After Tate left Tom took a step toward Sloan but stopped. The pain in her eyes broke his heart. He cursed Lewis for putting it there. Tom sighed inwardly,no he couldn’t place all of the blame on his former mentor. He had caused Sloan the most pain and now she hated him for it. Not that he blamed her.

All Sloan wanted to do was bury herself in his arms and never move. But for some reason her feet remained rooted to the floor. It had been so many weeks since she had last seen him. Part of her was afraid that if she moved or blinked he would be gone. Out of her life for good,this time.

From somewhere she found the strength to speak,”Please have a seat.”She said as she motioned to the sofa.

As she came into the living room Sloan flipped on the light by the sofa. It allowed Tom his first good look at her in weeks. The nawing feeling in the pit of his stomach returned. It was the same feeling he had while talking to Tate in his apartment. Something was wrong. From the shocked expression on her face earlier it was obvious Tate hadn’t told her he was back in town. Which only led him to more questions. If she was sick why wouldn’t Tate have told him? Unless his kind had been the cause.

Sloan absently folded her hands together on her lap as she turned to face him,”First I want to apoligize for Ed’s behavior......”

Tom shook his head,”No need. His priority has always been to protect you, he sees me as a threat.”

Sloan nodded as she reached out and took his right hand in hers,”He’s just very protective of me sometimes. Especially the last week or so.....”

Tom blinked. She looked fine to him,maybe a little pale, a little tired but other wise alright. Beutifal as always. If Lewis or any other of his kind had done something to harm her Tom wouldn’t be held accountable for his actions.