he took her.
“where I am…”
Back where he kept her captive.
Back where he tied her up and forced her to climb into his open arms for just enough warmth to keep her alive…
“Red!” Warm hands slid over her cheeks, cupping her face. But she knew it was a trick. She knew it was just her mind trying to keep her safe. She wasn’t safe. Not being back in that cave. That was where she was always meant to die. Somewhere in the distance, someone screamed. Her throat felt raw. Maybe the scream even came from her. “Sloane… fuck, Lily! I need you to call an ambulance! Make sure they know it’s some sort of biohazard.”
“Oh, God.” Lily gasped, and Sloane felt a pang of guilt. Her friend was so worried about her. But she shouldn’t be. She was back in the cave. It was always going to end that way.
“Her pupils are dilated. Don’t come in here! There’s some fucking white powder in an envelope she just opened. I’m not sure if this is just from touching it, or if she inhaled some because that shit went flying all over, but you need to stay out of this office until we figure it out.”
Her eyelids grew heavy. He must have drugged her water again. She’d wake up feeling disoriented. Cold. Afraid of what would come next. The devastation that filled her chest broke the darkness open and pulled her under.
* * *
“Sloane? Hey, can you hear me?”
Fuck! Gage had barely caught her as she went down like a sack of potatoes. The only thing keeping him from panicking was the fact that he wasn’t feeling any different after being exposed to whatever that fucking white powder was. If it had been a serious chemical weapon, Gage, and even potentially Lily, would have been rendered unconscious with Sloane.
“Gage. Is she okay?”
His fingers went to her neck, pressing firm against her pulse point.
“Her heartbeat is fast but it feels like it’s coming down, and she’s breathing normally. We need to get going, Lily. Gunner’s practiced this with you, right? What we do if there’s an emergency?”
“Yes, but this seems different… because of the hazard. Oh shit, Gage. I’m going to panic and mess everything up.”
Gage slid his hands under Sloane’s knees and around her shoulders. He set her on the sofa instead of keeping her on the ground. “No. I know it’s scary. You’re doing great. The first step is to hit the panic button, okay? I need you to do that and make sure the doors lock.”
“Gunner…”
“He’s going to freak out, but you need to stop him from coming in here. I know Sage is here, and he’s going to want to break down the door, but you can’t let him. We need to hit that button and get help coming to us, okay? I’m almost certain the powder isn’t anything serious because I feel fine, but I want someone with a lab coat to tell us for sure and I need to stay monitoring Sloane’s vitals for any change.”
“O-okay.” Lily’s voice wavered and he forced himself to look away from Sloane.
“Hey. It’s going to be okay. We’re going to get help here. Keep Sage in her room and make sure Gunner doesn’t crash through the door.”
“Right.” Lily nodded, walking back towards her desk. Gage heard the locks click into place as the silent alarm actuated. His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he knew everyone at Montgomery Defense would be reading the alarm at the same time, sprinting towards the office.
“This is Lily Brooks at 315 Ford Avenue. We received a package that has some white residue on the inside. My boss is currently unconscious, and we need medical help.” She cleared her throat. Gage wanted to go and comfort her, but monitoring Sloane was the top priority. He wasn’t sure how to help her if things deteriorated, but he’d cross that bridge if he had to.
“No. It’s my boss, myself, an adult male, and my baby is here with us in the office. She’s twelve months old.” Fuck. Now she was actually crying. Gage’s stomach sank as he thought about Sage being sick because of whatever was in the envelope.
“LILY KATHERINE brOOKS OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR RIGHT NOW!”
Gunner was there. Banging on the door.
“Baby, everything’s okay. I can’t let you in. It’s not safe.”
Sloane’s breathing deepened and Gage rechecked her pulse. It was steadier now that she was laying down. His brows furrowed.
“Why did you trip the alarm then? If you think I’m staying out here while my pregnant wife is in there with our toddler and a threat! I swear, Lil.”
Gage stood up, walking to the doorway. “You’re pregnant?” How could he have forgotten to check back in with Gunner about that after the other night? God, he really should have figured out a way to isolate Lily from Sloane’s office. His stomach soured.
“No, I’m not. My cycle’s just all over the place and my husband has lost his mind. I told you it would be bad.”
“Tracker! What the fuck are you doing in there?”
“What’s going on?’
“Is everyone okay? I have the keys right here…”
The rest of the team was standing behind Gunner.
“We’re okay here. There’s a suspicious substance in an envelope that Sloane opened. She passed out.”
“Lily!” Gunner shook the door again and Gage could see the panic on his best friend’s face.
“Gunner, I’m fine. I don’t feel sick, or short of breath, or anything. Sage is fast asleep and help is coming. Just stay out of the way while the emergency crew gets here and figures out what is going on.”
Gage turned back around, assessing Sloane from her head all the way to her feet. She was still unconscious, but her breathing was completely normal and her color had returned to her face. He made his way to the desk, finally peering over at the envelope.
And then he knew exactly why she had passed out.
Pulling his phone from his back pocket, Gage punched in the number he’d forced himself to memorize for when that moment came.
As soon as the voice on the other side answered, Gage said the words he’d been dreading since first finding out about Sloane’s past.
“He knows where she is.”