Saving Sloan (Sloan Series Book 2) (23 page)

She couldn’t do this. But if she didn’t go, if she refused and locked herself in her room like a hermit,
he
would hurt the people she cared about. Did she doubt him? No, she didn’t.

For what seemed like eternity, she sat on the floor crying, thinking, praying, needing a way out. With a pounding heart, she did the only thing she knew to do. She crawled over to her bed, grabbed her phone, and sat back down on the floor. Looking through her contacts, she called the one person she didn’t want to dial, but knew she had to. Too much was at stake not to let someone know.

It only took two rings for the person on the other end to answer.

“Good morning. Detective Morgan.”

S
LOAN TOOK EXTRA TIME
getting ready. She washed her face and splashed cold water under her eyes. It was going to be a long day, and she needed to relax as much as she could. Thankfully, Detective Morgan believed her about the threatening letters and texts. Sloan even forwarded the last one to the detective before deleting it. She couldn’t let Aaron or her mom see it. Detective Morgan hesitated when Sloan insisted they not tell her mother what was going on, but agreed when Sloan explained how Mr. ICU had threatened to hurt her. After a tense conversation, it was decided that an extra officer in an unmarked car would post outside Sloan’s house to protect her mother in case Mr. ICU made good on his threat early.

Detective Morgan also said she’d find a way to chaperone the prom. Her niece went to school there and she, being a good aunt, would go and volunteer. Her niece wouldn’t be too happy about it, but it would be okay. Whoever her stalker was would just assume Detective Morgan was being a good aunt and not a police officer. That was the hope anyway.

Sloan had hung up feeling hopeful for the night that her nightmare would be over and she could move on with her life.

Once she got downstairs, she didn’t feel as confident. She heard muffled whispers coming from the kitchen when she got halfway down the steps. She paused to see if she could hear what was being said. Her turn to be stealthy.

“I’m worried about her, that’s all.” Aaron said. “She’s gotta be freaking out.”

“She didn’t get a rose yesterday, right?” her mom asked.

Sloan’s heart ached. Yeah, she’d gotten one. No, she hadn’t told anyone but Detective Morgan.

“Right. It’s strange, though, don’t you think? Do you think Sloan got one and just didn’t tell us?”

Aaron knew her so well.

“She wouldn’t do that. She knows we are on her side, and we all need to work together. It’s the only way we can solve this,” her mom answered. Sloan heard a coffee mug set down on a hard surface. It would be a multiple cup of coffee day.

She hated to tell her mother, but there were other ways to deal with it. She and the detective had a great plan. Sloan hoped it went well, but it was better than going to the prom blindly.

“I hope so,” Aaron said.

Enough of this. Sloan needed to make her presence known before they started talking about something she didn’t really want to listen to.

Easing up, she made enough noise to let them know she was coming down the stairs. Just like that, the whispering stopped.

“Good morning, honey,” her mom said from behind the island. Like always, her mom looked beautiful. Her golden hair fell over one shoulder, and her skin was flawless. Sloan’s hopes of having a perfect face like her mom’s had vanished when Boyd left the scar on her face.

“Yeah. Good morning, honey.” Aaron laid it on real smooth. He met her at the step and kissed her cheek. “Sleep good?”

“Pretty good. Considering.” She figured they would think it had been because of the prom, but it hadn’t. It had been because she didn’t have Aaron to hug up to.

“Excited for prom?” He grinned, took her hand, and walked her to the island. They had gone overboard with the breakfast. Sausage and eggs. Bacon and biscuits. Toast and jelly.

“I would be if…” She didn’t finish her sentence. The less she talked about good ole Mr. ICU and the notes the better. She wouldn’t have to lie if no one brought them up. “… if I didn’t have this big of a breakfast to eat.” She laughed and sat down in her seat next to Aaron. “I won’t be able to zip my dress.”

“It’ll zip just fine.” Her mom took another sip of coffee. Used to be, her mom was all “Don’t eat too much… watch your figure.” Now she rarely mentioned it. Maybe her mom finally understood that there were more important things than her measurements. “Eat. Enjoy.”

“Are you going to eat?” Sloan asked Aaron as she tossed a few pieces of bacon on her plate. She wasn’t that hungry, but they’d gone through all the trouble. Plus, who could say no to bacon?

“Already did.” He checked his phone. “It’s getting late. Gotta get home and help the little brother get ready. You know… tie his tie, take lots of pictures, be a good guardian.”

“DCS still watching you?” The Department of Children’s Services had been involved with the two since Aaron had run away in December when he’d been accused — by her mom — of attacking Sloan in the kitchen. He’d come back, the charges had been dropped, but still. Sometimes DCS didn’t know when to quit.

“Like a hawk. Gotta put up a good front. And I don’t get it. Ray will be eighteen in a few weeks. I won’t be needed, but glory be if I slip now. I think they are just looking for me to mess up.”

“It’ll be fine.” She squeezed his hand tightly. “They won’t do anything. You’re a good guardian.”

“I don’t know about that.” He grinned slyly.

Okay, he had a point. Not all guardians kissed their guardee’s love interests. But Aaron and Ray weren’t a normal family.

“See you later. Ray supposed to be here around noon? Don’t you think that’s a little early?”

“We can change it. Three is okay,” her mom said. “It’ll still give everyone time to get ready for the thousands of pictures I plan on taking.”

Thousands of pictures. For her mom to remember the night… in case Sloan didn’t make it. What a morbid thought. “And then we are going to a restaurant.”

“He’d better take you somewhere nice.” Aaron winked before kissing her cheek. “See you later.”

“Are you coming back with Ray?” she asked hopefully. It was so sad to be going on a date with one brother and wanting to see the other one, but it was where they were.

“I don’t know. It might be… weird.” He grinned from one side of his mouth and left.

“It’s all weird.” Sloan bit off the tip of a piece of toast. “I don’t know why they had to pick this week of all weeks to stake their claim.”

Her mom laughed. “Maybe Aaron felt jealous of Ray taking you to prom.”

“Maybe.” But whatever the case, it was lousy timing.

A
T AROUND ONE,
S
LOAN
started getting ready. She washed her hair with the door cracked open and a bell hung on the handle in case someone tried to come in again. Never again would she be caught off guard.

The shower was uneventful. She got out, brushed her hair, and put curlers in it. Her mom came in to help with the back. It was fun. Like it had been when she was a little girl. It was nice spending time alone with her mother before all of the craziness began.

“I’m nervous,” her mom admitted as she put the last roller in her hair. “What if something bad happens to you? I know you said it won’t, but I’m your mother. I worry. I couldn’t live with myself.”

Sloan could see her mom’s eyes redden in the mirror and felt horrible. Her mom would feel so much better if she knew the police were involved, but if she told her, it could endanger her life. No matter how hard it was, Sloan had to be brave and keep her mom in the dark. Detective Morgan would be there and would take care of her. It was all she could do.

While her hair set, Sloan put on her make-up. She didn’t put too much mascara on her eyes. Just enough to make them pop. She put a little gray shadow on her eyelids and a very bold red lip on her lips to match her dress. As for her scar, she couldn’t do anything to cover it. She put extra foundation on it as usual and tried to make it not stick out so much. One side of her face was perfect. The other, eternally flawed. Such was life.

Her mom came in and helped her into her dress. It was a beautiful one-shoulder gown that crossed over her chest and over the opposite arm. It had lots of sequins that glittered in the sunlight. It fit her body perfectly. No poufy dresses for this girl.

Once she was zipped, she put on her earrings, diamond studs her mom had loaned her, and a sparkly diamond-ish necklace that accentuated her collarbone.

Finally, her mom took the rollers from her hair and finger-combed out the curls. She braided two small sections on each side and fastened each with a small diamond barrette.

“Beautiful.” Her mom gasped when she stood back to look her over.

“Ya think?” Sloan studied herself in the vanity mirror. She did look better than usual. She just wished the scar didn’t stick out so much. Sloan ran her finger over it, feeling sick as the tips of her fingers rolled over the raised skin.

“It’s a part of you now.” Her mom took her hand in hers and squeezed gently. “I’m sorry it’s there, but you have to deal the hand you are dealt. It could have been worse. You could have died.”

“I know that.” It always made her feel ungrateful when her mom talked like that, which wasn’t often. “I’m glad I’m alive. It’s just hard to have this constant reminder of that night.”

Her mom kissed her lightly on the forehead. “I know, sweetie. I’d take it away from you if I could.”

Sloan smiled and hugged her mom. After tonight, Detective Morgan would catch whoever was stalking her, and she could just go back to normal again. She looked forward to that. “I’ll be okay, you know. At the prom. Nothing’s going to happen.”

“You think this person is just spouting hot air?”

“Yeah. I do.” Sloan lied. She knew he meant business and even had the police involved. Her mom couldn’t know that, though. She hoped she didn’t stay mad too long when she found out.

“That makes me feel better.” Her mom wrapped her arms around Sloan. “Probably just someone playing a stupid prank.”

“Probably.” Sloan said sadly, knowing it couldn’t be farther from the truth.

R
AY ARRIVED A LITTLE
before three. Sloan’s mom answered the door and called for Sloan to come down. With her heart racing, Sloan took a deep breath and looked in the mirror for her patented pep-talk. “You can do this. Don’t freak out. Don’t lose it. Detective Morgan has it covered. Just have fun. With Ray. Ugh…” She sighed and lowered her head. Why couldn’t things ever be easy for her?

With a sigh, she automatically reached for her headache medicine, then thought better of it. She didn’t need them.

“Sloan!” her mom yelled again. “Ray’s here, and Mackenzie and her date are pulling in the driveway!”

“Now or never. Goodbye room. Hope to see you again.” She saluted her living quarters and went out to face the night.

As she started down the steps, she heard laughter and mingling. It was nice to hear, cheerful. Inside, she didn’t feel cheerful. In fact, if she could have, she’d have crawled up in her bed and hidden under the covers. Unfortunately, she couldn’t. Good ole Mr. ICU had made sure of that.