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“Now it’s a party. Gutter Mouth is a go. I repeat, Gutter Mouth is a go.” Foster laughed.
Oh hell no. He couldn’t leave Sloane alone with Gutter Mouth. The man was a stand-up guy, but a hound when it came to women. Sloane was just his type: soft, sweet, and curves in all the right places. Maybe he could bring Charlie to the club? Kill two birds with one stone. Yeah, that could work. Watch Sloane at the club and have Charlie afterward. Perfect.
When Sloane was ready to go, they got in his truck. The next stop was to her place for clothes and whatever else women needed to get through each day. There was a heaviness in the air Max was afraid to disturb. He parked out front of the building, and they walked in together. It was a very different journey from the last time he walked her to her door. He certainly wouldn’t be tasting her sweet lips again.
The elevator ride was made in silence. Max noticed for the first time that she hadn’t actually looked him in the eye since he walked passed her to take a shower that morning. It bothered him. Things were better off this way, he reasoned with himself.
Everything else seemed normal—that is, until they got to her apartment. Someone had certainly been there. Furniture had been overturned, glass littered the floor, and picture frames had been shattered.
Max held his hand up, stopping her from passing the threshold. “Let me go first. Wait out here until I call you.”
“But—”
“Just do it, damn it,” Max barked. “This is my job.” He was harsher than he’d meant to be, but her safety was what mattered most at this moment, not her feelings.
Max entered the apartment without waiting for another protest. He pulled a small Kahr PM9 from his waistband at the small of his back. There was no way to tell if the house was clear. Other than surface damage, there wasn’t a whole lot to clean up. Jewelry was still inside the velvet box on her dresser and all the electronics were still in place, so robbery was most likely not a motivator. It was a message. They knew where she lived. Making his way from room to room, Max checked every nook of her apartment before he let her inside.
“Clear, you can come in now.” He tucked his weapon back in his waistband.
She murmured so softly Max barely heard her, “Shit.”
“Get what you need for a few days. You can’t come back here until we find these guys. We need to call the police too.”
“Okay.”
Max studied Sloane as she pulled out her cell phone. She explained the situation quickly before hanging up. Tears welled up in her eyes. After a brief moment, she looked at him. Really looked at him. Startled, she sniffed the tears back, straightening her shoulders. That haunted expression had him wanting to drop to his knees in front of her. Promise her the world just to see her smile again.
It took over three hours to finish up with the police. In all that time, she barely glanced his way. Max passed some of the time talking to Detective Owen Chance. They went to the academy together a lifetime ago. Max didn’t miss being on the force, but he did miss a few of the guys he’d once worked with. Once everyone was gone, Sloane was free to retrieve her things. She came out twenty minutes later with a small suitcase, a garment bag, and overnight bag for toiletries.
“Sorry it took so long.”
“No problem. We better get going though, if you still wanna go out tonight.”Please say no,please say no. “I highly recommend changing your mind.”
“No way. I need to go out now, more than ever.”
She walked out, leaving him no choice but to follow.
Chapter Nine
Sloane
Sloane hung her garment bag on the back of the closet door in Max’s spare room. Unzipping it, she pulled the fabric free of the plastic casing. She didn’t want her clothes to have a plastic smell. She recovered her robe from the suitcase, then checked the hall before exiting the room. No Max. She hustled over to the bathroom and locked the door behind her. After stripping quickly, she stepped under the hot spray coming from the showerhead. She took her time washing her hair and her body.
When she was sufficiently clean, she toweled off, wrapped her robe around herself like a suit of armor, and exited the bathroom prepared to sprint to her room. No luck, however. When she opened the door, Max was leaning up against the wall adjacent to the bathroom with his arms crossed over his muscular chest, waiting for his turn.Yummy. Damn, she was such a loser.Ugh.
“It’s all yours,” she called on her way down the hall. No way was she going to turn around to face him.
With the dresser now covered in cosmetics and hair products, she set about the task of transforming herself. She was a single gal now, after all. She could do whatever, or whomever, she wanted to. It was a liberating feeling. She wondered what it would be like to do Max Fear. Sloane quickly pushed that idea aside, giggling to herself. She was halfway through applying her makeup when Max called to her from the other side of the door.
“Um…hey, I’ve got something to do, so Foster and Bella will be here to get you in less than a half hour.”
“Oh…okay.” She tried not to sound disappointed. Why the hell should she care? She shouldn’t. She did.
“I won’t be long. I gotta pick up a friend and I’ll be there right after you guys.”
He had to pick up adate. Wonder if he remembered his handcuffs. What would it be like to be handcuffed and left to his mercy? Not that she cared.Stupid man.With renewed resolve, she finished applying her eye shadow. The dark smoky eyes looked hot even to her.
After her makeup was done, she slipped on her black tube dress. She’d purchased it a few months ago. Sadly, she hadn’t yet had a chance to wear it. Her breasts were a little too large to go completely braless, but a strapless did the trick without ruining the look. The red three-inch heels helped along her five-foot, five-inch frame. It didn’t hurt that they made her legs look fantastic. Which was a definite plus considering how much of them were exposed.
