Rise & Fall

by Charlie Cochet

  “I love this,” Dex groaned.

  Sloane nodded and swallowed hard. Why did he feel like a damn virgin? Like he was having sex for the first time? Wait… weren’t those song lyrics too? Or something like it? Dear God, he was spending too much time listening to Dex’s music. He ran his hands up Dex’s legs, loving the feel of his partner’s muscles and the soft hairs. Dex might not be as big as him, or as muscular, but he was all male and sexy as fuck. He watched Dex let his head fall back and moan as Sloane explored with his hands, sliding them up smooth skin, over flat abs, and a defined chest. Dex moved one hand over his own cock and started stroking himself. A low growl rose up from Sloane’s chest at the sight.

  “You’re so fucking gorgeous.” Sloane watched Dex jerking himself off, his movements slow and matching the subtle rocking of his hips. Damn, it felt so good. Dex continued to rock his hips, his leg muscles flexing as he did his best to control the excruciatingly slow movements. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to Sloane’s, his tongue poking out, and running along Sloane’s bottom lip before pushing in and demanding entrance. Sloane opened up, his skin beading with sweat as Dex sucked on his tongue. His fingers dug into Sloane’s hair, holding on tight as he pulled almost all the way out before impaling himself down on Sloane’s dick.

  “Oh shit,” Sloane gasped.

  Dex started to bounce, his ass cheeks slapping against Sloane’s groin. Again he leaned forward so he could pull almost all the way out before impaling himself down again on Sloane’s cock. He did it over and over.

  “Dex.”

  “You okay?”

  “Other than feeling like I’m going to pass out from how fucking amazing this feels? I’m fine.”

  Dex let out a breathless chuckle and alternated between impaling himself, rotating his hips, and forcing himself down deep against Sloane. Beads of sweat formed on Sloane’s brow, and a drop rolled down the side of his cheek. Dex leaned in and with his tongue, lapped it up.

  “Oh, fuck yeah.” It was like the more time they spent together, the bolder Dex grew in the bedroom. Sloane could hardly contain his excitement. His muscles strained, and his blood all but boiled over. God, he wanted to fuck his partner senseless.

  “You like that, handsome?”

  Sloane couldn’t help his smile. “Yeah, I like it a lot.” There was so much he liked very much. The way Dex’s plump lips parted, releasing moans, whimpers, and groans as Sloane took hold of Dex’s cock and started pumping it. Dex thrust his hips up and down, his movements picking up as Sloane’s hand did the same.

  “That’s it. Fuck yourself on my dick.”

  “Oh God, Sloane.” Dex’s movements grew erratic, his face pained with the need to release. Sweat beaded his skin, and Sloane thrust his hips up as Dex came down, making his partner cry out in surprise.

  “Come for me, sweetheart. I want to see your face when you come.”

  Dex nodded. He rotated his hips, but when his own fingers found their way to his lips and his other hand to his hair, his expression of sheer reckless abandon as he fucked himself on Sloane, it was more than Sloane could endure.

  “Fuck. Oh fuck.” Sloane sat up, one arm wrapping around Dex and pulling him close against him as his other hand continued to pump Dex’s cock. Sloane thrust his hips hard against Dex’s ass over and over until Dex cried out, his fingers digging into Sloane’s shoulders as he came in Sloane’s hand. The hot, sticky feel of it had Sloane thrusting hard and deep one last time, causing his partner to let out a half cry, half moan before Sloane came deep inside Dex. He held on tight to Dex, thrusting until he’d emptied himself of every last drop. Carefully he rolled over with Dex, pulling out of him as he did.

  Sloane hadn’t even realized the music was still going. Except instead of a hot sexy tune, it was a sweet romantic ballad about love. Kissing Dex, Sloane held him close, wondering why the hell it had taken him this long to realize what he had.

  “I love you,” he whispered against Dex’s ear. His body was going to be sore, but it was worth it. He nuzzled Dex’s neck and smiled when he felt Dex slip his leg between Sloane’s. He huddled close, his arms around Sloane’s waist as he whispered back.

  “I know.”

  Chapter 10

  THE SAFE house was like any other. An empty, secure location with several vacant rooms all painted the same drab gray. Nothing particularly interesting to look at. One room had been set up with a table and a chair to either side of it. Digital microphones and recording devices were in position, ready to feed everything back to the digital drive in the next room where Dex and Sloane sat watching the medium-sized monitor on the table in front of them.

  Calvin had managed to blindfold Bautista, and Dex felt a little sorry for the guy. Either Bautista was as innocent as he seemed or an exceptional actor. He’d trusted Calvin to blindfold him and lead him who knew where. They watched Calvin escort Bautista into the brightly lit room and remove the blindfold. Bautista blinked at the lighting, his smile fading when he realized something wasn’t right. He spun toward Calvin, eyes wide with fear.

  “What is this?”

  “I’m sorry, Felipe, but… I’m not who you think I am.” Calvin reached into his pocket and presented his badge. “I’m an agent for the THIRDS. Please, sit.” He motioned over to one of the chairs, and after some hesitation, Bautista did as he was asked.

  “I should have known. I thought you were too good to be true.”

  “I’m really sorry,” Calvin said sincerely. “It wasn’t my intention to hurt you.”

  “I haven’t done anything wrong. I’m registered. What do you want with me?” Bautista had his hands on his lap, his fingers clutched tightly together. He was anxious, showing all the signs of genuine fear and apprehension.

  “That’s not why we’ve brought you in. Have you heard of Beck Hogan?”

  Bautista frowned thoughtfully. “He was in the news, wasn’t he? Something about an explosion a few weeks ago.”

  Calvin nodded. “He’s the leader of an extremist group calling themselves the Coalition. Have you heard of them?”

  “They were at war recently with a Human group. I can’t remember their name. It was horrible. There was a bombing in the youth center; then the Coalition killed those Humans. But the news said it was over. The THIRDS arrested them. Or what was left of them.” Bautista’s gaze wandered around the room, momentarily landing on the steel door before coming to rest on Calvin again. “It’s all very tragic, but I don’t understand what it has to do with me.”

  “I need to show you something. It might be shocking and difficult to look at, but I need you to look, okay?”

  Dex watched Calvin open the folder containing photographs of the Order members Hogan and his crew had killed. Some of them shot, some mauled to death so bad they were barely recognizable as Humans.

  “Oh my God.” Felipe’s hand went to his mouth, and he turned away, his eyes shut tight. “Why are you showing me those?”

  “Because your boyfriend was involved in these murders.”

  Bautista stared at Calvin. He almost looked like he’d been frozen in time. After what seemed like a lifetime went by, he shook his head. “No. It’s not possible. Drew couldn’t have had anything to do with this. He might be an insensitive jerk sometimes, but he’s not a murderer.”

  “I’m afraid he is.” Calvin showed Bautista photographic evidence taken from street cameras capturing Collins heavily armed. “He’s a part of the Coalition, along with Beck Hogan. We’ve been after them for months.”

  “But… how? I mean, he….” Bautista kept shaking his head, tears welling in his eyes.

  “When he wasn’t with you, did you know where he was?”

  “He was busy with work. Meetings. Church.” Something seemed to dawn on him, and his expression fell. “He lied to me.”

  The irony was not lost on Dex, and he squeezed Sloane’s hand under the table. He would be spending a long time groveling and making it up to Sloane. He looked forward to it. Sloane deserved to b
e treated a lot better than the lousy job Dex had been doing lately.

  “I can’t believe this.”

  Bautista’s shaky voice caught Dex’s attention, and he turned back to the screen. Tears pooled in the wolf Therian’s eyes and several escaped. His bottom lip quivered, but he tried his hardest to get himself together. He continued to shake his head, as if doing so would make everything he’d seen and heard untrue. Calvin offered him a tissue, which Bautista took with a muffled “thanks.” “Do you have proof of what he’s done? I need proof.”

  “I have a whole team of agents who he attacked. My Team Leader is next door on crutches. Your boyfriend helped Hogan plant a bomb that nearly killed him.” Calvin showed him a picture of Sloane.

  “I saw him on the news,” Bautista said quietly. “What do you want from me?”

  “We’d like you to have him meet you. Somewhere familiar to the both of you, but preferably with not a lot of foot traffic. Out in the open. We’ll clear the area, set it up with our own agents. You just meet with him. We’ll handle the rest.”

  Bautista let out a heart-wrenching sigh and nodded. “Okay. I know it sounds ridiculous, considering everything he’s done, but you won’t… you won’t kill him will you?” Bautista covered Calvin’s hand with his, his eyes pleading.

  “We’d prefer to arrest him,” Calvin said gently, removing his hand from under Bautista’s. His job had been done. He’d made the connection, gotten the information. Now it was time to put it to use and cut Bautista loose. It was shitty, but it was what had to be done, and Calvin seemed to be all too aware of it. “But if he becomes dangerous, we can’t risk any civilian casualties.”

  “I understand,” Bautista conceded.

  Calvin stood and gave him a small smile. “I’ll give you time to get yourself together before you call him. It’s important he meets with you tomorrow. Preferably early in the day.” Calvin left the room, joining Dex and the rest of the team next door.

  “You okay?” Dex asked him.

  “Yeah, I feel kind of shitty. He’s a nice guy. I can’t imagine what must be going through his head right now. Finding out his boyfriend of ten years is a murdering scumbag.”

  Hobbs put his arm around Calvin’s neck and gave him a reassuring squeeze, receiving a pat from his friend before Calvin moved to the monitors to watch Bautista. The wolf Therian wiped his eyes, took a deep breath, and removed his phone from his pocket. It was now or never. They all watched on the edge of their seats as Bautista called Collins, his voice sounding far more casual than he appeared. Bautista chatted about nothing in particular before telling Collins he missed him. He asked if they could meet up for lunch tomorrow because it had been so long since they’d gone out for a meal together. With bated breath they all waited, when finally Bautista let out a sad smile.

  “Perfect. I’ll meet you at our usual spot at noon. I love you.”

  Seconds later, Bautista ended the call, placed his phone on the table, and burst into tears.

  To Dex’s surprise, Hobbs appeared beside Calvin and nudged him. He motioned to the monitor where Bautista was crying and nodded.

  Calvin smiled at his partner and left the room to comfort Bautista.

  “Man, now I hate Collins even more,” Dex said through his teeth. “The selfish prick. How could he put the poor guy through this? Telling his boyfriend he was out at church or in meetings while he was murdering people. How could he come home and act like everything was hunky-dory?” At Calvin’s signal, the team left the room to join him, with Dex staying behind to help Sloane. As soon as his partner was on his feet, Dex stepped in front of him.

  “I’m sorry for being such an insensitive asshole,” Dex said. “For leaving you home on your own while I was out there. Lying to you about it.”

  “Hey, whoa.” Sloane put his hand to Dex’s cheek. “Now you listen to me. Don’t you dare compare yourself to that asshole. You’re a good man, Dex. Your heart was in the right place. I admire you for that. This whole situation has made me realize how much I’ve taken you for granted.”

  “What?” Dex shook his head. “Sloane—”

  “I have. I know I have. You’ve been nothing but supportive, understanding, and amazing. I’ve put you through a hell of a lot, and I’ve hurt you. I swear, I’m going to try my damn hardest to deserve you.

  “So no comparing yourself to Collins. However he tries to justify his actions, he’s killed people in cold blood. If we don’t stop him, Hogan, and the rest of their crew, who knows where this will end?”

  “You’re right.” He kissed Sloane before wrapping an arm around his waist and leading him out of the room. Bautista was in the hall, and when he saw Sloane, he gingerly approached.

  “I’m so sorry, Agent Brodie.”

  “You can’t be held responsible for his actions, Felipe. He made his choices, and now he has to answer to them.”

  Bautista nodded. “Thank you.”

  Calvin escorted Bautista from the building. He’d be dropping him off, and Austen would take over surveillance from there, making sure Bautista didn’t change his mind and try to warn Collins. Dex doubted the guy would try to skip town. From what he’d heard, Bautista loved his job and cared a great deal about the kids he taught. Dex was relieved the Therian wasn’t involved with the Coalition. He hoped Bautista would move on from this and maybe find himself someone more worthy of his love than Collins.

  As soon as the two were gone, the team gathered around Sloane in the middle of the hall.

  “So where’s the meet?” Dex asked Seb who checked his tablet.

  “Wagner Cove Central Park.”

  “Great.” Sloane motioned toward the next room, and they all followed him. The room was equipped with everything they’d need for a mission. An unapproved THIRDS one anyway. Between Letty and Austen, they now had enough firepower to go in, arrest Collins, and face Hogan’s crew if they showed up. Everything from unmarked uniforms and vests to tranq guns. Two large steel tables were positioned together in the center of the gray room with maps and several tablets. Sloane stood at the head of the tables and grabbed a black Sharpie, along with the huge map of Manhattan.

  “All right. Seb, how do you want to play this?”

  Seb studied the map before pointing to Terrace Drive in Central Park. “I’ll have Theta Destructive on standby here in the BearCat.”

  “You sure you want to bring your team into this?” Sloane asked.

  “Don’t worry about my team. I’m not about to let you guys go in there without backup.”

  “Okay.” Sloane motioned for Dex to get closer and pointed to West Drive. “I think we should park the surveillance van on one of these paths here near the lake, off West Drive. You’ll be close enough to catch everything, but far away enough not to be spotted by any of Hogan’s gang if they happen to be in the area. I’ll be in there with Cael.”

  Dex’s head shot up. “No way. You’re not even supposed to be exerting yourself as much as you are.”

  “Dex, I’m not going to send my team into danger and then sit at home twiddling my thumbs, waiting to hear what happened.”

  “It’s a catering van, Sloane. It’s not equipped to handle anything remotely resembling a medical emergency or PSTC. It doesn’t have any kind of holding bay either. The only reason we’re taking it is so we can make a quick getaway if we need to.”

  “Okay,” Sloane agreed. “Then I’ll be in the BearCat with Seb.”

  “Sloane—”

  “I’ll be in the BearCat with Seb.” Sloane’s tone was of Team Leader, and he’d made his decision. As much as Dex wanted to argue how Sloane had no business being out in the field in his condition, he backed off. It was up to the both of them to know where to draw the line between their personal relationship and professional one.

  “Okay.”

  “I’ll watch the van,” Cael volunteered. “Give me a call if we need to get lost, and I’ll make sure the engine’s running. We can get the hell out of there if we need to.”

 
; Sloane agreed. “Seb, get some of your guys undercover and have the rest discreetly redirecting any foot traffic that might head Dex’s way.” He turned his attention to Dex. “You, Ash, Hobbs, Letty, and Rosa will be concealed in the shrubbery nearby waiting. On your call, you move the team in.”

  “Got it.”

  “I’ll inform Calvin to get Bautista out of there the moment you make your move. I want everyone in their positions at 10 a.m. sharp, geared up and ready to go. If you gotta tranq the shit out of Collins, you do it. But try to make it fast and low key. The last thing we need is the HPF calling it in. Everyone clear on what to do?”

  Everyone’s collective “affirmative” ended the briefing. The girls headed off with their equipment, and Dex handed Hobbs the keys to the van. It would be better if he took the thing home and picked them all up in the morning. While Seb, Sloane, and Ash went over a few details, Dex approached Cael.

  “Dad won’t suspect anything, will he?”

  Cael went over to the equipment and grabbed a vest. “Nah. You know he never asks where we’re going. I tell him I’m going out, and he tells me to take care. He’s kind of pissed at you, by the way. This morning he was mumbling to himself as he walked around the kitchen.” Cael lowered his voice to mimic their dad’s deep baritone, “Damn boy can’t even pick up a damn phone. What he needs is a good ass whupping.”

  His brother looked too damn happy about it. Crap, Dex hadn’t called his dad in days. Tony didn’t expect him to check in, but Dex should have had the courtesy to let him know everything was all right, considering recent events. Tony was probably worried about Sloane, how his recovery was going, whether the two of them were ready to strangle each other, or more likely whether Sloane was ready to strangle Dex. It was never a good thing when his dad mumbled to himself. It usually meant Dex was going to end up paying for it later.