Hell & High Water (THIRDS 1)

Another nudge from Hobbs to the temple and a lick to his cheek, had Calvin letting out a chuckle. He groggily stirred and opened his eyes to swat at Hobbs who returned the favor with an added tiger kiss to the cheek. Despite the circumstances, Dex couldn’t help his dopey grin, especially when Calvin grabbed hold of Hobbs’s ears and tugged his head down so they could rest their heads together.

“I’m okay, buddy. I promise,” Calvin assured his partner quietly.

Suddenly Hobbs’s ears perked up and he pulled back, his gaze landing on Dex at the same time Calvin’s did.

Dex’s grin widened. “You two are so adorable.”

“I won’t let Hobbs turn you into kitty chow for saying that because you saved my ass.”

“That’s okay, because I don’t think he’ll have the time.” Dex helped Calvin to his feet. He knew things were rough, and he wasn’t too proud to admit he was a little scared, but he could do this. His family believed in him enough to want him on their team. He wasn’t about to let them down, no matter what. He’d go down fighting.

“Thanks.” Calvin smiled weakly, his eyes widening when he saw Dex’s jaw. “Shit, are you okay?”

“Yeah, just a scratch. Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m sorry,” Calvin replied with a wretched expression.

Dex cursed under his breath. Screw this. He grabbed Calvin’s arm and put it around his neck before tapping his earpiece again. “Sarge?”

“I’m on my way. Had to shake a few off the truck. Be ready to make a run for it.”

“Copy that. Letty, Rosa, I need one of you to clear the way for me.”

Letty’s breathy voice came over the earpiece. “I’ll cover you.”

Dex grabbed another one of his flash-bangs and readied himself. He took a deep breath and looked down at Calvin. “Ready?”

Calvin nodded.

Tony’s gruff voice shouted at him. “BearCat’s in position. Go, go, go!”

Dex pulled the pin on his flash-bang and hurled it into the darkness, leaving behind a cacophony of roars and pained cries. He swiped up his shield with his free hand and moved as quickly as he could while taking most of Calvin’s weight. Lucky for him, Calvin was slightly smaller and less heavy. If he’d had to move Sloane or Ash, he would have been royally screwed. He was definitely going to take his bench presses more seriously from here on out. They ran out into the middle of the road where the BearCat was parked, the machine gun on the roof firing warning rounds all around them. Letty covered Dex’s back as he helped Calvin to the back of the truck.

Rosa and Letty soon flanked him, and Rosa banged the back doors. They opened automatically, and Rosa helped Dex lift Calvin up. “Hurry up, Dex!” Letty insisted, jumping up into the back of the truck and pulling Calvin in the rest of the way. She motioned behind him and he cursed under his breath. In the distance, Sloane, Ash, and Cael were heading right for them. Among them, they had Everton corralled, and he wasn’t happy about it, snapping at their teammates’ paws and necks as he ran.

Dex helped Rosa up into the truck before climbing in along with Hobbs. They all hurried to the front of the truck, and Rosa banged against the steel door of the front cabin. “Get the cage ready, Sarge!”

“I’m on it.”

The cage wall closest to them rose from the truck’s base with a series of clangs and finally a booming sound, followed by a click—and not too soon. Everton leapt in with a roar, hitting the steel bars and throwing a paw out between them, his sharp claws ineptly trying to reach them. The remaining walls of the cage rose, the loud bang resonating through the truck. This time when Everton tried to claw at the bars, he received an electric shock that sent him reeling back. His ears flattened and he hissed, but he sat his ass down in the middle of the cage and stopped trying to get out.

Sloane, Ash, and Cael were already inside the truck, and again Rosa banged the steel door. On her signal, Tony closed the back doors and revved the engine. They each grabbed hold of one of the ceiling straps as the truck hightailed it out of Greenpoint. Everyone remained on high alert, their eyes on Everton as the truck made its way back to HQ. Once there, Dex knew the truck would drive through the tunnel at the rear of the building, but instead of making a right toward the parking garage, it would make a left, heading toward the underground detention center where further backup would be available with the press of one button. It was also where the holding cells were, as well as areas for Post Shift Trauma Care.

When the truck came to a stop, Tony opened the back doors. Across from them was a series of curtained off areas for shifting. Sloane, Ash, Cael, and Hobbs jumped down from the truck, each making their way into a curtained room. Shifting was an intimate, vulnerable process and not something most Therians took lightly. Rosa, Letty, Calvin, and Dex, exited the truck, their PSTC kits in hand while Tony stayed with the secured Everton.

They each took their post outside their respective partner’s curtain and waited. When Dex heard his name called gruffly, he removed Sloane’s disposable clothes from the kit and handed them back through the curtain. They were immediately swiped up. A few minutes later, his name was grunted again. Dex slipped through the curtain, unsurprised to find Sloane sitting on the edge of a cot, his head in his hands. It would take a few minutes before the dizziness cleared. Dex reached into the backpack and pulled out a large bottle of Gatorade. Silently, he handed it to Sloane, who took it with a trembling hand. It s

lipped from his fingers and Dex caught it.

“It’s okay, buddy. Let me help you.”

Sloane let out an unintelligible slur of words, his brows drawn together in obvious displeasure as Dex put his hand to the back of his head.

“Come on, lean back.” When Sloane resisted, Dex crouched down in front of him, cupping his face. “I know, you’re the big bad alpha, but I’m your partner. I’m here to help you, okay? You did your job, now let me do mine.” He hoped the sincerity in his voice would prove to Sloane he meant every word. It was his first time providing Post Shift Trauma Care to his partner, and he wanted to make sure Sloane had everything he needed to recover properly.

With a grunt, Sloane nodded slowly. Trying again, Dex gently cupped the back of Sloane’s head, waiting for his partner to lean back. After a moment of hesitation, Sloane did, and Dex carefully put the uncapped bottle of Gatorade to Sloane’s lips, administering small sips at a time until the whole bottle was gone. He waited for Sloane to lean forward again before releasing his head then he chucked the bottle into the nearby trashcan. From inside the kit, he fetched a couple of hefty, high carb, high protein energy bars. He tore the foil off both and handed them to Sloane.

Finished eating, Sloane pushed to his feet. He faltered and Dex threw an arm around his waist to steady him. “Whoa, easy there, big guy.” He flattened his hand against Sloane’s stomach, pretending he wasn’t affected when Sloane’s hand clamped down over it, his other arm wrapping around Dex and pulling him up against his side, squeezing him weakly. Sloane closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, releasing his breath slowly as he waited for the dizziness washing over him to pass. It wouldn’t be too long before Sloane was back to his usual grumpy self.