I just don’t understand how she could blow me off like this. No phone call, no text, no nothing. I realize her job is unpredictable—for all I know she could be in the middle of an operation—so I try to shake it off, but it’s going on 4 a.m. and I’m starting to get worried.

I try to call her one last time, but her phone just rings and rings. I don’t want her to think I’m some sort of controlling psycho. Maybe I’ll just take a ride to the hospital and see what’s up.

I hop in my truck and make the short drive over to Dixon, slowly circling the parking lot a few times. She’s not there. Every worst-case scenario thought goes through my mind. Is she sick? Is she hurt? Is she with another man?

I instantly make my way to her apartment, pushing the speed to the max the whole time. It’s the middle of the night. The roads are dark and empty. I grip the steering wheel until my knuckles are white, trying to keep my nerves in check. I have to find her, fast.

There sits her car, parked right out front.

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch something even more disturbing.

Then out of the other corner.

I turn my head and look behind me. There’s another one.

This place is surrounded by unmarked cop cars. I can smell them out from a mile away.

What in the actual fuck is going on here?

I get out of the truck, ready to throw down. The anger doesn’t take long to take over, to move me into real Gavin Boden territory. Someone has some explaining to do, and I’m not leaving without an answer.

I know her apartment isn’t exactly in the best part of town, but this seems like overkill. I debate just driving off, waiting for the heat to die down, but fuck it, I don’t have anything to hide. I throw my hood up on my sweatshirt just to be on the safe side and make my way inside.

I plod up the steps quietly, making sure I’m fully aware of my surroundings at all times. Flashbacks of the day I rescued my brother from that dingy disgusting apartment complex plague me. This place is pretty bad. Not that level bad, but not a place where I want her living. As I hit the second floor, I notice that her apartment door is wide open, and two men are standing outside.

“Don’t worry, Jarvis,” the one says. “She’ll come around. She always does. We just gotta put a little heat on her. Dumb bitch will sing like a bird as soon as she thinks she’s going to have to suffer any consequences. She’s my all-time favorite informant. So fucking easy.”

“You’re ruthless.” I recognize him without even seeing his face. His puffed-up faux swagger as he paces down the hall is the same one he used when he walked into my bar today. I duck onto the communal balcony, hoping they don’t notice me standing there. I’m sure I look like a creep just hovering in the hallway.

“You know she’s going to lead us right to him. And when she does, we’re both getting promotions.”

“You think she knows anything?”

“I’m sure she does. What do you think she was doing hiding out the last two days?”

I watch them as they walk down the steps, the one cop holding up Sloan’s cellphone. “Stupid girl.” He laughs.

This can’t be happening. I don’t want to believe what I’m seeing or hearing. This can’t be right. Every word stabs me deeper and deeper. Every footstep they take makes me angrier. My father can’t be right. She can’t be working with these assholes.

I can’t face her right now. My worst nightmare is coming true, and the only person who can make it right is the one twisting the knife. The girl I trusted. The girl who saw way too much.

I know what I told my father I’d do if this happened, but for now I’m going to keep my mouth shut and try and gather a little more intel. It’s hard being rational when the only feeling coursing through my veins is betrayal.

I take her duffle bag and toss it right in front of her door. I want her to know I was here, want her to know that I got her message loud and clear, although I’m still trying to sort out what all that message entails.

Right now I need to get back up on the mountain. I need to talk to someone I can trust before I open this can of worms. I sneak down the steps, checking outside to ensure the coast is clear. Any traces of police cars seem to be gone, but I stand in the doorway for five minutes to just be on the safe side. My heart is thumping and my hand is twitching.

I ball it up into a fist and slam it into the wall, cursing her name.

I trusted you Sloan. And I got exactly what I deserved.

As much as I try to let the things my parents have said to me in the past go right over my head, there’s no denying the truth in things, even if it’s just in the reality that they’ve created for myself and my siblings. As long as there is good in the world, me and my clan will always be considered evil. It’s time for me to go back to where I belong.