Blood & Thunder (THIRDS 2)

“Why don’t you get some sleep, huh?” He gently pulled Cael in for a hug and planted a kiss on his brother’s head. “We’ll sort it all out.” As soon as Cael drifted off to sleep, Dex lay back down on the couch. He should have seen the signs sooner. Why hadn’t he paid more attention? Cael had a bad habit of falling for guys who weren’t good for him, and now he’d fallen for the mother lode. Even if there was the slightest probability Cael was right, Ash was so deep in the closet, he was taking Aslan’s place in Narnia. Whatever the outcome, it was going to be one hell of a tough road for his baby brother.

IT HAD been two days since Sloane had spoken with Dex, and he’d genuinely believed he would’ve simmered down by now, but when Dex undressed beside him in the locker room, the bandage around his leg glaringly white against his fair skin, Sloane was far from calm. The more he thought about it, the more he could feel his anger rising. He recalled the way Dex had limped out of the building, leg bloodied, face dripping with sweat, and smudged with muck from the explosion, an explosion that had happened mere feet away.

Dex finished getting dressed and turned to him with a sigh. “Look, I know you’re pissed off—”

“Pissed off?” Sloane slammed his locker shut, the rest of the agents in the locker room gathering their belongings and bolting. “I’m not pissed off, Dex, I’m fucking furious.”

Dex swallowed hard and stood his ground, rounding his shoulders. “I was doing my job.”

“No, you were disobeying orders. You not only put Hobbs’s life in danger, but your own.”

“He would have died. How much more in danger can he get?”

“Don’t—” Sloane caught himself and tried to pull his anger in check. “I’ll see you upstairs.” He needed to cool off, but every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was Dex lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Since the explosion, Sloane had been sleeping at work in his sleep bay, and both nights he had the same nightmare he’d had back at Dex’s place, with the same outcome, except instead of Isaac pulling the trigger, Sloane had watched a mirror image of himself doing the shooting. Disturbed didn’t begin to cover it.

His team was his family. If he lost one of them…. Goddamn it, he had a job to do. Protocols were put in place for a reason. If the structure had given way…. What the hell would he have told Cael? How would he have faced Maddock? How would Sloane have explained to Maddock he’d let his son die because he hadn’t the balls to put his foot down and take control of the situation? Dex was a good agent, but emotionally, he was too green. Maybe in the HPF, Dex could get away with running headfirst into the fray, but not at the THIRDS, and certainly not on Sloane’s watch. He’d make Dex understand, one way or another.

When he walked into their office, he went straight to his desk, where he brought up the files he needed and typed in the time and date, as well as a quick and brief description of the incident. Afterward he would attach his notes and the appropriate reports. As soon as Dex walked through the door, Sloane tapped a code into the side panel. The door swished closed, and the room went into “privacy” mode, the frosted white walls turning solid white so no one could see inside or overhear any conversation.

“Sit down,” he stated calmly. Dex pressed his lips together and did as asked. There was no telling how Dex would react, but Sloane reminded himself he was doing his job, and although his partner would most certainly disagree, he was doing it for Dex’s own good. Sloane would have done the same had he been facing any other of his teammates. Pressing the “record” button on the panel of his desk’s interface, Sloane began.

“Team Leader Sloane Brodie, badge number 0102, issuing a verbal reprimand to Agent Dexter J. Daley, badge number 2108, for direct violation of Policy 2-3, Failure to Follow Procedure.”

Dex gaped at him. “You’re taking disciplinary action?”

Sloane paused the recording. “Were you expecting special treatment?”

“You mean because we’re fucking?” Dex hissed quietly, though with the room in “privacy” mode, Dex could shout at the top of his lungs and no one would hear a word. “No, I didn’t expect any special treatment for that. What I did expect from you was guidance.”

“You knew exactly what you were doing,” Sloane ground out through his teeth. He leaned his arms on his desk and met Dex’s stubborn gaze. “That wasn’t a rookie mistake and you know it. You deliberately went against direct orders!”

Dex jumped to his feet. “And I’d do it again! I’m not about to stand by and watch one of my teammates die when I can do something about it.”

“The structure was unsound!”

“It was sound enough. I was there and you weren’t. This isn’t about not following orders. It’s about you not trusting me on the job, or outside of it.”

“What?”

“You don’t trust me.”

What the hell? “Bullshit. You’re my partner. I put my life in your hands every time we go out in the damned field.”

“Only because you’re taking the lead. You’re not risking a part of yourself.”

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. I take the lead because I’m the Team Leader and that’s my job! Like it’s your job to do whatever the hell I tell you to do!” If he wasn’t careful, he was going to lose it. Dex had a talent for getting under his skin and that angered Sloane further. “Why are we having this ridiculous conversation?”

“Argument,” Dex corrected. “We’re h

aving an argument. And we’re having it because you can’t open up and trust me. I know my eight months on the job are shit compared to your twenty-something years, but I’m not an idiot. That structure was sound. What’s more, you know I’m right. That’s why you’re shouting.”

“You’re not thinking objectively and that’s what this is about.” He hit the pause button again to resume the recording. “Performance improvement to a satisfactory level is required to prevent further disciplinary action which may impede the course of your training and development, or lead to punitive action which may result in your dismissal. You have a right to contest to this reprimand, under THIRDS Policy 6-2, and are permitted three weeks in which to do so.” He took a deep breath and braced himself. “Do you have anything you’d like to add?”

“No,” Dex replied through gritted teeth.

“Verbal reprimand concluded.” He hit “stop,” wishing he could do the same with the shitty feeling turning his stomach. What the hell had gotten into him? He’d never shouted at any of his coworkers. He’d never shouted at Gabe, and they’d had plenty of arguments at the office.

“Are we done?” Dex asked.