"Hey guys," she says, sauntering toward us. "Anyone hungry? I have leftovers." She holds out the pizza box and keeps the smile plastered on her face.

Dalton jumps up and meets her, grabbing the box out of her hands. "Hell yeah," he says, taking a slice. He hands the box to me, so I grab one, too. I hand the box to Asa just as Sloan takes a seat on the lawn chair with him. She leans in to kiss him, but he pulls back.

"Where'd you get this?" he asks, closing the lid to read the top of it. She shrugs, careful not to look at me at all. "Some Italian place. One of my classes was cancelled today and I was hungry, so I grabbed lunch."

"Alone?" he asks, setting the box on the concrete next to him.

She smiles. "Yeah. I'm so tired of campus food." She reaches down to the box and grabs a slice. "Taste it," she says, handing it to him. "It's really good. I brought it home so you could try it."

Asa grabs the slice of pizza out of her hands and drops it back onto the box. He leans forward and grabs Sloan by the hand, pulling her to him.

"Come here," he says. He pulls her onto his lap and grabs the back of her head and kisses her.

I look away. I have to.

Asa stands up with Sloan still wrapped around him. I can see him out of the corner of my eye as he hoists her up by the ass, kissing her neck. He walks toward the house and I look up, just as she glances at me from over his shoulder. She watches me wide-eyed until he carries her through the back door and into the house; more than likely all the way up to his bed.

I lean back in my chair and let out a huge ass sigh, running my hands through my hair. How am I expected to just sit here, knowing what's going on in that house?

"I wish we could bust his ass today," I say to Dalton.

"I don't like the way she looks at you," Dalton says with a mouthful of pizza. I glance over at him and he's still staring at the back door. "She's trouble."

I pick up the box of pizza and grab another slice. "Jealous?" I laugh, trying to appear nonchalant about his comment. "You can always have Jess. I hear Jon's a lot more generous than Asa."

Dalton laughs and shakes his head. "These people are so fucked up."

Not all of them.

"I think we could use her," Dalton adds. I look over at him and can see his wheels turning.

"Use her how?"

"She's into you," he says, sitting straight up in his seat. "You have to use that to your advantage. Get close to her. She probably knows more about the people Asa works with than we'll ever be able to find out from our positions."

Shit. The last thing I want to do is get her involved. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Dalton stands up and says, "Bullshit. This is perfect. That girl is the break we've been waiting for in this case." He starts dialing a number on his phone, walking toward the back door.

Using women to get closer to cracking a case is nothing to him. He's done it in almost every job we've worked together.

It's just not something I'm willing to do.

But it may not be a choice that's left up to me...

SLOAN- 13

Chapter Thirteen

Sloan

"Your heart is beating so fast," Asa says, dropping me onto the mattress.

Of course it is. This was probably the scariest five minutes of my life, not knowing if I could pull off the lie. Thanks to Carter, it worked.

"You kissed me the entire way through the house," I say. "Of course it's beating fast."

Asa slides on top of me and presses his lips to mine, kissing me gently. He runs his hand through my hair, kissing down my chin and neck, until he gets to the base of my throat. He pauses and looks me straight in the eye. "Do you love me, Sloan?" he says, his question coming straight out of left field.

I swallow and then nod.

He pushes up onto the palms of his hands. "Well then say it."

I force a smile as I look up at him. "I love you, Asa."

He stares at me a moment as if he has an internal lie detector and he's waiting to see if I passed. He slowly lowers himself on top of me and buries his head in my neck. "I love you, too," he says. He rolls onto his side and pulls me to him. He holds me, rubbing his hand in soft circles over my back. I don't remember the last time he touched me in this bed without it being directly related to sex. He kisses the side of my head and sighs.

"Don't leave me, Sloan," he says firmly. "Don't you ever fucking leave me."

The fierce, yet desperate look in his eyes paralyzes me. I shake my head. "I won't, Asa."

His eyes scroll over every inch of my face. Lying here wrapped in his arms, watching him watch me with such intensity—I don't know if I should feel loved or terrified. It's a little of both.