Page 8 of Slaying for Sloan
“No,” I shake my head. “You’re done more than enough. I think I’ll warm up in the café before meeting with Alex.”
“Have a good evening,” the man smiles before getting back into the SUV and driving off with my bags.
Turning back toward the café, I feel weirdly taken care of. I didn’t even have to tell Alex that I had too many bags and didn’t want to walk around with them all night. He justknewwhat I needed and acted on it. It’s a different side of him, and I’m hoping it’s here to stay.
Several unfamiliar faces turn to stare at me as I enter the café, but I ignore them as I quickly find an empty table. A waitress wastes little time approaching my table.
“What can I get for you?” she asks as she smacks a piece of gum between her teeth. She doesn’t look up at me as she waits for my response, holding a pen and paper between her fingers.
“Just a hot chocolate, please,” I smile up at her.
Her eyes flick to mine, annoyance clear in them. “That all?”
“Yes,” I nod, tapping my fingers on the top of the table. “I won’t be staying long.”
“Alright,” she sighs, shoving the pen and paper back in her apron before she disappears into the kitchen.
I risk a glance around the café to find multiple people still staring at me. They’re not even trying to hide it, and I think that’s what annoys me most. If my best friend Cara were here,she’d be telling them to go fuck themselves. She’d scare the shit out of them enough to make sure they didn’t so much as think about looking in my direction.
Rolling my eyes, I force myself to carry on and shove them to the back of my mind.
The church is on the other side of town and so many of the streets look similar, especially when the entire town is covered in snow. Pulling up my map on my phone again, I try to memorize the route I’m going to take. I tried to throw a few weird twists in there, something to throw Alex off and give me more time before he finds me.
Although, I’m definitely hoping hedoescatch me. But I don’t want to play easy to get. This is going to be the sexiest game of cat and mouse anyone has ever played, and I can’t think of a more taboo place to play it. If anyone catches us, word will spread through the town like wildfire, ten times faster than what they saw last night.
Alex’s parents would have a fucking heart attack. They’d never let us live it down. We’d probably be shunned from Holly Grove forever. Then again, that may not be the worst thing in the world.
The impatient waitress returns to my table with a steaming mug of hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream and a pinch of peppermint flakes. I give it a minute to cool down before bringing it to my lips, and when I do, I melt into the mug instantly. The warmth fills me, heating me to my core. This is exactly what I needed before I take off into the night, fleeing for the church.
Tights might not have been the smartest choice on such a cold night, but I know it’ll heat things up quickly when Alex tears through them to gain access to my body.
I sip my hot chocolate until it’s completely dark outside, and then I throw a one hundred dollar bill onto the table as I standto leave. The waitress certainly doesn’t deserve it because of her attitude, but it is Christmas Eve and I’m sure she can use it. It’s not my money anyway, so it feels like the right thing to do.
Pulling my overcoat tightly around my body, I step through the café doors and into the snowy night, excited and already feeling the pulsing heat as it builds between my thighs.
Chapter Six
ASHER
She doesn’t see me, but I see her.Always. Every step she takes, every little decision—like the handfuls of bags she carried around before I sent Jacobs, one of the family’s drivers, to retrieve them. She did what I told her and used the cash I left her to treat herself.
Good.
Iwantto spoil her, to give her everything she’s ever been denied. Alex never fucking got it. He never cared enough to notice the little things, or the way she lights up when she feels appreciated. He treated her like some accessory, something to show off when it suited him.
My brother was fucking pathetic.
But me? I’ll show her what it’s like to be cherished, adored,owned. She doesn’t know it yet, but her life already belongs to me. I’d burn this whole fucking town to the ground if it meant making her happy and putting a smile on her pretty little face.
She slows at a crosswalk, her breath curling in the cold evening air, and my pulse quickens. Soon, my sweet doe will see the difference. My brother failed her, but I fucking won’t.
Moving through the busy downtown, I shadow her from a distance, keeping my steps light and steady, hidden by the flowof people coming and going behind me. Their boots crunch over patches of ice and snow as they shuffle about.
Holly Grove has always been a tourist town. For as long as I can remember, people traveled from around the world to hit the infamous slopes. To them, there is no better way to spend the holidays. Little do they know, everything about this stupid town and its people is fake. They’re not the warm, welcoming townsfolk you’d expect to find. No, this town is filled with judgmental assholes who turn on their own and anyone else who dares to be different from them.
Anyone who doesn’t share their beliefs or morals.
The people passing by are all wrapped up and half-hidden in their bundles of winter clothing, meaning Sloan won’t even think twice if she happens to catch a glance at me. I blend in with the crowd like another passerby caught in the season’s chill.