Sloan (The Protectors Series) Book #9 (16 page)

Chapter 30

Sloan couldn’t keep his mind on what he was doing. Every few seconds he looked at Becky, who was busy at her desk. They had spent the whole morning in and out of bed deciding to come in to work at around noon. It was almost one. He had called a meeting with all the Warriors about Evan Nico.

At five till one, they all started filing into his office. He had already let Becky know about the bet, so she wouldn’t be shocked or upset. He was more pissed than she was about the whole betting issue. She just laughed it off with a shrug. He continued to look busy, but the silent Warriors drew his attention because a silent Warrior in this group spelled trouble.

Lifting his head, his eyes met a grinning Jared’s. Sid sat in front of him, his feet for once not on his desk. Leaning back in his chair, Sloan continued his observation, and every single one of them was staring at him expectantly. Finally, his eyes met Becky’s. She also stared at him over her computer screen and a fucking grin just popped out on his face.
Fuck!

“I knew it!” Sid sat up in his chair and pointed at Sloan. “I fucking knew it.”

“Sid, you don’t know shit.” Sloan growled, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

“Oh, yeah.” Jared rubbed his hands together. “The boss man got laid.”

“Watch yourself, Jared.” Sloan edged forward in warning.

“Sorry, Becky,” Jared called back to Becky. The huge grin on his face stayed in place.

Becky glanced up from her computer and smirked. “It’s fine, Jared.”

“See, she can take it without getting all pissed off.” Jared gave her a nod.

“You’re right, you know.” Becky glanced at Sloan, who winked at her. “The boss man got laid, got laid
real
good.”

Everyone turned to look at her with various stages of shock registering on their faces.

“I was out with your mates the other day.” Becky stood, walking toward them. “And I think maybe, just maybe, you might want to pay more attention to, well you know, than you do your boss’s… you know.”

A few chuckles filled the silence and it wasn’t Jared or Sid who were chuckling.

“No, I don’t fucking know.” Jared narrowed his eyes on her as she passed him and walked around Sloan’s desk.

“And that’s the problem.” Becky gave him a sad look. She was sure everyone could see her poor attempt at hiding a grin.

Sloan wrapped his arm around her waist as she bent down to kiss him, then whispered something to him and walked toward the door.

“Good thing she wasn’t talking to me,” Sid mumbled, not throwing jokes around.

“Oh, but I was.” She gave him a smile. Before Becky closed the door, she peeked back in. “Don’t fuck with a redhead.” She gave them both a wink before shutting the door.

Laughter filled the room, Sloan’s the loudest. “You should have seen your face.” Sloan grinned. “How does it feel, assholes?”

“My woman is well satisfied,” Jared announced, rolling his shoulders.

“She’s a good fit for you.” Damon, who didn’t say much ever, had a huge grin on his face. “Because that was some good shit.”

“So are you mated?” Sid also grinned, indicating Becky had impressed him with her sass. 

Sloan looked around at everyone. They were his men, his team, and they deserved to know. As much as he closed his personal shit from anyone, Becky was something he didn’t want to hide. She deserved better than that. He couldn’t quite believe how strong his feelings were for her, but they was there and he couldn’t deny it. Didn’t want to deny it.

“Not yet,” Sloan replied, still feeling strange sharing his feelings.

“You better hurry before someone snatches her up,” Jill warned with everyone agreeing.

“No one will touch her.” Sloan growled, his protective instinct in overdrive. He quickly calmed himself, aware he was overreacting. “I want to meet and talk to her son first.”

“Awww.” Jill sighed. “How sweet.”

Rolling his eyes, Sloan was done with the conversation, and he was far from fucking sweet. He was a prick. “Shut it, Jill,” Sloan warned before handing her photographs to hand out to everyone. “We have more important shit to deal with right now. Where in the fuck is Steve?” Sloan asked, looking around.

“It’s about damn time someone noticed I was missing.” Steve’s voice echoed in the room as a picture was snatched out of Jill’s hand and floated around the room.

Sloan looked around as everyone watched. Jared and Sid shook their heads. Suddenly Steve appeared in front of his desk.

“Ta-fucking-da!” Steve had his arms outstretched like he had just done the best magic trick in the world. “So? What do you think? It’s my power. I become invisible.”

“No shit.” Sloan sighed, leaning back in his chair staring at the kid. It was going to be a fucking mess. Steve with such a power was scary at best, and he knew for a fact someone in this room was going to kick the kid’s ass for fucking with them, and he was going to make damn sure it wasn’t him. “I’m going to tell you this right now. You listening?”

Steve’s smile faded slightly, his arms dropped. “Yes, I’m listening.”

“Although this power you have acquired is probably one of the best so far because of the shit we can do with it, if you ever and I mean ever try to fuck with me, I will kill you.” Sloan held up his hand before Steve’s mouth opened. “No. Think about this, Steve. I know you very well, probably better than yourself. This power can get you killed by your peers. Us. Do not and I repeat,
do not
fuck with me ever. Understood.”

“Ah, so did this time count?” Steve looked a little afraid, his voice shaky.

“You got a free pass this time.” Seeing the disappointed look on his face, Sloan actually felt bad for being so hard on the kid. Fuck, he was getting soft. “And be ready on a moment’s notice because this power is going to come in very handy and be used a lot.”

“Sweet!” Steve did a tame version of the fist pump, then passed Jill. “My power’s better than yours, biotch,” he whispered, but everyone heard.

Jill used her power to slide a chair in front of Steve as he passed, making him trip. “Might want to rethink that, asshole.” Jill smiled as she continued handing out the photos.

Sloan seriously wondered how in the hell they ever got anything done. These guys fucked off more than they…. No, that wasn’t true. He had the best team and he knew it, but he’d never let them know that. He’d never live that shit down with his crew.

“This is Evan Nico, who I happened to meet last night.” Sloan decided to let the shit pass and concentrate on what needed to be done.

Everyone stared down at the image Jill had handed out.

“He’s the new DA,” Sloan continued. “We all know that the main name that came out during the interrogation was Evan Nico.”

“What happened to Lance?” Damon asked, his eyes rising from the photo.

“Busted for heroin,” Duncan answered, handing out the police report.

“That’s bullshit.” Damon stared down at the paper. “I’ve known Lance for years. He didn’t do heroin and he sure as hell didn’t sell the shit.”

“He was framed.” Sloan nodded in agreement. “And in steps Evan Nico. Too coincidental. Nico is a slick player. He isn’t too happy that we have seven of his thugs in our custody. He wanted me to turn them over.”

“We got everything out of them that we can anyway.” Duncan eyed Sloan. “Let him have them. Save us money on feeding the fuckers.”

“How in the hell did he get into the DA position?” Sid frowned, totally focused and serious.

“Governor appointed him,” Duncan replied, his eyes narrowed. “After Sloan called me last night, I did some checking and it seems this asshole has a lot of connections with some important people. This isn’t going to go away overnight, unless a pile of evidence pointing directly at Evan Nico falls in our laps.”

“What do you think his purpose is?” Jared asked, looking first to Duncan and then Sloan.

The front door buzzer sounded and they all looked up at the monitor. “Ah, looks like we’re about to find out.” Sloan’s grin spread across his face, but didn’t quite reach his eyes. Evan Nico stood on their doorstep with three uniformed police officers. “This should be entertaining. Let them in, Damon.”

******

Becky headed into the kitchen with a smile. Jared and Sid totally deserved some of what they were dishing out. Pouring a cup of coffee, she hoped to hell it was strong. She was dead on her feet, but it was totally worth it. With a satisfied sigh, she walked out of the kitchen with her much-needed coffee.

With Sloan on her mind, it took her a minute to realize who was following Damon to Sloan’s office.

“Ms. Spencer.” Evan Nico smiled at her. “How nice to see you again. Actually, I didn’t expect to see you here at all.”

Okay, she definitely didn’t like this guy. He tried way too hard to be nice and that triggered warning bells. This man was far from nice.

“I’m the secretary, Mr. Nico.” Becky didn’t respond with, “nice to see you also” because she was never much of a liar. “Why wouldn’t I be here?”

“Oh, I thought….” His eyes roamed down her body, a heat that made her very uncomfortable filling his eyes.

“You thought wrong.” She wasn’t about to let this asshole know anything about her and Sloan. Damon suddenly stepped between them, blocking Evan from her view.

“Through that door right there.” Damon nodded, his tone stern and downright mean.

Becky followed, wondering what in the hell was going on. Once inside, she went to her desk and sat down. Her eyes went directly to Sloan and the half smile on his face sent shivers down her spine. She was about to see Sloan at work. His smile was not a welcoming one. This man was the real Sloan Murphy.

Chapter 31

Sloan didn’t even stand when Evan and his posse of, if he guessed right, dirty cops walked into his office. As soon as his eyes met Evan’s, he knew as confident as Evan tried to appear, he was intimidated and that suited Sloan just fine.

“What can I do for you, Nico?” Sloan used his last name purposely. Self-important assholes usually liked formal and this fucker would never get the respect of formal from him. Best he learned that now.

Sure enough, the frown on the bastard’s face indicated he was not happy being addressed that way.

“It’s Evan,” he tried to correct, but Sloan wasn’t having it.

“I know,” was Sloan’s only reply.

“Do you have a problem with me?” Evan glanced around at all the Warriors staring at him, before looking back at Sloan. “Because that is going to make it very difficult for us to work together.”

“Actually, yes, I do.” Sloan was going to lay it all on the table. Might as well let him know what he was in for, because it was going to be a long, miserable time for him if he decided to go up against the VC. “And I don’t see us working well together. I believe Lance Garfield, who is well respected by each Warrior here, was framed. We are going to make it our priority to investigate and clear his name. I believe you are in this position under false pretenses and I also believe you are behind the recent bombings of the Warrior training facilities, mine included.”

Sloan had to give him credit. Evan didn’t flinch, but Sloan was trained to spot weakness and he saw a flicker of fear in the man’s eyes before it was replaced with anger. “You best watch yourself. I could sue you for slander.”

“You could, if I was wrong.” Sloan cocked his eyebrow at him. “But we both know I’m not. So why don’t you tell me why you dragged your suit-wearing ass down here before I have my Warriors kick you and your thug cops out of my office and off my property.”

“You don’t know who you are dealing with.” Evan leaned toward Sloan, but far enough away to be safe.

Sloan stood quickly, making Evan and the cops take a step back. “I know exactly who I’m dealing with and if you think you have any power over me, then you don’t know who you are dealing with.”

Everyone was on edge, waiting. Sloan knew exactly where Becky was just in case shit went bad. Damon glanced at him, then to Becky, and positioned himself ready to protect her if he needed. Sloan gave him a short nod.

“Now, why don’t you tell me why you are here so you can get the fuck out?” Sloan sneered, already done with the game of who had the bigger dick. He had no doubts about himself, but Evan did, and he could see it in his eyes.

“I have an arrest warrant for Blaze.” Evan tossed the warrant on Sloan’s desk from where he stood.

Sloan looked to Blaze who looked bored, but ready to defend if needed. Picking up the warrant, Sloan read it. “And what exactly did he do?”

“He beat up an upstanding citizen in the community who is pressing charges,” Evan replied, nodding toward one of the officers who went toward Blaze, who still looked bored.

“You take one more step, I will have one of my Warriors toss your ass out.” Sloan didn’t even take his eyes off the warrant before looking up at Blaze.

“I dropped Katrina off last night,” Blaze answered Sloan’s silent question. “As I was keeping an eye out, because I didn’t trust leaving her there alone, upstanding Bob came stumbling out of the bar.”

Sloan’s eyes went to Evan, who tugged at his tie. His focus then returned to Blaze. He sent a silent message to Jill to get Katrina. She left immediately.

“He made his way into the street, probably trying to find where he parked his car so he could drive home drunk, but instead, he kicked a dog that I spent the whole fucking night at the vet’s with.” Blaze glared at Evan. “Katrina must have been looking out the window and ran out. Before I could get to them, upstanding Bob once again kicked out, but instead of the dog, he kicked Katrina on the side of the head. So I repaid him with a kick to the chest from my bike as I passed.”

“Nice.” Sid nodded at Blaze.

“That’s not the story I was told.” Evan didn’t look very confident.

“Of course it wasn’t, asshole.” Blaze laughed. “I bet you have, let’s see, twenty witnesses saying something different. I bet it was the same drunk-ass punks who came out of the bar to stand up for upstanding Bob, and were trying to decide whether to jump me and Katrina.”

The door opened and Katrina walked in, her eyes going directly to the cops and then to Blaze.

“Katrina, what happened last night?” Sloan asked just as Jill closed the door.

Sloan stood and listened to the exact same story that Blaze just replayed, but from Katrina’s lips.

“And I want to press charges of animal cruelty,” Katrina ended, her eyes going to the cops and then Evan. “Do I do that with you?”

The Warriors chuckled, shaking their heads. Evan looked embarrassed and pissed.

“None of that matters, little girl, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll shut your mouth.” Evan pointed to the warrant. “I am taking him in and there is nothing you can do about it. It’s legal. And I know he’s not a Warrior so you have no jurisdiction on the matter.”

“Seems like you know an awful lot about my men for a DA.” Sloan smirked. He also knew for a fact he did have jurisdiction, but before he could say anything, Blaze walked up to Sloan’s desk.

“Give me the fucking paper.” Blaze’s eyes swirled fire.

“Are you sure?” Sloan wanted this, but he didn’t want Blaze to feel forced.

“I know you have it all ready to go, Sloan.” Blaze’s eyes narrowed at him. “Just give me the fucking paper before I change my mind.”

Sloan looked back at Becky, who was already at the file cabinet. She handed Damon a file, which he handed to Jared, who in turn handed it to Sloan. Pulling out the paper, he laid it on his desk in front of Blaze. Without hesitation, Blaze picked up a pen and signed without even looking it over.

Blaze tossed the pen down and then grabbed the warrant and smacked it none too lightly on Evan’s chest. “Stay out of my fucking way. And if you ever talk to her like that again, I’ll burn your ass alive,” Blaze warned him before he walked back to his place, crossed his arms, and once again looked bored.

“I won’t forget that threat.” Evan eyed Blaze with hate.

“That would be healthy for you,” Blaze responded, no emotion whatsoever in his voice or expression.

Evan looked at the paper on Sloan’s desk. “What is that?”

“He is now an official VC Warrior.” Sloan grabbed the pen and signed underneath Blaze’s name. “And I just witnessed it.”

“This offense happened before he signed that paper, making it void and my warrant legal,” Evan spat, showing his true colors.

Sloan picked up the paper and held it up. “Seems it was dated a month ago.”

“This is bullshit and against the law.” Evan huffed, then looked at his officers. “I have witnesses.”

“Which reminds me.” Sloan grabbed a pen and paper, tossing it to Duncan. “Get their names and badge numbers.”

“What for?” Evan’s anger simmered a little.

“Listen, Nico. I’m done with answering your questions.” Sloan leaned toward him, his eyes narrowing in anger. “How about you answer some of mine? How did you set up Lance Garfield, because we both know that’s exactly what happened in order for you to get his position. Here’s another one for you, while you try to think your way out of that one, what is your aim in trying to take down the VC trainee program?”

“You don’t know who you’re de—” Evan started to say, but Sloan stopped him.

“Dealing with.” Sloan finished for him. “You better get a better vocabulary when dealing with me, asshole, because you already said that. Your first mistake was trying to injure or kill under my watch. Your second mistake was walking into my house and trying to tell me what to do. Your third mistake is still standing here. Get the fuck out and don’t come back.”

“This isn’t over.” He pointed at Sloan. “Not by a long shot.”

“No, it’s not, but it will be me that finishes.” Sloan sat down and leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. “I’ve been doing this since before you were born, motherfucker, and I’ll be damned if I let a snot-nosed silver-spoon piece of shit take me or mine down. You drew the line and I’ve jumped over that son of a bitch. Now I’m not big on repeating myself, so I’ll have my Warriors escort you and your thugs out of my house.”

Duncan handed Sloan the cops’ names and badge numbers before Jared and Sid, followed by the rest, escorted them out of the room. Evan shouted threats the whole way. Blaze was the last to leave.

“Blaze, we can tear this up.” Sloan held out Blaze’s official oath.

Blaze stopped, his eyes going from the paper to Sloan. “And that right there is the reason I won’t. You’re a decent man, Sloan. I just hope you don’t regret that paper in your hand.” Blaze shut the door behind him.

Sloan sighed, then sat back in his chair, his eyes closed. Something hit his lap, making his eyes pop open. Becky sat on his lap, her eyes focused on his.

“Are you okay?” She ran a finger from his forehead to his chin, then kissed him softly.

“I am now.” He held her close. “Just part of the job.”

“Actually, you were pretty hot.” Becky gave him a sexy grin. “Getting all angry and besting that asshole. Definitely hot!”

“Ah, you think so, do you?” Sloan kissed her neck. “I have enemies, Becky, a lot of them, and they keep coming. Are you sure you want this?”

“I’ve never been more sure in my life about anything.” Becky pulled away, looking him straight in the eye. “But I have a small problem.”

Sloan’s eyes narrowed, not liking that at all. “What?”

“I think I’m in love with my boss,” Becky whispered, her eyes hopeful.

Never in his life had he felt this emotion. His throat actually tightened up. Glancing away from her, Sloan had to get his shit together before he started crying like a bitch. Sloan Murphy didn’t fucking cry. Clearing his throat, he looked back. “That’s too bad, because I’m in love with you and I’m Sloan, not your boss.”

Becky did cry. Her eyes overflowed as she crawled further up his lap, holding his neck tightly, her tears wetting his neck. After a few minutes, she pulled away. “Thank you so much.”

Sloan actually laughed. “What in the hell are you thanking me for?” He wiped her tears.

“For showing me that I am loveable.” Becky’s voice cracked. “Because honestly, I was really doubting.”

“I will one day kick your ex’s ass.” Sloan growled. “Never doubt that I love you, Becky. I never thought it was possible and I denied it would ever happen, but it has and you are mine. And tonight, I will show you exactly how lovable you are.”

His hand reached behind her head as he smashed his mouth against hers.

“I fucking knew it.” Jared popped in the office with Sid and the rest following. “Pay up, fuckers!” There was cursing and laughs going around, but Sloan and Becky just stared at each other.

“The bet?” Becky said against his mouth.

“Yes,” Sloan replied. “They’re assholes.”

“Only Sloan can kick ass one minute and have a beautiful woman on his lap the next,” Sid said as he sat down across from Becky and Sloan. “I want to be Sloan Murphy when I grow up.”