Lance and Sam followed Melina to plan how to get Luke out, leaving Sloane and Luke in a small bubble of privacy.
For the first time, Luke touched her tear-streaked face. “The tears mixing with the dust on your face have made some wild patterns. It makes you look like one of those warrior masks I saw at a museum. But they don’t have pink hair. Why the tears? I’m fine.”
In a mirror image, she cupped his bearded cheek. “I thought you were dead with the others under the rubble. I shouldn’t have listened to you and made you come with me. I can’t imagine my life without you. I love you, Luke.”
He looked sad when she said those words. “Are you sure you’re not just saying that in the heat of the moment because I nearly died?”
“No, I knew it the moment I met you, although I refused to see the truth. I felt the connection between us, I wanted it, but it meant too much at the time. The other night with you, every doubt, every fear, every weakness I have, you turned them all to dust, but I was too stubborn still. Ben dragged me out of my room and made me realize what I had, and everything became so clear, so obvious, it almost knocked me over. From our first words in that classroom, to now, I’ve been yours.” Her tears returned, but Sloane smiled through them. “I’m still crazy and broken, and a Vigilante. I don’t think I can change any of that.”
Everything steadied inside her when Luke smiled in return and leaned forward to touch his forehead with hers, his fingers caressing her cheek. “You mean the beautiful, pink-haired storm who became the most unexpected urbex partner I ever knew? I wouldn’t change you, Sloane. All I want is for you to accept me for who I am, the same way I accept you. Let me in your heart, you already have possession of mine, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
It was too much for Sloane to take and all she could do was give him the gentlest, deepest, and the most real kiss of her life.
“Enough lovey-dovey. Luke needs to go to the hospital now and as the cops will start creeping up our asses in a matter of minutes, we need to go.”
Tearing her gaze from Luke, she looked at Lance who’d probably heard every word and nodded in approval. A new chapter of her life was starting, but there was still a lot to do.
Sloane wasn’t the most patient woman, and that would never change. It was deep in her nature, so even if Melina had sworn to accompany Luke to the scan and to remain with him the entire time, it didn’t make the waiting any easier. It wasn’t the waiting per se, but the possibility that the results would come back with worse news than a simple concussion, even though Luke had been lucid and well the ride over.
Sloane picked at her pants as she sat in the waiting room. She’d changed in the truck on their way there and the gray hoodie and green sweatpants had seen better days and could fit most of the men of the group, with the apparent exception of Lance and Joshua.
Twitching in his chair, Lance put a hand on her knee. “Please, breathe. Meditate, self-combust but stop moving. You’re making me nervous. Damn, your man isn’t in there having surgery. He’s not going to die.”
His huge hand was both comforting and tenderly awkward. They’d been friends for a long time, but it had remained distant, professional. Since she’d followed him to start Carpe Noctem and become one of the vigilantes, they’d become closer, along with the rest of the team. Tight-knit, dedicated, and loyal. More than friends... they were family.
Sloane put her hand on his. “I know. I’m sorry for being a pain, Lance.”
A low hum of laughter came from his big frame as his icy blue eyes sparkled. “You’re true, you don’t play games, and you’re fearless. You may be too intense sometimes, get in peoples’ faces, but you want wrongs corrected, justice served, the innocent protected. I don’t think anybody in their right mind would choose to be the Vigilante, not even me. But here we are, weird, imperfect, broken, and I wouldn’t want anybody else by my side for this, Sloane.”
Holding hands now, they remained still, in silent support of each other, until footsteps came down the hallway toward the waiting room. The sound wasn’t like the soft footsteps of the medical staff. They were from someone wearing boots, who knew exactly where they were going. Lance straightened, and Sloane half expected one of the team to burst into the room, but an unknown individual entered instead. He took two steps into the room before it became clear he was a cop on a mission.
Tall and built, maybe not quite as big as Lance, but close enough. He had short, light-brown hair, a square-set jaw, and headed directly to them. Sloane stood, everything in her bracing for an attack. Lance must have felt the same way because he did the same, unfolding his tall frame to stand. If she hadn’t been worried about this new arrival, Sloane would’ve been impressed by how the cop didn’t blink at the threat that her boss and friend posed by her side. On the contrary, his intensity toward Lance was palpable, and he addressed him first.
“You the two that brought Lucian Radcliffe here?”
Sloane took the lead, knowing what made a cop tick. “Who are you?”
Her stern tone barely made him pause. “Lieutenant Sawyer Kelly, Chicago PD. Who are you?”
“I’m Professor Radcliffe’s girlfriend and he’s currently being examined for a potential concussion and is indisposed for questioning at the moment.”
The man may have seen her as smaller physically, but she hoped for his sake he could read between the lines. “Then maybe you two can answer a few questions for me, especially about the fact that you dug him out following an underground explosion. And more importantly, how did you arrive on the scene so quickly? Some kind of sixth sense?”
Lance shifted, and she wasn’t sure if it was because he didn’t like what he was hearing or he was biding his time to take the cop down.
“Do you know anything about urban exploration, lieutenant? Professor Radcliffe is an expert, he’s studied the field for years, but he also keeps safety in mind. He told me that he may have found a potential area of exploration. I knew where he was, and he called me when the explosion happened. That’s why we reached him so quickly.”
“And speaking of urban exploration, or more accurately the tunnels, don’t you find it strange that the moment the second explosion happened, a fascinating dossier is dropped on my desk. One that lists the Phantom trafficking routes using those same tunnels? Don’t you find the growing number of coincidences interesting, because I sure do.” Lieutenant Kelly’s stern gaze turned to Lance. “And you were conveniently there to help her get her boyfriend out of the tunnel?”
Lance took a step forward, coming nose to nose with the cop. The sight both awed and frightened Sloane, almost making her gasp. The testosterone was so high in the room, if a fight broke out, it would be like separating two wild beasts. Even with the gun hidden at her back, she doubted she’d be successful at separating the two men.
“She’s my friend and we work together. We were doing exactly that when she got the call from Luke.”
“Again, how convenient, Mr. Sorenson.”
“How do you know my name?”
Sloane’s heart slammed in her chest, triggered by worry deep down.
“Lance Sorenson. Founder of Carpe Noctem Consulting. Once I got a picture of you, it was easy to find you on different databases.”