Hell & High Water (THIRDS 1)

“Look, sometimes shit happens. It’s been a rough week, we were both a little… tense and pushing each other’s buttons didn’t help any. I’ll admit, there’s an attraction here, but it’s not something we can pursue for a list of reasons. Now that we’ve gotten it out of our system, we can move on. Who knows, we might even start getting along. What do you say?”

Sloane blinked at him. “You… you’re cool with that?”

“Yeah.” Dex shrugged and smiled at him, leaning in with a wink. “I mean, I know this is hard to resist.” He swept a hand over his chest.

Sloane pressed his lips together in an obvious attempt not to laugh, but in the end he gave in. “You’re such an ass.”

“What?” Dex asked innocently. “It’s dangerous having this much game.”

Sloane bit his bottom lip. “Stop it.”

“Okay,” Dex sighed, “but only because I don’t want you getting swept up in the gravitational pull of my awesomeness.”

With a chuckle, Sloane got out of the car, closed the door before he walked back around to the driver’s side, and held his hand out to Dex. “Thanks.”

Dex took Sloane’s hand, ignoring the warmth that spread through him. “That’s what partners are for, right? See you tomorrow.”

Sloane stepped back and shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. “Drive safe.” He gave him a nod before turning and walking off, up the incline. Dex watched him go, a strange feeling he couldn’t explain going through him when Sloane was out of sight. Telling himself he’d done the right thing, he backed out of the parking space and headed out.

Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out his phone, his eyes on the road as he tapped the bottom of his screen, then the top right. “Call Isaac

Pearce,” he told his phone, tapping the center, knowing it’s where the speaker button was. Pearce answered on the second ring.

“Daley, you do realize that fashionably late still requires you to show up.”

“I’m so sorry, man. My nap went into overtime.” And then some. “You still up for that drink?”

“Yeah. I figured that might be the case so I hung around and grabbed a bite to eat. If you hurry, there might still be some wings left.”

“Sweet. Be there soon as.”

Dex found a parking space around the corner from Poena. At this time of night on a weekday, the pub would be busy, but not overly, especially since it was small and cozy, consisting of mostly scuffed wood and old vinyl with two copper beer stations. The walls were lined with faded black and white photos from the 1940s. It was one of those old bars that had been around for ages, the world around it changing while inside it stayed the same. Dex was a little surprised Pearce had picked this place. Once inside the dimly lit pub, he searched Pearce out, finding him at a small table in the corner.

“Sorry,” Dex said when he arrived, removing his jacket and placing it on the back of his chair before he took a seat.

“Stop apologizing, Daley. Just buy me the next round.”

“You got it.” Dex motioned for one of the waitresses and a pretty brunette came over, removing a pen and small white pad from her short apron. He ordered two beers. At least he was no longer falling asleep, though he was pretty hungry. He added a burger and basket of fries to his order. Sloane would probably kill him, but what the hell. It wasn’t as if the guy wasn’t going to make him work it off in their next training session anyway. Sloane wasn’t a health nut, but he definitely frowned upon Dex’s junk food habit.

The waitress promptly returned with their beers, popping the caps off and placing the bottles on the table before going off to continue her rounds.

“I thought maybe you got called out on an emergency.” Pearce grabbed his beer and made a toast with Dex in thanks.

“Don’t jinx it, man. We’ve been called out every day this week. It’s a bad one.” He took a sip of his cold beer and let out a contented sigh. Damn that felt good. “I’m not used to sitting in the passenger seat while my baby brother does all the driving.” Looking Pearce over, Dex wondered if maybe the guy didn’t have a bad case of his own going on. He looked like he could do with a long nap himself, or several.

Pearce’s expression turned sympathetic. “The HumaniTherians case?”

“Yeah.” Dex’s food arrived and he thanked the waitress before offering Pearce some fries. When Pearce declined, Dex dug in. The pub wasn’t much to look at, but it sure made a damn good burger.

Pearce leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “That sucks about the case.” His gaze shifted down, his body subtly trembling. Dex sat back, wiping his mouth with his napkin as he discreetly took in Pearce’s bouncing leg.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. No.” Pearce let out a humorless laugh. He shook his head, looking as if he was trying to think of what to say or how to say it. Concerned at Pearce’s sudden rattled state, Dex leaned forward, his hand coming to rest reassuringly on Pearce’s arm. Something was definitely up. Maybe he hadn’t known Pearce long, but it didn’t take a genius to know something was bothering the guy.

“Hey, you can talk to me.”

“Okay. I didn’t just ask you here to have a drink. I wanted to talk to you because I’m worried. I saw the news footage of you outside that catering company last week. You were being dragged along by Agent Brodie, and well, I couldn’t….” He frowned and rubbed at his jaw. “I couldn’t keep it quiet any longer. You gotta be careful, Dex. Watch your back.”