on this section?” Chase asked as he contemplated their next extraction.
“Twenty-five feet,” Tyler said as he reached for the backboard.
Nodding, Chase said, “We’re going to need two ladders.”
“Why do you need ladders?” Sloane asked, sounding a bit hysterical at the end there as Chase thought it over only to decide that they were probably going to need some rope, too.
“No reason,” Chase said, only to mouth, “Grab rope” when Ben and Scott headed for the door, deciding that he’d make this up to her later.
Chapter 33
“I know what you did,” came the quietly spoken words that had Chase biting back a smile as Sloane slowly looked over her shoulder to find Deb standing behind her, hugging a pool noodle against her chest. She narrowed her eyes on Sloane only to end up cursing when she saw Kim coming, turned around and quickly made her way back to the safety of Kim’s office only to pause by the door and mouth, “I know.”
Nodding solemnly, Sloane said, “She’s going to kill me one day.”
“It does look that way, doesn’t it?” Chase murmured in agreement as he pulled the woman that probably shouldn’t go anywhere alone while they were here, down on his lap.
“You could always tell her that you lied,” Sloane said, sounding hopeful as she wrapped her arm around his shoulders and shifted to get comfortable.
He could, but…
“I don’t think that I can do that,” Chase said with a sad shake of his head as he rolled them toward the back.
“You’re so mean,” Sloane mumbled sadly as he rolled them through the open security doors that led to the back and made his way toward the pool.
“Because I refuse to destroy a little girl’s hopes and dreams of vanquishing evil?” he asked with a sad shake of his head as he rolled them through the pool’s double doors. “I just can’t do that, Pookie.”
“Then I’m afraid our love affair is over,” Sloane said with a sad shake of her head and a heavy sigh as he rolled to a stop a few feet away from the pool.
Nodding, he helped her off his lap. “I think you’re right.”
“It was fun while it lasted,” Sloane said, nodding solemnly.
“It really was,” he said, matching her nod with one of his own as he watched her pull her T-shirt off and tossed it on his lap, revealing the top half of her bathing suit.
“So,” Sloane said, pausing to sigh heavily as she toed off her shoes and shimmied out of her cotton shorts, “then we’re agreed. It’s time to go our separate ways?”
“I don’t see how we have a choice,” he said even as he reached over and grabbed her hand, using his hold on her to pull her down so that he could steal a quick kiss.
There was a heavy sigh and then…
“We really don’t,” Sloane said with a teasing smile as she pulled back far enough so that she could toss her shorts at him before making her way around the pool to the deep end so that she could do her customary dive for Teddy. She shot him a wink as she climbed onto the highest diving platform as Grey walked in with Teddy in his arms and Deb not too far behind with a glare already locked on Sloane.
He should probably do something about that, Chase thought as he watched Sloane dive off the diving board, earning an excited smile from Teddy and an awed expression from Deb before she remembered that she was supposed to hate Sloane and returned to glaring. As he made his way over to the benches lining the side of the pool, Grey handed Teddy over to Sloane and
Fucking hell, walked over to join Chase.
“You missed another session,” Grey said, dropping down on the bench next to him with a bagged lunch to watch Sloane work with Teddy in the large swimming pool.
“I have bodyguard duty,” Chase said with a pointed look as the woman in question was forced to hold up Teddy, who couldn’t stop giggling while his sister was forced to rethink her attack.
“That probably won’t end well,” Grey murmured.
“She loves it,” Chase said even as he had to wonder where Deb got that foam bat.
“I can tell,” Grey said dryly.
He’d considered staying home, but then he would have missed this, Chase thought with a heartfelt sigh when Deb realized that she wouldn’t be able to attack Sloane without hitting her brother. He watched as she hugged the foam bat against her chest and