Page 31 of Urban Justice
Lance must have sensed that too, as his shoulders rolled and he nodded. “Professor Radcliffe. I’m Lance Sorenson. Welcome to Noctem.” It was clear Lance wasn’t happy about the circumstances, but there was no turning back now.
Luke took his hand. “Please call me Luke.”
Again, the two men sized each other up, not quite breaking the handshake when Melina walked in, the British doctor deeply annoyed. “Oh, for goodness’ sake! Lance! We have two people injured, and you’re standing around shaking hands?” The platinum-blonde woman quickly took charge of the situation with a glance, immediately going to Luke. “Stand down, Lance. You can see he has a head wound. Explanations and face-offs will have to wait until I’m done with him.” Her face softened into a smile when she addressed Luke. “I’m Melina and a doctor. Could you please follow me to the medic bay?”
Luke sighed. “Could you check Sloane first? She was hit with at least five bullets in her body armor.”
Both Lance and Melina swiveled to Sloane with a jerk.
“Guys, it’s not the first I’ve been shot at. Can you just check Luke? Please?”
Just standing was draining her, but it was her worry for Luke that was the hardest to manage.
Luke rounded the car and went to her. He looked like hell, and she probably wasn’t any better. With a hand on her naked waist, his thumb stoked a little before he pushed her forward. “Lead the way, doctor. We’re both going in.”
Luke followed Melina as she left, and he didn’t let go of Sloane until he was instructed to sit on the examination table. Sloane leaned against the wall while Lance remained standing by the door.
When Luke discarded the coat and sweater, it was clear that none of the garments were salvageable, and Lance took everything away. She saw extensive bruises on his back, mixed with older scars. Were they from his time as a Marine? She knew so little about him beyond what she’d seen in his office, found in her web search, and the tidbits he’d let slip.
As Melina unwrapped his head, all Sloane’s attention was on the wound. Could he be suffering from more than a gash? He’d said he’d had a headache since the explosion.
Melina continued her examination, cleaning the wound, asking questions, probing, and touching, even bringing a smile to Luke’s face and unease tightened in the pit of Sloane’s stomach. It was like a slimy knot, slowly expanding with every passing minute. Unsettled, she became fidgety, trying to tell herself she was tired and the pain was messing with her brain until she exploded, and kicked a nearby trash can with more force than was necessary.
Not only didn’t it make her feel better, but now three sets of eyes were on her, and she couldn’t say a word to save her life. With an improbable blush creeping up her cheeks, Sloane mumbled something about getting the rest of her suit off and walked away as quickly as possible, or fast as her body would allow.
In the changing room, she’d at least have a minute to analyze what had just happened, but that alone time was brief when Lance walked in.
“Care to tell me what that was all about?”
The hell if she knew, and instead of answering, she sat on the bench to remove her boots.
“I’m talking to you, Sloane Friday. Unless you received a blow to your head too.”
“Give me five damn seconds. Is that too much to ask?”
It had been years since she’d felt this undone, just after she left the force. She shed her pants, letting them fall on the ground.
“Damn, Sloane.” It was obvious by the catch in his voice that the bruises looked worse than she thought, and to be honest with herself, she didn’t care at the moment. “You need to…”
Grabbing a pair of sweatpants and hoodie, she put on some sneakers before facing him. “Lance, please, I just need... You know me. Sometimes, I don’t feel like myself, and it’s happening now, and I don’t want to hurt anybody, and in this state, you know I will.”
To his credit, he didn’t reach for her, but it was clear he was concerned. “I know where you’re headed and you need to rest, not go for a ride.”
“I’ll go with her.” Luke, still bare-chested with a fresh dressing on his forehead, a much smaller one this time, arrived followed by an angry Melina.
“You, Sloane Friday, aren’t going anywhere until I examine you. Luke is worried, and said he only agreed to be examined first because you were concerned for his head, which is only a gash near the hairline and nothing serious.”
That statement only made Sloane more unhinged, until Luke came forward, dark eyes even deeper than before until he rubbed shoulders with her. A simple touch that strangely helped.
He leaned close to her ear so the others wouldn’t hear. “Go get checked out, and then we can go anywhere you want. I’m not letting you out of my sight, especially since there are a few more questions that have popped into my head. And we have a mission to finish.”
The familiar hand pushed her forward, back to the medical bay.
Melina yelled after them. “Be ready when I get there, Sloane. Especially if you want me to be quick.”
Lance stayed behind, probably talking to Melina behind her back, and Luke’s too.
Reaching the bay, Luke entered behind her.