Page 31 of Stealing Sloane

They pulled apart. “What the hell?—”

“Fire alarm.” Fuck! “Let’s get out of here.”

They got to their feet, righting their clothes as they made their way to the entrance. When he opened the door, the piercing alarm assaulted his ears. When he tugged at her arm, she pulled away. “We gotta go!”

“I almost forgot—we need to find Olivia.”

“Olivia?” he asked, incredulous. “My cousin, Olivia?”

“Yeah, I came with her.” She trudged up the stairs, frowning as she looked at the dozens of people converging toward the main entrance. “We have to find her.”

“Everyone’s evacuating. Wait a second.” Something was not quite right. Holding up a hand, he sniffed the air. “No trace of smoke.”

Her nose wrinkled. “Huh. You’re right. No heat or fire anywhere either.” All the house lights were turned on, and though there was pushing and shoving toward the exit, it wasmostly a controlled crowd. The employees directed the patrons, telling everyone to stay calm.

“Olivia will be fine; she knows her way around here. Maybe it’s a false alarm or a malfunction. But we should get out anyway. Come with me.”

She pointed to the main entrance. “But everyone is going there.”

“I know where the other emergency exit is in the employee area. C’mon, this’ll be quicker.” Pulling her along, he led her to the rear of the club, toward a long hallway that led to the kitchens and the back room. It was eerily quiet and the lights were off, but his Lycan sight allowed him to navigate in the darkness.

“How come you know your way around here?”

“Worked here washing dishes when I was sixteen,” he said. “My dad said it would help me learn something.”

“What did you learn?”

“Where they kept the good booze. There, up ahead.”

The green Emergency Exit sign up ahead shone like a beacon, and they both hurried toward it. He pushed the door open, breathing in the cool, evening air as they stumbled out into the dark alley. “See? What did I?—”

Pain shot through his skull and spots appeared in his vision, and the scream that rang through the alley made his blood freeze in his veins.

“Sloane!” he snarled, but before he could even move, something clamped around his arms and forced him to his knees.What the fuck!He continued to struggle, but it was no use as he couldn’t get free.

“Save your energy,” came a raspy voice on his left. The grip on his forearms tightened. “You’re not going nowhere.”

His vision began to clear, though the back of his head still throbbed. He blinked the blurriness away, and he could see twosets of shoes on either side of him. Based on their strong scents and the fact that they were able to subdue him, he deduced these were Lycans holding him down.

“Jacob!”

Ignoring the ache in his skull, he lifted his head. “Sloane!” She stood in front of him, her eyes wide with shock. “Run!” His wolf, too, let out a furious growl.

A third man stood behind Sloane, blocking her way. She could easily evade him, but she didn’t move.

What the hell is she thinking?

“Don’t hurt him,” Sloane said. “I’m the one you want, right? Did Ronan send you?”

“Smart girl,” the third man said. “Come with us quietly or my colleagues will snap your boyfriend’s neck.”

A large hand wrapped around the Jacob’s nape. While Lycans healed fast, they couldn’t recover from anything that caused an instant death.

“A-all right,” Sloane sobbed. “I-I’ll go with you.”

“Good decision.”

Jacob had to act now. Without a second thought, he unleashed the flames he’d been holding back. The heat shot from his hands, instantly setting his captors on fire, forcing them to let go of him as they shrieked in pain. “Sloane!”

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