Hell & High Water (THIRDS 1)

“Yeah, but not with him,” Ash hissed. His eyes went wide and he ran a gloved hand over his hair before leaning into Sloane. “Please don’t tell me you actually like him.”

Sloane closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the truck’s padded panel, momentarily forgetting how nauseated it made him feel. Damn it. His mind had put it all behind him. Why couldn’t his body do the same? Inhaling slowly then releasing through his mouth, he sat forward again, his elbows coming to rest on his legs as the sick rolling in his stomach eased. “I don’t have to like him to get the job done. That’s something you should consider.”

“So he’s staying?” Ash stared at him, stunned.

Why were they having this conversation? Ash unfastened his belt and walked to the end of the truck and waited. Great. Just what he needed. With a sigh, Sloane unhooked his own belt and joined his friend, knowing he could be as stubborn as Ash if he wanted to be. Ash put his hands to his hips and shrugged.

“What, Ash? Get it out of your system now so we can get back to this case.”

“He can’t stay.”

Sloane arched an eyebrow at him. “Is that so?”

“Get rid of him.” Ash gave him a poke in the vest and Sloane frowned. Why did his friend have to make everything so damn difficult?

“First of all,” Sloane batted his hand away, “I have no intention of getting my ass handed to me by Lieutenant Sparks for running off another partner. She’s made it clear. This is my last chance to play nice. We don’t have a choice. Considering all the other agents we’ve had, Dex is the best fit.”

“That jackass?” Ash shook his head in disbelief. “Look, I know he’s Maddock’s kid and Cael’s brother, but that doesn’t mean he’s a good fit.”

“And who is, Ash? Who’s going to be good enough to take Gabe’s place, huh?”

Ash swallowed hard, his gaze dropping to his boots.

“That’s right. This isn’t easy for me either, okay? So cut me a fucking break. Please, I’m asking you, as your best friend, don’t make this any harder than it has to be.” He held his breath, waiting. If Ash didn’t want to do something, there was nothing on God’s green earth that could make him do it. Ash could be a stubborn, hard-assed, unbearable prick, but he would come through for Sloane no matter what. He always had and always would. After a silent moment, Ash nodded.

“Okay, but I hope you’re not asking me to be nice to him, because there’s a fucking limit.”

“Heaven forbid,” Sloane muttered. “Just leave his personal life out of it. Got it?”

“Yeah, fine. You fucking gay boys are so sensitive.”

Sloane rolled his eyes and started to walk off when Ash grabbed his arm. “Hey, wait. This is serious. I want to get him something to make it up to him. What do you think he’ll like better, a knitted sweater or a couple of tickets to Mamma Mia? You can go as his date.” He slapped Sloane’s arm. “I can knit you one too. Then you can match.”

“You know what, man.” Sloane jabbed a finger at Ash. “Fuck you.” He marched off to the sound of Ash’s cackling. Well, at least order had been restored. For now.

“What, you don’t think I’m capable of picking up a knitting needle?” Ash called out after him.

“Not unless you were going to stab someone with it. Now sit down and shut up.” Sloane dropped down onto the bench, Letty and Rosa both watching him in amusement. “What?”

Rosa shrugged. “Nothing.”

Ash stayed where he was, holding onto one of the ceiling straps as the truck drove through Manhattan, a shit-eating grin on his face. When Ash turned his head to the ceiling, seeming to lose himself in his own thoughts, Rosa slid up to Sloane, bumping into him playfully.

“Hey.”

Sloane glanced over at her with a small smile. He felt weary, but he didn’t want to take it out on his team, and Rosa—as brash as she could be—was always fussing over him and somehow getting away with it. “What can I do for you, Rosita Bonita?”

She pretended to be put off by the tender nickname. “You can hear me out.”

With a discreet peek to see if Dex was still busy with Maddock and Cael, Sloane leaned toward her. “Okay, but if it’s to tell me to get rid of him, I—”

“Shouldn’t,” she cut in, a determined expression coming onto her face. She leaned into Sloane, speaking quietly. “I know you don’t like to talk about it, so I won’t. All I’m going to say is, he’s not like the other ones. You should give him a chance. If you need someone to kick Ash in the nuts, you know where to find me.”

Sloane didn’t know what to say. He sat speechless as Rosa went back to her side of the bench and continued chatting to Letty. Now that he thought about it, the only protests concerning Dex that he’d heard so far had all come from Ash. In fact, Sloane had spotted more ogling coming from his teammates toward Dex than dirty looks, and he’d yet to hear any snide comments. Had his team accepted Dex without either of them realizing it and in such a short span of time?

It took them a little over twenty minutes to get to Fifth and West Thirty-Third Street. As soon as the truck pulled up to the building, Sloane and Dex jumped out, Cael and Rosa close behind. The catering company was across the three-lane street and the second to last shop on the skyscraper’s storefront. There were various delivery trucks parked up and down both sides of the road with the sunlight reflecting off windows but mostly blocked by the large skyscrapers. As they approached the catering company, Sloane caught sight of a loading dock one store over, and he remembered what Dex had said regarding hiring Unregistered Therians. He caught Dex’s elbow.

“You go ahead. Call if there’s an emergency. I’ll be there in a minute.”