Page 83 of Hybrid Heroics

Sloane shrugged. “Having dinner with my estranged, but persistent and nosy, uncle.”

“And then?” Nate inquired, too hopeful for a detailed explanation.

“Killing him.”

Rig snorted, and Charlie slapped his chest.

“Where will we be?” Sam pressed, rubbing his forehead.

“In the basement.”

“Why?” Charlie snapped at her.

“Because it’s warded,” Lo popped back.

Nate massaged his temples. “Sloane.”

“Fine,” she grouched. “I upgraded the wards so he can’t get in there.”

“And?” Nate prompted, his eyes wide.

“The surveillance is there,” she added.

“So you want us to watch?” Charlie sounded outranged, but I didn’t think that was her plan.

She held her hands up, sassing, “Yes. For a minute or twelve. But I would also like to know if you can spot him lying.”

“Atlas can do that,” Sam pointed out.

“He’ll be there too,” Lo confirmed.

Amelia shook her head. “What are you going to ask him?”

“I haven’t thought about that yet,” she admitted. “I’ll probably just keep him busy while we eat our meals. He can’t tell me anything I don’t already know.”

Nate sighed. “I could kick Lucifer’s ass for teaching her this half-truth bullshit. Going round and round gives me a headache. Will you please stop humming that damn song?”

“Stay out of my head,” she warned. “That’s a gross invasion of my privacy. And I won’t stand for it. Never have, never will. You can stop, or you can see yourself out.”

“Will you please just tell us what the fuck is going on?” Charlie growled, shifting her focus.

I stroked her back, my hand beneath her t-shirt. She took a deep breath, pressing into my touch. The slip was coming, but she was trying to hold out, to be closer to the fight. We still had a few hours of snippy Sloane, and I would do my best to keep her busy.

I only wondered if the guys could sense the change coming, or if it would feed into our bonds?

“I did. You don’t want to listen.” Lo rolled her eyes, then pinned the previous Supreme Alpha to his seat with a withering glare. “Might I kindly remind you to watch your tone? Tonight isn’t the time. Tomorrow will be even less of the day to push me. Save it for Tuesday.”

“You’re hiding something,” Amelia said with a smirk, almost impressed at how effortlessly her daughter dealt with all the testosterone.

“She is,” I murmured as Sloane sang, “Of course I am.”

“She won’t tell us either,” I explained. “But she admits to hiding something, which tells me it doesn’t affect us.”

Amelia ran her tongue over her teeth, trying to work out her daughter’s twisted mind. “Then why hide it?”

“Because if she tells us, then she’ll think about it,” Rig answered for Lo. “And she’s not sure if Alric can read her mind now that she’s kicked him out of her head.”

Sloane waved her hand at the angel. “He gets it.”