Tried & True

by Charlie Cochet

  Dex let out a heavy sigh. “They plan on using Hudson to control Wolf, or kill him.” Wolf had been right about getting Hudson into TIN to keep him safe. With Hudson and Seb training, they’d be better prepared.

  “I don’t get it.”

  Dex turned to Cael, who moved closer. “Don’t get what? Why Hudson?”

  “No, I get that,” Cael said, his brows drawn together in concern. “What I don’t get is why would they take Dad? They tried to take Hudson because of his connection to Wolf and not you. So if they don’t want you, then why take Dad? Who else do they plan to use him against?”

  Dex swallowed hard as realization set in. He turned to Sparks just as the screen on the wall behind them flickered to life. A figure shrouded in darkness appeared.

  “Hello, Sonya.”

  Sparks stood to face the screen. “Who am I speaking to?”

  “You can call me the Chairman.”

  Dex slowly stood. This had to be it. The voice was distorted, and the shadow appeared pitch-black so as to not reveal any distinguishable features. The fact whoever this was managed to breach a room secured by TIN was frightening.

  “Where’s Agent Maddock?” Sparks demanded. “What do you want with him?”

  “You’re a clever girl. Why don’t you tell me? Why on earth would I take your lover?”

  A gasp caught Dex’s ear, and he turned, his heart squeezing at Cael’s shocked expression. Damn it, this wasn’t how he’d wanted his brother to find out. As much as he wanted to go to Cael, they needed to hear what this asshole had to say. Thankfully his brother seemed to agree, because his expression went from stunned to silently fuming.

  “Oh dear. It looks like the cougar’s out of the bag,” the Chairman said with a chuckle. “As much as I would love to hear all the family drama, let’s cut to the chase. You have two options here, Sonya. You can do as I ask, or have history repeat itself with poor Anthony.”

  Have history repeat itself? What the hell did that mean? Dex studied Sparks. She didn’t so much as blink.

  “And what exactly is it you want me to do?” Sparks asked.

  “What several operatives in your organization have done. Join the Makhai from the inside. Let’s face it, Sonya. You and I both know there’s more than one mole inside TIN. How do you think we’ve managed to stay out of your grasp for so long? Unfortunately you and your dear friend Wolf refuse to die, so if you won’t die, then I’ll have to use your weaknesses against you. It’s Spy 101, really. I know you think Dr. Colbourn is safe there with you at THIRDS headquarters, but come now. We’re everywhere.”

  “You expect me to betray my organization and become a double agent?”

  “I expect you to make the right decision.”

  Dex swallowed hard, his jaw clenched.

  “If not, not only do you lose Anthony, but you lose your new golden boy as well. Oh, but he has so much potential. For a half-breed abomination.”

  Dex gritted his teeth and clenched his fists at his sides to keep from telling the Chairman what he could do with his backhanded compliments.

  “Think about it, Sonya. Do you really think that boy is going to follow you anywhere if you let dear old Dad die a horrible death? Hello, Dexter.”

  Dex flipped him off, and the Chairman chuckled. “Spitfire, that one. So you see, Sonya. Dad dies, your precious new weapon becomes an inconsolable mess before he becomes too much of a liability for even TIN. He’ll make Wolf look like a Boy Scout. Kiss the rest of the team goodbye, and that includes Dr. Colbourn. No doctor, no rogue assassin. You’re alone again, Sonya. You’re not very good at this whole family thing, are you?”

  Sparks let out a fierce cry and swiped her Glock from her holster before emptying her magazine into the screen right where the Chairman’s head was.

  Holy shit! Dex took a quick step back, wondering what the hell had triggered Sparks. Nothing ever fazed her. The Chairman had mentioned something about history repeating itself and then the mention of family. Was it possible Sonya had a family not long ago? Had something happened to them? She never discussed anything personal with any of them. Always kept herself at a distance. You’re alone again. What the hell had happened? His questions would have to wait. Lucky for them, the Chairman was still there.

  “Yes!” The Chairman laughed through the speakers. “That’s the fire I want to see. Now you use that, and you get me the information I want from TIN. I’ll be in touch.”

  “Wait,” Dex cried out. “How do we know you haven’t already killed my father?”

  There was a long pause, and for a second, Dex thought the guy had disappeared.

  “Boys?”

  “Dad.” Dex swallowed past the lump in his throat. “Dad, how are you holding up?”

  Sloane stepped up beside Dex, his hand coming to rest on his lower back. Dex took comfort in his mate’s touch, feeling himself calm.

  “I’m okay. When this is over, the three of us are going to Vegas. I love you, boys. Be good, and don’t give these sons of bitches—”

  There was scuffling before the room went silent.

  “Dad?” Cael stepped forward, but there was no reply. He was gone. The quiet didn’t last long. Cael headed for Sparks, and Dex caught hold of him.

  “You have some fucking nerve,” Cael spat out, thrusting a finger at Sparks. “After the hell you’ve put us through, you hook up with our dad? After what you did to my brother? How could you look him in the eye, knowing what you’ve done, who you are?”

  “Cael. Now is not the time,” Dex said gently.

  Cael turned his blazing gray eyes on Dex. “Did you know about this?”

  For fuck’s sake. This wasn’t the time. He knew his brother was hurt and angry, but their father’s life was on the line. When Dex didn’t reply, Cael’s expression went from angry to hurt, and Dex flinched.

  “You knew.” Cael shook his head in disbelief. “You knew and you kept it from me?”

  “It wasn’t my place to tell,” Dex said softly, hoping Cael would understand.

  “Not your place?” Cael pushed Dex away from him. “You’re my brother.” Cael rounded on Sparks again. “You put my dad’s life on the line. He had a right to know what you are.”

  “He knows.”

  “What?”

  Sparks let out a sigh. “Your father knows I’m TIN.”

  Dex stared at her. “You actually told him?”

  Sparks shook her head. “I was going to, but he beat me to it. Told me I didn’t have to say anything, that he’s not as oblivious or naïve as we believe him to be.”

  “We?” Cael folded his arms over his chest. “What the hell do we have to do with it?”

  “You can be angry at me all you want, but I had my reasons for not telling him who I really work for. What’s your excuse?”

  “Excuse me?” Cael was indignant.

  “While you two went on your secret missions, getting kidnapped, tortured, putting yourselves in all kinds of danger, keeping him in the dark, thinking you were protecting him, he sat there waiting. And before you tell me I was the one sending you on those assignments, you better rethink that, because I sure as hell never sent you after Hogan. In fact, I took your team off that case, but you went behind my back and set off to settle your own score. That wasn’t the first time you went off on your own little missions, and it wasn’t the last either. Meanwhile, Tony waited for his boys to tell him the truth. When you didn’t, he went in search of answers.” Sparks stepped in front of them, her voice low and laced with hurt and anger. She pointed to both of them. “Your father has been playing this game longer than you, and he is far better at it than you know. I could have told him what you two were getting yourselves into, but I didn’t, because that’s your job. You’re his sons.”

  Dex dropped his gaze, feeling like a shit for not having the balls to tell his dad the truth. They should have confided in Tony from the beginning. They’d convinced themselves they were protecting him, but all they’d managed to do was make him feel like he
wasn’t good enough, as an agent or a father.

  “You’re right,” Dex said.

  Cael frowned at him. “What?”

  “We fucked up. I fucked up.” Dex turned to his brother. “I should have told Dad everything from the beginning. I mean, he’s our sergeant, for crying out loud. Instead, I did what I always do, let my insecurities get the better of me.” Dex forced himself to meet Sparks’s gaze. “You’re absolutely right about everything. I got scared, and I thought if he didn’t know what was going on, that he’d be safe, and look where that got us?”

  Cael’s expression softened, and he let out a sigh. “Dex, you can’t blame yourself for this. This is on the three of us. We should have told him.”

  Dex nodded. He needed to learn to turn to his family for help if he needed it, rather than trying to carry the world on his shoulders. What they did was dangerous, and that wasn’t about to change, so he needed to change. He’d told himself as much before, but it turned out that changing was harder than expected. It always was when it concerned his family.

  “We all have a lot to talk about, but right now, we need to worry about getting Tony back,” Dex said. He turned to Sparks. “What are you going to do when the Chairman calls for his answer?”

  Sparks placed a finger to her lips and pointed up. Right, the room wasn’t secure. “What can I do? I’m going to give him what he wants. Come on. We need to secure Hudson.” She headed for the door and motioned for them to follow. They left the conference room and followed her to her office. When the door closed, she took a seat behind her desk. Tapping at the interface, she brought up the security connections to her office and the rest of Unit Alpha. To Dex’s astonishment, she shut everything down.

  “What are you doing?” Cael asked, eyes wide.

  Everything in the office shut down, including security mode. She looked over at their team. “Ash, Hobbs, stand guard outside. I don’t want anyone coming within ten feet of this office.”

  They nodded and walked out, then closed the door behind them.

  “The Chairman clearly has access to TIN and the THIRDS, which means until I get someone I trust to reconfigure everything and install a new set of security measures, our technology is useless. We’re going to have to go dark and do things the old-fashioned way. We can’t trust any intel that comes from TIN, so you and your team are on your own. I’ll stall for as long as I can and hope whatever the Chairman has me do isn’t irreparable. In the meantime, you need to find Tony before they move him out of the country—after that, there’s no finding him.”

  “How long do you think they’ll keep him in the city?” Sloane asked.

  “Two or three days at most. They’re likely making arrangements to transport him as we speak.”

  Sloane went thoughtful. “What happened when Moros was investigated? You said TIN arrested anyone who had any connection to him. Were any of them Makhai?”

  Sparks nodded. “Three. One killed himself in the interrogation room. Snapped his own neck using the edge of the table. The other two were interrogated by some of TIN’s best operatives. The intel collected was verified. I can provide you with access to that product, but it’s no longer relevant. All the locations connected to the Makhai were either seized by TIN or abandoned long before TIN arrived. Both places had been cleaned. No trace of anything left behind. They provided us with a short list of names, all belonging to Therians found dead by our operatives. Whoever’s running the Makhai, he trusts no one. Not even his own organization. The members know as little as possible in case someone is captured, and anyone who does know anything significant kills themselves before the information can be extracted.”

  “Where are those two Makhai members?”

  “In a secure location only I and two other high-ranking operatives know about.”

  “I need to talk to them,” Dex said.

  Sparks arched an eyebrow. “You want to interrogate the Makhai members? What exactly do you think you can get from them that we haven’t? They’ve been in our custody too long to have any information on the Makhai’s recent activity.”

  “Wait,” Sloane said, turning to Dex. “The guy who shot Hudson with the tranq at the park. We have him in solitary downstairs in the basement.”

  “You brought in one of the Makhai’s men?” Dex turned back to Sparks. “And he’s still alive?”

  Sparks nodded. She removed a set of keys and tossed them to Dex. “I put him in one of the old cells, sublevel. Call me cynical, but something told me I shouldn’t put this guy into one of the regular cells. Unless someone blowtorches those bars, there’s no way of getting into that cell, and that’s after they get through two sets of steel doors, which they need those keys for.”

  “I think it’s time to ask our friend a few questions.”

  “You really think he’s going to talk to you?” Letty asked worriedly. “The guy didn’t even break when Seb was beating the shit out of him.”

  “Maybe he won’t talk to me,” Dex said with a wicked grin. “But maybe he’ll talk to someone who’s much better at interrogation than any of us.”

  Sparks’s eyes went wide. Before she could say anything, Dex turned to Sloane. “We need to go see Hudson.”

  Sloane nodded. They left the room and headed for the sleeper bays, Ash and Hobbs joining them. Only one of the doors was closed, and Dex knocked on it. He waited for Seb to look through the peep hole. The door opened, and Seb looked Dex over—most likely taking in the fact he was in uniform—and nodded, as if he was on board with whatever it was Destructive Delta was about to do.

  “I need to talk to Hudson.”

  Seb stepped aside, and Dex walked in. When Hudson saw him, he jumped out of bed and pulled Dex into a big hug.

  “Thank goodness you’re all right. Oh, Dex. I’m so sorry about Maddock.”

  Dex shut his eyes tight and squeezed Hudson. “Thanks.” Clearing his throat, he pulled back and cupped the back of Hudson’s neck, keeping him close. They could have lost Hudson too. If it hadn’t been for their team, and Wolf, Hudson would have been in the hands of the Makhai, and God only knew what they would have forced Wolf to do. “Are you okay?”

  Hudson nodded. “Yes. It was awful, whatever they shot me with, but it’s nearly all out of my system now.” He looked behind Dex, then turned his concerned gaze back to him. “You’re going after them.”

  Dex nodded. “We’ve got to find my dad before they try to move him out of the country. I won’t lose him again.”

  “Whatever you need from me, just say the word.”

  “I’m glad you said that, because I need a favor.”

  “Of course.”

  “I need you to call him.”

  Hudson blinked at him. “I beg your pardon?”

  “Call him.”

  Hudson peered at him. “By him are you referring to…?”

  “Yes.”

  “And how exactly am I to do that? It’s not as if he’s left me a number.” Hudson walked over to the bed and dropped down to it with a heavy sigh. He ran a hand through his already disheveled hair. “I wish I could, Dex. But how am I supposed to get in contact with a ghost?”

  Dex smiled. “Just use the phone.”

  Hudson cast him a sideways glance. “I’m afraid I don’t follow.”

  Dex removed his cell phone from his pocket. “He’s been keeping tabs on you. Believe me. He’ll get the message. Call me.”

  Hudson removed his own phone from his pocket, one that was both THIRDS and TIN secure—though there was no telling, considering the Chairman seemed to know exactly what was going on no matter where they were. Hudson found Dex’s contact info in his address book and tapped the screen. Dex’s phone rang. He answered it, but didn’t bother putting it to his ear.

  Hudson placed his own phone to his ear. “Um, if you can hear me, I need your help. Please. It’s very important.” He hung up and looked at Dex. “Do you really think that’s going to work?”

  Seb frowned. “I know we want it to work, but is an
yone else as creeped out as I am that he’s listening in on us?”

  Dex and Hudson both held up a hand.

  While Dex agreed, right now he needed Wolf, and he wasn’t sure if the guy would have answered had he been the one to make that call. As it was, Wolf tended to pop up whenever he felt like it, but for Hudson….

  “You really think he’s going to come here?” Seb asked, motioning to the small space around them.

  “You’re right.” Dex motioned for Hudson to follow him. “We need to make it easier for him to get to you.”

  Outside in the hall, they formed a circle around Hudson.

  “Is this really necessary?” Hudson grumbled.

  “Yes,” Dex replied. “Your brother is a highly skilled assassin, with one vulnerability that’s just been exposed.”

  Hudson stopped walking and grabbed Dex’s arm. “What?”

  Dex let out a sigh. “They know you’re Wolf’s little brother. That’s why they’ve been trying to get their hands on you. Not because of me, but because of him. If they have you, they can control him or kill him. Depends how useful they think he’d be to them.”

  Hudson cursed under his breath and ran a hand through his hair. “Wonderful.”

  “I know it sucks, but for now, security around you has to be tight, Hudson. That’s just how it has to be until we know you’re out of danger.”

  Hudson let out a resigned sigh and nodded.

  They headed through Unit Alpha, and Dex was surprised when they were stopped by a group of fellow agents. Taylor and Angel made their way through the center of the group, then stood in front of Dex.

  “We heard about Maddock,” Taylor said. “I swear we’re gonna find him, Dex.”

  Angel nodded his agreement. “There’s nowhere those assholes can hide. Everyone’s moving out, including Unit Beta. We’re gonna find him.”