82. Sloan
EIGHTY-TWO
SLOAN
Sloan mentally kicked herself for not seeing the trap. Of course she was being lured into the office to be ambushed. Doctor Livingston was just buying time with his twisted tales of witches and corruption.
These thoughts were running through her mind as she turned to meet the attack. The commander was dirty from a night on the run. Her hair was a mess of tangles, but her eyes were as trained and deadly as ever.
Sloan heard motion behind her. Now fearing a rear attack from the doctor, Sloan instinctively sidestepped and crouched. She drew her sword at the same time, flipping the switch on her weapon. Sloan was ready to deflect a blow from either the doctor or the commander.
Her actions would prove unnecessary.
“Stop! Stop this madness, both of you.” The doctor rushed past Sloan. He placed himself between the two warriors, much like Aareth had the night before. “If you two are so desperate to kill someone, then kill me.”
Commander Brookhaven lowered her blade. Looking over the doctor’s shoulder, she gave Sloan a hard stare.
“I know you’re a good woman. I know you love this city as much as I do.” The doctor turned to look at Sloan. “Just hear her story. And now that she’s here, you can have the proof you desire.”
“What proof?” Sloan repeated the word as if she were hearing it for the first time.
Once again, she was drawn to the earnestness in the doctor’s voice.
Unlike the commander, she held her sword ready.
A quick slice, and the doctor would be down.
Another second would allow her to hurdle over his body, and she would be in combat with the commander.
“Listen,” the doctor pleaded, “listen to her heart. If she’s lying, if she had not been resurrected from the dead, she would have a heartbeat, like you and me. She has none.”
Before Sloan could even think of what to say, the doctor continued. “I know this sounds impossible, but you owe your city this opportunity if there is even the slightest chance this could be true. I didn’t know what to think when she came to me, but heartbeats don’t lie, Captain Sloan.”
Sloan debated the idea for a moment. This was insane. But the doctor was right. She had sworn to protect the city from enemies both foreign and domestic. If there was even a slight chance this could be true, she had to put aside her anger and provide a chance for the truth to be uncovered.
“Drop your weapon, and I’ll hear your story, Commander.” Sloan never took her eyes off Commander Brookhaven.
The commander sneered. “You’ll have a better chance of besting me in a fight, Captain. I’m not stupid enough to trust you at your word.”
“Ashley.” The doctor pivoted to face his commander.
He was sure to stay between the two women, but from her view of the back of his head, Sloan could imagine what the doctor’s face looked like—frustrated, angry, maybe even disappointed.
“We stand on the brink of losing everything we have worked so hard to attain these last five years. Both of you women are stubborn beyond comprehension. Tell her, Ashley. Tell her the truth. Captain Sloan is our last chance. She’s a good woman, maybe even a great woman.
I’ve seen her lead. Let yourself believe that we still have a chance. ”
Sloan hid the shock Doctor Livingston’s words sent through her.
She had no idea he’d been monitoring her so closely, much less that he believed in her abilities to this extent.
Most of their encounters led to the doctor asking out her on a date.
Was he ever only asking her out on a date, or trying to get closer to information?
Sloan didn’t have time to pursue this line of thought. The clatter of the commander’s sword being thrown to the side brought her back to the present moment.
“Well, I guess I have nothing else to lose at the moment,” Ashley said with disgust. “I’m already dead inside anyway. If you kill me now, you’ll only be sending me back to the ground that’s claimed me once.”
“Explain your story to the captain.” The doctor finally moved to the side, allowing the women to see eye to eye. “From the beginning.”