Page 35 of Her Billionaire Hero
Stumbling into Patton’s apartment, I felt as if I was going crazy. “I can’t find Sloan.”
“Is she lost?” he asked as he came toward me, concern etched on his face.
“I think she is. I think her ex kidnapped her.” It was hard to breathe or even think. “The cops won’t even begin to look for her or try to find Preston to question him. Not for two more days. The one cop I was able to talk to thinks she may have gone back to her ex. I just can’t believe that.” I fell on the couch. “Do you know what could happen to her in two days? All sorts of horrible things.”
Going to the kitchen, he came back with two beers, placing mine on the coffee table. “Look, I know you don’t want to think this way, but she might’ve gone back to him on her own, bro.”
“She didn’t.” I sat up so I could explain things to him. “See, he hit her the other day—knocked her on her ass. And he did that in her apartment.”
“She gave him her address then if he did that in her new place,” Patton said as he nodded.
“No, he told her he’d gotten it off the report that was on a cop’s desk while he was being interrogatedabout her mother’s death.”
“Whoa.” He stood up, looking at me with wide eyes. “Her ex is being asked about the death of her mother? Why is that?”
“He had an affair with her mother. It was back when Sloan was like ten or so. It went on for a couple of years, until Sloan was twelve. And then it ended when her mother went missing.” I knew the story was hard to follow and I also knew I was a mess and probably not even telling it accurately. “Anyway, supposedly Preston—that’s the name of her ex—he didn’t know the woman was married or had a child. He only found that out when Sloan’s father called the police to report her missing. They looked into things and found out about the affair. Preston was a person of interest at that time. But they couldn’t find a body, so they had to give up on it.”
“Is there a body now?” Patton asked as he sat back down.
“A female body was found underneath an old concrete patio at the back of a building once owned by Preston.” Saliva filled my mouth as my stomach churned. “The body was dismembered, and the neck had been broken. Sloan had to go give blood at the police station the other day so they could do a DNA test to find out if the body they found is her mother’s.”
“Good God in Heaven,” Patton whispered. “This is horrifying.”
“Yeah, I know.” I grabbed the beer, downing it to help calm my nerves. “The cops brought Preston in to ask him about the body they found, and Sloan thinks he’s acting so weird because of that. But I think he’s acting so weird because he’s a fucking murderer.”
“Her father wasn’t aware that his wife was messing around behind his back?” he asked with skepticism.
“From what Sloan said, no, he didn’t know about the affair.” I had my doubts about that too. “It doesn’t really matter if her dad knew or not. The thing is that her dad wasn’t ever sought as a probable killer. Preston was. And what’s even crazier is that years later, when she was like eighteen or so, her father and Preston went into some business venture together and that’s when she met the old fart.”
“He’s old?” Patton asked.
“Her dad’s age.” A shudder ran through me. “And what’s really sick is that Sloan looks just like her mom. So, Preston comes to their home with her father and it sounds like he proceeds to hit on the girl.”
“In front of her father?” He shook his head in disbelief. “Who does that? I mean, the man must’ve had balls of steel to do something like that.”
“I know.” I wouldn’t have ever allowed that kind of shit to happen to my teen daughter. “I’ve never met her father. I have seen him once. Not that Sloan knows that. I was being a nosy motherfucker and followed her one day. She ended up at this office building and she met an older man there. It turned out to be her father.”
“How do you know that?”
“His secretary told me.” I wasn’t proud of that moment in my life. “Don’t tell Sloan, okay?”
“If we ever see her again, I won’t.”
“Patton, why would you say a thing like that?”
“Dude, she’s with her ex-husband. They might leave town. You know, to get her away from you.” He rolled his eyes. “You act like you’ve never heard of something like this happening.”
“There was a fire,” I said. “Sloan was at a friend’s house at the apartment complex she lived in before she moved here. And a fire broke out. Everyone went outside. The smoke was billowing around, and her friend lost sight of Sloan. That’s the last anyone has seen of her. Look, I’m a wreck and I’m leaving out shit that’s important. You could get me another beer to help me calm the fuck down.”
“Sure thing.” He hopped up and went to grab me a cold one. “So, fill me in on the important things.”
“Sloan’s car is still at her friend’s place. So, she didn’t take her car anywhere. And it had to have been crazy when the fire began, and everyone was all over the place. Sloan wouldn’t run off without telling her friend.”
“What if the whole thing was a clever ruse to make it so she and her ex could run off together without either one having to face you?” He handed me a new beer. “Have you thought of that?”
“You’re nuts. Sloan and I are in love. Real love, bro. It’s not some fake thing we’ve got.”
“Hold on,” he said as he sat back down. “You said that her ex hit her, right?”
