Smoke & Mirrors

by Charlie Cochet

  “Dylan,” Sloane insisted. “What happened next?”

  Dylan pressed his lips together before letting out a heart-wrenching sigh. “I left work early. When I got home, her car was parked out front, and everything looked normal. The door was locked, windows closed. The moment I stepped foot inside the house I tore at my clothes. I couldn’t… I couldn’t control my Therian half. I went feral.”

  “What did you see?”

  “It wasn’t what I saw, Agent Brodie. It was what I smelled. Alicia’s blood. So much blood. Enough for my feral half to know she was dead, but my Human side refused to believe it. My vision grew sharp, and I tried to fight it, but when I entered the kitchen and saw the trail of blood, I… I shifted. I followed the blood and found—”

  Dylan broke down, tears streaming down his cheeks. Sloane swallowed hard, feeling a lump in his throat. Could Dylan be telling the truth? The guy was distraught, on the verge of losing his grasp on the fine thread of his sanity. It was either the greatest performance Sloane had ever seen, or Dylan Reynolds was telling the truth, which then brought up the question. If Dylan didn’t kill his wife, who did? And why were they trying to frame Dylan?

  Once Dylan got a hold of himself enough to speak, he continued. “I found what was left of her in the living room. For a split second, I considered joining her.” He looked up at Sloane. “You have no idea what the loss feels like, and I hope you never find out, Agent Brodie.”

  Sloane couldn’t bring himself to respond, so he continued. “Then what happened?”

  “I lost track of time. I was numb. At a loss. In my Felid state, I couldn’t think of what to do, so I just stood there, over her, wailing like the wounded animal I was.”

  “Do you know of any Therians who might have wanted to hurt your wife?”

  Dylan shook his head. “Everyone loved Alicia. She was the sweetest, kindest person. She was a therapist, working with Therian children down at the hospital. Those kids loved her.” He shut his eyes tight and wiped at his nose. “They’re going to be devastated.”

  “Was she having an affair?”

  Dylan looked offended by the question. “Of course not. We were just married. We wanted to start a family. She asked me to mark her. You all of all people should know that’s not something that’s taken lightly.”

  “Were you having an affair?”

  “No,” Dylan replied through his teeth. “How could you ask me that?”

  “I’m sorry, Dylan, but I have to ask these questions. I need to understand why—”

  “Why I would kill her? I didn’t kill her!”

  Sloane asked a few more questions, satisfied with the answers. He told Dylan what would happen next, but Dylan didn’t seem to care. He was only half of a whole now. Sloane made to get up when Dylan threw a hand out.

  “Agent Brodie, please find out who killed my wife. I don’t care what happens to me, but I need to know. I need to know who would do this to her. To us.”

  Sloane swallowed hard and nodded. “Your lawyer will keep you informed. I’ll do my best, Dylan.”

  Dylan nodded before he dropped his face into his hands and cried. It was hard. Sloane hadn’t had a case this bad in a while. He left the room and went into the observation room next door, where Maddock sat, his jaw clenched tight.

  “You think he’s innocent.”

  “I think there’s some credit to his story.”

  “Dental records identify the victim is indeed Alicia Reynolds. She was five weeks pregnant. Dylan’s blood, fur, and saliva has been found on the body. A claw analysis shows Dylan’s claws are a match for the tears in the skin.” Maddock continued to scroll through the information on his tablet, including new evidence recently added by the forensics team. “Although his employer confirms the time Dylan left work, and phone records show he spoke to his wife minutes before, no one saw him go into the house. Hudson puts the time of death at roughly half an hour before we arrived.”

  Maddock looked up at Sloane, his dark eyes searching for something. Sloane had no idea what.

  “It doesn’t look good.”

  There had to be more. “Why would he have stayed? Why not run?”

  “Maybe he only realized what he’d done when she was dead. It could have been an accident, and he’s trying to cover it up. It wouldn’t be the first time, Sloane.”

  “What’s the motive?” Sloane looked through the information himself. “Everyone who was questioned by Recon said the same thing. He was a good man who loved her with all his heart. They never fought. No marital problems that anyone knew of.” Sloane met Maddock’s gaze. “She was pregnant with his child and either didn’t know or was waiting to tell him. There’s no motive.”

  “Yet. Do you really believe he’s innocent? Or do you want to believe there’s no way a Therian can harm his marked mate?”

  Sloane swallowed hard. “It goes against our nature.”

  Maddock pressed his lips together and placed his tablet on the empty chair beside him. “Son, none of us know what we’re capable of when we’re pushed over the edge.”

  Sloane entered his security clearance into the panel by the door, securing the room. He turned back to Maddock. “Do you think I could hurt Dex?”

  Maddock frowned at him. “Sloane, I don’t think—”

  “I’ve gone feral before. I’ve hurt him.”

  “Those were extenuating circumstances, Sloane. You were being pumped full of some drug that was messing with you. Besides, things are different now.”

  “Because Dex is marked. That’s what you were thinking, right? That now that Dex is marked, the idea of my feral half intentionally hurting him is hard to believe.”

  “Ah, but there it is,” Maddock said, leaning forward. “Intentionally. Let’s say Dylan would never intentionally hurt his wife. We have to consider that something might have caused him to go feral, lose control of his Therian half, and for some reason, he attacked her instead of protected her.”

  “Okay,” Sloane conceded. “You have a point.” It wasn’t like there was a whole lot of information out there on Therian markings. Every Therian was different. Their experiences were different. After what happened with him and the drugs Shultzon had pumped into him, there’s no telling what was out there. If there was something that had indeed caused Dylan to lose control of his Therian form.

  Sloane stood. “I’ll ask Hudson to run an in-depth toxicology report on Dylan’s blood, along with a full Therian scan. I want to know if anything changes while he’s in his Therian form.”

  Maddock nodded. “Keep me posted.”

  “I also think we should hold off on telling Dylan about his wife’s pregnancy. I recommend he be placed under observation. There’s a good chance he might try to harm himself.”

  “Okay.”

  Sloane was about to leave when Maddock caught hold of his arm. “Sloane, I’m worried about Dex. He’s acting like everything’s okay, but I know that boy is hurting. It kills me that he won’t confide in me. He’s never kept anything from me. The last few months… it’s been nothing but secrets.”

  Sloane turned to face Maddock and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Tony, Dex loves you. If he hasn’t told you, it’s for a good reason. You have to believe that.”

  Maddock shook his head. His eyes narrowed. “I don’t know how much longer he thinks he can keep me out of whatever the hell is going on.” He turned his hardened gaze on Sloane. “If I don’t get some answers soon, I’m going to find them on my own. Don’t suppose you have any answers for me?”

  Sloane frowned, annoyed that Maddock would ask such a thing of him. “Are you asking me to betray Dex’s trust?”

  “What I’m asking is, how far are you willing to go to keep Dex’s secrets? How much are you willing to risk? His life, maybe?” He got in Sloane’s face and jabbed a finger in his shoulder. “Because I’m not willing to let my son die for pride or whatever else the fuck he thinks he’s doing. His life is more important to me than anything, even my own. Even if it mean
s him hating me for the rest of my goddamn life. I’m willing to pay that price. How about you, Sloane? Is his trust worth more to you than his life?”

  “Yes.” Sloane swallowed hard, his inner Felid roaring inside him in protest. Much like Maddock, his feral half didn’t understand. It only understood the potential loss of its mate.

  Maddock stared at him. When he spoke it was through his teeth. “Explain, before I start wondering why the hell Dex fell in love with you.”

  Sloane straightened. He wasn’t about to back down, not on this. “Trust, like family, means everything to Dex. This is a man who would sacrifice himself for those he loves, for a cause he truly believed in. For him, betrayal from someone he loves would be worse than death. Your son is not afraid to die.” Sloane met Maddock’s gaze head-on. “He’s afraid of being abandoned. Of losing those most important to him. When he loves, he loves wholeheartedly. He’s given me his heart, and along with it, his trust. I won’t betray either. Not for you, Cael, or anyone.”

  They stood facing off for what seemed like an eternity when something in Maddock’s eyes gave way.

  Sloane was stunned by the emotion he saw there. Maddock was an unmovable mountain of a man. Always stoic, never faltering. Sloane had never seen him look so… vulnerable. He’d never seen this side of Anthony Maddock before.

  “I guess I wasn’t as prepared for this day as I thought I would be.”

  “What day is that?” Sloane asked, confused.

  “The day my boys wouldn’t need me anymore.”

  Sloane’s anger melted. “No matter what happens, or how old they get, they’ll never stop needing you, Tony. You’re their father, and they love you. The fact that Dex has me, and Cael has Ash, doesn’t mean for one second that they don’t need their dad. You know that.”

  Maddock pressed his lips in a thin line and gave him a nod. “I’m happy for them. I really am. It’s all I’ve ever wanted for them, to be happy. Seeing him in pain and not knowing what’s causing it tears me up inside.”

  Sloane nodded his understanding. “You’re right. I’ll talk to him about it, okay?”

  “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

  Sloane gave him a smile and pressed his hand to the panel. The door opened, and Maddock called out to him.

  “Sloane?”

  “Yeah?” Sloane turned, finding Maddock’s lips twitching into a grin.

  “Thanks.”

  “For what?”

  “For calling me Tony.”

  Sloane hadn’t even realized he’d said it. He returned Maddock’s smile. “You’re welcome.”

  After putting in the test requests with Hudson, Sloane met Dex in their office. “We need to talk.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Dylan Reynolds’s wife was marked.”

  Dex’s eyes widened. “Shit.” He shook his head, as if trying to understand. “But… that doesn’t make any sense.”

  “That’s not the only thing.” Sloane took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “A few weeks ago, his wife had a seizure.”

  Dex slowly sank into his chair. “She was marked, and she had a seizure?”

  “Yeah.”

  Dex swallowed hard. “Do we know what caused the seizure?”

  “I had Hudson request her test results from the hospital. If they don’t have the results back yet, he’ll make sure it gets prioritized at the lab.” Their eyes met, and neither had to say a word. Sloane knew they were thinking the same thing. There was no way this was a coincidence. Whatever had been happening to Alicia Reynolds was happening to Dex, and it was connected to them being marked. How, Sloane had no idea. Then there were the circumstances surrounding Alicia’s death that were frightening, especially if Dylan was telling the truth, which Sloane was having a hard time not believing.

  “Good. I—” Dex held up a finger and tapped his earpiece. “Daley. Okay. We’ll be right down.”

  “What is it?”

  Dex stood. “That was Sparks. It’s time.”

  Chapter 7

  “ARE YOU sure you want to do this?” Sloane asked softly.

  Dex squeezed Sloane’s hand, taking comfort in his quiet strength and the warmth of his body as he stood beside Dex. Meeting with Shultzon might be a huge mistake, but it was one Dex was willing to make if it meant getting answers. Dex had to know why. He was tired of feeling tired. Tired of feeling scared, of worrying, of bouncing back and forth between wanting to know and not wanting to know. He wasn’t going to hide anymore. One way or another, he was going to get some answers from Shultzon.

  How could the man look him in the eye, smile, and act like everything was peachy? Like he’d never killed two innocent people? What kind of monster offered Dex coffee in his living room, behaving as if he were a friend, knowing what he’d done?

  “Dex?”

  Dex snapped himself out of it and wrapped his arms around Sloane’s waist. He gazed up at him, silently asking for a kiss. Sloane obliged, drawing Dex in close to brush his lips over Dex’s before deepening the kiss. It was crazy, kissing Sloane here. They had no idea where they were, other than it was a TIN facility. The room they were in was windowless, with nothing but a steel table and two chairs. Sloane said it resembled the one he’d been forced to wait in when Dex had been brought in for medical treatment. Yet Dex didn’t care. He had no idea what was in store for him when he saw Shultzon. If a kiss from Sloane helped ground him, then he’d take it.

  Sparks opened the door and gave Dex a nod. It was time. He took a step toward the door, then paused. He looked up at Sloane, his heart hammering in his chest.

  “Will you come with me?” Asking for help didn’t make him weak. He couldn’t do this alone, and as long as he had Sloane with him, loving him, supporting him, he didn’t have to face anything alone. Same applied to Sloane. Dex would be there for him no matter what.

  Sloane didn’t hesitate. “Of course.”

  Dex followed Sparks from the room, Sloane close behind. They walked down a long corridor that was surprisingly bright. The walls were white, so was the floor. The mirrored windows didn’t allow them to see inside any of the rooms they passed. It was very clinical. Dex glanced up and noticed a slight discoloration on several sections of the ceiling. An almost plastic film. It was strange.

  “What is it?” Sloane whispered.

  “Something on the ceiling.”

  Sparks stopped and turned. “Is there a problem, Dex?”

  Dex cleared his throat and caught up. “No.” There was definitely something. Putting that aside for the time being, they turned down another long corridor until Sparks stopped in front of a white door.

  “Ready?”

  No. “Yes,” Dex replied.

  He took a deep breath as Sparks placed her hand to the door. It slid open, disappearing into grooves in the wall. As soon as they’d stepped inside, the door whooshed back out and locked into place. Dex didn’t so much as look at Shultzon. Instead he turned to Sloane, who took position to one side of the door. Sloane bent his head forward, murmuring quietly in Dex’s ear.

  “I’ll be right here.”

  Dex nodded. He rounded his shoulders and turned, his jaw clenched at the sight of Shultzon sitting serenely behind a white steel table, his hands lay flat on its surface, displaying the iron cuffs around his wrists. He looked healthy, exactly as he had the last time Dex had seen the guy. He was dressed in a white long-sleeved tunic and white pants. Why was there so much white around here? What had TIN been doing with Shultzon since they’d captured him? The man had dark circles under his eyes, but other than that, he didn’t look the least bit troubled. With a smile, Shultzon motioned to the white chair across the table from him.

  “Dexter, how lovely to see you again. Please, sit.”

  “No, thanks,” Dex replied, doing his best not to let his emotions get the better of him. He had to remain calm. Losing his shit wouldn’t get him anywhere, and he couldn’t blow this chance. It was too important. “Do you know why I’m here?”


  Shultzon smiled pleasantly. Dex wanted to smack the grin right off him.

  “Of course. What would you like to know?”

  Dex narrowed his eyes. “Just like that?”

  “I like you, Dex. You’ve been so good to my dear boy, Sloane.”

  Another psychopath telling him they liked him. Wasn’t he the popular guy? Shultzon’s gaze went to Sloane, his smile reaching his eyes.

  “You’re looking well. No more impromptu shifting?”

  Sloane didn’t reply, though Dex could see how hard it was for him.

  At receiving no response from Sloane, Shultzon turned his attention back to Dex, his smile never leaving his face. “What can I do for you, Dex?”

  Stay calm. Whatever you do, stay calm.

  “Why did you have my parents murdered?”

  “Your mother—has anyone told you how much you look like her? Same blond hair, soft lips, and beautiful eyes.” He let out a soft laugh. “She used to get that indignant look as well. Oh, and her smile. Radiant. Brightened the room the moment she stepped into it. Stunning woman.”

  Dex folded his arms over his chest and slowly paced. He couldn’t let Shultzon get to him. It was what the man did—he picked and scratched at the scab, tearing off a little more each time before he viciously yanked it off, leaving a bleeding, gaping wound behind. All with a smile on his face.

  “You didn’t answer my question,” Dex stated.

  “Ah, yes. Well, your mother’s most admirable qualities were what sadly led to her downfall. Certain plans were put into motion. Plans I had hoped to make her a part of. She was incredibly sharp, tenacious, and so very clever. Such a strong woman. I was eager to have her at my side at the facility, and I will admit it clouded my judgment. I fed her morsels of information. My error in judgment was swiftly revealed, and it became clear she would need to be removed from the equation.”

  Removed from the equation. To a five-year-old Dex, his world had come crashing down around him. To the man before him, he’d simply eliminated a problem.

  Dex swallowed the bile that rose in his throat. “Keep going.”