Twisted (Burbank and Parker 1)

“I know.” He left it at that, then gave a huge yawn. “Nap time.”

“No, get ready for meeting time,” Sloane reminded him.

Another groan. “Let’s send proxies instead.”

Laughter rippled through Sloane. It felt good to laugh, and to feel so languid and vibrant all at once. The past few weeks had been one long, frustrating uphill battle. And now they had two more abductions thrown in the mix. A professor and her daughter. Kidnapped from Sloane’s alma mater.

Today’s meetin

g was going to be long, tough, and intense.

“Given all that’s going on, I doubt proxies would work,” Sloane informed Derek. “But you get points for trying.” She wriggled a bit. “I need a shower. So, by the way, do you.”

“Two minutes.” His voice told her he was drifting off. “And, no, not paid in full. Paid for now.”

“For now?” Sloane blinked in disbelief. “After an all-night marathon, you want more? Dear God, I’m dealing with a sex machine and a loan shark.”

“Yeah, but a hot one.”

“I can’t argue that. You are hot. Arrogant, but hot.”

“Damn right.” Derek’s words were slurred and sleepy. “And that’s a good thing. Because you’re way too much for any other man to handle—in bed and out. I’m the only one qualified for the job.”

Before Sloane could reply, her cell phone rang.

“Ah, shit,” Derek muttered. “Let it go to voice mail.”

“I can’t. It could be about our meeting today.”

“You’re right.” Rousing himself from his half sleep, Derek released one of Sloane’s hands, reached over, and groped for the phone on the night table. “Just make it quick.” He resettled himself on top of her.

“I will.” Sloane took the phone. “But not so I can enhance your afterglow. We’ve got to get to the city.”

“Okay, okay, you made your point.”

Grinning at Derek’s grumpy tone, Sloane punched on the phone. “Sloane Burbank,” she said into the mouthpiece.

“Sloane? Hi, it’s Luke. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“No, not at all. It’s good to hear from you.” Sloane felt her gut knot a bit. Hopefully, Luke was calling with an update on Burt. She didn’t want to think what else this call could be about.

“Are you sure?” he was asking. “It sounds like I woke you up.”

“Nope. I’ve got a meeting I’m preparing for.” She asked the dreaded question, wishing she didn’t have to. “Your mother…”

“She’s stable,” he assured her quickly. “Fighting every step of the way, in fact. She’s right here with me. I’m sure she’ll attest to what I’ve said loud and clear.”

Sloane got the message. Lillian was far from fine. Her cancer was in its final stages. But Luke certainly wasn’t going to say that in front of her. He wanted to sound as upbeat as possible.

“However, I am calling on her behalf,” he continued. “She wanted to call you herself, but she’s in a bit of pain today.”

“Please apologize to Sloane,” Lillian called out in the background. From the sound of her voice, Sloane could tell that her “bit of pain” was actually a fair amount of pain. “I just don’t understand how that mix-up could have happened,” Lillian managed. “I’m so upset about it.”

“What mix-up?” Sloane asked.

“Your name.” Luke drew a slow breath. He sounded so exhausted that Sloane’s heart went out to him. “I know you’re aware that my mother is retiring a little earlier than expected. Well, the college is holding a small party in her honor, right at John Jay, on April twenty-eighth, at seven P.M.” “Yes, I know. And I—”

“You know?” Luke interrupted. Now even he sounded upset. “That makes this even more embarrassing. You’ve worked with my mother for several years, served on a number of panels together. She has a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for you.” “As I have for her.” Sloane was totally at sea.