Page 33 of Urban Justice

Chapter 14

Sloane wasone fidgety woman and Luke fought hard not to smile. After Melina made sure there wasn’t any internal bleeding, she injected her with a painkiller so she wouldn’t fuss about taking it. Sloane had tried to ditch him several times. Not that it had worked. She’d talked about going for a ride until Lance reminded her it was the middle of the night. Wherever she wanted to go, her plan fell flat, but it didn’t calm her down.

It was obvious both of them needed to rest, but something was troubling Sloane.

Melina disappeared after tending her, but Lance kept close, always watching with an ominous glare. Luke couldn’t decide if he was angry with Sloane or Lance was about to kill him and make his body disappear.

At some point, Sloane seemed to tire of pacing, or maybe of being observed, and she said that they should all turn in, rest, and heal, particularly since she intended to go out the following night.

Without waiting, she went to what seemed to be a staircase around the corner. One last glance at Lance saw him shrug, and it supported Luke’s idea that Sloane had something in mind.

Two stories up, they arrived in a place with a large living room area and a kitchen, but Sloane didn’t stop and went through the hall, until they reached the rooms. The one she entered had a large window with a view of the dawn creeping over the horizon. “You have a private bathroom behind that door. There’s always something in the kitchen to eat. You should rest, and we can pick up where we left off after some sleep. I don’t think we’ll be able to access the tunnel for a long time, especially after that explosion. It must be swarming with tons of people as we speak, and the traffickers will probably change plans after what just happened.”

Luke nodded, agreeing with what she was saying, but it was more her body language that caught his attention. She was lying about her intentions, and he had to call her out on it.

He looked around the room. The air was cool over his half-naked body. He needed a shower like his next breath, and food wouldn’t hurt, but his mind was filled with Sloane.

Subtly, Luke placed himself between her and the door, blocking any type of retreat. “So you’re going to go into the next room and sleep too?” Innocent enough question, but one he knew would be revealing.

She shifted on her feet. “We both need to sleep.”

“That’s not the question I asked.”

“You’re a stickler for details, professor.”

“Unquestionably one of my finer traits, Miss Friday. I know you’re trying to reassure me so you can slide out without me knowing, or even without your friend Lance stopping you. You worried about the blow to my head. Now it’s my turn to worry about you.”

“A blow to the head can be dangerous.”

“Melina told me that she wasn’t worried about a concussion, and ruled it a cut. She’ll check up on me later.”

A low whine came out of her, and before Luke could decipher what it meant, Sloane made a move to leave, which he blocked. “You wished to go somewhere?”

“It’s none of your business.” Tension and annoyance filled her body. It was clear for him to see.

“I beg to differ. The moment you came to me, and I agreed to participate, we became each other’s businesses. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t question me to death if I wanted to go on a mysterious ride alone.”

“It’s personal.”

“Even more if that’s so.”

There was no doubt that she could be stubborn about that, but Luke wasn’t letting anything go. “If you want to go, I’m going with you.”

Desperation seeped through her annoyance, until she finally let herself fall on the bed. “I’m being stupid. Nobody will be there this early anyway.”

Luke sat beside her. “Be where?”

“Why do you want to know? It’s not important. Has nothing to do with our mission or why I asked for your help.”

It was impossible for him to express his craving to know more about the woman. Sloane simultaneously intrigued and frustrated him, and that was beyond the constant pull he experienced when close to her. Through the swirl of emotions, the most basic need he had was to touch her, to have that connection with a woman who appeared like a living flame, both fragile and lethal.

The hand went to the bedspread, close enough so he could touch her thigh, establishing a contact he needed to reach for her.

“Each time I go out, into the bowels of the city, fighting the bad guys out there, I don’t do it because I’m strong, but to prove to myself that I’m no longer weak.”

Luke almost stopped breathing at the cryptic words, and he reminded himself to be patient and allow her to tell her story at her own pace.

“I told you a little bit about my family, but in reality, I don’t really think about them. Not that I don’t care, but there are too many bad memories linked to my childhood. I don’t hate them. It’s just that when you wish for another life so desperately, you don’t want to go back to the place you fought so hard to leave. One of the reasons I became a cop was because if I didn’t care about my family, then I could care for the people of my city.”

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