line went dead, and I turned to find the room empty.
Ellie returned ten minutes later, and she seemed okay. We found Sloane out in the waiting room. She stood when she spotted Ellie.
“Here.” My sister handed her the phone. “Grant called three times.”
Sloane’s face fell as she tucked her phone away. Who was Grant?
After we dropped my sister off at home and said our goodbyes, we picked up Tripper and headed back to Shadows.
Sloane was quiet and stared out the window while Tripper rested his head on her shoulder from behind. He must have sensed her mood was off. Just as we passed the last checkpoint, I slowed the car to park.
“Thank you,” I whispered, “for your help.”
“Sure.” She kept her eyes away from mine as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
“Look, I don’t discuss my personal life with the guys, so I’d—”
“So why would I?” She grabbed her things from the trunk and headed down toward her cabin with the fucking traitor right on her heels.
I closed my eyes and sighed. I really wasn’t good with anyone anymore.
I needed some sleep.
Three hours later, the click of the radios and squeaky voices woke me from a restless sleep. Liam was in my closet shouting codes to his brother in the middle of an epic battle.
I groaned and covered my head with my pillow, but the sound of my phone pulled me from my desperate need for sleep.
Cole: Conference room, now.
John: Be there in 5.
With a quick shower and a swipe at my teeth, I hurried down the stairs to find the men at the conference room table. Coffee and pastries lured me to the plate on the side. As I sipped the brew, I tuned in to their vibe and realized something was up.
Cole cleared his throat and tapped a button on the computer, which sent a photo to the big screen behind him.
“As of this morning, Frank got word that North Rock was ambushed and three of the guys are now separated from the team.” Cole paused while Daniel joined us. “We got the order we ship out at eleven hundred.”
So, four of North Rock were now in the hospital, the rookie was dead, and now another three were missing. Christ, almost half the damn team has been picked off!
Daniel stood next to Cole with his phone in hand. “Mike and Keith are on the way and should be here in an hour. I want all comms double checked, extra ammo, and watches charged.”
“Cole,” I drew the attention my way, “I don’t know if you got my text, but Trigger did confirm that the cartel has the rookie’s radio.”
“I did. I’m not concerned. It’s not the first or last time that will happen.” I gave a quick nod in agreement. “All right, men, eleven hundred.”
As I raced up the stairs, I spotted Tripper playing with Butters in the living room, outing Liam’s position. I glanced around to see if I could spot Sloane, but instead, I found June working in the kitchen.
“Hey, handsome, what are you up to?”
“Getting ready to ship out.”
Typical, June skirted around the subject of us leaving and went directly to the elephant in the room.
“I don’t know what happened last night, but Sloane sure is quiet this morning.” She gave me the eye.
I picked up an apple and began to polish it on my shirt as I considered what to say. Her warm hand covered mine from across the island.
“The boys might be oblivious as to what’s going on, but this wise old lady sees all. It’s not lost on me that you keep your family’s pain from us. I know there’s a lot more going on with you than you want to share, but it’s okay to be happy, John. It’s okay to let someone in.”
I hated that she saw the truth, but her words hit home.
She rounded the island. “The last time I saw her, she was heading down to her cabin.” She kissed my cheek, handed me the last piece of my apple, and turned back to the sink.
On my way out the door, I whistled for Tripper to join me, but it took me half a second to realize he was already on his way down there. I get it.
Chapter Eight
Sloane
I pushed some papers aside and found my phone that alerted me a text came through.
Dell: Hey, Sloane, I wanted to apologize for not picking you up last night.
Sloane: It was no problem, Dell. No need to apologize.
Dell: I just heard you had