Dex held back a smile. "Guess I'll have to make sure I stay me."
"Okay, then. You do your damned best to be safe, watch your back, and you don't let them take away what makes you, you, then... I'll be okay."
The door opened, and a very handsome, very tall tiger Therian in a white doctor's coat walked in. He had bright red hair and freckles strewn across his nose and cheeks, his wide smile reaching his blue-gray eyes when he saw Tony. Cael was right, the guy was hot, and he clearly liked what he saw in Tony. As Cael chatted with the doctor, Dex leaned in to murmur by his dad's ear.
"You always did have a thing for redheads."
"I thought you were okay with her," Tony replied.
"I am." Dex winked at his dad. "Relax. And whenever you're ready to tell Cael, I got your back."
Tony nodded. "Thanks, son. I love you."
"Love you too." Dex greeted the doctor and exchanged a few pleasantries before Cael went into matchmaker mode, singing Tony's praises as if the doctor hadn't been interested before Cael's ramblings on how awesomely brave their dad was, and did he know their dad was a sergeant for the THIRDS?
Dex's smartphone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, frowning down at the blank screen. That's weird. Normally if the caller didn't show up on his ID, it still said Unknown Caller or something. It was never just blank. Answering, he put it to his ear and was met with silence.
"Hello?"
Nothing.
Hmm. Okay. Maybe it was a wrong number. Dex tapped to end the call. He was about to return his phone to his pocket when it buzzed again, same blank screen. What the hell?
"Who is this?" Dex asked into his phone, this time hearing labored breathing. "Hey, buddy, they got hotlines for that sort of thing." A grunt and more labored breathing met his ear, so he hung up, waiting for the guy to call back.
"Dex?" Tony nodded toward his phone. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, just your local perv."
Tony nodded and turned his attention back to Dr. Scotty the Hottie, while Dex lounged on the couch, one arm over the backrest as he observed his family. He'd meant what he said. He would always have his dad's back, and he was okay with Sparks sleeping with Tony. His father was a grown-ass man who could do whatever the hell he pleased. It was all good.
At least until Dex figured out her angle. When he did--and he would--Dex was going to bury her.
Sparks could fuck with him all she wanted, and she had. She'd fucked with him and Sloane and their team, but the moment she fucked with his family, all bets were off. She thought she knew him, and that would work to his advantage.
Dex sank his claws into the couch cushion. In time he would find out what Sparks was up to, and by then he'd be TIN. She was going to train him, break him down, and turn him into one of her weapons. And he was going to let her. Then he would make her regret it. Sonya Sparks was responsible for the operative he was about to become--and for her own downfall. Where his family was concerned, Dex was always ready to go to war.
As if conjured by his thoughts, Sparks appeared in the doorway. It was fun to watch her fur bristle as Tony laughed with the cute doctor. Her cool silver eyes landed on Dex, and he smiled pleasantly, waving a hand at her.
Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.
Chapter 3
"HOW COME you wanted to eat without your dorkier half?" Ash tore another huge chunk out of his Therian-sized burger.
"Hungry?" Sloane laughed when Ash flipped him off. His best friend swallowed, then washed down his food with gulps of beer before replying.
"I'm fucking starving. What kind of cafe just serves healthy shit?"
"The kind that's in a hospital promoting good health."
"We're carnivores, man. Fuck all that salad crap."
Sloane couldn't help his grin. "Now you sound like Dex."
"Speaking of that dweebus, what did he say when he called?"
"He's gonna spend a few more hours with Tony and Cael. They're releasing Tony in a couple of days."
Ash's expression grew somber, and he nodded. He put down his burger and took another gulp of his beer.
"What's on your mind?" Sloane pilfered one of Ash's fries, laughing when Ash arched an eyebrow at him.
"You're such a dick," Ash grumbled, though the amusement in his eyes betrayed him. He wrinkled his nose. "This shit ain't happening again." He pressed his lips together, his gaze on his food. "You should have seen Cael's face when I told him what happened. I won't do that again. I can't."
"We can't control what happens to Tony any more than we can control what happens to us." That clearly wasn't what Ash wanted to hear.
"Well, I'm gonna fucking try." Ash leaned in, his voice a low hiss. "He was crushed, Sloane. It fucking devastated him. Like he hasn't been through enough shit? When Dex got taken by Wolf, it was bad. He wouldn't sleep, wouldn't sit still. He was worrying himself sick. Literally. He kept getting sick. Then I had to tell him his dad had been shot in the fucking chest." His eyes watered, and Sloane was surprised. He'd never seen Ash like this. Ash did not get emotional.
Inhaling deeply, Ash sat back and released his breath slowly. Blinking to clear his eyes, he grabbed his pint, then downed it in three gulps. Ash was crazy about Cael, of that Sloane had no doubt, but to be so in love that Cael's emotional well-being would affect his own like this?
"I had no idea things were that serious between you two."
"Yeah, well...." Ash returned the empty glass to the table and shrugged. "They are."
Growing up, Sloane had felt kind of bad for anyone who fell for Ash. The closest his best friend ever got to loving any of his past girlfriends was showing a mild tolerance. None of his relationships lasted long. They certainly never got past the casual sleeping-together phase. The problem came when someone wanted more, and they always wanted more from Ash. There wasn't one woman who hadn't fallen for the bad boy and then thought she could change him. Ash Keeler changed for no one. He did what he wanted, when he wanted, how he wanted. Anyone who tried to tell him what to do would receive a nice "Fuck you." Then came Cael. Everything changed, and it changed because Ash wanted it to.
A small part of Sloane had worried Cael would end up like the others--the passing fancy of a lion Therian who couldn't seem to find happiness no matter how much he wanted it. Sloane couldn't have been more wrong. For all Ash's rough edges, he was a good man. He deserved someone like Cael to love him and take care of him.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Sloane couldn't help his smile. "I'm just happy for you. You two are great together."
"Don't get all sappy on me," Ash griped, then ordered another round of beer for both of them. He finished off his burger while Sloane finished his turkey wrap. When they were done eating, they moved over to the bar. They weren't far from the hospital, and although it was likely Dex and Cael wouldn't be along anytime soon, neither wanted to go home without their guys. Sloane wasn't the only one who had turned into a sap.
"It kills me every time he has a panic attack," Ash said, staring down into his whiskey glass. "I know what to do to help, but I still feel helpless because I know why it's happening. Knowing he's feeling so overwhelmed that his body starts working against him, that he can't breathe.... It kills me, Sloane. I, um...." He took another sip of his drink, as if he were bracing himself for whatever he was going to say. "I was worried, you know. After his first one, after that asshole Fuller showed up."
"From what I hear, you handled it great."
"That's not what I was worried about."
Sloane frowned. "What were you worried about, then?"
"I was worried I'd end up hurting Cael. I'm a lion Therian, Sloane. You know what we're like. Abrasive, cocky, proud, hotheaded, hardheaded. Cael's the complete opposite. For fuck's sake, even his angriest chirp is adorable. He's happy, excitable, and so goddamn good. He's got more energy in his little finger than I have in my whole body. He's fucking loyal to a fault, and God help the poor bastard who hurts his family
. He's got razor-sharp claws, and he's not afraid to use them."
"So what's the problem?"
"It's not a problem. I love him." Ash took another sip of his whiskey. "I love him so damned much. But he's so... delicate. No, not delicate. He's strong as fuck. What's the word I'm looking for? He's... vulnerable. He gets overwhelmed, has panic attacks, is anxious, rarely still, and has little bursts of randomness that can escalate into--what to him--feels like a life-or-death situation. Example. We were watching TV, and suddenly he sprang in the air, jumped over the back of the couch, and ran upstairs because he just remembered he didn't hang his towel up after taking a shower, and if he didn't hang up the towel that second, he'd have a fucking breakdown. He scared the shit out of me."
"So basically he does everything that would drive you batshit crazy," Sloane offered.
"Yes! Exactly. He's everything that would normally drive me fucking insane, but it's Cael, and I don't know. Instead of seeing those individual traits, I just see Cael." Ash's eyes widened, as if surprised by his own response.
"That's called being in love with someone."
"Yeah, but not just that. I mean, so there's all that, right? And I thought, fuck, I'm gonna end up breaking his heart. He's going to do something, and I'm going to snap. I'm gonna do some asshole thing or say something and break his heart."
"What changed your mind?"
Ash's expression darkened. "When he came back downstairs after hanging up the towel, I told him it was fine, that it could have been picked up later, and he got upset. Once I got him to talk to me about it, he told me he was upset because he thought that I thought he was being stupid."
Sloane swallowed hard. "Fuller."
"That son of a bitch fucked him up good, Sloane, and I hate that when I try to reassure him about something like that, that his instinct is to blame himself. Don't get me wrong, if I do something he's not happy about, he'll let me know. He doesn't put up with my bullshit. But if he thinks he fucked up? It was a fucking towel, right? Not to him. To him he'd fucked up and I thought he was stupid because of it." Ash cursed under his breath and threw back the rest of his drink. Meanwhile, Sloane was still nursing his beer. It was obvious this had been weighing on Ash's mind for some time.
"So what happened after he told you that?"
"We sat down, he curled up against me, and I promised him that nothing he ever did would make me think he was stupid. He's the smartest, most amazing guy I know, and nothing is more important to me than him. I reminded him about my whole coasters hang up and asked him if he thought I was stupid. He said of course he didn't. That he understood, so I said I understood him too."
"Did he believe you?"
"I think he's starting to, but it'll take time. He knows I love him, but there's that little part of his brain that's afraid of it happening again. The trust is there, which is important, and he sees me for who I am, knows I'm nothing like Fuller and that I'd never hurt him, but knowing something and getting your body to know it are two different things. We're working through it. Communicating a lot. We fucking talk about everything. Me." Ash let out a laugh. "Sometimes even I don't believe it."
"So things are okay between you two?"
Ash smiled, and it reached his amber eyes. "It's never been fucking better. He's got me wrapped around his little finger, and I don't give a shit who knows it. Unless he kicks me to the curb, I ain't going anywhere, and if that happens, I know I'm fucked, because there's no one like him."
"Wow."
"Yep." Ash tapped the bar and asked for a round of beers. Sloane finished his off before reaching for the just delivered full glass, surprised when Ash held his beer up for a toast. "Let's face it. They got us by the balls. But here's to loving every second of it."
Sloane laughed and tapped his beer glass against Ash's. "Hear, hear." His phone rang, and he took a sip of his beer before fishing his phone out of his pocket. Maybe Dex was meeting him sooner than expected. "Weird."
"What?" Ash asked.
Sloane showed him his phone and the blank screen.
"Probably a fucking telemarketer," Ash grumbled.
Sloane tapped to answer his phone, then put it to his ear. "Hello?" Nothing but silence. "Who's calling?" Sloane shrugged at Ash's unspoken question. For a second, he thought he heard wheezing followed by a strange gurgling sound, but it was so faint and the bar so loud, he couldn't really tell. Before he could ask whoever was on the call if they needed help, the line went dead. He tried to star 69 it, but after a beep, the line went dead again. Sloane hung up with a frown. "You think I should call it in?"
"What did you hear?"
"Like, heavy breathing."
"Probably just some joker. If it was someone you knew, their number would have shown up, and if it was an emergency, they would have called HQ or 9-1-1."
Ash was right. Sloane sent Dex a quick text just to make sure he was all right, and seconds later he got a happy face emoji, a heart, the word "later" and two hand emoji's that Sloane was fairly certain hadn't been designed to be used in that context.
Relaxed, Sloane knocked back his fresh pint in a few gulps. It wasn't like they couldn't take a cab home. After everything that had happened recently, this was just what he needed. A break from the crazy. He had no idea how long it would last. With Therians like Moros out there, probably not long. But he'd take what he could get. Sloane finished his beer and bought another round before turning to Ash.
"Dex and I are getting married."
Ash almost choked on his beer. He put down his glass with a sputter, coughing and gasping for air. Sloane chuckled as he patted his back, handing him a napkin with his free hand.
"Are you trying to fucking kill me?" Ash wheezed. He snatched the napkin from Sloane and wiped his mouth. "You couldn't have waited until I didn't have a mouthful of fucking beer?" He cursed under his breath and wiped at his T-shirt.
"Sorry." Sloane bit down on his bottom lip as Ash scrubbed furiously at the stain on his shirt. "You obviously heard what I said or you wouldn't have almost drowned."
"Give me a second to process this shit."
Sloane held back a smile. "Take your time."
"Fuck you," Ash growled, beaning him in the forehead with the balled-up napkin. Sloane supposed he should be happy Ash didn't think to throw something heavier at him. Ash sat there for a second staring at him. "You're getting married."
Sloane nodded. "I am."
"To Dexter J. Fucking Daley."
"Yes."
"Sweet Jesus." Ash didn't move.
"So...."
Ash wrinkled his nose. His eyes got all glassy, and Sloane blinked at him. "Ash?"
There was a sniff, and Sloane straightened. Wait a second. Was... was Ash--no. That wasn't possible. Was it?
Sloane's brows shot up. "Holy fuck."
"Fuck you, asshole." Ash wiped his eyes and jumped off his stool. He grabbed Sloane, pulled him off his own stool, and brought him into a crushing embrace. "If you tell anyone I cried, including your fucking dickbag fiance, I will smother you both in your sleep. Do you understand me?"
Sloane hummed, and Ash tightened his hug, squeezing the breath out of him and making him laugh.
"Say 'Yes, Ash, I understand that if I tell anyone what I saw, I forfeit both my life and that of my pain-in-the-ass fiance to you.' Say it."
"It."
"So help me, I will kill you right here."
Sloane laughed. "Yes, Ash. I understand that if I tell anyone what I saw, I forfeit both my life and that of my beautiful husband-to-be to you."
"Man, you're such a dork. Good enough," Ash grumbled. He pulled back, his gaze warning Sloane not to say one word about his reddened eyes. "Fuck." Before Sloane could say anything, Ash was hugging him again, holding him tight. "I'm so happy for you. Even if it is to Daley, I'm happy for you."
Sloane laughed softly and returned Ash's embrace. "You know you love him too."
"I'm not going to let you ruin this moment. Shut up."
"Okay."
>
"You're not shutting up."
"Sorry."
"Don't procreate."
Sloane smiled. "Dex can't get pregnant."
"Good. If you do, don't use his sperm."
"I'm going to pretend this conversation never happened."
"I would appreciate that." Ash turned to the bartender. "Shots. Lots of them."
Chapter 4
SLOANE WAS sober by the time he was dropped off at home, his merriment cut short by a text from Sparks informing him Destructive Delta was expected bright and early for training. That was fine with him. They'd be celebrating soon enough. Besides, they still had to share their news with the rest of their team. Sloane had been tempted to tell Ash about him and Dex joining TIN, but Ash had been so happy Sloane didn't have the heart to break the news just then. It was best if he and Dex informed the team together about the impending changes--along with Dex's personal changes.
Dex had likely already told Cael and Tony everything. If so, Sloane was kind of glad he hadn't been there. He wasn't sure who he'd be scared of more, Tony or Cael. Sloane was pretty sure neither would take the news well. Not about TIN and certainly not about Sloane infecting Dex.
Dex's scent reached Sloane the moment he stepped inside the house, as did the upbeat melody of The Foundations' "Build Me Up Buttercup." Sloane couldn't help his dopey smile as he leaned against the doorway to watch Dex dancing in the kitchen while he made a sandwich. How could someone look so sexy in a faded T-shirt and pajama bottoms? Dex's hair was wet and disheveled--so he'd just showered--and whereas Sloane preferred to be barefoot indoors, Dex liked wearing his crazy patterned socks. Tonight it was coffee mugs.
"Want a sandwich, babe?"
"How long have you known I was here?"
"Since the taxi pulled up."
Sloane blinked at him. "You heard that? With the music playing?" The music wasn't loud, but even so, Sloane would have had trouble hearing a car pull up. He stepped up behind Dex, slipped his arms around Dex's waist, and placed his chin on Dex's shoulder. His feral half didn't like being away from Dex. "That's impressive."
Dex turned his head for a kiss, and Sloane happily obliged. "It's my new superpowers. Mm, you taste like booze."
"I stink of it too. I already ate, but thank you anyway. I'll just take a little bite out of you." He nibbled on Dex's ear before pulling away, giving Dex's plump ass a smack, then dodging when Dex tried to smack him. With a laugh, he headed for the stairs. "I'm going to shower."
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