Smoke & Mirrors (31 page)

“Nothing? You think I stood there and did nothing? You think your home was ripped apart because I did nothing?”

“Then tell me.” Sloane turned enough to look at her. “Please, give me something, or we’re out of here. For good.” If Dex hadn’t just died, Sloane would have taken his hand and walked out of there. Fuck TIN, fuck Sparks, fuck Wolf, and everyone else involved in this shit. Sparks released Sloane, and he turned, rubbing his neck.

“The destruction in your home wasn’t simply a result of Wolf searching for the file. It was a result of him coming back for you.”

Sloane stared at her. “What?”

“Do you honestly believe Wolf would have taken Dex and left you behind?” She let out a harsh laugh. “For fuck’s sake, Sloane. You are everything to that boy. You think if Wolf wanted information out of Dex, he wouldn’t take the one thing that would guarantee that?”

Sloane shook his head. “But, Wolf threatened Dex he’d bring me and Cael in. It’s what set Dex off before he escaped.”

“Wolf was bluffing. He’s damned good at it too. There was no way for Dex to know the truth. How could he? Yes, we let Wolf take Dex, but when he came back for you, we got in his way. He could either lose to us, and risk his plans for Dex, or leave you behind, and bluff his way through that particular threat. His contract was to kill Dex in the end, and had you been there, he would have tortured and killed you too, Sloane.” Sparks walked up to Dex’s bedside. She placed a hand gently to his brow. “We would never have let Wolf kill him.” She looked up at Sloane, and he was taken aback by the tenderness there. “We both know he would have wanted you safe.” She turned her attention back to Dex. “I wasn’t certain he’d be able to shoulder the weight, but he’s far more resilient than I anticipated.” She smiled at Sloane. “I’m not one to believe in fate, Sloane, but you and him? It was meant to be.”

Sloane took a step closer to the bed, then stopped. He didn’t trust himself around her. Didn’t trust he could stop himself from taking another swing at her. “As touching as that might be, it doesn’t change the fact that you allowed Dex to be kidnapped and tortured.”

“Whatever you might think of us, Sloane, there are reasons for everything we do. You don’t have to trust us. You don’t have to agree with what we do or how we do it, but if we didn’t exist, you would be living in a far different world. And before you go thinking that world would be a better one, know that you’d be wrong.”

Before Sloane could say anything, she walked out of the room. This wasn’t the end of this. Not by a long shot. Dex was awake quicker than Sloane expected, and Sloane was at his side, offering comfort, his hands gently touching, needing to feel him. He’d been so damned terrified. Dex turned his head and smiled at him.

“Dex, do you remember…. Do you remember what happened?”

Dex closed his eyes, his brows furrowed together. “I remember Shultzon saying something about you killing me, and I… I got pissed. Not pissed. It was more intense.” He opened his eyes, his worried gaze on Sloane. “Like this violent rage was rising up from inside me. I wanted to tear him apart with my bare hands.” Dex swallowed hard. “I should have been scared or shocked, but I wasn’t. I was just… angry. It was like I wasn’t myself.”

“Probably because you weren’t yourself.” Sloane stood and walked the room, wondering how he was supposed to tell Dex of what he’d done to him. Whatever happened, whatever Dex went through, if Dex… hated him, it was his fault.

“Sloane, what’s wrong? You’re scaring me.”

“That would make two of us.”

“Please, come here.”

Reluctantly, Sloane walked over. He took a seat on the edge of the bed beside Dex.

“Why am I in here?” Dex asked, taking hold of Sloane’s hand.

“Dex, it took six Therian TIN operatives to restrain you.”

Dex eyed him. “Did I slip and knock myself out? Is that why you’re saying that? Did I make an ass out of myself and knock myself out and you’re trying to make me feel better? It would explain why I don’t remember.”

“I… I infected you.”

Dex stared at him. “Say that again?”

“I infected you.”

“No, still not making sense.”

Sloane got up with a frustrated growl. He paced beside Dex’s bed and ran his fingers through his hair. He had to tell Dex, get it over with. “When I marked you, I infected you with my fucked-up DNA. The First Gens on the list, the ones with anomalies in their blood. Our DNA has a mutation strong enough to alter Human DNA. That’s why those couples are all dead. Someone realized what was happening and killed them. They know. Fuck, Dex, they know, and they’ll be coming for us next.”

“Let me guess. This is all coming from Shultzon?”

Sloane nodded.

“And you believe him.”

“We all believe him.”

Dex sat up with a groan. “Are you kidding me?”

“Dex, you were strong. Stronger than me.”

“Adrenaline.”

“Enough to put up a fight against six Therians?”

Dex thought about it. “Lots of adrenaline.”

“Dex, you hissed.”

“People hiss all the time.”

“Not like Felids, they don’t. Your canines grew out. They were like mine. I saw them with my own eyes.”

Dex opened his mouth to reply, then shut it. “I got nothing.”

He bit his bottom lip, and Sloane stopped in his tracks. All the pieces of the puzzle were slowly coming together in Dex’s mind.

“That’s what I’ve been feeling? The sharpened eyesight, the strength. That was why I was able to get out of Wolf’s zip ties.”

Sloane nodded. “Dex, your DNA has changed. That’s why you’ve been having seizures. The tests they ran before were inconclusive because your body thought it was being attacked by my mutation. You had another seizure, a really bad one. You… died. Or at least it appeared that way.”

Dex gingerly lay back down. “I died? I don’t remember any of it.”

Sloane resumed his seat on the edge of Dex’s bed, and Dex placed his hand to Sloane’s cheek.

“You must have been terrified.”

Sloane nodded. He closed his eyes and turned his face to kiss the palm of Dex’s hand. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t.” Dex leaned forward, drawing Sloane to meet him halfway, and kissed him. “It’s not your fault.”

Sloane shook his head. “How could it not be? It’s my blood that’s done this to you. Who knows what will happen to you, and I’m the one responsible.”

“
We’re
responsible,” Dex corrected. “I asked you to mark me, remember? It was something we decided together.”

“Yeah, but you couldn’t possibly have known what would happen. My blood was infected.”

“Sloane, I love you. I don’t regret a thing. Whatever happens, we’ll work through it together, okay? You’re a part of me. Always. How could that possibly be a bad thing?”

Sloane brought their heads together and sighed. Dex didn’t hate him. No matter what they went through, Dex continued to surprise Sloane. He couldn’t help his smile. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

They stayed that way for some time before Sloane reluctantly pulled back. “There’s… something else.”

Dex squeezed his hand. “Tell me.”

“Okay.” Sloane let out a steady breath and told Dex everything. From everything Wolf had said to TIN allowing Wolf to take Dex. “Everything that’s happened has happened because TIN’s allowed it.”

Dex was quiet as he stared down at nothing in particular. He was quiet for so long, Sloane was starting to get worried.

“Babe?”

“They kept you safe.”

Sloane blinked at him. “Yeah, but Dex, they let Wolf take you.”

“Yeah, but when Wolf came back for you, they saved you.”

Why was his partner so damned stubborn? Why couldn’t he see? He should be livid. Sloane was upset, but after what they’d been through, he pushed that aside. With a small smile, he squeezed Dex’s hand.

“Yes, sweetheart. They kept me safe.”

“Okay.” Dex gave him a nod.

“Okay?”

“Yeah.” Dex’s pale blue eyes were intense. “Sparks was right. I would have wanted you safe. Don’t get me wrong, they’re still assholes, but they saved you, and I won’t forget that.”

There was no point in arguing with Dex. Not about this.

“Sorry for intruding.” Sparks walked into the room, stopping by the bed. “The results from the Genetic Map Comparison have come in, confirming that Dex’s DNA is no longer Human.”

Dex squeezed Sloane’s hand, and Sloane squeezed back. Whatever happened, whatever came their way, they would work through it together.

“According to the test results, there are now similarities between Sloane’s DNA and yours.”

“What does that mean?” Dex asked.

“Your DNA contains both Human and jaguar Therian DNA. Dex, you’re somehow carrying strands of DNA from both species, making you a Human-Therian hybrid. The very first.”

“So what now?”

“You go back to work.”

“What? You expect me to just go to work tomorrow like nothing’s happened? I died! My DNA has been mutated. What—I don’t, I can’t even….” He lay back with a sigh. “My brain’s broken. Fine. What do you want us to do?”

“Tomorrow, you’ll go to work. Leave the rest to us.”

Sloane and Dex exchanged glances with Dex speaking up first. “I’m going to end up bleeding, aren’t I?”

Sparks arched an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, well. Let’s try and not get me killed. Again.”

If their only chance to get to the bottom of this, to get some peace, was to play TIN’s game, then so be it. Sloane stared down at Dex’s hand in his for some time as TIN medical specialists came in and out, examining Dex, checking his vitals. Dex didn’t remember what happened or what Sloane said when he’d flatlined, but Sloane remembered his words all too clearly. As soon as this was over, it was time for a new beginning.

“SO WHAT
have we got?” Tony asked as he finished strapping himself into his seat across the bench inside Destructive Delta’s BearCat.

“Bunch of drunken frat boys streaking Therian style,” Sloane replied, checking through the notes on his tablet.

“Dumbasses,” Ash grumbled. “Every freaking year.”

Tony nodded. “Ash, Hobbs, Sloane, Cael, you know the drill. Round up those youths. Put the fear in them so they don’t do it again. Theta Destructive and Beta Ambush will meet us on scene with agents in their Therian forms. I’ll be in the truck running surveillance. Anyone needs anything, let me know. Rosa, Letty, Cal, Dex, let’s get it done before we get too many spectators.”

Dex and Sloane were the first ones up. The privacy screen came down, and Dex helped Sloane quickly get out of his uniform to assist him with his shifting. Sloane cupped Dex’s face, his words hushed so the others wouldn’t hear.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, this feels weird. Going out there like nothing’s happened. Not telling my brother, my dad, our friends. And then this call coming in the second we clocked in this morning?” Dex worried his bottom lip with his teeth. His heart was pounding. “I don’t know, Sloane. It feels… off. Something’s off. I can feel it.”

“Let’s get this done with, and then we can talk to your dad, okay? Just be safe. I think it’s time.” He brought their heads together, and Dex let out a steady breath. With a quick kiss, Sloane began to shift.

At his feet, Dex kept Sloane’s Postshift Trauma Care kit. At one point Dex thought he’d never get used to all the weight of his equipment. At times it had slowed him down, but these days he barely noticed it. He’d been getting lighter on his feet, faster. Feeling healthier and stronger. He’d put it down to all the training he’d been doing and Sloane’s influence. Not that Dex had stopped eating his tasty unhealthy snacks, but he certainly ate less of them. It was hard to ignore Sloane’s sexy sweet talk about wanting Dex to be with him as long as possible. These days, Dex chose healthier options when he could, providing what he was eating didn’t taste like cardboard or grass. He was definitely more aware of what he ate. He refused to compromise on the gummy bears and Cheesy Doodles, but everything else was fair game. Now that he knew what had been happening inside him, it was likely his change in metabolism was linked. His increase in appetite. The ability to pack away more food than should be possible for a Human. His body burning through the calories…. All Therian traits.

Sloane’s screams turned into roars until he was finally done with his shifting, his ears twitching before he let out a fierce yawn, revealing lethal fangs. Would Dex end up shifting? He didn’t think that was possible, but the impossible seemed to be happening quite often lately. Sloane stretched his long Felid body, his butt in the air as he flexed his toes, extending his claws. Dex scratched Sloane’s butt, chuckling when Sloane pushed his butt up against his hand.

“You hussy,” Dex teased.

Sloane let out a huff before he padded out from behind the privacy screen so Ash could shift. Dex followed him and took a seat on the bench. Sloane thumped his tail against the floor as he waited impatiently to be let out. Felids hated being confined. As soon as Ash shifted, Letty opened the truck’s doors. Two Felids in the back of the truck made things crowded enough without Hobbs’s big tiger butt taking up what space remained. So Letty, Ash, Sloane, and Dex hopped out of the truck to wait for the rest of their teammates. In the distance Dex heard a cacophony of Felid roars and wolf Therian howls. Once the rest of their team joined them, Dex crouched down in front of Sloane and bumped their heads together.

“You be safe.”

Sloane huffed and pushed his wet kitty nose against Dex’s, making him smile. He knew what was coming, so he just scrunched up his nose and took it like a man. Sloane’s sandpapery tongue licked Dex’s cheek. At least he didn’t lick him in the ear again.

Close by, Seb was in his Therian form, along with Taylor and several of their Defense agents. Sloane roared, and everyone took off after the dozen or so young Therians using the streets of New York as their personal playground. It happened more often than people realized. It had even become a secret form of initiation in some frat houses. Run through the city in your Therian form and avoid getting caught by the THIRDS. Destructive Delta had the highest track record for rounding up pledges and scaring the shit out of them so there were no repeat performances. Dex had a sneaky suspicion his Therian teammates enjoyed putting the fear into the students a little too much. Ash certainly did.