“Hey,” Dex thrust a finger at Ash. No, wait, he meant to point at his brother. He moved his arm over. “There you are. I did not drool on the bar. I spilled my drink and then fell asleep on it. It was sticky. Get your facts straight.”
“Okay, then. Good night, everyone.” Cael waved and Dex waved after him, smiling broadly.
“Ash, take care of my precious baby brother, or I will drug you and shave off your mane. Have you ever seen a lion without his mane? Not so majestic. Either that or you’ll look like a lady lion.” He turned to Sloane. “Help me out here. Lady lion?”
“Lioness,” Sloane offered, a dimple forming on his cheek. Dex was tempted to put his finger to it, but controlled himself.
“Right. Lioness.” He turned back to find Ash and his brother gone. With a snort of disgust, he turned to Sloane. “That guy is sooo fucking rude. I’m hungry.”
“All right. Time to go.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Dex turned and blew a kiss at Rosa and then Letty. “Hasta luego, mis ermanas, or is it companeras?” Dex let out a gasp. “Oh my God, you guys! Why didn’t you tell me I sounded like such a douche speaking Spanish?”
“It’s hermanas and compañeras,” Rosa corrected, but kissed his cheek anyway.
“I love you, Rosa. You’re so good at kicking Ash’s ass.” He hugged her tight until Sloane started pulling him away. “Love you, Letty! Your gun skills make angels cry ’cause it’s so beautiful.”
“Okay. Let’s get you out of here before the public loses any more respect for our organization.”
Dex allowed Sloane to lead him outside into the cool night air. “I’m hungry. And why’s it so dark?” Something moved in front of his eyes and it got brighter. He looked up at a handsome smiling face. “You’re so hot. I’m hungry.” Sloane. Food. Sloane. Food. How was he supposed to decide? Unless… “Can I have both?”
“I think you left the other half of that question in your head,” Sloane said with a chuckle as he walked Dex down the street, his big, strong, beefy arm around Dex’s shoulders. He liked Sloane’s arms. And other things. “I’ll make you a sandwich soon as I get you home,” Sloane added.
Next thing Dex knew, he was sitting inside some car. “Whose car is this?”
“It’s a taxi,” Sloane said, handing him something cold and wet. “Here. Drink this.”
“I’m not thirsty.” He took a swig and scrunched his nose. “This doesn’t taste like anything.”
“Because it’s water. Just drink it.”
“All of it?” Dex’s eyes widened. “It’ll make me pee.”
“Then you pee.”
“You’re so smart.” Dex leaned into Sloane and inhaled deeply. “God, you smell good.” Dex opened his eyes and found he was standing on the sidewalk in front of his house. Damn. That taxi was astoundingly fast. Like… the Doc’s DeLorean. Now that was a cool car. He closed his eyes for
a moment and took a deep breath. He was still hungry, but the water Sloane had given him had helped clear his head some. He heard Sloane talking and turned to find the taxi driving away. The fact it was driving away without Sloane left butterflies in his stomach. He should be feeling happy about it, knowing there was probably some sexy time in his near future, but he started thinking about other things that weren’t sexy. He’d tried to keep it to himself, but he couldn’t any longer. With a pathetic frown, he came out and said it.
“Am I a sucky partner?”
SLOANE CAME to an abrupt halt at the murmured words. “What?”
This was usually the part where Sloane ended up at Dex’s for some hot, drunken sex, except tonight, something was off, namely Dex. Sloane wrapped his arm around his too quiet partner as he helped him up the front steps. Before getting in the cab, he’d managed to walk Dex around in an attempt to sober him up and made him drink a whole bottle of water. He’d expected some more of Dex’s drunken ramblings, but not the serious concern on the man’s face and certainly not the question he’d spouted.
“Am I a sucky partner?” Dex repeated. His voice was barely audible, and his words came out slurred.
“Okay, sit down with me. The night air will do you some good.” Sloane sat Dex down beside him on the top step, and he held Dex against him so he couldn’t fall forward. He smiled as Dex turned into him, nuzzling his neck, and snuggling close.
The street was quiet, lined with trees, and the lighting dim enough to conceal them from any curious passersby. He ran a hand over Dex’s head and through his hair, speaking softly. He reckoned the night hadn’t gone exactly as planned for Dex. He felt guilty now for leaving Dex to get information from Lou. Considering what he’d found out, maybe not so guilty. He’d make it up to Dex, but first things first. “Now what’s this whole sucky partner business?”
“What if I’m kidding myself? I’m a detective, not a soldier. You, Ash, Hobbs, you’re tough as bricks, Therians who bench press busses, or at the very least a Volkswagen Beetle. Letty was in the army. Rosa, I’m pretty sure, is the next evolution of Terminator. Calvin can shoot the wings off a fly with his eyes closed, and Cael can program algorithms in his sleep. What the hell do I do, besides sing karaoke and win at laser tag?”
Sloane turned to cup Dex’s cheek, wondering where this sudden bout of insecurity was coming from. Dex never showed the slightest hint of being anything other than confident in nearly everything he did. Maybe Sloane didn’t know as much about his partner as he thought he did. “Dex, just because you haven’t had the training we have, or the experience, doesn’t mean you’re not a good soldier. You never hesitate to go out there and do the best job you can. You’re smart, clever, enthusiastic, driven. You never give up, and you lift everyone’s spirits. If we didn’t have you to pick us up, to pick me up, I don’t know where we’d be.”
“Bored,” Dex muttered. “So I’m the comic relief?”
“No. You’re an important member of this team. They love you, Dex. You’re the perfect fit and exactly what we needed. After I lost Gabe… I was so sure I was going to lose them too. It was unbearable, watching them retreating into themselves, not being able to do anything about it. Rosa kept to herself. Letty spent more time around guns than she did people. Calvin was always moping around. Hobbs barely said a word.”