Rack & Ruin (THIRDS 3)

“He was the mole this whole time,” Dex said, helping Taylor sit on one of the chairs lined up against the wall before turning his attention back to Sloane. “I never would have guessed.”

“Yeah.” Sloane felt for the guy and he understood. Was he a hypocrite? Sloane had wanted Isaac dead for killing Gabe. How did it make him different from Levi?

“I take it there’s someone on that list of Therian victims connected to Levi?”

Sloane nodded. “His sister. It was fucked-up what they did to her.”

“I’m sure I wouldn’t disagree. But he took part in the murder of two Humans.”

“Humans who raped and murdered his sister in cold blood,” Sloane replied angrily.

“So it’s okay for him to go around executing people. Where would it stop?”

“I wanted Isaac dead.”

Dex blinked at him. “It’s not the same. You killed him because you had no choice.”

Sloane met Dex’s gaze. “Didn’t I?” He watched his partner swallow visibly. “How was what I did different than what Levi did?”

“For one, you didn’t hunt down Isaac for revenge. You killed him because my life and Shultzon’s life were in danger. I’m not saying he didn’t deserve it or that Reyes and his band of assholes don’t deserve it either, but you did what you had to do to keep us safe. Levi did what he did purely for revenge without regard for the innocent lives caught in the middle. He didn’t care if his fellow agents were killed either. It wasn’t the only way.”

Sloane thought about that. He wasn’t sure if he agreed, but he allowed himself to take comfort in his partner’s words. It saddened him to know how far Levi had gone to get justice for his sister because the system had failed him. But then those had been lawless times, especially for Therians. The world was still coming to terms with their kind, and a good portion of the Human race wasn’t happy they were there. First came the violence, then came the laws. For some, it came too late.

Taylor came to stand beside Dex with a dopey grin. “My prince to the rescue.”

“Don’t make me regret it,” Dex muttered.

Taylor’s smile fell as he gazed down the hall where they’d escorted Levi away only moments ago. For the first time since Sloane had known him, Sloane saw past the cocky Team Leader to the vulnerable Therian underneath. Taylor looked as if he was going to be sick.

“I can’t believe he betrayed us.”

“I’m sorry,” Dex said, patting Taylor on the arm. There were no jokes, no teasing, no inappropriate comments. Taylor looked completely lost.

“You spend so much time around your teammates, you think you know them. Then it turns out, you don’t know them at all.” Taylor resumed his seat. “We used to hang out all the time at work. We were friends.”

Dex closed his eyes, and Sloane knew his partner was summoning the courage to say something. “Hey, Taylor. I’m having my birthday party in a few weeks at Bar Dekatria. You’re welcome to come.”

Taylor looked up at Dex with wide eyes. “You’re inviting me to your party after everything that happened at the last one?”

“If you promise to come as a friend and not someone trying to get in my pants.”

Taylor pursed his lips, then laughed at Dex’s glower. “I’m kidding, man. Of course I’ll come.” He stood and held his hand out to Dex. “And I promise to behave myself. Thank you.”

Dex gave him a smile, and Taylor headed off. Sloane took the seat Taylor had vacated watching as Dex got up and sprinted down to a gurney two doors down. He came back with a plastic bag and dropped down into the chair beside Sloane. A dopey grin stretched across his face.

“I brought lunch.”

Sloane chuckled. Thank goodness for Dex’s obsession with food. “Good timing.” He stood and motioned to Ash’s room. “Come on. Let’s have some lunch.” They walked in with Ash cursing them out for not letting him know sooner that they

were okay. Sloane explained what happened as they ate lunch, and afterward Ash and Dex argued over what was the best sandwich in Manhattan. It almost felt like any other day, though Sloane knew better. Something had changed. His concern for his team was growing. What was going to happen between Cael and Ash? And how would it affect the rest of the team? More importantly, what would Lieutenant Sparks decide? With Hogan still out there, none of them were safe.

Whatever Sparks decided, Sloane would do whatever it took to protect his team.

To protect Dex.

Chapter 13

“THIS WAS the best idea ever.”