Dex raced down East Thirteenth Street after one particularly huge Therian, and he wondered why the hell he always ended up against the biggest guys. For a moment, Dex thought he was about to lose the guy, certain the Therian would head straight for FDR Drive. Except the masked Therian didn’t get anywhere near FDR. Before Dex’s eyes, the guy jumped onto the hood of a car parked beside the plant, hopped on the car’s roof and then leapt onto the large garbage container before disappearing over the fence of the Con Edison Plant.
“Fuck me,” Dex growled. He took a deep breath and followed, regardless of his equipment. He wasn’t going to lose the guy. Not this time. He jumped onto the Honda’s hood, the metal denting and protesting under his boots, before jumping onto the roof. The car had been parked nearly touching the container, and to Dex’s relief, there was some kind of rectangular metal box sticking out of the container’s side right in front of him. It was wide enough for him to prop the front of his boot. He reached out and grabbed the edge of the container, braced a boot on the metal box, and hoisted himself up on the ledge, praying he didn’t fall headfirst into trash bags of God only knew what.
This was where being a Felid Therian would have come in real handy. If Hobbs had been here with him, he would have leapt over this thing with no problem. Dex stood and held his arms out to keep his balance as he quickly but carefully walked around the ledge of the container to the fence. It wasn’t at all graceful or as easy as it looked in the movies, but at least Dex landed on the other side on his feet and not his ass.
He caught sight of the masked Coalition bastard running toward what looked like a steel bridge connected to several of the buildings. Dex gave chase, hearing nothing but the loud whirring and buzzing from the plant around them. Fuck. He sure hoped he didn’t get electrocuted. Don’t touch anything. It didn’t help that wherever he looked he spotted Danger High Voltage signs. Dex had to catch the guy before he disappeared into the shadows, or Dex was screwed. If he stopped to remove his night-vision goggles from his backpack he’d lose the guy for sure, but if the Therian made it to the shadows before Dex caught up, he wouldn’t have any choice but to stop. Walking into the darkness where a Therian lay in wait was suicide.
Pushing himself, he picked up his speed, catching up just enough to reach out and grab a strap on the guy’s vest. He gave it a fierce jerk, and although it wasn’t nearly enough to bring the guy down, it was enough to unbalance him momentarily.
Dex took advantage of the flailing perp. He tripped the guy and threw all his weight into the large Therian. They both hit the ground rolling. They thrashed and struggled with Dex getting slammed hard against the solid ground, forcing the air out of his lungs. He tried to get to his earpiece, but his hand was forced against the ground. With his free hand, he grabbed a fistful of the Therian’s mask and pulled. Auburn hair sent his stomach plummeting, and then his worst fear was confirmed.
“Ash?” Dex rolled onto his side, unable to believe what he was seeing.
“Fuck,” Ash snarled. His eyes suddenly went wide, his gaze somewhere behind Dex. “No! Wait—”
Dex’s world went black.
DAMN. AGAIN?
Dex really needed to stop turning this into a thing. Sloane was going to kill him. He stayed exceptionally still and made certain his breathing remained steady. They’d tied his hands behind his back with heavy rope, along with his ankles. He was blindfolded and gagged, but at least he could hear. From what he could make out, there were at least two others in here with him. Wherever here was. He listened to the voices, one of them he’d recognize anywhere. Ash was arguing with someone. Afraid they might realize he was awake, Dex didn’t take any chances in testing the ropes securing him. Not yet anyway. Then he heard Cael’s name.
“Look, I’m not interested in your boyfriend—”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Ash replied snidely. “He’s just a kid who wishes he were. The guy’s got a hard-on for me. Hangs on my every fucking word. He’ll do what I tell him.”
That fucking prick. It took everything Dex had to remain still, his head pressed against a solid concrete floor. His left arm was starting to ache from lying on it. Dex continued to listen, trying to commit the second, unfamiliar voice to memory. It was hard to get a read on someone based on voice alone, but little things were starting to come through, like the guy’s arrogance.
“And you think he’ll listen to you over his own brother?”
There was some moving around before Ash spoke up. “I think if you want something bad enough, you’ll do what it takes. He’s young and infatuated, which means he’ll do stupid things, including ignoring his big brother’s warnings. I’ve had the kid on the ropes for days.”
“You really expect us to let him walk out of here now that he’s made you? He’s a THIRDS agent.”
“I say we get rid of him.”
Shit. There was a third guy. Thank goodness Dex hadn’t made a move. Who knew how many there were.
“You fucking lay a hand on him, and I’ll get rid of your balls. The deal was I would get in on the action, provide you with intel, and in return, the Coalition would stay away from my team.”
Dex stifled a scoff. How very considerate of Ash. This whole time not only had they been hunting one of their own, but their own teammate. It was like a bad dream. His thoughts went to Sloane and Cael. This was going to crush them. Dex quickly reined in his growing ire. First he had to get himself out of this.
“Yeah, well, if we’d known what a pain in the ass your team was going to be, we would have reconsidered.”
“You asked me to join, remember?”
“I’m fucking regretting it already.”
The third guy chimed in again, his voice odd, like it was purposefully muffled. “Funny how shit always fucks up when you’re around. You’re bad luck.”
“That’s me,” Ash said roughly. “I’m like a bad penny. I always turn up.”
Was Ash quoting Indiana Jones? Not the time, Daley. He waited to see what their next move would be when Mr. Arrogant-Prick-Not-Ash spoke up.
“Fine. But the boss is going to hear about this. If that little shit causes us problems, it’s on your head.”
Okay. There was a boss, but he wasn’t around, and judging by Mr. Asshat, he was most likely the second-in-command Austen had mentioned. Silence followed until Dex was abruptly hauled off the ground and slung over someon
e’s shoulder. He was carried away, and soon Ash’s rough whisper broke the silence.