Out of Left Field

Chapter 21 - Who Did This? (Sloane)

Sloane

"Hey, Sloane," someone's fingers snapped, a hand resting gently on my shoulder, "That's it, open your eyes, hon." I instantly recognized Zoey's calm voice. Even with her soothing tone, I could still hear the slight nervous edge.

I groaned, the linoleum cool under my body. "Did I fucking faint?"

Zoey chuckled as I peeled my eyes open, blinking a few times against the bright light in Aaron's office. "You did. Welcome back."

"Jesus," I scrubbed my hands over my face, "How long was I out?"

"Eh," she shrugged, standing from her kneeled position and extending her hand out toward me, "two minutes, tops."

I am so fucking tired.

Reaching up, I grabbed Zoey's hand and allowed her to haul me to my feet, swaying slightly before regaining my composure.

"Stu?"

"It's been two minutes. We're good, but we're not that good," Zoey teased, then cringed, "Sorry."

I shrugged. Honestly, at this point, if I don't laugh, I'll end up a sobbing mess on the floor. I took a seat in front of Aaron's desk again, his fingers sweeping over his keyboard insanely fast. "What do I do, Lucas?"

He stopped typing, his brows pinched together as he looked over at me, "Don't go home. Stay with Cami and Dom for the time being; Chris, too, once he's out. I'll have 24/7 patrol." Lucas must've seen the hesitation cross over my features, "People I trust, Sloane. You have my word."

"Thank you," I whispered, looking down at my hands. "And Chris?" I peered up, hopeful that he would be coming home with me now.

"I need your statement first. I need... everything. Start to finish. And Chris will be waiting for you when you're done."

I almost fainted again from the relief that flooded  my body. Chris would be in my arms so soon. Just another hour or so and me, Chris, and Dodger would be together again.

"Okay, yeah, let's do it," I responded eagerly, ready to get this recap over with.

I spent the next hour going over every last detail about what has happened with Stu. From the day that we broke up until the second I escaped down the hallway and out of his grasp.

It was hard.

Going over every detail while Zoey sat just a couple of feet away from me, her face twisted up like she was going to hurl. She was never going to relieve herself from the guilt of setting the two of us up.

From the looks of it, Aaron was just as close to losing his lunch as Zoey. He and Stu had been friends for many years, I'd imagined it was difficult hearing that someone you trusted and cared for was a monster behind closed doors.

Aaron scrubbed a hand down his face after he stopped the recording device, his back meeting his desk chair with a thud. He looked almost as tired as me. "Fuck, Sloane. Why didn't– You could've come to me sooner."

I chewed on my bottom lip for a moment, sighing deeply. "It would've been harder to believe without this," I gestured toward my neck. "He knows more people than I do."

It was hard for even me to believe the nonchalance in my voice.

He swallowed, "We're going to find him," Aaron promised, rapping his knuckles against his wooden desk before standing from his chair. "He won't get away with this."