Page 15 of Stealing Sloane

“Bigger,” Devon said, flashing Charley a grin. “Especially his cousin, Austin. You don’t want to get on his bad side.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Whatever keeps Ronan away from Stella.”

“Speaking of whom,” Stella piped in. “Cliff says that his father and uncle have spoken to their Alpha about Ronan.”

Sloane clenched her hands into fists. “Talking will get you nowhere with Ronan. We have to strike now.”

“Sloane, I know you’re angry, but we can’t just make a move without a plan,” Cliff said.

“You know what he did right?” She looked at Devon. “Stella told you?” There hadn’t been time to talk about their parents, and nor were they mentioned for the last hour or so since Devon arrived. “We can’t let him get away with murdering our parents.”

“He won’t,” Devon said, an edge in his tone. “Either through the Lycan or human courts. There’s no statute of limitations for murder. When Stella told me about what happened, I contacted the best lawyers and private investigators in the country. We’ll get justice for them.”

“But that could take years.” Her fury grew every day knowing that Ronan Forte was still alive.

“Sloane, please.” Stella took her hand into hers. “We’re all angry, but Cliff and Devon are right. We can’t just act on our own.”

“He’s never going to stop coming after me. Besides, I tried to kill him. What if he presses charges against me?”

“You were defending yourself,” Devon said. “My lawyers will make sure you never spend even one night in jail.”

Must be nice having money.Still, no one here could truly understand what she had gone through and why she needed Ronan dead.

“Sloane.” Stella’s hand gripped hers tighter. “Promise me you won’t try to do anything stupid, like try to go after Ronan on your own.”

“We’ll get him,” Devon said.

There was no way to win this argument, but she didn’t have to. For now, she would say what they wanted to hear, if only to placate them.

She would still get her revenge.

“All right.” She gave Stella’s hand a squeeze back. “I won’t do anything stupid.”

Devon and Charley stayed for dinner, but unfortunately they had to leave because Devon was still on tour, though they promised to stay in touch and perhaps even visit them in West Virginia.

Like Stella, Devon had been raised as a human. When he discovered he was a Lycan, the Alpha of West Virginia had taken him in and taught him everything he needed about shifting and his wolf side. That made Sloane feel even more assured that Stella would be in good hands, no matter what happened to her.

For most of dinner, Sloane contemplated her next steps, because there was no way she was going to just sit on her ass and do nothing. For one thing, the longer she stayed put, the more likely Ronan would find her and come after her, if only to prove a point.

Everyone in the Boston clan found out how close she came to killing the Alpha, which only enraged Ronan further. He ruled the clan with an iron fist, and any sign of weakness could put his position of power in peril. There were some who were already unhappy with his leadership, but they had no choice because he had inherited the position from his father. It was the dissenters who fed Sloane insider information so she remained one step ahead of Ronan.

“I told you not to bother with the dishes, Sloane,” Alice admonished. After they had said their goodbyes to Devon and Charley, Sloane had snuck back into the kitchen and starting putting the dirty plates and glasses into the sink.

“And I said, I don’t mind, Alice.” Truly, doing small things like dishes helped her think, and it made her feel almost normal. “You made all that food; we should be the one cleaning up.”

The older woman tsked. “But you’re a guest. Now, shoo.” Alice gently nudged her away from the sink. “Why don’t you get something to drink and sit outside on the porch? It’s a lovely evening.”

“Drink” of course, meant a soda or a juice, as the Lennons kept a dry house.

God, could I use a vodka or five right now.

“Er, all right, thank you.” Grabbing a can from the fridge, she made her way to the front porch and sat down on the lone divan on the porch.

“You’re not sneaking out again, are you?”

She stiffened at the sound of the voice. “What are you doing here?”

Jacob jogged up the porch steps. “Whaddaya mean?”

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