Page 59 of Urban Justice

“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.”

Sloane knew Lance wasn’t the type of man to be easily shaken and wasn’t surprised by his response. “I always thought the police were supposed to find the criminals, not bother innocent people at the hospital. Why do I suspect that whatever I say, you won’t believe it?”

“I prefer to check everything for myself. But the noise brought onlookers out, and so far, from what we can gather, people saw you leave, but not enter. You’re both quite stunning. It wasn’t hard for them to describe you. It was even easier to find your identities. So forgive me if I intend to verify your account. Someone who isn’t part of the police force is investigating Phantom, causing trouble and risking the lives of the citizens in our city. I don’t know if you two are involved, but if you are, I’ll find out. I’ll come back to talk to Professor Radcliffe later. And to both of you. Mr. Sorenson. Miss Friday.” With one last salute, the lieutenant turned on his heels and walked out.

It took a few breaths for Sloane to clear her brain from the confrontation and turn to Lance. “Do we need to be worried?”

Lance rolled his shoulders, but Sloane suspected it would take a little more than that to calm him down. “I’ve heard rumors about him since he switched squads. Straight as an arrow and persistent. Don’t worry about Luke. Kelly might know our names, but he’s got nothing on us.”

“Yeah, I got that. All bark and no bite. But for how long?”

Lance shrugged. “The positive side is if the cops are using Luke’s list, it means they’ll need to find another way to distribute Phantom and Luke is safe from now on.”

With a sigh, Sloane knew that even if she could relax over Luke’s safety, they’d still have to watch their backs. As civilians, cops looking for them could be annoying, but as the Vigilante, it could turn dangerous. So far, the authorities had left the Vigilante alone, but the wind could turn quickly on that front, too.

Melina returning with a comforting smile settled the situation for the moment, but in the back of her mind, Sloane knew that reality could hit with a vengeance, so the present moment, and seeing Luke, were the most important things in her heart and the world.

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