Page 74 of Sloth
“You’ll only be reborn if you’re dead, right?” Sloan asked. “So… if I keep you alive for years and years… what will happen then?”
He shook his head. Sloan tapped the barrel of her gun against his temple. “I’ll make it clear for you, asshole. You tell me what I need to know, I shoot you. Kill you dead right now. You refuse, I’ll make sure you die a long, slow and painful death curtesy of our penal system. How much fun do you think it will be in there for a man who looks like you?”
Doubt flickered in his eyes.
“Where did they take Max?”
“I don’t know.”
She held her chin high, refusing to let him see her disappointment. “Why did they take him?”
“He’s linked to you and your powers, that’s all I know.”
Dammit. They knew about the mating bond. They knew about Max being the only thing on this green earth keeping her sane. A dark insidious feeling churned in her belly.
“How did you lock me out of the car?”
“We hacked the fob frequency.”
“Can you reverse it?”
He set his jaw and shook his head. “I don’t have the equipment. She took it with her. I don’t even know how to do it, I’m just a—”
“Idiot. You’re just an idiot.” She sent him to sleep.
She didn’t need that car, anyway. There were plenty in the lot she could borrow. She tapped on the window, getting Beatrix’s attention.
“You got a laptop in there?”
Beatrix nodded, eyes wide.
“Good. Get your shit out. We’re commandeering another car to meet your dad.”
While Beatrix scrambled out, Sloan stalked to the admin building. Bursting through the doors, she expected to find the dean and others, but found no one. Hiding. Probably a good thing. Behind the receptionist’s oak desk was a key rack. Dangling right there was a set with a fob. Perfect.
Back outside, she pointed the fob at the lot, pressing the lock button until she heard a beep. There it was, a red Honda Civic in the dean’s reserved parking spot. Hers now.
Hurrying Beatrix inside the car with her luggage, Sloan got into the driver side and urged her passenger to get her laptop out.
“You got a phone?” Sloan asked, turning the engine on.
Beatrix nodded and pulled out a girly red glitter covered phone.
“Seatbelt on. Good. Open the Wifi settings on the laptop. I will give you a password that will give you access to the Lazarus Satellite.”
“Got it,” Beatrix replied.
“And then I want you to do exactly as I say.”
Twenty-One
Six hours later,Sloan pulled the Civic into the basement garage of the Lazarus building. In her haste, the wheels clipped a curb, sending a screech of protest from the tires echoing into the dark cavernous space. In the passenger seat, Beatrix also squealed, her knuckles white as she gripped her closed laptop. Yanking on the wheel, foot on the breaks, Sloan slammed the car to a stop right before the elevator door. No time to park.
Max was out there somewhere. Alone, possibly hurt… worse.
Swallowing the lump of fear in her throat, she pushed out of the car. The door stayed open. She strode toward the big metal locked door next to the elevator. Beatrix scrambled to keep up. Sloan had spent the drive placating her, telling her it was going to be fine, but it wouldn’t be. Max was missing.
A fire had been lit back at that school, but it wasn’t the kerosene that caught ablaze, it was her blood. Full of adrenaline, Sloan had relentlessly used the girl and her computer on the long drive home. The poor girl was probably frightened out of her wits, but she took it in her stride. She hit every keystroke Sloan had ordered, completed every task. They’d traced Max’s cell and discovered it in a ditch not far from the school. If Sloan wasn’t completely wired, scattered and on edge, she might have respect for the girl—taking Sloan’s barked orders like a boss. As it was, all Sloan could think of was the growing list of things to do.
