Sloane’s curiosity spiked. No surprise there, a Marine with his service record would certainly take precautions to hide his identity. “His nickname?”
“Yeah, Hollow Chaser.”
Her heart stuttered at the name. The chaser of holes, tunnels, and caves. It represented his dedication and was proof his passion had taken root way before university. Had it been a passion as a young boy or did he find it, gun in hand, during his combat in Iraq and Afghanistan? She shouldn’t ask those questions, they were too personal, and she needed to focus on what could be useful.
“So he used his alias to dig up information on Noctem Consulting. Big deal. I left the card with the phone number. He probably saw what we made available.”
Lance didn’t seem impressed, nor was she.
“First point of interest, not only did he check out Noctem, but he also did extensive research to make sure we weren’t linked to some conglomerate or a terrorist group. It seems it’s not the first time the good professor has had a request for help. It’s probably one of the reasons he turned you down so fast, I guess. The guy is careful and has been burned before.”
“Do we know if he accepted any of those offers?” Sloane was worried about the possibility of having other people battling her for his expertise.
“That’s my second bit of good news. He used another device to do his research, but it allowed me to wiggle myself into a teeny crack, big enough to access part of his personal email account. The emails date from the last three years and have been deleted since, but you know me. Nothing can be deleted forever. Some are small criminals with big egos. I’ll forward the list to the team for verification, and one name led to another until I found the tail end of a fucking snake: the Maximon Group.”
Every cell in Sloane’s body went into high alert at the name. When the rumors of Phantom hitting Chicago became scarily real, the entire team had been on edge, trying to discover the identity of who had won the exclusive bid. The winner turned out to be Mr. White, the elusive head of Maximon and a dangerous man. He’d attacked one of the Vigilante team members, Sam, and his girlfriend, Orla Karlsen, a hotshot journalist at the Chicago Tribune. Orla had almost been killed in the process, and Mr. White had escaped. He remained their target, along with bringing the entire distribution network down.
“White contacted Radcliffe directly?”
Devin huffed. “That would mean White is stupid, which he isn’t. No, one of his minions is doing the talking and sending an email every week, and lately, the tone is hardening, sounding more like a threat. I can show you the emails if you like.”
“And what’s Radcliffe’s answer?” Sloane could guess the answer already.
“The first few times, a resounding no, and after a while, Radcliffe sent all of them to the trash.”
Lance paced. “It was a damn dangerous move. And a dumb one.”
Sloane didn’t like the tone at all. “Hey! How could he know that ignoring that request would be dangerous? It’s not like he has a single clue what he’s facing!”
“Whoa, Slo! Don’t turn feral on me! What’s up with you?” Lance lifted his hands as if preparing for her to go to for his throat, and Sloane had to take a step back. Her reaction was way over the top, defending a man she knew nothing about.
“Sorry about that. It’s just that I hate seeing an innocent man so close to being hurt by White. That monster has destroyed enough lives at it is.”
Lance frowned, and Devin looked at her as if she’d sprouted a second head, but her friends let it pass.
Their hacker in residence stepped forward. “Okay, now that we’ve all agreed White is the devil incarnate, there’s one last thing, and please don’t tear my very handsome face off, but there’s more bad news. Or good news. It all depends on your perspective.”
Dread settled deep in her belly. “Spit it out, Devin. And make it quick.”
“Okay, okay. I came across communications between White and one of his henchmen. They’re tired of Radcliffe’s refusals and are about to make a move on him. I think that White’s intention is to rapidly expand and increase distribution.”
Sloane started moving. “When are they planning to attack? It’s going to be a kidnapping, I presume?”
Devin followed with Lance on his heels. “Soon, but I couldn’t find when it will take place. Just that money was exchanged, and people called. I’ll keep checking, but I can’t answer that question yet.”
Sloane went directly to the gear room as Devin headed back to his computers. Lance was on the phone. “I’ll get more eyes on the situation for you. Devin is probably checking where Radcliffe is. How do you want to deal with it? Suited or not?”
One look at her watch told her that night had already fallen. And to be honest, she wasn’t sure there would be enough time to convince the professor as the mysterious blonde, so the wild, pink-headed woman in the Vigilante suit would have to do for now.
“Protection for now, and we can come up with a new way to approach him tomorrow as Noctem Consulting. Convince him that we’re the good guys. Well, the better guys.”
Lance nodded. “Good call. I’ll keep you updated on the latest. Stay safe, Sloane. Keep your guy safe.”
Chapter 5
As he emerged from the State Street subway station, it was pitch dark and the wind had picked up with a vengeance. Luke knew that with his luck, sleet would be the next thing, although it could take the place of the cold shower he needed. Since his afternoon encounter, anger had simmered steadily and was ready to boil over. And the fact he couldn’t deny the undertone of attraction was even more infuriating.
Since he’d donned the civilized suit of a professor, this was the first time he’d felt almost unhinged. Once he arrived in his apartment, he’d go for a run, rain or hail, and if it didn’t dissipate the rest of the unsettling feelings that swarmed inside him, he’d go bar-hopping. A good, mindless fuck could be the answer to forgetting the woman, who, in a blink, brought his hopes incredibly high before crashing them down.
It took a few yards into his neighborhood of Near South Side to get out of his head and he didn’t like it. Not being aware of his surroundings was dangerous, even if this area couldn’t compare to where he’d fought as a Marine.
The first few stings of sleet hit his face, and Luke hunched into his coat, hands in his pockets, but this time, with raised awareness. It wasn’t that late, but there were fewer people than usual, and they hurried to their destinations, oblivious to one another.
Although everything appeared calm, something was off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. The neighborhood wasn’t dangerous, but he knew that even the more upscale places could hold potential danger.
Only five minutes later, Luke realized his discomfort wasn’t about what happened earlier, and that new feeling intensified. Discreetly, he scanned the immediate area, but didn’t see anyone following him. Was he losing it entirely?
The freezing rain that had just started, stopped, but the wind didn’t lessen, whipping his face, making his eyes water just enough to blur his vision.
Luke knew his neighborhood, and even if his apartment was at least two streets over, he decided to make a detour. If he was wrong, he’d only freeze. If he were right, he might still continue breathing.