Chapter 5

5

BONES

I slip out of my apartment, closing the door quietly behind me even though Sloan is in the bathroom taking a shower. The familiar dry heat of the desert is a welcome retreat from the cool, air conditioned fucked up situation behind me. Two steps take me across the concert exterior walkway to the dull iron railing and I grasp it with both hands and drop my head.

Fuckity Fuck.

It's second nature to extend my senses. They aren't as strong as Reapers or Chainz, let alone a vampire's, but I'm powerful enough to know none of the other residents are around right now. There's only four other apartments on this side of the L shaped two-story complex. I let out a long sigh, closing my eyes tight. The railing creaks under my hands as my grip tightens.

It's not like I'd expected the Justicars to be paragons of kindness and love. They have power and power will always corrupt and twist the souls of men, no matter their intentions. The little Sloan has shared, because fuck if I know there's a gods damned vault of trauma hidden away in her mind, is enough to bring my own power alive until my skin is too tight. I want to rage on her behalf.

I know enough to understand what she's going through.

And the fact that she's been surviving this entire time? That she's held on to enough of herself despite all the ways those fuckers have tried to break her?

I'm in fucking awe of Sloan Davis.

She's dangerous. I'm already attracted to her. She'd been trying to make herself as small as possible, but she's been all I can see lately. Now, to learn of her strength while holding her in my arms?

I growl--cutting off those thoughts. No. Fuck no. I won't go there.

My ringtone splits the comfortable silence of the apartment's parking lot.

"Thank fuck," I breathe out as I straighten and pull out my phone. Anything to distract me from the woman who is currently naked in my bathroom. Pinching the bridge of my nose I don't bother checking who's calling before answering. "Bones."

"How is she?" Reaper's baritone voice asks without sympathy. Our President doesn't care about anyone's feelings. He needs to know so he can make his plans.

I blow out between my lips and lean back onto the railing, this time resting a forearm and elbow on the railing while holding the phone to my ear. I stare down at the cracked cement parking lot, most of the barely visible parking spots empty. My car is here, under the heather gray cover I keep on it. I parked Blaze's truck beside it, since I'd borrowed his truck to bring Sloan here. There was no way I'd have been able to take her on my bike while she was in the midst of her breakdown.

"That bad?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if it's worse," I admit. "She might have joined them willingly but when she found out what they really were like, she tried to get out." I listen for the shower and hearing its faint noise, I quickly report everything she'd told me. Including that she'd help us take them down.

Reaper is quiet for a long moment after and I move from the railing to lean against the building's wall, bending a knee until I can put a foot against the wall too.

"You believe her?" Reaper asks at last. "Don't think she's trying to play us? Especially with how you--"

I cut him off. "I'm not projecting." I glare up at the cloudless sky, the sun already moving on from its peak. "But, yeah, I believe her. You can't fake what that shit does to you."

"Hmm."

I grind my teeth together, stopping myself from talking. If I try arguing more for her, he'll be convinced I'm too invested. If I'm not careful, that's exactly what'll happen.

The silence stretches out. I can practically hear Reaper's thoughts churning.

"I want Dr. Grayback to meet with her. I'll get it set up in the morning. After I hear her opinion on Sloan, we'll move forward."

I nod, then agree since he can't see me. Then, thinking of the woman in my apartment, I ask, "Anything new on Xavius and if he survived or not?"

"I called off the search of the desert, officially," Reaper answers after a sigh. "Stubs is searching every camera he can hack, but the fucker is smart enough to stay hidden."

I slam my fist against the railing. "You think he really survived?"

"We're not lucky enough that he happened to vaporize into nothing. So, I'm planning as if he's alive. He won't let us keep Sloan, not with her abilities. You staying at your place?"

"Yeah." I turn his words over in my head as I scan the street in front of the complex. Devil's Haven isn't large; one of those small towns where everybody knows everybody else. Only the Knight's regular parties and the occasional road tripping families bring in new faces for a few hours at a time.

The unmarked two lane street is empty, save an old, faded red two door pickup parked in the same spot it'd been for the last month. It belongs to Mrs. Seymour, who lives in the house directly across the street. One of us knights try to drive the truck around town for an hour every month or so and keep it maintained, since it'd been her late husband's. The man passed at the ripe old age of 83 five years ago and she keeps saying she'll sell it one day. I've got a feeling Mrs. Seymour feels like she'll look weak if she admits she doesn't want to sell it.

If Xavius was in our town, we'd have found him already. Not just because of how small the town is, but because we've had a few of the wolf shifters on his scent. It's like he vanished into thin air when I knocked Sloan out and the backlash of power went out in a wave around us. Like Reaper, though, I know we aren't lucky enough for that to have happened.

"I'll keep an eye out," I tell him. "I'll take her to the good doc's office in the morning, then I'll let you know if we head back here or to the clubhouse. You got a preference?"

"Nope, so long as you can keep your hands off her. Keep me updated." Reaper hangs up and before I head back inside, I shoot a message off to the probie's group chat telling them to ride my bike over to swap it with Blaze's truck. As an afterthought, I add on to bring a few pizzas from Giovani's and a couple growlers from our brewery.

The confirmation is almost immediate, making me grin. Fuck it feels good to have probies who are ready to drop everything and be an errand boy, all in the name of earning their Knights of Hades patch.

I head back in, closing the door loud enough to let Sloan know I'm back. She isn't in the living area, but the bathroom door is open and my room's door is closed now. I'd left her some clothes to borrow, though they'll be huge on her no doubt. She's taller than most human chicks, even without heels on, and still she only barely comes up to my chest.

I slide off my leather cut and hang it on the hook by the front door, appreciating the Knights of Hades patch dominating the back. The symbol of our survival, of a pack of demons who made our own damn family and took our fates in our own hands. We fought our way out of hell and lived.

A door opening makes me turn, about to tell Sloan about the pizza and beer. Except when my eyes land on her, I'm fucking struck stupid. She's frozen, too, her blue-green marbled eyes wide as she's caught between flight or fight. Her damp hair is swept up on top of her head and she's wearing one of my older t-shirts. It's even bigger on her than I expected. The navy shirt's neck dips, exposing a shadow above her collar bone that I ache to explore with my tongue. The worn cotton drapes over her body, hiding most of her slender curves but nothing can hide the peaks of her breasts, her nipples hardening under my gaze. Still, those tempting buds aren't powerful enough to prevent me from following the material lower and lower, until it ends a few inches above her knees.

Knees I suddenly want to push apart and discover what else she's hiding under my shirt.

"Bones?"

I yank my attention away and stride to the fridge, hiding my face as I open it and reach for another cold water bottle. "I've got pizza and beer on the way. Let me know what else you want and I'll have one of the guys swing it by. We're staying here for the night."

"Oh, okay," she answers, her voice shrinking down to the small, pleasing tone I've come to realize is her defense mechanism.

Fuck, I hate myself. Steeling myself, I close the fridge door and face her. She's got her arms wrapped around her chest and I make every effort not to enjoy what the pose does to her breasts in my shirt. If I thought she was gorgeous before, she's ruinous in my clothes. I've got the urge to destroy all of her borrowed clothes and dress her exclusively in mine, to cover her in my scent. Until she and everyone else knows who she belongs to.

Mine. Sloan is mine.

No, she can't be mine.

"Why don't you go pick something out to watch?" I jerk my head towards the couch. I twist open the water bottle and toss the opaque cap onto the counter with a clack. I down the water, hoping the cold drink will help me get a better grasp on my thoughts. It's empty in seconds and my thoughts are still traitorous. When I look over, though, Sloan must have taken pity on me because she's on the couch pulling a throw blanket Lucy forced on me over her long, toned legs.

Except now my fingers are itching with the need to dig my camera out of my bedroom closet and capture her innocent beauty. When was the last time I wanted to take photos of someone and not the world around me?

She's looking at the remote with a frown, before clicking a button, and shooting me a look. "What do you want to watch?"

I wave the empty bottle before tossing it. "Whatever you want. I don't really give a fuck. I'll be right back."

I drop the half-crushed water bottle in the recycling and beeline to the bedroom as Sloan turns her attention to the massive TV mounted to the wall. I'll grab one of my laptops and maybe I can distract myself with my Cerberus Securities work. Except when I walk into my room, my eyes go right to Sloan's pile of folded clothes and the bright, white lacy material peeking out from under her red shirt. Next to the pile are the shorts I'd offered Sloan. I drop my head back, fighting the groan in my chest as my dick hardens. Sloan is out there, wrapped up in my shirt and nothing else.

If I bothered with prayer, I'd beg the gods for forgiveness. Because clearly having a panty-less Sloan on my couch is a punishment from the universe.

If she was any other chick, there'd be no problem with me fucking her to get this craven desire out of my system. Except that's not even up for consideration.

Gritting my teeth, I head to the closet and yank out one of my laptop cases. Work. I need to focus on work.

Because I really don't know how long I can do this.