Rise & Fall (THIRDS 4)

The irony was not lost on Dex, and he squeezed Sloane’s hand under the table. He would be spending a long time groveling and making it up to Sloane. He looked forward to it. Sloane deserved to be treated a lot better than the lousy job Dex had been doing lately.

“I can’t believe this.”

Bautista’s shaky voice caught Dex’s attention, and he turned back to the screen. Tears pooled in the wolf Therian’s eyes and several escaped. His bottom lip quivered, but he tried his hardest to get himself together. He continued to shake his head, as if doing so would make everything he’d seen and heard untrue. Calvin offered him a tissue, which Bautista took with a muffled “thanks.” “Do you have proof of what he’s done? I need proof.”

“I have a whole team of agents who he attacked. My Team Leader is next door on crutches. Your boyfriend helped Hogan plant a bomb that nearly killed him.” Calvin showed him a picture of Sloane.

“I saw him on the news,” Bautista said quietly. “What do you want from me?”

“We’d like you to have him meet you. Somewhere familiar to the both of you, but preferably with not a lot of foot traffic. Out in the open. We’ll clear the area, set it up with our own agents. You just meet with him. We’ll handle the rest.”

Bautista let out a heart-wrenching sigh and nodded. “Okay. I know it sounds ridiculous, considering everything he’s done, but you won’t… you won’t kill him will you?” Bautista covered Calvin’s hand with his, his eyes pleading.

“We’d prefer to arrest him,” Calvin said gently, removing his hand from under Bautista’s. His job had been done. He’d made the connection, gotten the information. Now it was time to put it to use and cut Bautista loose. It was shitty, but it was what had to be done, and Calvin seemed to be all too aware of it. “But if he becomes dangerous, we can’t risk any civilian casualties.”

“I understand,” Bautista conceded.

Calvin stood and gave him a small smile. “I’ll give you time to get yourself together before you call him. It’s important he meets with you tomorrow. Preferably early in the day.” Calvin left the room, joining Dex and the rest of the team next door.

“You okay?” Dex asked him.

“Yeah, I feel kind of shitty. He’s a nice guy. I can’t imagine what must be going through his head right now. Finding out his boyfriend of ten years is a murdering scumbag.”

Hobbs put his arm around Calvin’s neck and gave him a reassuring squeeze, receiving a pat from his friend before Calvin moved to the monitors to watch Bautista. The wolf Therian wiped his eyes, took a deep breath, and removed his phone from his pocket. It was now or never. They all watched on the edge of their seats as Bautista called Collins, his voice sounding far more casual than he appeared. Bautista chatted about nothing in particular before telling Collins he missed him. He asked if they could meet up for lunch tomorrow because it had been so long since they’d gone out for a meal together. With bated breath they all waited, when finally Bautista let out a sad smile.

“Perfect. I’ll meet you at our usual spot at noon. I love you.”

Seconds later, Bautista ended the call, placed his phone on the table, and burst into tears.

To Dex’s surprise, Hobbs appeared beside Calvin and nudged him. He motioned to the monitor where Bautista was crying and nodded.

Calvin smiled at his partner and left the room to comfort Bautista.

“Man, now I hate Collins even more,” Dex said through his teeth. “The selfish prick. How could he put the poor guy through this? Telling his boyfriend he was out at church or in meetings while he was murdering people. How could he come home and act like everything was hunky-dory?” At Calvin’s signal, the team left the room to join him, with Dex staying behind to help Sloane. As soon as his partner was on his feet, Dex stepped in front of him.

“I’m sorry for being such an insensitive asshole,” Dex said. “For leaving you home on your own while I was out there. Lying to you about it.”

“Hey, whoa.” Sloane put his hand to Dex’s cheek. “Now you listen to me. Don’t you dare compare yourself to that asshole. You’re a good man, Dex. Your heart was in the right place. I admire you for that. This whole situation has made me realize how much I’ve taken you for granted.”

“What?” Dex shook his head. “Sloane—”

“I have. I know I have. You’ve been nothing but supportive, understanding, and amazing. I’ve put you through a hell of a lot, and I’ve hurt you. I swear, I’m going to try my damn hardest to deserve you.

“So no comparing yourself to Collins. However he tries to justify his actions, he’s killed people in cold blood. If we don’t stop him, Hogan, and the rest of their crew, who knows where this will end?”

“You’re right.” He kissed Sloane before wrapping an arm around his waist and leading him out of the room. Bautista was in the hall, and when he saw Sloane, he gingerly approached.

“I’m so sorry, Agent Brodie.”

“You can’t be held responsible for his actions, Felipe. He made his choices, and now he has to answer to them.”

Bautista nodded. “Thank you.”

Calvin escorted Bautista from the building. He’d be dropping him off, and Austen would take over surveillance from there, making sure Bautista didn’t change his mind and try to warn Collins. Dex doubted the guy would try to skip town. From what he’d heard, Bautista loved his job and cared a great deal about the kids he taught. Dex was relieved the Therian wasn’t involved with the Coalition. He hoped Bautista would move on from this and maybe find himself someone more worthy of his love than Collins.

As soon as the two were gone, the team gathered around Sloane in the middle of the hall.

“So where’s the meet?” Dex asked Seb who checked his tablet.