Catch A Tiger By The Tail (THIRDS 6)

“Fair enough. I’ll try not to be so much of an asshole.” Rafe stopped in front of Sloane and met his gaze. “I’m sorry for always giving you such a hard time. I guess I felt a lot of resentment towards you. I’ve always respected you, and when I found out about my condition, I needed to vent, and I guess you were an easy target.” Rafe shifted uncomfortably, but he carried on, determined to say what he needed to say. “You were the kind of Team Leader I always wanted to be, and it got hard, seeing you doing so well, knowing where I was going to end up. I looked for any reason to drag you down, and I’m sorry.”

Sloane looked surprised. He quickly snapped himself out of it and held his hand out to Rafe, who took it without hesitation. “I appreciate your honesty. If you need anything, just ask.”

“Why would you help me?” Rafe’s expression was wary. “After all the shit I’ve said to you? After everything I’ve done?”

“Because Destructive Delta is family, and that includes anyone connected to Destructive Delta.” Sloane took a deep breath and shoved his hands into his pockets, looking somewhat embarrassed. “The truth is we can be stubborn asses. We’re so used to doing things our way that when things change, we have trouble keeping up. It’s easy to think that putting our trust in others makes us weak, when really it makes us stronger.”

Rafe pulled Nina close and smiled down at her. “I’m starting to see that.” He kissed her, his public show of affection unexpected. Ethan was happy to see his brother smiling. It was obvious how much he cared about Nina, and that was something Ethan never thought he’d see. Ethan worried about Hudson and Nina’s relationship. Hudson had been deeply hurt. He and Nina were close friends. If only Nina had confided in Hudson, things might have gone a little differently.

Nina stepped up beside Seb. “Not a day goes by when he doesn’t think about you.”

“He told me he didn’t love me,” Seb replied softly, bringing Hudson’s hand to his lips for a kiss.

“We all know that’s bullshit. There’s no one but you, Seb. There hasn’t been since he left you, and there won’t be. I tried to get him to move on, to at least go out on a date, and he tried.”

“He dated?”

“I said he tried. He sabotaged them.”

“What do you mean?” Seb asked, his eyes on Hudson.

“Whenever someone asked him out, he told them he was marked. They’d bail. There were a couple of Humans who didn’t, but they never made it past the first date. Nothing worked because none of them were you, Seb.”

“Then why won’t he come back to me?”

“Because you can’t just pick up where you left off.” Nina knelt beside Seb, her hand on his arm. “Until you both forgive yourselves for what happened and find a way to leave it behind you, you can’t be together. He knows that. As painful as it’s been for him, there’s always this little flicker of hope. If you come together and it doesn’t work, that’s it.”

“He’s scared,” Seb said, nodding his understanding.

It made sense to Ethan. He’d never thought of it that way. So all these years Hudson stayed away from Seb, afraid a reconciliation would lead to confirmation their relationship was never meant to be. So instead, he suffered in silence, living with the hope that someday things might change.

“We should give them some time,” Rafe told Ethan, motioning for everyone else to follow. Ethan agreed. Seb needed some time alone with Hudson. He’d gone pensive, and Ethan had no doubt he was considering Nina’s words. Ethan took Calvin’s hand, and they left the room with everyone following close behind.

Outside in the waiting room, Sloane was getting ready to check in with the sarge when they heard it. Shots fired.

“Shit.” Sloane put his phone away and ran over to reception. “I’m Agent Brodie with the THIRDS. Where’s your security office?”

The anxious nurse put in a phone call, and seconds later a security officer came running.

“Agent Brodie?”

“What’s going on?” Sloane asked.

“I’m Riviera, head of security. We have a hostile situation in the lobby. The shooter says he’s looking for an Agent Summers.”

Sloane turned to Calvin. “Hector Ruiz.”

Chapter Eleven

SHIT. RUIZ had come looking for him.

If there had been any doubt about who was responsible for the shooting at Dekatria, this pretty much confirmed it. Ruiz was out for Calvin’s blood. If Ethan hadn’t knocked Calvin to the ground when he did, Ruiz might have had it. Instead Hudson was lying in a hospital bed with two bullet wounds.

Calvin joined Sloane, along with the rest of their team, including Nina and Rafe, as they followed Riviera to the security office. They had to take a number of long corridors, since the office was located near the entrance of the emergency department, outside the lobby. When they reached the office, several other officers were there. Riviera brought up the camera feed in the lobby, where Hector Ruiz held a security officer hostage, a gun aimed at the leopard Therian’s head.

“The THIRDS are on their way,” Riviera said.

Sloane studied the screen. “Okay, we’ve got a major containment problem. We need to find out if Ruiz showed up with anyone else. Can you show me his arrival?”