Chapter 4

 

LIKE MOST of the surrounding federal buildings, the CDC Therian registration office was a Greek revival style structure made of stone. Above all its center windows were depictions of Greek physicians, along with some Greek style ironwork on its front doors. The building had two entrances, one on Worth Street and the other on Centre Street, with more offices and windows than Sloane cared for.

Destructive Delta hurried to the building, and Sloane cursed under his breath. Goddamn revolving doors. He hated these things. He pounded on the glass on the exit door to the right of it. A confused-looking guard promptly opened it. The guy quickly jumped to one side as Sloane and his team flooded inside. Sloane motioned for Letty to lock up the front doors. The second security guard posted on the other side gave a start. Ash was right. Something was wrong. Normally when someone reported a bomb, people got gone. They didn’t linger about looking more confused by the agents coming to answer the call than at the thought of being blown up. The team spread out, investigating the lobby for any possible threats, with expert speed and precision. In less than five minutes, they came back to him.

“We’re all clear,” Ash stated. Sloane approached the large reception desk ahead of him, and the petite redhead sitting behind it, looking on with wide eyes.

“Can… can I help you?”

Sloane leaned over, taking note of the young woman’s nametag. “Ms. Beverly, I need you to listen carefully to me and remain calm. Can you do that?”

The young woman’s brown eyes widened even more, but she nodded fervently.

“Good. I need you to start an evacuation procedure immediately. There may be an explosive device in this facility.”

“Oh my God,” she gasped, snatching up the telephone and hitting a host of blinking buttons as well as one underneath her desk. Sloane turned to his team.

“Letty, Rosa, Dex, you start evacuating the building. Hobbs, Calvin, Ash, find that damned device. Give a shout when you do.” His team broke off, and Sloane turned to the numerous security guards flooding out from several directions. “Who’s in charge of security?” Sloane asked. A guard in a white and black uniform stepped up.

“I am.” He held his hand out to Sloane. “Allan Jeffrey. What’s going on?”

“Allan, my name is Agent Sloane Brodie with the THIRDS. We have reason to believe there may be an explosive device inside the building. I need your team to help my guys get everyone out. Also, you should have received a phone call from one of my agents, an Agent Cael Maddock. I want you to give him access to your security network, its feed, and any footage we may require.”

“Yes, of course.” Allan turned to one of his guards. “Javier, you heard him. Get everyone out, and get Agent Maddock his access.”

With Javier running off, Sloane turned his attention back to Allan. “Has anyone unscheduled come in or out of this facility?”

Allan shook his head. “All visitors either have an appointment or have to be cleared by someone in the building. There’s a log at the reception desk visitors and employees fill out when they come in or out.”

“I’d like to see that list.”

Allan gave him a nod and led him to the reception desk where he handed Sloane a tablet. The log had six columns, one for date, name, time, species, company name, and purpose of visit. The majority were registrations, the rest employees. “Allan, can these dates and times be doctored?”

Allan shook his head. “They’re automatically inserted by the system to prevent falsification. As soon as a name is submitted, the system logs the time.”

“Excellent.” One less thing to worry about. He scanned the list of names when one jumped out at him. A Therian registrant under the name Zeph Hyacinth. Why did that strike him as odd? He tapped his earpiece. “Cael?”

“Cael, here.”

“Can you search the National Therian Database for the name Zeph Hyacinth?”

“Sure.”

Sloane lifted his head in time to watch dozens of citizens come rushing out of the emergency stairwells, ushered by his team. Dex’s voice rang clear above the others.

“Please exit in an orderly fashion. We’re here with you, so no need to panic. That’s it, follow my colleague, she’ll guide you. Ma’am, please, you can come back for your belongings later, I promise, but right now your safety is far more important to me. Thank you, I appreciate your cooperation. Sir, just breathe. It’s okay. Take my arm. Old? Haven’t you heard? Seventy’s the new fifty. Do I? Well, your grandson must be a handsome devil, then.”

Sloane held back a smile. Rookie was a natural. Seconds later, Cael came back on the line. “No one under that name, no new registrants either. Themis did give me a different kind of hit on it, though. It’s weird.”

“What is it?”

“A Greek myth.”

“What?”

“Hyacinth was lover to the god Apollo. According to one version of the tale, the West Wind, Zephyr, was also in love with Hyacinth, and in his jealousy at having Hyacinth choose Apollo over him, he blew Apollo’s discus off course so it struck Hyacinth, and he died from his injuries. There’s more detail, but that’s the gist of it.”

“That son of a bitch.” Sloane gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. The bastard was taunting him.

“What does—” Cael gasped. “Oh. You’re Apollo.”

“Yes,” Sloane replied through his teeth. And Gabe was Hyacinth. He turned to Allan, pointing to the name on the tablet. “I want to see all the footage you have on this appointment here. We’re looking for a Caucasian Human male, midthirties, five-ten, one hundred and seventy pounds, light brown hair. The time beside his name is showing 2:13 p.m.”

“Follow me.”

Sloane stepped into a medium-sized security office behind and to the right of the reception area. It contained a wall-to-wall security console with an expansive flat screen monitor. As Allan accessed the security network searching for the footage they needed, Sloane tapped his earpiece. “Team, updates.”

Rosa’s voice came over his earpiece. “All top levels are clear. We’re emptying out the lobby now.”

“Copy that. Guys, how are we doing on that device?”

Calvin was the first to answer. “We’ve cleared the lobby and first floor. Ash cleared the second and third floors and is heading for the fourth. Hobbs and I are taking the stairs up to the sixth floor. There are a lot of places this thing can be. The closest substance we’ve gotten a read on is acetone, but that was from someone’s bottle of nail polish remover. We’ll let you know soon as we get something.”

“Okay.” Sloane turned to Allan who brought up the security footage from the timeframe they needed. The moment Sloane saw the bastard, his gut tightened. He’d lightened his hair and grown it out so it looked shaggy, the front almost falling over his eyes. He was dressed in tattered but fashionable jeans, expensive sneakers, a football hoodie, and carried a designer messenger bag. The whole ensemble had him resembling a college jock more than the maniac the THIRDS had put an APB out on, which Sloane suspected was Isaac’s intent. “That’s him right there. Let’s see where he goes.” He watched as Isaac signed in, smiling and flirting with the receptionist. She pointed to the elevator behind her on the right side of the lobby, and with a wink, he headed for it. Again, Sloane tapped his earpiece.

“It was Isaac. I’ve got eyes on him. He stepped into the elevator closest to the reception area, right side. I’m waiting to see what floor he gets off on.” A few minutes later, Isaac stepped off on the seventh. “He got off on the seventh floor. He’s carrying a messenger bag. My guess is the bomb’s in there.”

“We’re heading to the elevator. What room does he go into?” Calvin asked.

“Hold on.” Sloane watched the color screen as Isaac leisurely strolled down the hall as if he was in no kind of hurry. He opened his messenger bag, pulled out a tablet, and tapped away. Ten minutes later, he put the tablet away and headed for the end of the hall. Sloane tapped his earpiece, ready to give his team the location, when Isaac turned around and went back to the elevator. “What the hell?”

“What is it?” Calvin asked. “Sloane, we’re running out of time.”

“He turned around and went back down.” As Isaac walked through the lobby, he took out a cellphone, said a few words, smiled, and left. What in the living fuck? Why would he ride the elevator to the seventh floor just to ride it back down, and leave? Sloane wracked his brain. The guy was smart. He was also an ex-detective. “Dex?”

“Yeah?”

“I need you in here.”

Seconds later, Dex entered the room. “What happened?”

“If you were going to place a bomb inside a building knowing you were being watched. Where would you place it? He rode the elevator up to the seventh floor, walked around some, working on a tablet, then came back down, placed a phone call, and left.”

Dex worried his bottom lip in thought. “I’d put it somewhere the cameras couldn’t follow me.”

Allan pursed his lips. “Only places with no security are the bathrooms and the elevators.”

“The elevator,” Dex said immediately. “They all have access panels, right? For maintenance? It’s an oldie but goodie. Why try to reinvent the wheel?”

Sloane nodded. “Calvin—”

“We’re enabling the elevator and calling it up now.”

Sloane turned to Allan. “Can you get eyes on my team?”

“Sure thing.”

They watched Calvin and Hobbs enter the elevator, the position of the camera outside in the corridor giving them an angled view. It wasn’t perfect, but it was enough. Calvin hit the emergency stop, and the elevator’s alarm went off, its doors remaining open. As soon as he stepped inside, Calvin’s voice confirmed their fears.

“I got a read. It’s somewhere close.”

Allan thankfully terminated the shrilling beeping, and Sloane gave him a nod in thanks. He checked his watch. “Ten minutes. Come on, guys.”

Hobbs’s height allowed him to reach up, and he pushed open one of the access panels situated on the roof of the stainless steel elevator. He removed the Packbot and placed it on the floor to one side before he propped one booted foot on the railing. They all cringed along with Calvin. Sloane sure as hell hoped those things were strong enough to take the weight of Hobbs’s nearly 300-pound frame. Sometimes being a Therian of that size had its drawbacks. Like when it involved small spaces or climbing flimsy structures. Hobbs tested the rail’s strength before hauling himself up, his upper body disappearing through the opening in the roof and his other booted foot resting on the opposite handrail.

Calvin’s stern voice confirmed their fears. “Hobbs found it.”

“All right. Destructive Delta, fall back. Calvin, that includes you.” With Calvin and Hobbs up on the large screen, Sloane gave Allan a pat on the shoulder. “You’ve been a great help, Allan. I need you to get yourself and your team out. If you wouldn’t mind speaking to Agent Rosa Santiago outside; she’ll take your statement.”

“Sloane, the bomb’s been deactivated.”

“What?” Sloane turned to the screen. Hobbs was climbing back down. He held a thumb up to the camera. “Talk to me. That seemed too easy.”

“Because it was,” Calvin said, heading toward the stairwell with Hobbs close behind. “According to Hobbs, there were no antihandling devices, motion sensors, overrides, kill switches, or anything that might trigger the explosion, just the one wire to the power supply. None of this makes any sense.”

“Thanks, guys. Get the disposal team up here.” Giving his final thanks to Allan, Sloane headed out with Dex beside him. He tapped his earpiece. “Sarge?”

“Yeah, I heard. As soon as Disposal gets here, we’re heading back to HQ, to see if we can’t figure this shit out. I don’t know what the hell is going on, and I don’t like it. Lieutenant Sparks is going to like it even less.”

“Copy that.” Sloane removed his helmet, chucking it into the back of the truck in frustration before he climbed in, Dex behind him. “This asshole’s jerking us around.”

“Yeah, but the question is why?” Dex removed his helmet and dropped down onto the bench as the rest of the team climbed in. “He’s got to have something bigger up his sleeve.”

Sloane agreed. There was no telling what Isaac was up to and worse than not knowing was the fear of not being able to do anything about it.

 

 

“ALL RIGHT, let’s run through this again.”

Dex tapped files open on his desk’s interface, and Sloane had to hand it to the guy; his partner was determined.

They’d been at this for hours since returning from the CDC registration office, and they were no closer to figuring any of it out now than they had been at the time of the call, yet Dex persisted. Sloane admired his partner’s dedication, and went along with it. “Okay. Thanks to you and Simon, we figured out the base at College Point was a distraction to keep us busy, though at the time, we didn’t know from what. Now we do. While we were there, Isaac was carrying out his plan at the registration office.

“He came out of hiding to plant a bomb in that specific office. Why, we don’t know. He puts in a call, gives us enough time to get there and disarm it. The bomb itself was a quick job. Yes, it could have resulted in casualties had we not disarmed it in time, but he gave us plenty of it. He taunts me by using the name Zeph Hyacinth, knowing I’ll catch onto it and find out what it means. He knew we’d bring up the surveillance footage. So he signs in at reception, heads to the elevator, plants the bomb, walks around a bit, takes the elevator back down, and leaves. We’ve established the phone call he made on camera is the one placed to 911.”

Dex ran a hand over his face and sat back, his frown in full force. “I would have thought it was a trap, except it wasn’t. What the hell was the point? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely relieved it went that smoothly, but why bother? To taunt us? To piss us off?” He shook his head. “That dick. I can’t believe I was friends with the guy.”

“He fooled us all, Dex.” Sloane watched Dex lean over his desk and tap away, bringing up Morelli’s file for the hundredth time that week. “Obsessing over that file isn’t going to add any more information to it.” His partner was frustrated. Sloane understood that. He was too, but after many years of fieldwork, there was only so much you could do with the information you had until something new came up. Staring at the same files over and over wasn’t going to make the case move any quicker.

The majority of Unit Alpha was working on this case, but unfortunately, information trickled down to Defense agents last, unless they came across the info themselves. Intel and Recon did the brunt of the investigating while Defense provided support and waited to be called out. Their objective was to employ special tactics in an effort to preserve life and apprehend dangerous suspects, often resulting in the use of weapons and aggressive maneuvers. Yes, they collected information along the way, interrogated suspects, and kept a clear channel of communication open with Recon, but in the end, Defense agents were the muscle, following orders and procedure. It was an aspect of the job his partner was finding difficult to accept. Sloane could see Dex going into “detective mode” every time he opened a file. It made him once again question whether Dex would be happier in Recon. He quickly pushed that thought aside.

“You’re right,” Sloane said, focusing on the task at hand. “It’s good to talk through it. What have you got?”

“We know Morelli accessed his THIRDS file before he was killed, most likely under duress, since he signed in on his personal laptop. It’s clear Isaac didn’t get what he wanted and killed him. What was he looking for?”

“I don’t know. Morelli tried to log in to Themis, but he would have known he didn’t have access. Only Team Leaders and those with higher clearance levels have offsite access. Isaac wouldn’t have known that. Maybe Morelli was buying himself more time.”

Dex nodded somberly. “Other than that, I can’t come up with any other reason Isaac would have picked Morelli. According to his file, the guy was a regular Lupus Therian agent. He was single, had a few girlfriends, and worked Defense before he moved to Recon. Do you know why he was moved?”

There had been rumors, but Sloane never relied on hearsay. Like any other organization, the THIRDS wasn’t completely void of office politics or gossip. He gave Dex a shrug. “Something about his health. I think it got too stressful for him. That’s not the first time it’s happened to a Defense agent. Everyone wants to be on Defense until someone tries to blow them up.”

“Glamor comes with a hefty price, huh?”

“Yep. A hefty price, a load of flying bullets, and bears.”

Dex opened his mouth, and Sloane held a hand up. He knew his partner too well by now. “Not those kind of bears. Actual bears, with claws and sharp teeth.” Though now that he thought about it, some Bear Therians were probably uh, bears. Trent from Unit Beta certainly was.

“My kind of bears are more fun,” Dex replied with a wink, before his gaze shifted back to the file, his eyes widening. “Shit.”

Sloane straightened. “What is it?”

Dex swiped his hand across his desk’s surface, sending the file onto Sloane’s desk and his connected interface. “Obviously we wouldn’t have thought anything of it before, but look, under the ‘History’ section.”

“Shit.” Sloane stared at the familiar words. “No way in hell that’s a coincidence.” He tapped his earpiece. “Sarge, we found something.”

Seconds later, Maddock came storming into the office, his nostrils flaring. “Give me good news, Sloane. I get one more call from the Chief of Therian Defense asking me for an update on this case, I’m gonna get an ulcer. We had video conference twice in a span of twenty minutes. What the hell was he expecting to happen in twenty minutes while I’m at the goddamn office? Other than exacerbate my growing desire to take his tacky-ass paisley tie, roll it up, and shove it up his—”

“Whoa!” Dex sprang to his feet and gave Maddock a gentle pat on the shoulder. “Easy there, Sarge. Your blood pressure’s gonna go through the roof at this rate. Not to mention you’ve got a few new additions already,” Dex said, putting a finger to Maddock’s salt and pepper stubble. Sloane tried his hardest to keep himself from laughing when Maddock smacked Dex’s hand away, glaring at him.

“Boy, are you crazy? I am royally pissed off, and you’re telling me I’ve got more gray hair? Who the hell do you think gave them to me in the first place?”

Dex blinked at him innocently. “Cael?”

Maddock pressed his lips together and turned away to address Sloane. “Please, tell me you’ve got something before I strangle your partner.”

Sloane couldn’t help his chuckle. “Looks like you’re going to have to leave the strangling for some other time, because it was actually Dex who found it.”

Maddock glanced at Dex, groaning at his son’s dopey grin. When Dex wriggled his eyebrows, Maddock planted his hand on Dex’s face. Sloane cringed. Bad move. Maddock snapped his hand back as if he’d been burned by acid, clutching it to his broad chest. His frown deepened before he wiped his hand on his pants and shook his head at Dex who was still grinning. “There is something seriously wrong with you.”

With a laugh, Dex dropped down onto his seat behind his desk. “I love you too.”

An unintelligible growl later, Maddock nodded for Sloane to continue.

“As I was saying, Dex was looking over Morelli’s file, and noticed Morelli was registered at the same CDC registration office where Isaac planted the bomb. Before today, it wouldn’t have meant much, but now….”

“Now, it means he chose that office for a reason.” Maddock rubbed a hand over his stubble as he considered this new information. “Isaac planted the bomb in the elevator because he knew it didn’t have cameras. Could he have done something else while in there?”

Sloane brought up the footage of Isaac at the registration office. They watched him get into the elevator and emerge a few minutes later. “I know it’d take a while to get to the seventh floor, but either this elevator is really slow, or he stopped it.”

“Well, we know he was planting the bomb,” Dex offered.

Something still seemed off. “True, but considering the explosive he used, all he had to do was open the access panel, plant the bomb, and flip the switch. Sarge, you might be onto something. What if he’d been doing something else? We don’t even know he planted the bomb when he rode the elevator. There’s no security in there. For all we know, he could have planted the bomb earlier, or had someone else plant it, and then activated it. Or maybe he had time to plant it and do whatever else he went there to do.”

“Okay, all good theories,” Maddock said. “So now what? Hold on a second.” Maddock tapped the desk’s surface, pausing the video. “What’s he doing there on that tablet?”

“Cael already tried zooming in, but it’s too fuzzy. We can’t tell what he’s doing,” Dex replied with a frown. “Whatever it is, he removed the tablet from his bag after he got off from the elevator.”

Sloane tapped his earpiece. “Cael?”

“Yeah?”

“We need Allan Jeffrey to grant Themis access to their security system. I want an algorithm set up to see if there’s any additional footage of Isaac Pearce entering that building before today or anyone acting suspicious. It’s possible the bomb could have been planted beforehand, and if not, I want to know what else Isaac was doing in that elevator. I also want Themis to run a scan on their network for any unauthorized access to their files. If Isaac didn’t get what he wanted from Morelli’s file, and he was registered at that office, he might have been looking for something there. Find out if Morelli has a file at that CDC office.”

“Copy that.”

Maddock looked thoughtful. “You think Isaac went in there looking for more information on Morelli?”

Right now, they didn’t know much of anything, only that Morelli was somehow connected to all this. “We know he didn’t get anything from Morelli’s THIRDS file, and the guy was registered at that office. I don’t understand his obsession with Morelli.”

Cael’s voice came in over their earpieces. “Sloane? Dex?”

“Go ahead, Cael.”

“Allan says he’ll get right on it, but he won’t have anything before tomorrow morning. The place is crawling with CDC bigwigs. They’re freaking out about security after what happened today. Obviously, they’re looking to put someone’s head on the chopping block.”

“I appreciate that, but we really need him to get that info over to us as soon as he can, or at least grant us access so Intel can do it. If the bureaucrats are getting in the way, tell him to let us know, and I’ll send Ash down there to throw his weight around.”

“Will do.”

“In the meantime….” Sloane gave Maddock his most charming smile. “Can you send over a glowing letter of appreciation to Allan and his security team for their exceptional and invaluable help during today’s incident?”

Maddock was onto him, and he nodded with a knowing smile. “I’ll get on that now. As soon as you find anything else out, you let me know immediately.” He started to leave, then paused, jutting a finger at him. “And get a haircut.”

“Yes, sir.” Sloane gave him a salute. Damn. That meant he had at least another week before he had to get it cut. He hated getting his hair cut. His gaze went to Dex who was grinning at him.

“What?”

“You’re so cute, sending a letter so Allan and his team don’t get canned.”

Sloane hoped his face wasn’t as red as it felt. “Allan and his team did great. They don’t deserve to lose their jobs because a bunch of pencil pushers need someone to blame. I mean you saw how many guards there were for a building that size, and with everything else going on, it’s clear they’d made cutbacks. Security’s always the first department to suffer. While poor Allan joins the ranks of the unemployed, some asshole buys a second house on the coast of France.”

Dex leaned forward, his voice gruff and sexy. “Ooh, do I hear a little anti-establishment in your tone, Agent Brodie?”

With a chuckle, Sloane came to sit at the edge of Dex’s desk. He leaned forward to whisper, “Does that turn you on, Agent Daley?”

Dex gave a snort. “That would imply there are moments when I’m not turned on. Okay, well, in this job there actually are moments when I’m not, but if our lives aren’t in danger and you’re around, it’s a safe bet I’ve got a stiffy.”

Sloane arched an eyebrow at him.

“Okay, sometimes even when we are in danger.”

“That so?”

“You gripping an MP5 submachine gun, sweat dripping down your face, your tac pants pulled tight over your ass when you crouch down? Fuck, I’m getting hard thinking about it. Come on, man. I’m positioned behind you in formation, and you think my mind’s not going to go there? It’s your own fault.”

“Jesus, Dex. We’re at the office!” Sloane hissed.

“You asked.”

Sloane shifted uncomfortably, his pants tighter than they’d been a moment ago. “Yeah, but… now you’ve got me… you know.”

“So….”

“So what?” Sloane eyed him warily. “Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting? Because we’re in the middle of a case.”

Dex’s pale blue eyes clouded, the heat in them going straight to Sloane’s dick. “We are in the middle of a case. A case with intel that won’t come in until tomorrow morning, or tonight at the earliest.”

Sloane swallowed hard. “Ten minutes?”

Dex grinned wickedly. “Ten minutes.” He stood, his fingers brushing Sloane’s thigh as he walked past.

This was insane. Sloane couldn’t believe he was doing this at work. He’d never done anything with Gabe at work, not even sneak a kiss. Then again, Gabe had been a stickler for the rules, too afraid of what would happen if they’d been caught. Dex… well, Dex was a terrible, sexy—fuck, he was sexy—influence. Then again, the only time their sergeant ever suspected something was amiss was when Dex wasn’t up to his shenanigans.

If Dex wasn’t eating snacks when he shouldn’t be, or singing in the showers, or bugging Ash, or Cael, or anyone with a pulse, Rosa was whipping out her thermometer and taking his temperature, convinced he was coming down with something. Two days ago, Dex had been straining his little blond head trying to work out a riddle Sloane had given him, and the whole floor almost went into lockdown from panic due to his prolonged silence. Their Medical Chief, Hudson, had gone so far as to insist he examine Dex, though now that Sloane thought about it, he was pretty sure Hudson might have been taking advantage of the situation. The guy was always eyeing Dex’s ass.

Sloane waited five minutes then casually slipped out of the office, heading for the moderately sized lunchroom on their floor. After greeting the half a dozen or so agents who were in there, he tapped the blue numbers on one of the vending machine’s smart screens. A candy bar dropped down into the tray. Sloane swiped it up and tucked it into his front breast pocket. Exactly four minutes and thirty seconds later, he was using his keycard to access his personally assigned sleeping bay.

What the hell was he doing? This was insane. This was—

Two taps on the door exactly thirty-one seconds later.

Sloane opened the door, his abdomen tightening at the sight of Dex standing there, mischief and lust in his eyes.

“You’re late,” Sloane said, letting him in and locking the door behind him.

“Looks like you’ll have to discipline me.”

Okay. He could do this. “Get on the bed and unzip.”

“Yes, sir.” Dex sat on the bed, kicked his feet up, unzipped his pants, whipped out his dick, and finished off by lying with his hands behind his head, a dopey grin on his face. The cocky bastard. Before Sloane could talk himself out of it, he crossed the room, and straddled Dex, their lips meeting together in a hot and needy kiss. Dex wriggling beneath him, hands on Sloane’s fly, nearly made him forget his concerns. Nearly. Sloane made certain to remain alert while kissing Dex, letting out a low groan when Dex pulled at Sloane’s hardening cock.

With a nip to Dex’s bottom lip, making his partner groan, Sloane rolled onto his side. He motioned down toward the other end of the bed, his blood drumming through his veins, filling his cock at the sight of Dex’s tongue poking out to lick his bottom lip. “Get down there and be quiet. The walls are insulated, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

Dex’s enthusiastic nod almost made Sloane laugh, until he was forced to throw an arm up to keep himself from getting kicked in the face as Dex scrambled to turn his body around. The man was a disaster, nearly falling off the bed in the process. Sloane threw an arm out, grabbed him by the belt, and yanked him down so his cock was in front of Sloane’s face.

“You’re damn lucky you’re pretty, Daley,” Sloane growled quietly.

“Aw, you think I’m pretty?”

“Shut up and suck my dick.”

“You’re lucky you’re damn sexy,” Dex countered, inhaling sharply and bucking when Sloane closed a hand over Dex’s cock and squeezed. “Sweet Jesus.”

“Yeah, less talking, more sucking.” He let out a low hiss at the feel of Dex’s hand on him.

“Anyone ever tell you you’re bossy?”

“I’m sorry, I was under the impression we came here for blow jobs and not to discuss my people skills.” Dex’s hot mouth enveloping him put a stop to both their grousing, and Sloane returned the favor, taking Dex down to the root. He closed his eyes, humming around Dex’s cock, sucking, licking, and trying his damn hardest to keep himself in control.

Dex dug his fingers into Sloane’s ass cheeks, his gorgeous mouth making it difficult for Sloane to concentrate on what he was doing. Damn, the guy knew how to drive him over the edge. As excruciating pressure began to build up inside Sloane, he quickened his pace, his hand on Dex’s hips to keep him still. He loved the taste of Dex, and he expressed it as best he could, his tongue circling the head, pressing into Dex’s slit, making Dex buck. Dex hummed around him in warning, and Sloane doubled his efforts, sucking him harder and faster until Dex stiffened before he came in Sloane’s mouth. He swallowed, his muscles tightening as the heat spread, and with a low moan, he shot his load into Dex’s mouth.

Sloane gently pulled off Dex, and as soon as Dex did the same, Sloane rolled onto his back, his breath coming out heavy. Damn, that was good. He lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling. The bed moved, and Sloane held back a smile at Dex snuggling up close, his arm around Sloane’s waist. Sloane’s hand found Dex’s hair, and he absently ran his fingers through the dirty blond locks, a smile breaking through. After a few heartbeats, Sloane nudged his partner.

“We need to go before someone comes looking for either of us.”

Dex let out a groan, but rolled over and got up, unaware of Sloane watching him tuck himself back in. He zipped up and straightened out his clothes and hair. Damn, he was cute. Pale blue eyes shifted up and Dex cocked his head to one side, that brilliant smile stealing Sloane’s breath away.

“What?”

Sloane shook his head. “Nothing.” He got up and sorted himself out before pulling Dex into his arms, delivering a kiss to his head. “Come on.” He didn’t know where the tenderness came from, and he refused to dwell on it. He made his way to the door, and with Dex out of sight behind him, Sloane peeked out of the room. At his signal, Dex slipped out and Sloane followed, closing the door behind him. They quickly made their way to the end of the hall, slowing down to a casual stroll when they reached the corner.

They walked past the male locker room when Ash stepped in front of them, scaring the hell out them. Lucky for them, Ash was too annoyed to notice their less than innocent reaction.

“Where the hell were you two?”

Sloane and Dex produced a candy bar from their front breast pockets in unison, answering simultaneously, “Lunchroom.”

Ash looked genuinely horrified. “You two are spending way too much time together. Seriously, that was creepy as fuck.” He snatched their candy bars. “For the psychological trauma you’ve just inflicted.”

Dex pouted. “Hey, I was gonna save that for the next briefing.”

“Briefings are not snack time.” Ash crowded Dex, who looked genuinely perplexed.

“But…. How else am I supposed to get through them?”

“I don’t know, by paying attention? I can’t believe Lieutenant Sparks lets you get away with it.”

Sloane pushed himself between the two. Well, there was little pushing involved. He only had to slip a hand between them, and Dex took a step back. Sometimes it surprised Sloane how responsive Dex was to his every touch. Even when the guy was focused on something else, he always seemed to be aware of Sloane and his movements. “All right you two, that’s enough. What did you want, Ash?”

“We’re going to Bar Dekatria tonight. Cael says if one more Intel guy calls him to add another algorithm to the case, he’s going to lose it and take everyone with him.” Ash chuckled. “You should have seen him. He got all red in the face and started stomping around. At one point he got so mad, he knocked over someone’s empty soda can.”

“Did he pick it right up and apologize profusely?” Dex asked with a grin.

“It’s Cael. Of course he did. Then he offered to buy the guy a new one.”

Dex shook his head with a laugh. “You should have seen him when he was a kid, and he’d get pissed off in his Therian form, chirping all over the place, his little cheetah fuzz at the top of his head sticking up. It was adorable.”

Ash actually laughed along with Dex. It fascinated Sloane how the two were always arguing, annoying the hell out of one another or wishing fiery pain upon each other, except when it concerned Cael. Then they were a couple of mother hens, clucking away over their little chick. It was sweet, and at times, frightening, especially where Ash was concerned. If it weren’t for Cael, Sloane would never have guessed his friend possessed any kind of nurturing instinct. Something moved behind Ash and Sloane coughed into his hand. When that didn’t work, he elbowed Dex, only to be once again ignored.

“Guys,” Sloane warned.

“What are you two talking about?”

Ash and Dex stopped abruptly, both turning to Cael who stood there, a deep frown on his boyish face. Dex waved cheerfully. “Hey, little brother.”

Cael folded his arms over his chest. “You were talking about me, weren’t you?”

“Us? No.” Dex’s grin got wider.

“You’re a shitty liar. I’m not in the mood for you, Dex. Stupid Intel with their stupid algorithms, and their stupid stupidness.” Cael sighed, looking embarrassed. “I’m sorry. They’re not stupid.” He looked up at them with a pout. “What?”

Dex threw his arms around Cael’s neck, petting his head and murmuring softly. “You’re so precious. So, so precious.”

“Get off.” Cael pushed Dex away from him. “So are we going to Dekatria tonight or what? I need alcohol.”

“Of course we are,” Ash replied, throwing an arm around Cael’s shoulders. “First drink’s on me. What do you say?”

Cael perked up. “I say awesome!”

“Hey, I’m cute, too,” Dex protested as they followed Ash and Cael to the bullpen. “Why don’t I get a free drink?”

Ash flipped him off, calling out over his shoulder, “You’re not cute, Daley.”

“Screw you. I’m fucking adorable!”

Sloane leaned into Dex, whispering. “I think you’re cute.”

Dex smiled at him and batted his lashes. “Do I get a free drink?”

“No.”

“Damn.” Dex craned his neck and waved his arms. “Hey, Rosa! I have to ask you something.” He ran off and Sloane chuckled, hearing Dex calling out after her. “Where are you going? I want to ask you if you think I’m cute. You do, right? Rosa?”

Well tonight should be interesting to say the least.