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Their tiether in the House of Rida had been a welcome reprieve from the torturous existence they sometimes lived The rulers of the house were known for their leniency with servants and slaves and set clear guidelines for buying your freedohth birthday becas” after one month of work, Sloan had realized that this promise of freedom was only a ruse to keep them in line There was no way she would be able to buy her freedom before she was ancient

The tears that had coht her to Neven He had been in the house for a year or so longer than she had While others ridiculed her for her tears, tears she hadn’t allowed herself to cry for years, Neven had crouched down and handed her a scrap of fabric to wipe her eyes

“Don’t worry We all have that same reaction after the first ets out of line” Neven’s kind eyes peered down at her Sloan exa his intentions One of those kind eyes was coiant black-and-blue bruise He seereen hair that stuck up at odd angles He also had a beaklike nose and dark-green eyes that see look lasted only a couple of beats before he offered Sloan his hand

“Co”

Sloan had stared at hi up without parents, at the whim of flesh traders, had not been a kind or easy life She had ed not to draw too much attention to herself and hadn’t been subjected to the more heinous possibilities that came with captivity, but the taste of a whip and the whoosh of air leaving her lungs after a punch were not experiences she could forget

Deciding that she could probably take hiht if she needed to, Sloanhis hand, she stood froround

“Name’s Neven,” he had said with a friendly smirk

“Sloan” She returned his smile and shook his hand

“Glad to uided her toward the servants’ quarters As they rounded the corner, a group of men arrived They waited—for what, she couldn’t be sure, until their eyes snapped up in her direction, well in Neven’s She hadn’t seen therounds Neven stopped abruptly

“Neven, precisely the ray ainst the corridor wall “It see froht,” he said in a lol, tapping a large pipe on the bottom of his shoe

“I didn’t have enough to give you the full amount,” Neven had said, his eyes downcast as he moved his body in front of Sloan’s

“Neven, your protection relies on us all being well paid” The male had continued to tap the pipe

“You—you keep adding more people to your circle, and I can’t exactly ht”

“Neven, that’s your probleet us the credits we need” The rowled, pushed off the wall, and stalked over to Neven, pipe raised Neven had flinched and tried to back up, but he bumped into Sloan Sloan took a moment to assess the situation There were four er than Neven and Sloan, they weren’t exactly bodybuilders They were slight and probably used their numbers to intimidate Sloan hated bullies and hated those who preyed on people they thought eaker than them

Sloan had pushed Neven aside and walked up to the pipe holder, who stopped short at her advance Neven had atterab her arm, but she shook him off and shook her head at him