Page 2 of Stealing Sloane

An orphan, Sloane had been raised by her aunt since she was a baby. She’d been told her parents had been killed by another clan looking to take over the Boston territory, and they died valiantly defending Ronan.

But as she lay on her deathbed, her ‘Aunt’ Ella confessed the truth.

“You had them k-killed.” Her hand pushed the needle in further, a prick of bright red liquid forming where the tip met Ronan’s skin. “When they wanted to go straight.”

“They blackmailed me.” There was an eerie calmness in his voice. “And no one blackmails me.”

“You let them leave, thinking they were free. Then you sent Garret after them.” Bile threatened to rise in her throat as she recalled Aunt Ella’s story. “Y-you had them executed.”

“But I spared you, little one. You had committed no crime or sin against me.”

Anger bubbled up inside of her. “Neither did they, asshole! My parents served you all their lives. They deserved to be free and to raise me in a normal way, away from you.” Twisting around, while keeping the needle at his neck, she faced him. “And now you’re going to pay.”

The corners of his mouth slowly turned up, though his eyes remained dead and cold. “You can’t kill me. You’re not a killer, Sloane.”

“Aren’t I?” She pierced the needle farther into his neck. “All I gotta do is plunge the belladonna into your veins.”

“Then why haven’t you done it?”

“Because I wanted to look you in the eyes while I did.”

“Then do it!” he hissed. “Are you a coward?”

“Bastard!” She wanted to do it, but her entire body went cold as her finger hesitated.Damn it!She was so close … why couldn’t she do it?

Maybe Ronan was right. She wasn’t a killer. Being part of the Boston clan, she wasn’t exactly a saint. One thing she was good at was getting in and out of places she wasn’t supposed to, and so Ronan had her steal whatever he needed—cash, jewelry, heck, even evidence from police stations. But she’d never actually taken a life.

However, she thought of her parents, whose lives had been extinguished by this madman. What her childhood could have been, had they succeeded in escaping. “Goodbye, Ronan.”

“I don’t think so.”

“What?” She laughed aloud. “Are you going to beg for your life?”

“No, but maybe you will,” he said with a smirk. “Once Garret has his hands around that pretty little neck of yours.”

The atmosphere in the room shifted as Sloane’s ears picked up the shuffling of heavy boots from the other side of the door. It was enough to distract her for a split second, and Ronan used all his strength to push her away and slam her against the wall.

“No!” she screamed as she scrambled to get up, syringe in her hand. It was no use, though. She had lost the element of surprise.

“Primul!” Garret McCall, Ronan’s Beta, shouted as he charged toward Sloane. Thankfully, she was faster than him, and she evaded his grasp, crouching under his massive frame as she lunged toward the door. With adrenaline pumping through herveins, she managed to evade the rest of the bodyguards, leaping over crates and boxes and using them to propel herself toward one of the high windows.

“She’s getting away!”

Ronan’s scream of rage rang through the warehouse, but it did nothing to stop the tears stinging at her eyes. She flew through the window, tucking and rolling as she landed on the concrete. Ignoring the pain shooting up her side and shoulder, she dashed toward the chain-link fence and through the narrow opening she had cut earlier. The motorcycle she had hidden behind some bushes was just over the hill ahead of her, and she would escape with her life tonight. Still, that did not remove the bitter taste of defeat in her mouth.

I had him.

And she’d lost him.

Next time, she would not hesitate.

Chapter 1

Kidnapping had never been on the list of crimes Sloane had committed over the years, but she supposed there was always a first time for everything.

Besides, it wasn’t like she was doing this forbadreasons.

In fact, this was for the right reasons, because she was going to kidnap her twin sister to keep her safe from the Boston clan.

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