“Everyone okay?” Sloane asked, and received a nod from Ash and Letty. “Good. Backup should be here any minute. They can get this place cleaned up. We need to get this guy to HQ, and—” His phone rang, and Sloane dug in his pocket for it, praying it was Dex.
Unknown Caller flashed on his screen. With his heart in his throat, he answered. “Hello?”
“Sloane.”
“Austen?”
“In about a minute, a car is going to pick you up and take you to an undisclosed location.”
“Austen, what’s going on? Have you heard from Dex?”
“It’s about Dex.”
The world around him fell silent, and his breathing stopped, or at least felt like it did.
“Dex was in a car wreck.”
Considering Dex hadn’t been driving, all kinds of scenarios entered Sloane’s head.
“He was picked up by a TIN medical team and is now at a TIN facility. See you soon.” The call ended, and Sloane stared down at his phone.
“Sloane?” Ash put a hand on Sloane’s shoulder, startling him.
“Dex…. He’s been in a car accident. TIN have him. They’re going to pick me up.”
“I’m going with you,” Cael said, stopping in front of Sloane.
Sloane nodded. “Letty, can you…?” He motioned around them, and Letty nodded.
“We’ll take care of it, boss. You do what you gotta do, and keep us informed.”
“Thank you, Letty.”
Letty went off, rounding up the team and relaying information. Sloane was grateful when everyone got to work, and then Calvin stopped by the back of the truck.
“Sloane, there’s a black SUV here.”
Sloane hopped down from the truck, followed by Ash and Cael. The back doors were opened, and they climbed in. As soon as they were seated, the usual black bags were thrown over their heads. The doors closed and the car drove off. Sloane felt numb. He couldn’t even process what Austen had told him. Whatever had happened, Dex had to be okay. Now more than ever, Sloane knew the two incidents were connected. They had to be. Whatever was going on, he was going to get to the bottom of this. If Wolf was right and the Makhai had something up their sleeve, they had to find out what it was and put a stop to it before anyone else got hurt.
The ride was short, and Sloane didn’t bother trying to figure out where they’d gone. He didn’t care. All he could think about was Dex. As soon as the SUV doors opened, Sloane jerked the black bag from his head and burst through the facility doors. Austen was waiting for them at the end of the corridor; the look on his face had Sloane breaking into a run to get to him. His heart sounded in his ears, and he was still feeling nauseous from Austen’s phone call.
“Where is he?” Sloane demanded.
“I’ll take you to him, but first….” Austen turned his attention to Ash and Cael. “I need you two to wait in that room there while I talk to Sloane.”
“Screw that,” Cael snapped, his face flushed. “Where’s my brother, Austen? I want to see him.”
“And you will. I promise. I just need to talk to Sloane first. Please, trust me on this.”
“I’m his brother,” Cael growled, the fear and frustration radiating off him. It was hard to see, but if Austen didn’t want Cael going in just yet, there had to be a reason. Sloane put his hand on Cael’s shoulder.
“Please, Cael. I promise, the moment I can get you in there, I will. You know I’d never keep him from you.”
“I know,” Cael sighed, averting his gaze. “I just hate this not knowing. Is this how it’s going to be from now on?” Cael looked up at him, his big gray eyes filled with pain. “He’s my brother, and no one will tell me anything. I’m just supposed to sit here fearing the worst until someone decides it’s time for me to know. How would that make you feel, Sloane?”
It would drive him, and his feral half, out of his mind. What the hell was he supposed to say to Cael? As it was, more people knew about who Dex and Sloane would be working for than was permitted. Most operatives led double lives. They didn’t disclose their TIN identities to anyone, not even their spouses. TIN had made an exception for Dex and Sloane because Destructive Delta had become TIN Associates and were being brought in as their assets. They’d made an exception for the others because they were THIRDS—they still hadn’t been happy about it, but they’d accepted.
“Just go,” Cael said with a heavy sigh, turning to lean into Ash, seeking comfort. Ash wrapped his arms around Cael and brought him in tight against him, laying his cheek against Cael’s head as he rubbed his back.