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She needed to decide what to do. Since Detlef was no longer around, she figured her job no longer existed. She could get by for a little while, though—she was always smart with money. She had a healthy balance in her savings, and a nice investment portfolio started, in case of an emergency. That would be tomorrow’s problem. She continued window-shopping until her growling stomach reminded her it was almost lunch. She’d skipped breakfast in her hurry to get out of Max’s house. At least her headache was somewhat manageable now, but she knew it wouldn’t stay that way if she didn’t eat something soon.
With her one new outfit swinging in a bag—jeans that hugged her ass and a cute new top—she made her way over to the food court. Enjoying her turkey club sandwich, she sat and people watched. She was just finishing her food when her purse started to ring by her feet. She bent over to retrieve her phone from the bag. She was unlocking the screen when pain exploded in her shoulder.
Crying out, she dropped the phone. It hit the table before falling on the floor. She pressed a hand to her left shoulder as liquid fire burned through her muscles. People screamed and pointed at her, their eyes wide in horror. Sloane glanced down, and there was blood oozing down her arm.What the hell?
A large crack! echoed in the air and chunks of plastic burst from the table only an inch from her body. Someone was shooting. Ather.
Sloane dropped under the table, picking up the phone from where it’d landed. She had to call Max. She looked down at the screen. The front was completely shattered and had gone dark; she couldn’t get it to dial out.Shit.This was bad. This was really bad.
***
Max
Max was beyond pissed. He glowered before the fridge, reading Sloane’s short handwritten note for the third time. Each time he read it only added to his anger.
Max,
Going out for a while. Don’t worry; I’ll watch my back. Need to take care of a few things. I may drop by the apartment too. It’s doubtful I’ll be back before dinner, so don’t feel you need to stick around.
Sloane
How could she just leave? Max had warned her it wasn’t safe to be out by herself. What the hell was she thinking going back to her apartment? The woman was exhausting. Not even bothering with a shower, Max pulled on a pair of cargo shorts followed by a black polo shirt and his shoes. He raced out to his truck. He had hoped to avoid this scenario by putting her car keys on top of his fridge out of her reach.
Three times he called her phone, and each time it went to voicemail.Son of a bitch. After coming to a screeching halt in front of her apartment building, Max forwent the elevator, running up the five flights of stairs. He pounded on her door, repeatedly calling her name.
“Sloane?”
A young woman next door poked her head out. When she saw Max, she straightened her shirt, rolling her shoulders back to lift her breasts up. She played with the ends of her hair while exiting her apartment. He wasn’t impressed.
“She isn’t there. Hasn’t been all day,” she cooed. “If you want, you can wait in my apartment.”
“No thanks, Ma’am.”
Max bolted back down the stairs. In his truck again, he called Foster. The moment Foster said hello, Max went off on a tirade laced with worry. “Have you or Bella heard from her?”
“No, man. What’s going on?”
Max told Foster about the note he’d found after his workout. “I’m surprised she didn’t call,” Foster said. “I’m sure she just needed some space. Last night was pretty intense.”
Max shook his head. “I got a bad feeling.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing. You try Gutter Mouth? Maybe he heard from her. They were pretty cozy most of the night. I thought she might even…you know…until you stepped in…” He trailed off.
Max gritted his teeth. “No, I haven’t tried him yet. I had hoped she’d come to you guys.” He didn’t want to picture her holed up with Gutter Mouth somewhere. His stomach soured.
“What the hell happened last night? I’m surprised the sparks flying between you two didn’t set the place ablaze.”
“Dude, I don’t even know how to explain it.”
“Charlie was pissed. It would take some major groveling to even hope she might forgive you after that scene.” Max could hear the humor laced in Foster’s voice.
“I’m not worried about Charlie; it wasn’t ever more than a friendly fuck with her. Neither of us wanted anything serious.”
“I didn’t get that vibe from Charlie, but whatever, man. I’ll make some calls. If I hear from Sloane, I’ll let you know. I’ll tell Bella too.”
“Thanks.”
Max hung up. He’d already checked her apartment. No way would she go to her office. She wasn’t with her cousin. Cringing, Max dialed the phone. Gripping the steering wheel harder, he waited for the ringing to stop.
