Sins of Mine - Mary E. Twomey Page 0,41

the four guards on foot behind us, but we’re outracing Rafe, as well. We need to get to safety before Rafe deems this a grand time to make his royal appearance.

The car starts up, and I realize it’s the backdoor that’s open for us. Cassia must be behind the wheel. Invisible.

This should be interesting.

Gray leaps into the backseat, and I make it in beside him just before the car lurches forward. It drives straight toward the guards, who scatter to dodge Cassia’s wild temper.

“Just in time,” she says, and I can hear the grin in her voice. It’s surreal to be driven by someone I can’t see.

I can see blood in the passenger’s seat, but no body. “Did you get Sloan?”

That must be the moment she removes her hand from his, because a bloodied and bruised Sloan manifests in the passenger’s seat.

Cassia turns down the side road and steps hard on the gas, jerking us around without mercy.

“That was so dangerous, kids. You shouldn’t have done that.” Sloan’s breaths are uneven, and I can tell something important is broken. He winces with every shallow breath. “Arly knows the plan. You’re supposed to leave me and assume I’m dead.”

“Screw the stupid plan,” Cassia snarls. “We don’t leave anyone on our team behind. Now clean yourself up, chief. Arly’s going to faint if she sees you like that.”

Sloan manages an exasperated laugh as Cassia gets onto the freeway, finally materializing so we can see her.

Sloan’s face looks like he’s been beaten several days in a row with the business end of a bat. Father never indulged in any sport other than golf, but he appreciates the tools of other sports enough to bastardize them for his own means.

Sloan’s hand is poorly bandaged in a bloody rag. “Is Arly okay? They didn’t take her, did they?”

“She’s fine. She’s with her father,” I tell him.

I don’t expect the agonized wail. “No! He’s going to keep her until she gives him her hair! Don’t go to the commune. We have to get to her now! If Conan has her hair in his possession, there’s no end to the damage he’ll do to the world.”

Gray is still a little winded, but he leans forward all the same. “Well, she took care of that already. He’s not going to get anything from her now.”

Sloan’s labored breaths are the only thing that fill the car as Cassia drives too far above the speed limit. We race toward Jen, who can hopefully right all the wrongs that were done to Sloan.

12

Sloan is a Buttface

Paxton

Nurse Jen’s bedside manner is impeccable, even through the occasional tear she can’t excuse away. Though they’ve only been dating a short while, it’s clear Jen cares deeply about Sloan. Either that, or she’s just as horrified by the abuse as the rest of us.

Charlotte’s thrown up twice at the sight of the carnage, so she’s not allowed to go back inside Sloan’s bedroom. As she quietly cries on Cassia’s shoulder in the living room in front of the fireplace of our home, Gray is in danger of cracking his knuckles so much that something’s bound to break.

“Arly should have answered her phone,” Gray says again, though I’m sure by now he knows that we have no new comments on the matter. “We called from Sloan’s phone and from Jen’s. She would have picked up if she was able to.”

The hint left dangling in the air is that Arlanna isn’t as safe with her father as we’d all hoped.

The voices coming from Sloan’s bedroom grow louder. I can hear frustration in the incoherent tones. Finally, the door opens. “I get it, Jennifer, but I don’t have a choice. I have to find her.”

Jen stomps out behind him. “You need to rest! We can go look for her.”

“You wouldn’t get past the front door. There are rules in the family, and you don’t know them. I do. I’m her guard. I have to find her before they do something I can’t fix.”

I perk up, raising my hand to remind him of the development. “She shaved her head, Sloan. Conan can’t take her magic.”

Sloan is limping, and though he’s got enough care taken to his face to where he’s not actively bleeding anymore, he still looks ghastly. His hand is bandaged, and he looks about five minutes from falling over.

The glare he fixes me with carries a great deal of pity, like my mind can’t possibly keep up with the evilness of the infamous Conan Valentine.

Fair point.

“Conan is