The first two things that come to mind when describing Sloane are ‘big hair’ and ‘huge fake boobs.’

‘Brassy’ would probably be a third.

She was an incredibly beautiful woman, in a trashy kind of way. Her grey eyes were mesmerizing – those witchy irises where they’re lighter near the pupil, edging darker and darker towards the whites. Plenty of smoky eyeshadow. She had high cheekbones and sensual lips painted Fuck me red. Her hair was two-toned – auburn in the back with blonde bangs in the front. Full sleeves of tats with bright, flashy colors. They were easy to see, thanks to her sleeveless, metal-studded leather jacket and a t-shirt that barely contained the cantaloupe-sized mounds on her chest. She also wore black leather pants, black leather stiletto boots buckled up to her knees, and a shit-ton of gaudy chrome rings and necklaces. Her long nails were blood red with a single rhinestone embedded in each tip.

It shouldn’t have worked, but it did. She looked like a young Angie Everhart – although she talked more like Mae West by way of an Alabama truck stop.

I hate to admit it, but I was a little jealous – and I didn’t know why. I basically hated Jack now, so why the fuck did I care what his ex looked like?

Didn’t matter – I still felt insecurity gnawing at my guts. To make myself feel better, I focused on the cheaper, floozier-looking aspects of her appearance. Like the hair. And the tats. And the nails. And the overdone makeup. And the gigantic fake boobs.

Hell, pretty much all of it.

She was sitting in a plaid recliner at the other end of the motel room like a queen on her throne. And like any queen, she had two knights flanking her, one on either side – except these dudes looked like refugees from a ZZ Top cover band. And they were pointing sawed-off shotguns right at us.

Jack didn’t seem fazed at all. “Sloane.”

“Hello, loverboy,” she said mockingly – but also with a flirtatious wink.

That ‘loverboy’ part really pissed me off.

And the wink.

Actually, everything about her infuriated me.

Was I that jealous over a man I hated now?

Apparently.

FUCK.

“You got some work done,” Jack remarked.

“You like?” She glanced down at her chest. “Tyler was buyin’, and he likes ‘em big. Which is kind of ironic, considering…”

She held up her pinky and made a meh sort of face.

Jack glanced at the two guys with shotguns. “I find that hard to believe,” he said diplomatically.

Sloane flipped her hand like a Southern girl gossiping at a beauty parlor. “Oh, honey, I’m with Tyler ‘cause he’s trainable, not for the dick. I gotta get that somewhere else.”

Jack glanced at the two guys with shotguns again – this time a little more nervously. “Uh… do you really want to be talking about this in front of…?”

“Pigpen and Zed work for me. They know which side their bread is buttered on. Speakin’ of sidekicks, how’s Kade doin’?”

“Fine.”

“Didn’t ever wise up enough to leave your ass, huh?”

Jack jerked his head towards ‘Pigpen’ and ‘Zed.’ “You might not want to give them any ideas.”

“Honey, the difference is, it’d be smart for Kade to ditch you, and it’d be goddamn idiotic for them to cross me. But enough about who I brought with me – who did you bring with you?” she cooed, taking a long look at me from head to toe.

I swear, she didn’t just undress me with her eyes. She had me tied up and bent over the bed, too.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. It was creepy… and sort of hot, in a weird way. Whatever else, this chick was a sexual powerhouse. You could feel it radiating off of her in waves.

Which, knowing she used to be married to Jack, upset me even more.

“Sloane, Fiona. Fiona, Sloane,” Jack said.

“Mmmm… helloooo, Fiona. Damn, Jack, you always did have good taste. I mean, Exhibit A,” she said, and swept her hand in front of her own body, Vanna-White-style.

“Yeah,” Jack said with a tight smile, like he was biting his tongue.

Sloane’s eyes returned to mine. “If you’re the one sharing Jack’s bed these days, all I can say is… lucky girl.”

“I’m not,” I said tartly.

“Oh. Well… more for me, then,” she said with a wicked smile, and dropped her gaze to Jack’s crotch.

Fucking BITCH –

“We came here for business,” I snapped.

She opened her eyes wide in mock surprise, like Aren’t YOU Miss Sassy. “Well then, let’s get down to business.”

Jack glanced at me in irritation – Be COOL – then eyed the ZZ Top dudes again. “I’d prefer we do it in private.”

“Mmmmmmm,” Sloane purred, biting on one of her fingers seductively.

Jack smiled darkly. “Not quite.”

“Are you sending Miss Fiona packin’, too?”

“No,” I said.

“She’s staying,” Jack confirmed.

“So it’s going to be a threesome?” Sloane teased.

“Not quite,” I growled.

“Well, then, you won’t mind if I use a little insurance so you won’t both have your way with me,” she said as she pulled a pistol out from between the cushions of the recliner. “Put your guns on the bed – slowly. And far enough away that I don’t have to worry about you gettin’ an itchy trigger finger.”

Jack complied. I grumbled, but tossed my .38 on the bed near the pillows.

“Much obliged. Pigpen and Zed, you boys can take off. Why don’t you head back to that Dairy Queen off the interstate and get me a Blizzard.” She winked at me. “A girl likes to cheat every once in a while.”

The two thugs hid their shotguns in their leather vests and strolled past us out of the room. We waited until we heard the explosive brm-Brm-BRRRRM of their Harleys roaring out of the parking lot.

Sloane smiled. “So… what have you got for me, Jackie boy?”