Smoke & Mirrors

by Charlie Cochet

  Dex’s chest rose and fell with short, rapid breaths, his pupils blown, and his terrified gaze on Sloane. Oh God, it was like he was dying. Tears pooled in Sloane’s eyes, and he brought Dex’s fingers to his lips for a kiss.

  “If you’re wrong,” Sloane choked out, his eyes on Dex as he addressed Austen, “I’ll never forgive you.”

  Austen’s words came out a whisper. “I know.”

  “Dex, I’m here. You’ll be okay. You can do this.”

  Dex gasped, clawing at the sheets as his back arched again. Another cry tore from his lips, and Sloane grabbed hold of him so he wouldn’t roll off the bed. He held on to Dex, shutting his eyes tight as Dex screamed again. Then he went limp in Sloane’s arms.

  “Dex?” Sloane gently laid him back down on the bed. His eyes were closed, and it didn’t look like he was breathing. “Dex? Baby, please!” Sloane felt for a pulse. There was nothing. “Dex!” He jumped off the bed and ran to the closet where his medical bag was.

  Dex gasped, and Sloane turned, rushing back to Dex’s side. He cupped Dex’s face, never happier to see those pools of pale blue gazing up at him. “Oh, thank God.” He climbed onto the bed and drew Dex into his arms, running a hand down his back as Dex cried against his shoulder. Sloane couldn’t help the tears that fell. He’d never been more terrified in his life. He closed his eyes tight, feeling when the covers were pulled snugly around them. When Sloane opened his eyes, he knew Austen was gone. Not so much because he couldn’t see Austen anymore, but because he could feel it.

  Sloane rocked with Dex cradled in his arms, afraid to let him go. What the hell was going on? Why was Dex having seizures? Sloane had witnessed plenty of episodes in his time. Hell, as a Therian, he was all too familiar with the experience, but he’d never seen anything like this. That it was happening to Dex, a man who’d never suffered from anything worse than a bad cold, was even more frightening. Why would taking Dex to the hospital put him in danger? Did TIN just expect them to carry on as if nothing had happened? Dex had fought through it this time, but what about the next? No, they had to get some professional medical advice.

  “Sloane?”

  Dex’s voice was so low that Sloane wouldn’t have heard him if the room hadn’t been silent.

  “I’m here, sweetheart.” Sloane’s voice was hoarse, his eyes hurt, and his chest burned, but he was relieved. Dex trembled in his arms, and Sloane wrapped his legs around him, drawing him in closer against him, offering his body heat. Before he’d been burning up; now he was cold.

  Dex looked up at him, but it was as if he couldn’t see Sloane. As if he were in some kind of daze. Sloane’s hand was shaking when he placed it to Dex’s cheek. His body temperature appeared to be getting back to normal, and quickly.

  “What did I say about those gray hairs?” Sloane tried to smile, but Dex’s weak laugh almost broke him. He buried his face in Dex’s hair and tried to find strength in the man he loved. Dex needed him to be strong.

  “Tired,” Dex said weakly.

  “I know.” Sloane kissed Dex’s cheek. “Close your eyes. I’ve got you.”

  “Don’t let go.”

  “I promise.”

  Dex smiled, and Sloane waited, holding him until his breath steadied, and even then he held Dex some more. He didn’t want to move, afraid if he did Dex might slip away. Dex slept peacefully, his cheeks flushed, but otherwise he looked as he always did. When he could bring himself to move, he laid Dex in the middle of the bed, covering him with the duvet. He checked Dex’s pulse and his breathing. When he was content everything was as it should be, he went to the closet and got out his THIRDS medical bag. It had everything from epinephrine to a portable defibrillator. He placed it on the floor by his side of the bed. When he straightened, his smartphone was on the nightstand.

  He needed answers, and he needed them now.

  Grabbing his phone, he walked to the bathroom, leaving the door open just enough to keep an eye on Dex. He pressed his thumb to the screen, and when it unlocked, he brought up his contacts. He scrolled through until he found the one he wanted. He was about to press the little green phone button when his phone buzzed in his hand, an unknown number calling. With a frown, he answered, his voice quiet so he wouldn’t wake Dex up.

  “Hello?”

  “You were about to call,” Sparks replied.

  Sloane really hated how she did that. Damn TIN and their surveillance. “I really don’t appreciate being watched or listened to.”

  “If we weren’t keeping surveillance on you, we wouldn’t have been there to help Dex when he had his first seizure.”

  “Where the hell was your surveillance when Dex was kidnapped? Or when Wolf broke into our home a second time? If your operatives are on it, if they’re so damned good, why does Wolf keep getting to us?”

  “I’m looking into it.”

  “Bullshit! You’re telling me TIN can’t keep us safe? That they can’t keep track of one guy?”

  “Is that why you called?”

  Sloane let out a humorless laugh. “Wow, okay. You’re not even going to bother denying it. Fine. Next time, I expect a fucking answer. Right now, I’d rather know why the hell you didn’t tell me about the seizure.”

  “I didn’t want to worry you unnecessarily.”

  “Well, congratulations. You fucked that one up royally because I just had the ever-loving fuck scared out of me. I thought he was going to die.”

  “He was not going to die. Austen assured you as much.”

  “That’s why you sent him. Because you knew I’d trust him.”

  “I wouldn’t have sent him if it weren’t the truth. For all of Austen’s… skill, he would never betray your confidence. Withholding information is one thing, but Austen would never be a part of something which would bring harm to someone you love.”

  “What’s wrong with Dex?”

  “We don’t know yet.”

  Sloane shook his head. Yeah, right. “What about the tests?”

  “They were inconclusive.”

  “All of them? You’re telling me all those tests your people ran on Dex have come back inconclusive?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you expect me to fucking believe that? Are you out of your goddamn mind?” he hissed, mindful not to let the volume get too high despite how thoroughly pissed off he was right now. “I could have lost him!”

  “If we believed that, we would have brought him in.”

  “Brought him in? He’s not one of your operatives!” Sloane’s grip on his feral half was slipping. Did they think they could just swoop in whenever they felt like it and take Dex from him? That they could do whatever the hell they wanted and Sloane would go along with it? “I don’t care who you are. You lay one finger on him without his consent, without mine, and I will expose you. Do you hear me?”

  “Your threats mean little to us.”

  “Yeah? How much does your job mean to you? Because if you think I won’t testify against you, that I won’t spill everything I’ve seen, everything you’ve done, then you don’t know me.”

  “You would betray your government?”

  “For him? In a heartbeat.”

  “Understandable. We’ve given you no reason to be loyal to us.”

  “I don’t know anything about you or who you work for. For years you and your agency have toyed with us, using us like pawns, hiding behind smoke and mirrors, running us around in circles until we don’t know which way is up. This is our lives you’re playing with. I’m getting sick and tired of it. You want our help? You get us some goddamn answers or leave us the hell alone.”

  “You want your white knight, your castle, and your happily ever after. I get it, Sloane. I do. Unfortunately it’s not up to me, so your fairy tale will have to wait for a little while longer. Dex needs to see this through, and without you at his side, he might not make it.”

  The line went quiet, and for a moment, Sloane thought she’d hung up. He was about to do the same when she spoke.

 
; “Despite what you may think of me, I do care. I shouldn’t, but I do.”

  “You’ll have to forgive me for being a little skeptical.”

  “It wasn’t intentional. Believe me. My directive was to be your team’s lieutenant, to train you, keep an eye on you, not get too close to you. Any of you. I promise. I am trying to get to the bottom of this. We’re dealing with events spanning over thirty years, involving government agencies and officials, Sloane. Getting to the truth is like trying to find a grain of salt in the sand. Even then, the truth is never the end of it. There’s more at play here than you could possibly imagine. For now, you and Dex must remain strong.”

  With that she hung up, and Sloane was left with more questions than ever, and that’s what he hated most. It wasn’t so much the fight that wore at Sloane. It was the not knowing. Being purposefully kept in the dark. Whatever they were dealing with, it was big, and they’d been thrown right into the middle of it. He didn’t for one second believe that TIN didn’t know what was going on. Sloane had his theories, but he’d wait until Dex was well enough to share them with him.

  Sloane stepped out of the bathroom, his heart squeezing in his chest at the sight of Dex curled up on his side, hugging Sloane’s pillow, facing Sloane’s side of the bed. In a couple of months, it would be their anniversary and just six months shy of two years that they’d officially been dating. He still couldn’t believe how much had changed in that time. With a smile, he walked to the bed and turned off the lamp before climbing into bed. He grabbed one of the spare pillows near the headboard and pulled it under his head. He lay next to Dex and studied his beautiful face. How was it possible to love someone so completely in such a short amount of time? Especially since Sloane had spent a good portion of their time together trying to figure himself out. His heart and Felid half had known far before his stubborn brain. Now he couldn’t picture his life without Dex.

  “We’ll figure this out, sweetheart. I promise.” He leaned in and placed a kiss to Dex’s brow. As soon as Dex was feeling well enough, they’d sit down and talk about this. Dex couldn’t go on avoiding his past. No one knew that better than Sloane. They’d both lost enough. It was time for them to work toward the future.

  Chapter 6

  DEX’S RETURN to work had been met with cheers, hugs, and pats on the back. A few of their Therian teammates stood a little closer to Dex than Sloane thought was necessary, but his presence was enough of a reminder of who Dex was mated to. No one at work would challenge him. They were good agents, and the majority of them Sloane had known for years. The only one Sloane watched carefully was Taylor. The way he moved around Dex, the intensity in his eyes, had Sloane on high alert. Taylor had never been one to deny himself what he wanted.

  The rumors of the supposed ambush had spread through the department like wildfire, and Sloane prepared himself. As cocky as his partner was, he would never take credit for something he hadn’t done. As Sloane suspected, Dex was less than thrilled by the story Sparks had concocted, especially the part concerning the heroics that had resulted in Dex saving several Therian citizens at the cost of personal injury. Dex confronted Sparks in her office with Sloane silently tagging along in case his partner went off on her. It was difficult to predict Dex’s behavior these days, even for Sloane.

  The office went into privacy mode, and Dex thrust a finger at Sparks. “No. I am not taking credit for this. I refuse.” He threw a hand up. “I mean, come on. Laying it on a little thick, don’t you think?”

  Sparks simply sat back in her chair, her gaze unwavering. “Had such an incident occurred, I have no doubt the outcome would have remained the same.”

  “But it didn’t occur,” Dex hissed.

  “It’s nothing you haven’t done countless times since joining the THIRDS, Dex. How many lives have you helped save? How many criminals brought to justice? The only difference is that you’re being commended for it now.”

  Dex let out a heavy sigh. “I don’t have a choice, do I? Fine.” He headed for the door, then paused. His expression was hard as he faced Sparks. “Oh, and if you really want to earn our trust, how about not injecting me with shit to make me forget.”

  Sparks looked to Sloane and back. “Very well.”

  With that, they left the office. Had Sparks actually believed Sloane wouldn’t tell Dex what happened to him? That she’d had him injected with something so he wouldn’t remember his seizure. Dex had been pissed. Was still pissed.

  Sloane had been hoping for a quiet day, but just their luck, mere hours after starting their shift, Destructive Delta was called out on a Therian domestic disturbance. Unlike Human domestic disturbances where an HPF officer or two were called out to investigate, a Therian one required a tactical team. There was no telling if the disturbance would escalate into a feral Therian. It wasn’t uncommon. By the time the team arrived on scene, one or more of the parties could have shifted, and in most cases, at least one did.

  Hobbs drove the BearCat through the city, sirens blaring, lights flashing as they sped through heavy traffic. If it had been anyone else driving the gigantic tactical vehicle at these speeds through the busy streets of New York City, Sloane would have been saying a prayer so that they would arrive in one piece, but no one knew these streets or this truck like Hobbs. Sloane was starting to believe Dex was right, that Hobbs had been a NASCAR driver in a former life.

  Dex sat on the bench beside Sloane in the BearCat, suited up in full tactical gear just like the rest of the team. It was good to have him back. Sloane had missed seeing his smiling face across from him in their office. So much that he had spent very little time in his office, preferring not to face Dex’s empty desk.

  “So what have we got?” Sloane asked Maddock. It was time he got his head back in the game.

  “Neighbors called in, hearing roars and screams coming from next door. It’s a quiet neighborhood, no record of disturbances from this residence. House belongs to a Mr. Dylan Reynolds, a tiger Therian, and his Human wife, Alicia Reynolds. Newlyweds. Neither has any priors or any history of violence. According to the neighbor who called it in, they were very much in love and seemed happy.”

  “Until the honeymoon ends and the claws come out,” Ash said, readying his tranq rifle.

  They arrived on scene within minutes, and the team hurried out of the truck, with Calvin staying behind to help Hobbs change into his Therian form. With Reynolds being a tiger Therian, they’d need to match his strength. The rest of them would use their tranq rifles.

  Sloane quickly surveyed the area before turning to the rest of his team. “Cael, Rosa, secure the street. I don’t want anyone coming through here in case Dylan is in his Therian form. Sarge is in the truck running surveillance. Dex, Ash, Letty, you’re with me. We’re going in.”

  Calvin and Hobbs joined them, with Hobbs coming to sit at Sloane’s feet. Sloane rubbed the back of his ears, receiving an appreciative chuff in response.

  “All right, buddy. You know what to do.”

  Hobbs hissed and padded toward the house with the rest of them close behind. He stopped by the front door, and Sloane held a fist up. He moved aside and signaled for Ash to approach. Placing the barrel of the breaching gun to the door’s lock, he pulled the trigger.

  “Go, go, go!” Sloane ordered into his com, rushing into the house with his team on his heels. They fanned out, tranq guns at the ready as they surveyed the living room. Hobbs sniffed the air and took off. Sloane followed with Dex close behind, followed by Calvin, Letty, and Ash bringing up the rear. Hobbs led them through the house, stopping just outside the kitchen, his tail twitching.

  Sloane held a fist up to bring his team to a halt. There was blood on the floor. He patted his side, and Hobbs was immediately beside him. Sloane signaled for them to slowly advance, and together they moved into the kitchen, following Hobbs and the trail of blood through to the dining room. Hobbs sniffed the air and huffed. Dylan Reynolds was in the next room. Giving the signal for his team to get ready, Sloane raised his tranq
gun and followed Hobbs into the room.

  There were no orders to get on the ground, no warnings or talking. There never was when dealing with a feral Therian standing over the mauled body of what had once been a person. Reynolds roared, the windows rattling. His ears were flattened against his head, his fur covered in blood. His fangs were bared, his claws out.

  “Fire!” With the order given, the team fired their tranqs into Reynolds, but it would take time before the tiger Therian would be out, enough time for him to cause some serious damage. No other Felid took as long to go down as tiger Therians. Reynolds roared, and Sloane knew what was coming next.

  “Formation!”

  Sloane braced himself, and Ash was quickly at his side, raising his shield along with Sloane. Slowly they retreated, drawing Reynolds out of the dining room and away from the body. In the living room, Reynolds hissed, a strangled sound soon following. He leaped forward, and Hobbs met him halfway, hissing and spitting, swiping his giant paws at Reynolds, sharp claws catching fur. The two tiger Therians lifted onto their back paws as they batted at each other, roars echoing through the house, the sound deafening. All Hobbs had to do was keep Reynolds busy until the tranqs knocked him out, and within five minutes, Reynolds was swaying on his paws. Seconds later he was on his side, a low groan escaping him. His breathing steadied, and then he was out.

  Sloane crouched down in front of Hobbs and scratched him under his chin before ruffling his fur. “Good job, buddy. Go ahead and head back to the truck with your partner.”

  Hobbs chuffed and trotted off with Calvin close behind. Sloane tapped his earpiece.

  “Sarge, area’s secure. We have Reynolds.”

  “Good work. Hudson and Nina are going in.”

  “Copy that.” Sloane turned to his team. “Let’s secure Reynolds in the truck. Letty, bring the stretcher.”

  Letty nodded and ran off. It took Sloane, Ash, and Dex to lift an unconscious Reynolds onto the Therian-sized stretcher. Letty stayed behind securing the crime scene while Sloane, Ash, and Dex carried Reynolds out to the BearCat and secured him in the cage. Hobbs was already in his Human form, sitting on the bench and receiving PSTC from his partner. When Sloane turned, Hudson and Nina were approaching.