Blood & Thunder (THIRDS 2)

“Not your fault your brother’s… difficult.”

That made Seb chuckle. “Still so polite.”

“One of my many faults.” Hudson smiled sadly at him. “Please take care of yourself.”

“You too.” With a wave at Dex, Seb left, and the room was once again plunged into awkward silence.

“So, you and Seb….”

“It’s not up for discussion,” Hudson snapped.

Dex held his hands up. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to pry.” Wow. It must have been bad. Hudson was nothing if not polite at all times. After a few months, Dex learned there was more to their Chief Medical Examiner than he’d first thought. Hudson was exceptionally well spoken, composed, and polite, but he had a mouth on him that would make a nun keel over. The wolf Therian could swear with the best of them and far more creatively. Dex was always learning fun new words from him. He’d even learned how to make English tea. Of course the cookies, or biscuits, or whatever the hell Hudson called them, didn’t hurt in making the experience more enjoyable.

Hudson let out a weary sigh. “I apologize. It was a rather disheartening experience. Seb is… a wonderful bloke.”

“Seems like he still cares about you,” Dex added carefully.

Hudson’s cheeks flushed, and he pushed his trendy, black-framed glasses up his nose. “The feeling would be mutual.”

“Then why not—”

“It’s in the past, Dex.” Hudson went to Cael’s bedside and put his hand to his forehead.

Seeming unable to help himself, he checked Cael’s vitals, the IV bag, and the chart tucked into the pocket at the end of the bed. “I’m glad to see he’ll be okay. Nina’s been so worried. The whole Unit is worried. Your brother’s very much cared for.”

“He’s a great guy,” Dex stated proudly.

“Well, if you need anything, do give me a shout.”

“I will. Say thank you to Nina for me.”

“Will do.”

Dex grabbed the change of clothes Tony had brought him earlier and headed for Cael’s bathroom. There was a small shower stall and some towels. Once inside the shower, his muscles relaxed. He’d managed to clean up some while he waited to hear about Cael from the doctors, but now he was finally able to wash away the remaining dirt, grime, and blood. He wished his worries would wash down the drain with the rest of it. Besides coming into Hobbs’s room to see what all the noise was about, Dex hadn’t run into Sloane, and that wasn’t a good sign. This was the first time Dex had done something to really piss Sloane off. Oh, he’d made his partner angry before, but not nostrils flaring, you-done-fucked-up angry. He was not looking forward to whatever awaited him.

After toweling off, he pulled on a clean pair of boxer briefs, socks, his comfy jeans, and a loose charcoal gray, long sleeve T-shirt. He dropped down onto the couch, fluffed up the pillow given to him by a cute little Therian nurse, and stretched out for a much-needed nap. His leg protested, but it wasn’t too bad since he’d been given some painkillers. With his arms folded over his chest, and his stocking feet crossed at the ankles, he forced himself to clear his mind, hoping this whole thing with Sloane would blow over. Maybe by the morning, everything would be back to normal.

Chapter 8

DEX

The faint sound of his name being called woke Dex with a start. He rubbed his eyes and sat up when he remembered where he was. Jumping to his feet, he ran to Cael’s bedside, his heart squeezing at the sight of his little brother smiling at him.

“Hey, you’re awake,” Dex said, putting a hand to his brother’s head. “How are you feeling?”

“Like shit,” Cael replied, his voice raspy. “Can I have some water?”

“You can have all the water you want.” There was a jug of water, along with some plastic cups on the small table beside the bed, and Dex poured some, handing it to Cael then pausing. “Can you hold it?”

Cael rolled his eyes and took the cup from him. Well, it looked like his baby bro was going to be fine. He drank down the whole cup and passed it back to Dex. “Thanks. How long have you been here?”

Dex looked at his watch. “A few hours. Dad brought me some clothes, and I used your shower. You know, if this is to get out of programming more algorithms, there are better ways to go about it than getting yourself blown up.”

“Screw you,” Cael said with a laugh, then winced. “Ow.” He frowned, his expression giving way to panic. “Hobbs? Is he okay? I heard you say he was trapped just before I got knocked out.”

“Take it easy. Hobbs is fine. He’s pretty banged up, but he was lucky. They’re treating him for smoke inhalation.”

Cael nodded somberly, his eyes welling up. Dex carefully took a seat on the edge of his bed. “Hey, what’s wrong?”