Page 30 of Fragile Hearts (Hibiscus Hearts #3)

After I tell the police about the laptop and the pawn shop, I head back to the front porch where Sloane waits, Mochi in her arms.

“What did they say?” she asks.

“Said they would head over there and check things out. I told them to keep an eye out for your laptop too, just in case they were trying to pawn that as well.”

I don’t really care about the laptop, mine anyway, because it’s replaceable, just like the other things they stole. And I’m happy to buy Sloane a new one too, even though I’m pretty sure she won’t let me if she knew that’s what I was planning to do.

What I really wanted though, more than anything, was to find whoever did this and for them to be punished.

Even though I knew it was a long shot, I feel like it’s the only thing that can ease Sloane’s worries and make her feel better about all of this.

I know how much she struggles with strangers coming by our house, but to know someone has broken in and violated the one place she was starting to feel safe. Well, I fucking hate that.

I want her to feel safe and secure, to not be threatened by all of this. That’s the only thing I care about in all this: Sloane. And Mochi too, but Sloane one hundred percent.

And more than anything, I really, really don’t want whoever did this to be her mom.

Fuck if it is, I have no idea what that’s going to do to her.

Sloane nods, her fingers running through Mochi’s fur. “What are we going to do now?”

I blow out a breath, dropping my arm around Sloane’s shoulders and pulling her close. “I’m gonna call my dad and get this door fixed, and then I’m going to take you and this little fluffball out to get some dinner and a lot of drinks.”

“Do you...” Sloane pauses, glancing back into the house before turning back to me. “Do you think your dad is?—”

“Babe, don’t,” I say, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Please stop thinking this is your fault. Even if it does turn out to be connected to your mom, which I still don’t believe it is, it still won’t be your fault. No one is going to think that.”

Sloane nods, but I don’t think she believes me, and all I can hope is that this really isn’t her mom’s work because I get the feeling it might destroy Sloane if it is.

“Come on, let’s go get this door fixed.”

After my dad comes by with one of the maintenance guys from the hotel, they manage to repair the door and the lock so it’s safe enough for us to sleep here tonight.

I also call the insurance company and file a claim for the damages and missing stuff, get the mess of our living room cleaned up and text Flynn to let him know everything that’s happened.

He and Alana offer to come over and help, but short of cleaning up the mess, there really isn’t anything for them to do.

“Okay, good to go?” I ask, pocketing my phone as I walk into the bedroom.

“You sure we should leave? What if they come back?” Sloane asks as she dries her hair.

I step toward her, my hands on her shoulders. “They aren’t coming back,” I tell her. “And even if they do, it’s just stuff, babe. The only thing I care about is right here in front of me,” I add, smiling as I lean in to kiss her.

Mochi barks at Sloane’s feet as if to remind me that he too, is part of this, and I laugh, glancing down at the little fluffball who hasn’t left Sloane’s side since we got home.

“Yeah, okay, and you too,” I tell him, smiling when he gives an excited yelp. “Come on, babe, let’s go have a drink and something to eat.”

“Okay,” she replies with a nod. Smiling, I give her one more kiss before letting her go so she can finish getting ready.

When she’s done, we attach the leash to Mochi, and I take Sloane’s hand as we head outside, walking down to the small collection of restaurants near the beach.

Just as we sit down, my phone starts to ring, an unknown number flashing on the screen.

“Hello, Owen speaking.”

“Owen, hey, it’s Officer Pearson. Just wanted to give you a heads-up on what happened when we checked out the pawn shop.”

“Sure,” I say, glancing at Sloane as I mouth the word ‘police’ to her.

“They had CCTV in the shop, which was good, and we were able to get a partial image of the person who attempted to pawn your laptop,” he says, and when I look at Sloane again, I can tell she wants to know what’s going on.

“Okay, hang on, I’m just putting you on speaker, so my girlfriend can hear.” I set the phone down on the table, which is outside and quiet enough that no one else is going to hear this conversation. “Alright, we’re good to go,” I tell him.

“So, as I said, we got a partial image of the person,” he continues. “A woman, actually, with long blonde hair. The person working at the shop described her as about five foot four. Said it appeared as though she was on something.”

When I look over at Sloane, her eyes close, her head falling. I’ve never seen or met her mom, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this description fits what she looks like.

“Sloane, I was wondering if you had any photos of your mom,” the officer asks. “So we can show them to the shop attendant.”

“No,” Sloane says, blowing out a breath. “I don’t have any, but that definitely sounds like her.”

“And you said you don’t have an address for her?” Officer Pearson now asks.

“I don’t,” Sloane replies, her voice flat. “Up until last week, I hadn’t seen her in nearly two years. I have no idea where she’s been. Did you try the number I gave you?”

“We did. It’s been disconnected. It was a prepay, so I guess when it ran out, she didn’t top it up.”

“Shit,” Sloane mumbles.

“So what now?” I ask, reaching over to take her hand.

“There’s not a whole lot more we can do at this stage. We’ll keep looking,” the officer says. “But in the meantime, if she makes contact with you, let us know?”

“Will do,” I reply.

“Thanks. And your friend at the shop has your laptop. Says he’ll hold onto it for you.”

“Thanks,” I reply before we hang up.

“Fucking hell,” Sloane mumbles, her head falling to rest on her arm.

“Babe,” I say, moving around to sit beside her. “We don’t know it’s her,” I add as I wrap my arm around her, even knowing it probably is.

“It’s her,” she says, her voice muffled.

I drop a kiss to the top of her head. “Even if it is, that doesn’t change anything.”

Sloane lifts her head. “Doesn’t it?” she asks, her words laced with frustration and maybe a little anger. “She came after me because of you, Owen. Because she knows who your family is, and she found out about us, and fuck, what if, what if...”

“Hey, hey,” I say, pulling her close. “Stop.”

Sloane huffs out a breath, her eyes closing as her head falls to my shoulder. I rub my hand slowly on her back, wishing I could take all of this away from her.

“I just want her to go away and leave us alone,” she murmurs, the frustration now replaced with resignation.

I rest my cheek against the top of her head. “And I want you to stop thinking any of this is your fault. It’s not, and I still love you, and nothing is going to change that.”

She lifts her head, her watery eyes meeting mine. “One day something might,” she whispers.

“Nope, never,” I reply, shaking my head.

“Owen, you don’t know that,” she says.

“Sloane, babe,” I say, my hand cupping her chin. “I love you. That’s not going to change.” I drop a kiss on her lips before she can argue with me, kissing her deeply until she eventually pulls away, a small smile on her face now.

“You don’t know that,” she says again, but it’s more playful this time. “But thank you for saying it anyway.”

Chuckling, I press a kiss to her temple. “Nope, I can totally see the future, babe, and I definitely see you and me, old and gray, grandkids running around, the whole works.”

“Oh my god,” Sloane says, finally laughing. “Grandkids?”

Shrugging, I say, “Well, kids first, obviously.”

She shakes her head, leaning in to press a soft kiss to my lips. “Obviously.”

We spend the next hour or so having some dinner and a few drinks and not talking anymore about what happened or Sloane’s mom or what we’re going to do about it all.

Drew texts me to let me know there were two laptops that were pawned, but he only recognized mine, and when I ask him to hang onto both, he lets me know he will.

“You wanna head home?” I ask when we’ve finished.

“Do you really think it’s safe to sleep there?”

“I do,” I tell her. “The door is fixed, babe, and we can set the alarm tonight, and I’ll be with you,” I add, as Mochi lets out a bark. “Yes, and you too, little guard dog,” I say, laughing. “He doesn’t like to be excluded, huh?”

Sloane smiles, bending to pick Mochi up. “That’s because you spoil him.”

“Oh, I spoil him?” I tease, slinging my arm around her shoulder as we make our way out of the restaurant and start to walk back home.

“Yes,” she says, smiling up at me.

Grinning, I close the distance, kissing her gently, laughing when Mochi uses the opportunity to lick my cheek. Sloane laughs, putting him down now, and just as we start walking again, we hear someone calling Sloane’s name.

“Sloanie!”

Sloane stops, her eyes darting around, her smile gone.

“Sloanie!”

“Fuck,” she breathes out, spinning around, her eyes widening.

I turn to see a woman who looks exactly like the description the police gave us. A woman who looks like an older, messier version of Sloane. A woman who looks exactly like her mom.

“Sloanie!” she calls again, waving her arm this time as she stumbles toward us. She’s clearly on something, and I feel Sloane tense beside me as Mochi lets out a low growl, baring his teeth in a way that could almost be cute if I wasn’t so fucking angry right now.

When her mom reaches us, I move, shielding my body in front of Sloane’s. Her mom seems oblivious, a sloppy smile on her face as she throws her arms wide and again says, “Sloanie!”

It’s then that I notice the headphones around her neck.

The headphones that are undeniably mine. My heart sinks at the realization that Sloane was right. It was her mom who broke into our house and stole our stuff, stole from her own fucking daughter.

And it’s her mom who is standing in front of us now, not giving a single shit about the fact she did that. Anger courses through my veins, my heart pounding in my chest as I try to wrap my head around the fact that her own mother could do this to her.

“What do you want?” I snap, as Mochi continues to growl at our feet.

Sloane’s mom looks at me, her eyes hooded, her pupils blown and unable to focus. “To say hello to my daughter,” she says, an indignant tone in her voice. “What do you want?”

Behind me, Sloane grabs the back of my T-shirt, tugging on it, almost like a silent plea for me not to react. “I want you to leave Sloane alone,” I snap.

Her mom scoffs, half rolling her eyes as she turns her attention back to her daughter. “Come on, Sloanie, it’s been ages. I just want to spend time with you.”

Sloane doesn’t say anything, and when I risk a glance back at her, I can see her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, her eyes filled with tears. It breaks my fucking heart to see her like this, to know this woman, who was supposed to unconditionally love and care for her, could do this to her.

Turning back to her mom, I say, “Sloane made it clear to you last week that she doesn’t want to see you.”

“Am I talking to you?” her mom says, her gaze a little more focused now. “Who the fuck are you to speak to me like that anyway? I’m her mother, I?—”

“You are nothing to me!” Sloane suddenly yells, stepping out from behind me to confront her mom. Her mom takes a step back, shock on her face at Sloane’s sudden outburst.

I want to pull her back behind me, protect her from anything this woman might say or do to her, but I know I can’t do that. Sloane has been taking care of herself for longer than I’ve known her, and as much as I might want to protect her, I can’t hide her from this.

“Sloanie,” her mom now says, her tone softer this time. “Don’t be like that.”

Sloane shakes her head, fury in her eyes as she says, “How could you? How could you fucking do that to us, to me?” Her words are laced with venom, each one thrown at her mom like a dart.

Her mom blinks rapidly. “I don’t know what you’re talking?—”

“Cut the shit, Mom, ” Sloane says, her words laced with sarcasm. “I know it was you who broke into our house. Who trashed the place and stole our things. You pawned them, for god’s sake. And for what, your next fucking fix?”

Her mom opens and closes her mouth a few times as she tries to focus on Sloane. “I wouldn’t. I didn’t do that,” she says indignantly.

Sloane takes another step toward her, her spine straight, her body practically vibrating with tension as she says, “Yes, you did.”

“I didn’t,” she responds, shaking her head as though to emphasize her point.

Sloane stares back at her, not saying anything at first, before she reaches out, grabbing one of the headphones and yanking her mom closer. “Oh really? Then why do you have my boyfriend’s headphones?”