“You!” It was clear he wasn’t expecting the Vigilante. He had indeed switched coats with Quincy and stank in the worst possible way, even with her mask on. She had to admit, with his cap and dark beard, he could pass for a vagrant.
“There’s a crew, possibly the traffickers we’re searching for behind me, Professor Radcliffe. We need to find cover now.”
Luke only nodded and retreated back to where he’d been hidden. With the flashlight, she saw that the tunnel was empty, but not as clean as the main one, confirming that it wasn’t the traffickers’ main route. There were pebbles and small pieces of fallen concrete all around. Luke continued a few feet to an indentation on the left, an old aeration vent leading up. Sloane followed behind and crouched down just as Luke switched off his light. Back in the dark, Sloane activated her night vision goggles again, awaiting the people coming after her.
Light increased in the main tunnel, and she could hear male voices. Seconds later, to be safe, Sloane moved out of sight until they passed. As she expected, they flashed their beam into the tunnel where they were both hiding, but it was just out of habit. They didn’t expect anyone there. Luke was so close, his presence almost distracted her, as images of his naked flesh came to mind.
The echo confirmed that there was more distance between them, so she stood.
“Ten minutes before they exit. That’s the time it took the first car.” Luke’s voice was low.
Sloane nodded. “Stay here. I’m going to do some recon.”
And for the first time, Luke grabbed her forearm. “Not alone. I’m coming with you.”
There was no way in hell she’d let him follow her. “No. You’re safer here. If I don’t come back before they return, wait and leave when they’re gone.”
Her order didn’t loosen Luke’s grip on her. “I know how the tunnels work, you don’t. It’s non-negotiable. If you leave me behind, I’m done helping you and your team.”
With an inner curse, Sloane had to make a decision, either wait and hope to find a route later, or have a preview now, with the risk of getting caught. She’d never consider the second option if it meant not closing the case faster and saving more lives in the process.
“We wait. If you’re as good as you say you are, you won’t have any trouble finding the path, will you?”
The modulated voice fell flat on the walls but not in the ears of the professor as his handsome face became hard as stone.
Their stand-off was cut short when the shuffling noise returned. Hiding again, Sloane could now detect less talking and more panting. There was effort involved, meaning they had drugs with them.
Once the noise faded again, Sloane touched Luke’s arm as a signal to follow her.
Sloane tentatively checked if the coast was clear when a dark mass smashed into her. The impact felt like running into a brick wall. Not the least prepared, and with a shocking weight difference, there was no way she could’ve stopped the large man’s advance.
Using the wall as leverage and reaching for her guns, she prepared to aim when she was blinded by another streak of light. Vulnerable, disoriented, her eyes took a few more seconds to adjust and when they did, the night goggles showed two forms fighting, with a spinning flashlight nearby.
Luke had his hands full with the trafficker, and the space was too small for her to lend a hand. There was no way she could help him or leave him like that. All she could do was wait for an opening, any possibility to take the other man down.
When the burly trafficker gave Luke a strong enough punch to make him skid a few feet away, she saw her opening.
Aiming for the head, Sloane’s finger had squeezed the trigger when the flashlight spun and blinded her once more. Scared of shooting Luke, she moved her weapon down when shots sounded in rapid succession.
Agony exploded through her torso, emptying her lungs and wracking her with spasms of pain. It was an uncontrollable response and one that could cost her life. Her brain computed that she was wearing high-tech armor, but that didn’t convince her body it was any less painful.
From behind, she heard scrambling and then running before two hands tried to roll her over. When the pain made her curse, the voice modulator sounded distorted. That meant that the bullets had nicked her chest’s comm system, and with that destroyed any way of contacting base.
Hands again tried to turn her over, and she batted at them until a low growl came from above. “You’ve been shot, moron! Let me take a look before you bleed to death.”
Forcing herself to draw a full breath, she could at least reassure him she was fine. “Body armor.” Her voice almost squeaked, which was laughable. Almost.
“Body armor can’t take that many bullets at such close range without them penetrating and causing considerable damage.”
Sloane opened her mouth to explain a bit more when the earth shook. Her initial impression was that she was falling into shock, but it wasn’t a gradual earthquake, more like an explosion. The power of it was so sudden and intense, rubble rained down on them. Luke came over her, covering her with his body like a shield. As soon as it started, the shaking stopped.
Before, she couldn’t breathe because of the pain, now she couldn’t because of Luke’s weight plastered over her. “Move!”
Annoyance was swamped by worry when he didn’t answer. Working through the pain, she pushed at Luke’s body until she could wiggle out from underneath him. Airborne dust clogged her throat, making her cough and provoking all sorts of agony. Through the mist, there were patches of rock and concrete all around them. Carefully, she touched Luke, feeling for broken bones. Turning him over, she almost jumped when he coughed. Grateful he was alive, her relief was short-lived at the sight of blood on his head.
She helped him up until he was steady in a sitting position. At least the flashlight was still working.
His eyes went to her face. “Are you all right?” He looked down at her torso, probably remembering the bullets hitting her suit, and winced, reaching for his head.
“I should be asking you if you’re all right.” The entire sentence sounded like a distorted whining cat. Communication through the modulator was no longer possible, and that meant she needed to remove her hood.
They were now in survival mode with their entrance dynamited shut. Her identity weighed in the balance, but keeping it secret wouldn’t help her or Luke stay alive. And with the way the good professor had jumped into the chaos, risking his life for the Vigilante, a pure stranger, she had no choice.
As the dust settled, the light shone brighter, their own small haven in the darkness. Sloane reached up to disconnect the comms and unfasten her protective headgear. It didn’t take a strong beam to notice her pink hair tumbling down, nor the complete silence to hear the gasp from the man sitting before her. Gathering her courage, she pushed back her hood before looking up.
“Well, professor, where were we?”
Chapter 12
“You’ll have to talk to me at some point, professor.”
Luke had enough to manage with the ongoing ache throughout his body, analyzing his surroundings, and the uncertainty of coming out of this mess alive that it felt safer to ignore what, or more accurately who, had him so close to losing control.