Smoke & Mirrors

  break-in at your parents’ house, and mine. Here I was, grieving with a five-year-old who’d just lost his family, and someone was still trying to hurt us. I wanted nothing more than to hunt down those assholes and make them pay, but I had the funeral to take care of, your parents’ will, the estate, all the paperwork and red tape that followed. Not to mention I was holding on by a thread myself. Once I’d legally adopted you, I started investigating. Soon Cael joined us, and I went to work for the THIRDS. I kept looking. I did everything under the radar, because if anyone suspected I knew something, they’d come after me, and God help me, if they came after you boys….” He shook his head and sighed, a weary sigh that seemed to go down to his bones.

  “It was eating away at me. I had nothing. Any information Gina had was gone. I couldn’t find a damned thing. No files, lists, nothing. I’d even lost Sloane and Ash. Disappeared. Whoever these people were, they left nothing behind. I had a choice. Keep looking, continue the path I was on, or be a father to two boys in desperate need of one.” Maddock’s conviction never faltered as he stood before Dex. “I chose to be a father.”

  Cael stepped up beside Maddock, offering his silent support, ready to step in if his family needed him to. Maddock’s voice was quiet when he spoke to Dex. A tear finally escaped those pale blue eyes and rolled down his cheek. Maddock wiped it away with his thumb.

  “I don’t regret that choice. I could have told you when you were old enough, but by then you had your heart set on becoming an HPF detective like your dad. I raised you, son.” Maddock put his hands on Dex’s shoulders. “If I told you the truth, you would’ve gone out there, and you wouldn’t have stopped looking. It would’ve destroyed you.” Maddock straightened, his arms dropping to his sides. “I’m sorry I kept the truth from you, but I’m not sorry for the choices I made. Not where you and Cael were concerned. You both finally had a family again, and you were happy. I wasn’t going to let anyone take that away from you. I watched you grow into the fine men you are. Revenge is a poison that spreads and destroys everything it touches. I didn’t want that for you.” He turned, and put his hand on the stack of files. “I never stopped looking, Dex. Once you boys were old enough, I picked up where I left off. I exhausted all my resources, ran every lead, left no stone unturned. God knows I tried to find something. All I found were dead ends. That failure has lived with me for a long time.”

  Dex swallowed hard. He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He pressed his lips together before hugging Maddock, his head on his shoulder. Maddock patted his back, murmuring comforting words. Sloane silently stood. They shouldn’t be here. This moment was for Dex, his father, and his brother. He motioned for Ash to follow him.

  Silently, they left the room. He headed for his office with Ash quietly at his side. Once inside, Sloane took a seat behind his desk, curious when Ash sat in Dex’s chair. Usually his best friend avoided touching anything that belonged to Dex. Afraid he might “catch the crazy.” His friend was surprising him often these days.

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “About what?” Sloane asked.

  Ash wasn’t impressed. “About Dex.”

  “I don’t know, but if he kicks me to the curb, I deserve it.”

  “But you won’t allow it,” Ash said pointedly. “You fucking fight for him, Sloane.”

  “Where’s this coming from?” Sloane asked, curious about Ash’s vehemence.

  Ash let out a sigh and sat back. “I’m just getting tired of all the fucking drama. Haven’t we had enough? You have a good thing going on, Sloane. This is everything you wanted. Dex is everything you wanted. Live your life, get a dog, get married, have a bunch of little Sloanes—because if you have Dexes, I swear I will kick your fucking ass—and be happy. Don’t you think it’s about damn time?”

  Sloane nodded. “I got it. So does this mean you’re not pissed at Maddock?”

  “Maddock’s a good man. Shit, he was more of a father to me than my own. He had his reasons for what he did, and I respect that. Case solved. Let’s move on to the next shitstorm.”

  Sloane was surprised. If anyone knew how to hold a grudge, it was Ash. That whole incident with Herrera and that damned fern was proof, but these days Ash was pretty laid-back about most things. He wasn’t as angry at everyone and the world. Oh, he was still angry, but it was different. Lately, most of it was just for show. It occurred to him now, as he watched Ash texting, a smile on his face, that even his best friend was making changes, and for the better. He was talking less about how screwed up the world was and how happy they should be. He was looking toward a brighter future. Maybe Sloane could actually learn a thing or two from Ash.

  DEX SAT in Cael and Rosa’s office staring at nothing in particular. What a strange day. He didn’t quite know what to make of it. His dad had confirmed everything he’d suspected. His mom had tried to save Sloane and the First Gen kids. Whatever his fears regarding who his parents had been, he hadn’t been wrong about the kind of people they’d been. Whatever they’d been involved in, they’d died trying to do good. It was still hard to believe Tony had known about Sloane and Ash. It made him wonder what else his dad might know about.

  As for the files, Tony would be taking them home, and Dex was welcome to go through them. He hadn’t made up his mind on that yet. Anthony Maddock had been a damned good HPF detective and an even better THIRDS agent. Dex trusted him when he said all he’d found were dead ends. It wasn’t surprising considering who they were dealing with and how long it had taken for all this shit to come to light.

  “Dex?”

  His arm itched, and he sat forward, a thought occurring to him. “Cael, can I use your desk?”

  “Sure.”

  Cael placed his palm to the desk’s interface, and it came to life. He motioned to it, and Dex logged into Themis, bringing up the algorithms screen. He set up several search processes.

  “What are you looking for?” Cael asked.

  “I want to see how many marked Therians and Humans there are, especially Humans.”

  Cael looked thoughtful. “You’re thinking it’s possible they would have sought medical treatment after being marked, so there’d be a record.”

  “Exactly.”

  “You didn’t seek medical treatment,” Rosa reminded him.

  “No, but Sloane is a THIRDS agent. He tended to my wounds, and he was able to control himself enough to know how deep to cut. I’m thinking not everyone would have that kind of control or know how to tend to the wound.”

  Rosa nodded her agreement. “True.”

  It took some time, but eventually Themis presented its results. The window split, Therians who’d marked Therians on the left and Therians who’d marked Humans on the right. The list on the left was small, considering the population of New York City. The list on the right was even smaller.

  “This is fucking weird,” Dex murmured, frowning at the screen. “Is that right?”

  Cael looked down at the results. “If Themis says it is, then it is.”

  “What is it?” Rosa asked.

  “All the couples on this list here, with Human and Therian mates, are all deceased.” An icy chill went up his spine. How was that possible? He clicked on the first name, bringing up the THIRDS report. “May 24, 1985, the wife goes to the hospital after being marked by her husband, a lion Therian. She was marked on her back, saw to the wounds, and three weeks later she and her husband are killed in a traffic accident.” He went back and clicked on the next report. “October 5, 1989, husband is marked by his leopard Therian wife. His arm is tended to. A month later he’s killed by his wife. She was convicted of first-degree murder and imprisoned. Shortly after, she was stabbed to death in her cell.” The more reports he read, the sicker he felt. “How can they all be dead?”

  “Well, these are just the ones we know about,” Cael offered. “Think of how many must be out there who didn’t get medical treatment.”

  “Don’t you find it strange that all these couples ar
e dead? I mean, all of them? Either they died together in accidents or happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or their mate killed them and then ended up getting killed in prison or killing themselves.”

  “It is weird,” Cael agreed. “Why would they kill their mates?”

  “Exactly. I don’t get it. Sloane was pretty convinced that Dylan Reynolds was telling the truth. You saw the video. It was like the guy’s heart had been ripped from his chest. That wasn’t a man who’d just killed his wife. His instinct would be to protect her, to tear apart anyone who’d try to hurt her.”

  Something seemed to strike Rosa, and her eyes widened. “Shit. Dylan.”

  “What about him?” Cael asked.

  “If all these couples ended up dead….”

  “Shit.”

  Dex jumped to his feet and tapped his earpiece, connecting to dispatch, who put him through to the psychiatric ward Dylan was being held in.

  “Agent Dexter Daley of the THIRDS, badge number 2108. I need the status of a patient named Dylan Reynolds. He—What? When? Yes. Thank you.” Dex tapped his earpiece and sank into his chair.

  “What happened?” Rosa asked worriedly.

  “He’s dead.” Dex closed his eyes. “He killed himself this morning.”

  Cael shook his head. “I can’t believe it. How?”

  “Somehow he managed to get the security glove off and used his claws to slash his wrists. He bled to death.” Dex hated what he was even thinking, but what if Sloane was right? What if the anomalies Shultzon mentioned caused Therians to kill their marked mates? No. Sloane would never hurt him. Not physically anyway. To do what those Therians had done, to maul their spouses, would mean them going feral or possessing a great deal of rage. Sloane wouldn’t do that. Dex was sure of it.

  “Are you okay?” Cael asked softly, bringing Dex out of his thoughts.

  “Yeah.” He gave his little brother a smile. “I’m good.”

  Cael turned to look at Rosa. “Do you mind giving us a few minutes?”

  “No problem, gatito. I think it’s time for another cup of coffee. I’ll be in the canteen if you need me.”

  Cael thanked her, waiting for the door to close before he took a seat behind Rosa’s desk, his big gray eyes filled with worry. “Have you talked to Sloane since Dad laid those truth bombs on us?”

  Dex shook his head. He worried his bottom lip with his teeth, feeling embarrassed. “I’ve kind of been avoiding him.”

  “Why?”

  “What if this is it?” Dex frowned down at his fingers. “What if this is all too much for him, or he realizes we don’t want the same things for us?”

  “Then he’s the king of the jerkfaces and never deserved you.”

  Dex couldn’t help his smile. Cael was adorable. “Thanks, Chirpy.”

  Cael stood and came to sit on the edge of the desk beside him. “Come on, Dex. You really think Sloane’s going to leave? He adores you. You know what he’s like. His head is his worst enemy, and despite knowing that, he lets his fears run away with him. He’s trying hard to change, but it’s not easy for him. Ash is the same. They went through a lot. I’m not excusing their behavior, and I know it’s hard for you, how much it hurts every time, but I know he’s not doing it intentionally. He gets so turned around he doesn’t know which way is up, and instead of turning to you, or asking for help, he tries to work it all out on his own, because that’s what he’s been doing since he was a kid.”

  “I know, but how many times can I sit here with a broken heart, waiting for him to come back to me?”

  “Dex, you’re angry because he broke his promise. He walked away.”

  “Yeah. So?”

  “Didn’t you make him a promise too? Didn’t you tell him if he needed time, you’d understand? That you would always be there waiting for him?”

  “I did,” Dex replied, realizing Cael was right. He thought about the tattoo he’d asked Calvin to design for him, one symbolizing exactly what he’d promised. Sloane told him he needed time, and instead of understanding like he said he would, Dex panicked. “But he packed a bag this time. He left.”

  “If he needs to be off on his own, how can he be there with you? Did you specify a time frame? A few hours, an evening? That it had to be under the same roof?”

  Dex rolled his eyes. “Of course not.”

  “Right. It was for however long he needed. As long as he came back to you. But this was the first time he needed to be away while you’ve been living together, so you panicked. You argued, and because you were hurt, you let your fears get the better of you. He packed a bag because he was staying with Ash. He wasn’t leaving you for good.”

  Dex pouted. “I don’t like it when you sound more grown-up than me.”

  “I always sound more grown-up than you,” Cael teased.

  Dex sighed. Cael was right. Since when was his little brother wiser than him? No matter how well Dex thought he knew Sloane, little things popped up to remind him of how much more he had yet to learn about his partner, at least where Sloane’s Felid side was concerned. Felids needed time to themselves. It was in their nature. Since more often than not they couldn’t scurry off and find a tree to climb away from everyone, their Human halves needed quiet time on their own. It was hypocritical of Dex to tell Sloane he’d understand when he needed time to himself, and the moment Sloane asked for it, get all bent out of shape about it. It didn’t mean Sloane didn’t love Dex or want to be with him. He’d talk to Sloane about it if Sloane would forgive him for being such a diva. God, he missed him. He looked up at Cael, who was texting away on his phone. Probably sending lovey-dovey messages to Ash. Which reminded him….

  “Ash gave me gummy bears today. It was weird.”

  Cael wrinkled his nose. “Yeah. Something about the pheromones you were letting loose.”

  Dex stared at him. This was the first he was hearing of this. “The what, now?”

  “I don’t know. He said something about your scent changing. He felt like he had to comfort you. It was the same at the club, except that one was different. It was all gross and sexifying.”

  Dex’s mouth hung open. “Why the hell did no one tell me?”

  Cael shrugged. “Only Therians can smell it, I guess.”

  “What about you?” Dex cringed. That was wrong. So wrong.

  “Ew, gross. No. You’re my brother. All I smell is your funky citrusy shower gel and you. Sloane doesn’t smell it either. I guess ’cause he’s your mate.”

  Dex gasped. “That’s why Zach brought me Cheesy Doodles.” He narrowed his eyes. “And here I thought he was bringing me a peace offering for stealing mine.”

  Cael peered at him. “Are you being serious right now? That was like two years ago.”

  “I never forget a bag of Cheesy Doodles. So he was just smelling my emo boy scent and comforting me?”

  Cael chuckled as he got up. He poked at Dex until he was out of Cael’s chair. “It’s not emo. They were all really worried about you, and I guess whatever you were giving off just amplified that, so they came to comfort you. Seriously, you hadn’t noticed everyone was acting kinda weird?”

  Dex shrugged. “I haven’t really been myself lately. No wonder Hobbs keeps texting me all these Internet memes.” He scratched his chin thoughtfully. “A lot of them are about squirrels.”

  Cael shrugged. “He likes chasing squirrels.”

  “He likes chasing everything,” Dex corrected. “Remember when that call came in about the disturbance at Chuck E. Cheese?”

  “Oh my God, yes! Those drunk asshats in their Therian forms jumped into the ball pit and it exploded. The balls went everywhere!”

  Cael laughed, and Dex couldn’t help but join in.

  That had been a truly awesome day. It was so crazy Lou thought he’d been making the whole thing up, until Dex showed him the video he’d taken on his phone. “Oh shit. That’s right! I still have the video.” He reached into his pocket to pull out his smartphone. He got up, taking a seat on the de
sk next to Cael. He scrolled through his videos and found it. He pressed play and turned the volume up. The video shook a little from Dex’s laughter as Hobbs in his Therian form chased a bunch of the balls out into the street. Seconds later, Cal barreled out from the building into the street, hauling ass after Hobbs and calling his name. It was the funniest shit Dex had ever seen. The balls went freaking everywhere. It was pandemonium. The pedestrians and commuters launching themselves out of the way clearly didn’t think it was so funny.

  Cael was in tears from laughing. “Dude, that guy just climbed his Hummer!”

  Dex let out a snort. “Hey, a three-hundred-pound tiger Therian in his Therian form comes barreling in my direction after a bunch of colored balls, I’d get the hell out of his way too.” They watched the video as Dex trailed after Hobbs and Cal. Hobbs bounded and pounced, swatting at colored balls with his giant paws while people around him screamed and ran for their lives. Hobbs was oblivious, too excited about the plastic, colored objects rolling everywhere. He swatted a blue ball, and it bounded down the sidewalk. He took off after it, nearly knocking Calvin on his ass. Calvin was red in the face.

  Hobbs chased the blue ball down the sidewalk, straight for a little old lady who’d been swiftly shuffling a couple of feet behind a yuppie in a suit.

  “I forgot about this. Watch this,” Dex said with a laugh. The little old lady looked behind her, saw Hobbs, and took off like a bat out of hell, body-slamming the yuppie guy like she was a running back for the Giants, her purse clutched against her like a football. Yuppie guy didn’t know what hit him. “The dude fucking soared, man.”

  “Oh my God!” Cael coughed, he was laughing so hard.

  “I remember Cal was so pissed. He ran like five city blocks carrying all his equipment and Hobbs’s PSTC kit. And then Ash took home a bunch of those colored plastic balls and stuffed them in Cal’s locker so when he opened it they all poured out.”

  Dex almost pissed himself laughing. “I gotta hand it to Ash, that was pure gold. The look on Cal’s face.” Hobbs had gotten told off for it, especially when it ended up on the evening news, but Sparks had made sure he didn’t get disciplined. Instead she had the PR department turn it around to show a different side of the THIRDS and their Therian agents. A softer, playful side. No one had been hurt, the perps arrested, and Therian kids got to see that even THIRDS agents were who they were. That you couldn’t ask them to turn off a part of who they were.

  Rosa returned with a cup of coffee in her hand. “What did I miss?” She gave Dex’s cheek a kiss, murmuring in his ear, “Good to see you laughing.” She gave him a wink and sat down. “What we laughing about?”

  Cael told Rosa, who laughed, almost spilling her coffee all over herself. “Shit. You could have waited until I wasn’t drinking,” she scolded Cael, or at least she tried. She was still snickering.

  Dex got a brilliant idea and ran over to Cael’s desk.

  “What are you doing?”

  Dex placed his phone on Cael’s desk and tapped away at the screen. He found a picture of the ball pit and e-mailed it to Calvin. Seconds later, an e-mail popped up on Cael’s desk. Dex tapped to expand it and opened it.

  It said, “Screw you, Daley!”

  The three of them nearly split at the seams. Dex laughed so hard he could barely breathe.

  Man, he loved his job.

  Chapter 9

  DEX COULDN’T wait for this day to be over.

  His head was about ready to explode. After he’d managed to get a hold of himself inside Cael and Rosa’s office, he was ready to go back to work, feeling more like himself than he had in a while. It hadn’t lasted long, what with him being able to feel Sloane on him. He’d wanted desperately to talk to Sloane, but he reminded himself of his promise. Dex was shit at being patient, but he’d have to learn.

  Tony had already been aware of Dylan Reynolds’s suicide. He’d been informed the moment Dylan had been discovered. Recon was chasing up information regarding the inconclusive test scores, and Tony was making a trip down to the hospital himself. His dad was not happy, and Dex felt for the poor bastard who had the nerve to try and give Tony the runaround.

  It had been a long day, and not even his nice extended shower in the locker room at work had helped. At least he was home. Maybe after he stopped feeling so damned sorry for himself, he’d pick up the phone and call Sloane or text him to let him know he was sorry and that Sloane should take all the time he needed. The moment Dex stepped into the house and heard the soft eighties ballad floating out from the living room, he froze. Sloane was home.

  I’m your home.

  Sloane was his home. Which was why it tore his heart out every time Sloane walked away from him, and after being marked, there were moments when it felt like that was physically happening. Aside from feeling really shitty, it was also pretty terrifying. He hated not knowing what was going on with his body.

  Dex had no idea how much things would change for them after he was marked, but he didn’t regret it. Not for a second. Sloane wasn’t the only one who felt things deeper. Wasn’t there a way Sloane could have time to himself without Dex feeling like his world was falling apart? Last night, sleeping—or attempting to sleep—alone in their bed had been excruciating. His body had hurt almost as much as his heart.

  Dex stepped into the dimly lit living room, the numerous lit candles unexpected.

  “Hey.”

  The sound of Sloane’s soft husky voice sent Dex’s pulse racing, and a wave of intense need washed over Dex. Sloane stood at the bottom of the stairs in faded dark jeans and a white long-sleeved T-shirt that hugged his muscular chest and arms. His feet were bare, and in his hand he held a rose. His hair was wet, so