Tried & True

by Charlie Cochet

The rest of their fellow agents joined in, offering words of support. Dex swallowed hard. No matter what happened with TIN, Dex was always going to be a part of the THIRDS. They might not have always gotten along, but they had one another’s backs. Dex was proud to be a THIRDS agent, and at heart, he would always be a THIRDS agent. No matter where in the world he was sent, he would always be coming back home to HQ, and that made all the difference.

  “Thanks, everyone. I really appreciate it.”

  The crowd moved so Destructive Delta could walk by. They took the elevator down to Sparta and one of the old school training bays that wasn’t in use anymore. There were no high-tech gadgets, no fancy equipment, no speakers. Nothing but vinyl floors and painted white walls. They stood in the center and waited.

  “You think he’s just going to walk through the door?” Calvin asked.

  No sooner had the question left his mouth than Wolf did just that. He opened the door to the training bay and headed toward them like he was strutting down some fashion runway. The guy never did anything halfway. He never just walked. His posture was perfect, his shoulders were broad, his waist slender, and his legs long. He wasn’t even that big. In fact, he was roughly Dex’s height and weight. Sloane was taller, larger, broader than Wolf. Yet Wolf gave off the impression that he was bigger. He always had a twinkle in his eye, like he knew the most amazing secret and maybe if you were worthy, he’d share it with you, or he might just kill you.

  Whatever hair products Wolf used, Dex had to get some, because the guy never had one hair out of place. His designer suit never wrinkled, his shoes didn’t scuff. Dex understood now why they never saw Wolf coming. He was handsome, oozed charm, and for those who didn’t know him, they could easily find themselves lulled into a false sense of security. By the time they figured out they were being drawn into his spider’s web, it’d be too late. The way the guy switched from playful to “stabbing you in the eye with an icepick” was terrifying.

  “Is it my birthday?” Wolf asked smoothly. “All of you gathered here for little ole me?”

  Dex took a step toward him but made sure to keep out of arm’s reach. “I need your help.”

  Wolf looked from Hudson to Dex and back. He folded his arms over his expansive chest and frowned his disapproval at Hudson. “Explain yourself.”

  “Please, Al—Wolf. I wouldn’t have called if it wasn’t terribly important.”

  Wolf sighed and turned his attention back to Dex, and just like that he was smiling again. “What can I do for you, darling?” He approached Dex and tapped his finger to Dex’s nose. “I must admit, I’m rather tickled there’s something I can provide you with that your beau can’t.” Wolf glanced over at Sloane with a smirk. Sloane simply glowered in return. Dex silently thanked Sloane for his incredible patience and understanding. This was too important for anyone to get into any pissing contests.

  “Let’s get down to it, shall we?” Dex took a step away from Wolf. “I need your help interrogating someone.”

  Wolf’s eyebrows flew up near his hairline. “Say that again? I fear I misheard you.”

  “You didn’t. I need you to get your tools and break someone.”

  Wolf studied him. “You must be having a laugh.”

  It was a shitty move, but Dex had to make Wolf understand how serious he was about this. “If they’d succeeded in taking Hudson, how far would you have gone to get him back alive?”

  Wolf’s steel-blue eyes met his, his expression darkening. “I think you know the answer to that, Dexter.”

  “Good. Then you know what I’m prepared to do for my father.”

  “As touching as that is, I’m not in the business of being summoned for charity work.”

  “You son of a bitch—” Ash caught hold of Sloane before Sloane could launch himself at Wolf.

  Shit. This wasn’t going well. They had to do something, or they were going to lose him.

  Wolf turned and jabbed a finger at Hudson. “Do not, for one moment, assume I’m about to be at your beck and call. I am not the bloody butler here to clean up your messes. My priority is your safety, and I’m risking a hell of a lot keeping your arse out of trouble. Do you understand me, little brother?” As Wolf turned to go, Seb said the magic words.

  “It’s the guy who tranqed your brother.”

  Dex held his breath as Wolf stilled. He turned to Seb, his eyes narrowed, the blue of his eyes nothing but slivers around his blown pupils. “Are you telling me you have in your custody one of the Makhai’s mercenaries? Specifically, the one who shot a tranquilizer into my brother’s chest?”

  Seb nodded. “We figured we could get some information out of him, but he’s not talking.”

  “Oh, he’s not going to talk,” Wolf said calmly, the ice in his voice sending a shiver through Dex. “He’s going to fucking sing.” Wolf met Dex’s gaze. “Do you realize what you’re doing?”

  “Inviting the wolf into the henhouse,” Dex said with a smirk.

  Wolf blinked at him, then let out a bark of laughter. He shook his head in amusement as he reached into his suit jacket pocket and pulled out a pair of black gloves. “You are a treat to work with, Dexter. An absolute treat.” He slipped on his gloves and flexed his fingers. “Shall we?”

  “Don’t you, um, need tools or something?”

  “You’re absolutely right.” Wolf turned to Hobbs. It was kind of amusing to see Wolf have to look up. “My, but they make you Hobbs boys big, don’t they? It’s like a stepladder of enormity with you three. Anyway, your vehicle was rather impressively stocked. Would you mind bringing me your toolbox?”

  Hobbs arched an eyebrow at him, then glanced over at Dex, who nodded.

  “We’ll meet you downstairs,” Dex told Hobbs, and Calvin joined his partner to grab the toolbox from the BearCat. Dex didn’t even want to know what Wolf had planned.

  “I’ll see you boys down there. I’m afraid you draw far too much attention.”

  Ash stared at him. “We draw too much attention? We’re actually supposed to be here, unlike you. Like no one’s going to notice the guy in the fancy suit and hitman gloves walking through the halls?”

  “Actually, you’re not supposed to be here. You’re supposed to be in your new office, pining for your bestie.” He pointed to Rosa, Letty, and Cael. “They’re supposed to be in their new office along with the two who just left, pretending to be excited over the new cappuccino machine, and those two,” he said, motioning to Dex and Sloane, “are supposed to be on vacation, gazing into each other’s eyes and being disgustingly romantic, not in uniform escorting my baby brother around like he’s some foreign dignitary. Subtlety is not one of your proficiencies, ladies and gents. It is, however, one of mine.” With a salute, he disappeared through the doors.

  “Man, I hate that guy,” Sloane growled before turning to Hudson. “Sorry.”

  Hudson shrugged. “What can I say? He is a bit of an arsehole.” Hudson’s phone rang, and he answered, his eyes narrowing. “Oh piss off, Alfie.” He hung up with a huff and returned his phone to his pocket.

  “Did Wolf just call you?” Dex asked, starting for the doors.

  “Yes. To tell me he heard me call him an arsehole, and that it wasn’t very nice.”

  Dex’s phone rang, and he answered. “Hello?”

  “Darling, would you be so kind as to tell my baby brother he’s a little shite?”

  “Um, sure.”

  “Thank you.”

  Dex hung up and returned his cell phone to his pocket. Next to him, Hudson let out a weary sigh, not at all dissimilar to the kind Dex often heard from Cael when Dex was being a pest. Good to know Alfie and Hudson’s relationship was much like any other siblings’, except for the whole trained killer part.

  “What did he say?” Hudson grumbled.

  “He said you were a little shite.”

  “Lovely.” Hudson turned to Cael, his expression deadpan. “Want to trade brothers?”

  Cael pretended to think about it. “Hm, deadly assassin or Dex
. Deadly assassin or Dex.”

  Ash opened his mouth, and Dex put a hand to his face. “No one asked for your opinion, Keeler.”

  Everyone chuckled, and the sense of normalcy it gave Dex was welcome. It helped him remain focused. He had to detach himself from his emotions, or he wouldn’t be of any use to his dad. Sloane walked beside him, his presence alone soothing Dex, making him feel like he could get through anything. Whatever happened, he wasn’t alone. He was surrounded by people who loved and supported him.

  In the sublevel basement beneath the THIRDS garage, away from everyone and everything, the old cellblock was locked behind a huge steel door. Back in the nineties when the THIRDS first opened its doors, it had been one of the most solid holding cells in the state, with thick concrete walls and iron bars. It had been more secure than some prisons, considering most places weren’t equipped to hold some of the more dangerous Therians. Soon the prison system caught up, and “Zoos” were opened to contain the most lethal of Therian prisoners. Everything moved to the age of the internet, and new high-tech holding cells were built upstairs, connected to Themis. Unfortunately, Themis wasn’t to be trusted, and Sparks had been on the ball putting this guy down here.

  Hobbs and Calvin stood to one side of the huge steel door, while Wolf stood to the other, Hobbs’s toolbox in one gloved hand. He looked bored. As if he’d been waiting hours for them. Wolf and Hudson glared at each other but remained quiet as Dex unlocked the door to the cellblock. Inside, a small sitting area lay empty along with the guard’s station. The lights flickered, and Ash frowned up at them.

  “I think I saw this place in a horror movie. Why is everything washed in green?”

  Dex followed Ash’s gaze up to the ceiling and identified the culprit. The light fixture was growing some funky green stuff. When the hell was the last time anyone was down here besides Sparks?

  “I feel like I’m going to contract something just breathing the air down here,” Calvin grumbled.

  “All right, you bunch of divas, let’s get this over with,” Wolf said, walking past them to the set of iron bars at the end. He motioned for Dex to approach. “Come on, love. I haven’t got all day.”

  Dex unlocked the door and opened it wide.

  “There should be an interrogation room somewhere around here,” Sloane said, stepping up to the map on the wall. The place was huge, divided into four sections. “Here.” Sloane pointed to the top right section. “Here’s solitary confinement, and at the end of the hall, there’s a row of interrogation rooms. We’ll take him to room 4B.” Sloane motioned for Ash, Seb, and Hobbs to follow him. “We’ll get him moved, and then Dex and Wolf can go in.” Sloane looked over at Dex. “I’ll let you know when we’re ready.”

  Dex nodded and handed the keys to Sloane. He stayed where he was while Sloane and the others went off in search of their guy to move him. Cael came to stand by Dex, even though he didn’t say anything. Everyone remained quiet, lost in their own thoughts, and Dex leaned against the wall, observing. Calvin gravitated over to the girls, while Hudson went over to one of the chairs. He leaned over to peer at it distrustfully. Meanwhile Wolf dropped down onto the one next to it and smacked the cushion of the one Hudson was peering at. A cloud of dust puffed up and hit Hudson in the face.

  Hudson coughed and gagged while Wolf cackled.

  “You wanker,” Hudson wheezed. “That was horrid.”

  Wolf continued to laugh, his eyes lit up with amusement. It transformed his whole face, made him look like any other guy.

  As Dex watched the brothers being brothers, he was struck by a sense of sadness for Hudson. This couldn’t be easy for him. It was bad enough having lost Alfie and mourning his death, only to have him back, yet not. Alfie was no longer the beloved brother Hudson had grown up with. There were times, like now, where Dex could see Alfie, and it was hard to believe he was who Wolf had once been.

  Realizing Dex was watching him, Alfie was gone in the blink of an eye, and Wolf was back. There was an unspoken challenge in his gaze. As if he were waiting for Dex to try and use the knowledge against him, just like the Makhai had done. Dex couldn’t imagine living such a solitary life with no one to trust.

  Wolf stood, dusted himself off, and joined Dex. He looked down at Cael, his voice oddly… kind when he spoke. “Go join your friends. I need a word with your brother.”

  Cael glanced over at Dex, who nodded. “I’ll be fine.”

  “Okay.” Cael went off to join Rosa and the others, and Dex waited for Wolf to say whatever it was he needed to say.

  “I can’t afford to get close to him.”

  Dex shrugged. “I didn’t say anything.”

  “You didn’t have to,” Wolf grumbled. “It’s in those big blue eyes of yours. Whatever you may think of me, I’m not trying to hurt him. I just want him to be safe.”

  “And you think if you stop being an asshole to him, he’ll be less safe?”

  Wolf’s expression hardened. “If I let my guard down, he will be.”

  “So the Makhai found out who he is to you because you let your guard down?”

  “I believe whoever the Chairman has inside TIN unearthed that tidbit of information.” Wolf narrowed his eyes at Dex. “You know, you’re a bit of a smartarse.”

  Dex chuckled, and Sloane’s voice came through on his earpiece.

  “Ready.”

  “Copy that.” Dex turned his attention to his brother and the others. “You guys stay here and keep an eye out. If anyone shows up, make sure you send them on their way, and if they don’t want to go, take care of it. We’re the only ones with clearance to be down here. Hudson, you come with us. I want you to stick close to Seb.”

  Hudson nodded and followed them, though he remained lost in thought. Dex and Wolf headed toward the wing where Sloane and the others waited. Wolf was quiet for a moment, his sharp eyes missing nothing.

  “Just so you know, you’ll be able to do this yourself someday very soon.”

  The change in conversation threw Dex off. “What are you talking about?”

  “Who do you think trained me to do what I did to you?”

  TIN had trained Wolf to torture, and they’d soon be training Dex and Sloane. Before his dad had been taken, Dex would have been horrified, most likely believing there was another way, but now…. A thought struck him. “Why couldn’t TIN break the Makhai guys they have in custody?” It was possible they just didn’t have any more information, but Dex couldn’t imagine members of the Makhai not being prepared for an interrogation. If they were willing to go as far as to kill themselves, why were the other two still alive? It didn’t make sense.

  “We are no longer in the good old days of barbaric torture,” Wolf said with a heavy sigh. “Even TIN has set parameters they must work within or they’ll be getting a good old slap on the wrist from Uncle Sam. After all, even terrorists have rights.”

  Wolf’s snide tone told Dex all he needed to know about how Wolf felt on the subject. That, however, was a debate for another day.

  “But you don’t operate within those parameters,” Dex clarified.

  Wolf’s smile was evil. “Correct.” He headed for the door. “Come along, Dexter. Let’s get you some intel and me some satisfaction. If you have the stomach for it.”

  “Whatever it takes.”

  They reached Sloane, who turned to Seb. “You and Hobbs stay with Hudson while Ash and I stand guard here.” Sloane took hold of Dex’s arm and pulled him to one side, speaking quietly.

  “Babe, are you sure this is a good idea? We haven’t even been sworn in, and you’re going to watch someone get tortured by the guy who tortured you.”

  “I know. It’s fucked-up. But if this is the only way to get a lead on my dad, I’m going to take it. I lost my parents to these assholes, Sloane. I’m not going to lose Tony. I can’t.”

  Sloane’s voice was gentle, his amber eyes filled with love and concern. “I know, sweetheart.”

  “You don’t think I should do this?”


  “I think you should do whatever you need to do. Just remember to come home to me, okay? To us.”

  Dex smiled at him and cupped his cheek. “Thank you.” Knowing Sloane would be there when this was done gave Dex the strength he needed. “Do you think I can leave you two out here without you trying to kill each other?” Dex asked, motioning to Wolf.

  “I’ll behave,” Sloane promised.

  Dex arched an eyebrow at Wolf, who released a long-suffering sigh.

  “Fine. I’ll not goad your sensitive boyfriend.”

  Well, it was something. He’d take it. With that settled, Dex breathed in deep and took hold of the handle to the interrogation room door. It was time to get some answers.

  “Dex,” Sloane called out, and Dex turned his face, his heart squeezing in his chest at Sloane’s nod of encouragement. “Whatever it takes.”

  He could do this. He would do this.

  CHAPTER 8

  IT WAS now or never.

  Dex entered the room and closed the door behind him. The room was twenty-by-twenty, with exposed cinderblock walls, a concrete floor that had seen better days, a steel table bolted to the floor, and a metal chair, presently occupied by a tiger Therian whose face was a testament to what happened when you tranqed a Therian’s mate in front of him.

  “Are you kidding me? This is who they send?”

  Dex stood in front of the table, his hands clasped behind his back to keep him from reaching out and beating the ever-loving fuck out of the guy. “I’m Agent Dexter Daley.”

  “I know who you are, half-breed.”

  “Now, that’s not very nice,” Dex said with a pout. “I’m going to be honest with you…. What should I call you?”

  “Fuck you.”

  “I’m going to call you Whiskers. Now, Whiskers, I’m feeling a little fragile at the moment, as you can imagine.” Dex walked over to sit on the edge of the table next to the guy. “I mean, your organization tried to kidnap my friend, you and your friends shot at my fiancé, and then you guys kidnapped my father. Did I mention the part where your bosses had my parents killed? Then they contracted a killer to torture me and kill me. I’m not going to lie to you, it’s been rough.”