Rise & Fall

by Charlie Cochet

  “I’m sorry. You’re right. Some things are too important to walk away from.” He lay back down and snuggled close to Sloane. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  Dex’s soft admission squeezed at Sloane’s heart.

  “I’m glad I’m here too.” Sloane let out a yawn and silently cursed himself. Damn it. Now was not the time for sleep. Something was nagging at him, but he was too groggy to figure out what it was. His head was fuzzy, and his body wanted to give in to the drowsiness. He prayed Dex wasn’t about to do anything stupid. No one was as stubborn as his partner. As much as he wanted to believe Dex would walk away, something told him this wasn’t the end of it.

  Sloane forced himself to stay awake a little bit longer so he could watch Dex sleep. He wondered if his partner had managed to get any rest at all over the last few days. Dex would run himself into the ground if Sloane let him. Feeling Dex against him, watching his chest rise and fall, his lips slightly parted, and a peaceful expression on his handsome face brought on a sudden wave of fierce protectiveness, one akin to the kind he experienced when in his Therian form. It startled him.

  This wasn’t the first time one of his feral traits managed to make an appearance on his Human side. It was disconcerting. Maybe when he was well enough he’d visit with Dr. Shultzon. There was still so much he didn’t know about himself as a First Gen Therian. Was this sort of thing normal? Had any other First Gens experienced something similar? He’d have to ask Ash the next time he spoke to him. Except for the purring part. If he told Ash he’d literally purred while in his Human form, Ash would laugh his ass off, and Sloane would never hear the end of it.

  Feeling his eyelids growing heavy, he held on to his wounded side with his right hand and carefully rolled himself onto his left side, trying his best not to jostle Dex too much. He failed, moving the bed and rousing his partner who opened his sleepy eyes with a smile before he closed them, nuzzled his face against Sloane’s neck, and fell asleep again. Sloane wasn’t far behind. His last hazy thoughts were on how happy he was right here right now and how he hoped nothing would change.

  SLOANE WAS disturbed from his deep sleep by something vibrating against his thigh. What the hell? He opened his eyes at the same moment Dex rolled onto his back with a groan. He reached into his pocket, letting out a yawn as he looked at his phone. “Shit.”

  “What is it?” Sloane asked, feeling groggy. Damn, he hated meds that made him drowsy. His eyelids felt heavy, and if he closed his eyes, he’d be asleep in seconds.

  “I gotta go. I completely forgot I promised to check in with PR about the next meeting.” Dex quickly got off the bed and almost tripped over himself. Regaining his equilibrium, he swiftly came around to Sloane’s side of the bed with an apologetic smile.

  “Oh.” Sloane wanted to say something, but he held his tongue. He wanted to believe Dex, but he’d been a THIRDS agent too long not to be suspicious. Plus, Dex was a shitty liar. Sloane also knew his partner. When he’d asked Dex to promise him, Dex hadn’t actually said the words. King of evasive tactics.

  “Yeah. I’m sorry. How about on the way home I pick up some dinner for us?”

  Sloane nodded. “Call me?” Did he sound needy? Fuck it, he was injured. He was needy. His partner—who had promised to take care of him—should be here with him, especially since he was supposed to be on leave. God, he did sound needy. Screw it. He’d almost been killed. He reserved the right to be a big baby and want his partner to coddle him, God damn it. Wasn’t that what boyfriends did? If they didn’t, they should. His should. It was seriously time for another nap.

  “Of course.” Dex gave his lips a kiss and pulled away, but Sloane caught his arm before he could leave.

  “Take care.”

  “I promise.” Another tender kiss to Sloane’s lips, and Dex was out of the room.

  Seconds later, the front door closed downstairs, and Sloane sat on the bed surrounded by silence. His gaze went to the flat screen mounted on the wall and then the fridge. He wanted to be pissed off with Dex, but his partner made it so damn hard. With Dex, there was no questioning motive. His partner needed to protect those closest to him. He needed justice. The question was, at what cost? Would Sloane really have walked away had he been in Dex’s shoes? He wouldn’t have once, no doubt about it, but then he thought of Dex, and now he wasn’t so certain.

  Looking around the room, seeing all the evidence of his constant presence, he should have felt restless. Besides Sloane’s unopened suitcase by the armchair, there were plenty more of Sloane’s belongings lying around. A gym bag sat on the carpet by the door. One of his leather jackets was draped across the back of the armchair. In the bathroom was a bag of Sloane’s toiletries and an extra toothbrush. A pair of his pajama bottoms hung from the hook on the back of the bathroom door. Hell, he even had an extra uniform hanging inside Dex’s closet, along with an extra pair of steel-toed boots, a cardigan, and some shirts.

  The whole thing should have freaked him out, but sitting here on the large bed, he felt… comfortable. Dex’s bedroom no longer felt like someone else’s bedroom. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of all this, and he wondered if any moment the meds would wear off and he’d feel completely different. Fuck this. This was too much thinking for him to be doing right now. He grabbed the remote from his nightstand and turned on the TV, flipping through the cable channels to find a movie or something to distract him and get his mind off his idiot boyfriend. Somewhere between some weird buddy cop movie where one of the detectives was going on about being a peacock or something, Sloane fell asleep. He had no idea how long he was out for or why he’d woken up.

  He let out a fierce yawn when he heard something. It was faint, but he heard it clearly. It was coming from the kitchen. Had Dex come back already? What time was it? He checked the time on the TV. A little over an hour since Dex left.

  There was another faint thump. Sloane pulled out his phone and speed-dialed Dex’s number. After a couple of rings, it went to voice mail. If Dex had been downstairs, Sloane would have heard the Journey ringtone Dex had set as Sloane’s personal ringtone. Man, his partner was such a nut.

  Holding on to his bandaged wound, he used his right hand to open the nightstand drawer. Inside was a small, slim black case with a thumbprint pad. He placed it on his lap and stuck his thumb to the pad. A “click” later, and the case opened to reveal his Glock. He’d picked it up when he sensed someone outside the door. He brought the gun up and aimed it at the intruder stepping right into the line of fire.

  “Did I wake you?”

  “Jesus, Austen.” Sloane let out a heavy sigh and lowered his arm in relief. He returned the Glock to its padding and closed the case. “What the hell’s wrong with you?”

  “What?” Austen strolled in with a bag of Cheesy Doodles in his hand. He popped one in his mouth and dropped down on the armchair. With a grunt, Sloane stuck the secured gun case back in the drawer.

  “Never mind. Took you long enough.”

  Austen munched on another Cheesy Doodle. If Dex were here, he would have made a stupid joke about Chester the Cheetah Therian eating his Cheesy Doodles. Wonderful, now he was starting to think like Dex.

  “I had to wait,” Austen said around a mouthful of cheese snacks. “Your boy sat in his car for like ten minutes.”

  “Doing what? And don’t talk with your mouth full.”

  Austen swallowed. “I don’t know. Staring up at the bedroom window. He looked worried.”

  “You sure it wasn’t guilt?” Sloane grumbled. Damn it, his partner was going to ignore him and go after Hogan. He just knew it.

  “Maybe. You should have seen his face. Looked like a sad puppy.” He looked around the room before wriggling his eyebrows at Sloane. “So, almost a year now.”

  “Yeah,” Sloane murmured. “Thanks for checking up on us at the hospital. He didn’t make you.”

  “Told you. I am the master. Besides, when he wasn’t fighting sleep, he was lost in his own little world. I thought he might have r
ecognized me the first time he walked in, but then he saw you, and well….” Austen sighed. “He’s got it bad, huh?”

  Sloane nodded but couldn’t bring himself to comment. Sometimes he still found it hard to believe Dex loved him.

  “Damn. Is it serious?”

  Sloane ran a hand over his stubbly jaw. He really needed a shave, and to not have this conversation. But if there was anyone he trusted to keep a secret for him, it was Austen. “Yeah.”

  Sloane’s relationship with Dex had been a challenge from the beginning, but if he really thought about it, the signs had been there from the start. From the moment they’d met, Sloane couldn’t fight how bad he’d wanted Dex. The more he got to know Dex, the more he wanted to know. With every conversation, every joke, smile, tease, outburst from Dex, Sloane got in deeper. It was fast, but Dex had put himself out there, risking his heart, and although it took Sloane some time to catch up, he was glad he did. Otherwise he’d be missing out on something amazing. He’d tried to be sensible, but lately his heart had started speaking louder than his head.

  “He’s in love with you, isn’t he?” Austen asked.

  Sloane nodded.

  “You love him?”

  Why was everyone asking him that? “It’s… complicated.” Man, was it complicated.

  Austen gave him a knowing smile. “Love is only as complicated as you make it, Sloane.”

  Why was everyone giving him relationship advice? Or presuming to know what he felt or would feel? They sat in silence until Sloane couldn’t keep himself from asking the question swirling around in his head. “Does anyone else know? And don’t get any crumbs on there. It’s where we put our clothes.”

  “Among other things.” Austen wriggled his brows and Sloane groaned.

  “Have you been spying on us?”

  Austen rolled up the cheese snacks and put them to one side before getting up and heading for Dex’s nightstand. He pulled it open, reached in, and plucked out a wet wipe from the packet inside. How the hell did Austen know they were in there?

  “I like to know what goes on with my team. The other guys are fun,” Austen closed the drawer and dropped onto the bed next to Sloane, a wicked smile on his face, “but you two? Best free porn ever.”

  “You’ve watched us have sex?” Sloane gaped at him. Austen didn’t seem the least bit bothered.

  “Like I said. Free porn. Your boy has a mighty fine ass. And he’s so energetic. Seriously. Do his batteries ever wear out?”

  “No more spying on us. Now answer the question.”

  “Everyone around the office thinks you’re bosom buddies. A budding bromance. Like Tango and Cash.”

  “An eighties movie reference? Really? You are spending way too much time around Dex, whether he knows it or not.”

  “What can I say? The dude is entertaining as fuck.” Austen kicked off his shoes and swung his legs onto the bed. He put his hands behind his head as he moved his feet from side to side. Sometimes he reminded Sloane of the scrawny little kid who’d stolen his wallet all those years ago. Austen let out a laugh. “Have you noticed how he picks out all the red gummy bears and eats them first? Or the way he eats around the peanuts of his M&M’s before eating the peanuts?”

  Sloane scowled at him. “Seriously. No more spying on Dex.”

  “Got it.”

  Why did Sloane get the feeling Austen was going to completely ignore him? “So no one suspects anything?”

  “Just keep doing what you’re doing,” Austen assured him. “Everyone assumes that’s just what your boy’s like. He’s always teasing and joking with everyone. He hangs off the rest of the team, so it’s not like he’s just hands on with you. Some of the other agents in your department, not so subtle. Gerry? He practically has ‘I’m fucking my partner’ stamped on his forehead. The guy all but jizzes his pants every time he sees her.” There was a pause, and Austen’s feet went still before he spoke up again. “You guys are good together.”

  “Thanks. So…?”

  “Right. Intel. Work. Wayward boyfriend.” Austen rolled onto his side and propped himself on his elbow so he could look at Sloane, his expression serious. “Your boy’s not letting this go. He’s got me giving him intel before I pass it on to Seb. I sent him some information on one of the old Westward Creed guys. An Ox Perry who’s been spotted in Queens. There’s no word on Hogan yet, but he’s bound to go after one of these guys, so your boy’s got a fifty-fifty chance of running into him. I’m not a hundred percent sure yet, but Brick Jackson might have hauled ass to Cali. I’m waiting on confirmation. It’s looking like he might have used a fake passport. Of course, we’re still left with Perry. Luckily Hogan’s only got about a dozen or so crew members left.” His gaze dropped to the mattress, and he ran his hand absently over the cream-colored sheets.

  “What aren’t you telling me?” Sloane knew Austen’s little signs. The kid was too clever for his own good. He obviously wanted to tell Sloane something but didn’t want to rat out whoever had given him the information. So he purposefully gave little gestures prompting Sloane to ask. If it was Sloane demanding information from him, Austen could get whatever was bothering him off his chest without turning stool pigeon.

  Austen met Sloane’s gaze. “He’s going to tell you. He wants you to get settled in first.”

  “Now you’re making excuses for him? What’s he keeping from me this time?”

  “He had a run-in with two of Hogan’s goons over at your apartment.” Austen cringed, and rightfully so.

  “What the ever living fuck?” Sloane took a deep breath and let it out slow. His head was pounding already. “First he lies to me about not going after Hogan, and now he lies to me about this?”

  Austen pursed his lips thoughtfully before opening his mouth. Sloane knew exactly what he was going to say, and it pissed him off even more. He held a hand up to stop him.

  “I swear if you say technically he’s not lying, he’s just withholding information, I will beat you with my crutch.”

  “Wow. Those meds make you grumpy… er.”

  “What happened?” Sloane demanded.

  “I don’t know. Considering they ended up getting plugged, and your boy came out of it in one piece, I’m going to say it went well.”

  Sloane shot Austen a warning look. “Now is not the time.”

  “He said they were casing your apartment.”

  Could they have been there waiting for him to come home? Had they been ordered to finish the job? Whatever happened, the bastards must have gotten away. At least Dex had managed to walk away unharmed. The lies were piling up.

  “Hey, Broodybear?”

  “Don’t call me that,” Sloane snapped. His partner probably hadn’t even called in backup. For all Sloane knew he’d kept the incident from the THIRDS. He’d have to if he didn’t want to bring unwanted attention to himself. “That little….” How was it possible to want to protect yet strangle someone at the same time?

  “At least give him a chance to tell you.”

  “Like he told me about Destructive Delta getting pulled only to go out and keep working the case after I asked him not to?” Sloane couldn’t deal with this right now. “And Ash?”

  “He’s keeping an eye on your boy. I called him to let him know Dex was on the move. Those baby blues gotta be going somewhere right? I didn’t have an exact location to give him, just a general area. Flushing, Queens. Your boy’s going to have to do some digging first. He’s got a rough area to work with, along with some previous sightings, but nothing specific. Between Seb, Sparks, and your boy, I’ve got a pretty tight schedule, but if you need me, let me know.”

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  Austen looked like he was going to say something else but instead gave Sloane a nod and walked off, the room once again falling to silence. He knew Dex would have called for backup if he’d thought he was in over his head with those assholes outside Sloane’s apartment, but the fact he hadn’t told Sloane when he’d brought up their team being pulled off t
he case, confirmed Dex planned to go after Hogan. Question was, what was Sloane going to do about it?

  DEX SAT at the large steel table in his makeshift base of operation with his laptop and a host of other equipment spread across the table’s surface. He’d finished the last of his reports for Sparks but hadn’t submitted them. On his laptop he was logged into his desk’s interface at work with several windows open containing all the information he had access to on the Westward Creed and the Coalition.

  Dealing with the THIRDS meant he had to be extra careful. If he transferred, downloaded, or cross-referenced any information, Intel would know. He also couldn’t have any algorithms set up, which meant he’d have to hunt down information the old-fashioned way. Every piece of technical equipment was monitored by the THIRDS, and he couldn’t ask his brother for help because then Cael would know what he was up to. That didn’t mean he couldn’t get the job done. He’d been a detective long before joining the THIRDS, and he’d managed to solve cases without all the fancy gadgets and Themis. Thanks to his techno-geek brother, Dex had invested in a pocket-sized, high-end, high-resolution digital information camera. During his time with the HPF, Dex never left home without it. The habit hadn’t left him. He kept the camera locked up and hidden in a secret compartment in the trunk of his car under the spare tire.

  The DIC captured the information on his Themis screen perfectly, and the wireless signal transferred it to his tablet. Sort of the way spies used to take pictures of secret documents on their tiny cameras. Man, technology was awesome. Though he really wished he’d paid more attention in his computer science classes rather than surfing the internet for porn. He was the only one who’d never gotten caught, thanks to his little brother showing him how to properly dispose of the browser’s history.