Page 82 of Sloth
Tony answered after two rings.
“Ye-es?” He drawled, voice smooth and deep.
“Are you home?”
He paused, then responded again with another suspicion-laced drawl. “Ye-es.”
“I need your help.”
“You’re not going to retaliate, prank wise, are you? Because I’m not in the mood.”
“No. I’m done with that. I need your help to control my emotions.” She thought about it, then added, “Please.”
“Oh.” Another long drawn out pause. “You wantmyhelp?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.”
“Pretty please?”
“I mean, sure. I don’t know how I can help, but sure.”
“You’re an actor, Tony. A good one. If there’s anyone who knows the ins and outs of emotion, it’s you.”
“Oh.”
“You keep saying that. Are you all right?”
“I’m good,” he mumbled. “When do you want to do this?”
She walked over to her computer and checked the time. It was still early. Nine a.m. “I need to clean myself up. How about in ten minutes?”
“I can give you a few hours. See you in the training room.”
They disconnected, and while she was at her computer station, Sloan checked the screen that displayed the keystroke program she’d installed on the Syndicate’s black site servers. A search of the server database had turned out to be frustratingly fruitless. When mentioned to Barry, he had pointed out that none of the research was stored on the administration computers. Julius was extremely secretive, and he kept research cells isolated.
That was good information.
Sloan should be happy that she’d followed her instincts to rescue Barry, but without Max, she was fast becoming lost in nothing. No, that was wrong; she wasn’t lost in nothing. She had Tony, her family, and she had hope—something Daisy sorely lacked. It was something.
Twenty-Four
Sloan showeredand dressed into workout attire. Puma joggers, black leggings and a sports bra that strapped around her shoulders and stomach. She tied her hair into a ponytail and gave Luna a kiss. Just before she left her room, she spotted the red jewelry box sitting innocently on the kitchen bench.
A beat.
Another.
Then she rushed over, opened it, and stuck the ring on her finger. Not on the wedding ring finger, but on her right hand. The diamond winked at her as though happy to get out of the box, to be free. Smiling, she replaced the red velvet box back in the container of other belongings and noticed the cell phone that belonged to Wyatt’s ex. Reaching in, she pulled it out. It was dead as wood, but if she went down to the workshop after her training session, she might find a way to restore it. If Flint was down there, even better.
With a renewed sense of purpose, she left her apartment. She was ready.
She arrived in the basement and found the entire floor empty. Her mother and father, who were usually in the workshop, were also absent. The rest of her family were most likely at their day jobs or homes. She couldn’t help feeling a little peeved at that.
Max was missing.
Logically she knew there was only so much to do without a lead to move on and they had exhausted their options. Their investigation into Max’s whereabouts had stalled. Life went on in the mean time. Parker and Evan had a business to run, Griffin and Liza had day jobs, Wyatt was with Misha, Tony…
