Hell & High Water (THIRDS 1)

“And whose idea was it for him to move in?”

“His, but again, I agreed because I was ready.” Were they really going to have this conversation now?

“Or maybe you didn’t care one way or the other and were only trying to make him happy.”

Dex straightened, his voice going higher than it should. “Hey, I cared about him.”

“I’m not saying you didn’t, but I think maybe your relationship wasn’t as perfect as you convinced yourself it was. Dex, I know you. Hell, I raised you. When you love something, you throw yourself into it, consequences be damned. Remember that police outfit I put together for you one Halloween when you were eight?”

A dopey grin found its way onto Dex’s face. “Yeah, I loved that thing.”

“You lived in it. You refused to wear anything else. You slept in it, ate in it, played in it, even went to school in it.”

“I also got beat up in it,” Dex added with a frown. “But then I suppose it didn’t help that I kept trying to arrest my classmates.” Hmm. He was starting to sense a pattern.

Tony placed a gentle hand on Dex’s shoulder. “My point is, when you’re passionate about something, it shows in everything you do. With Lou, you were never bothered about anything.”

“Not true. We fought about stuff.”

“No, you fought about one thing, the one thing you truly loved. The job. You were willing to put your job before Lou every time. Boy, the excuses you came up with were something else. Worst part was you didn’t even know you were doing it.”

Dex took a step back and shoved his hands into his pockets, not liking where this conversation was heading, or the fact that he could feel his anger rising. “So what? Now I’m a shitty boyfriend for caring about my career?”

“I’m saying if you weren’t willing to risk everything for him, he wasn’t the one for you.” Tony gave him a gentle pat on the back before he strode off again.

They walked side by side in silence, and Dex wondered if Tony could be right. Had Dex been going along with the relationship just to make Lou happy? It didn’t feel that way. Dex had been happy with Lou, and although it was true the only thing they ever argued about was Dex’s job, it hardly meant he hadn’t cared about anything else.

When Lou wanted his attention, Dex gave it. When Lou needed help to expand his catering business, Dex had supported him. When Lou had asked Dex how he felt about them living together, Dex said he was fine with it. Should he not have

been? Lou had been the closest thing to a committed relationship Dex had ever had. There had been a lot of first-time moments.

No point in analyzing it now. His relationship, much like his career at the HPF, was over. All he could do now was what he did best, throw himself into his work. This was his last chance. He had to make this work.

Being a detective for the HPF meant he got shit from Humans, because that’s where his jurisdiction started and ended. Being an agent for the THIRDS meant he’d be getting shit from Humans and Therians. Double the fun. He couldn’t complain. It also meant he was getting double the pay and benefits, if he survived long enough to reap the rewards. Wait…. THIRDS, Therians, Alphas… predators.

“Oh my God,” he gasped and abruptly clutched onto Tony’s arm as reality set in. “I’m going to be shredded like string cheese!” He’d been stabbed, shot, received broken bones, fractures, sprains, beatings, bruising, cuts, but he’d never come up against someone who could kill him with one bite.

“What is it with you and cheese?” Tony pried Dex’s fingers off his arm and continued to walk, ignoring Dex’s near panicked state. As an HPF detective, Dex had never faced any Therians in their Therian form, not even docile ones. After all, shifting in public was considered a misdemeanor, right up there with indecent exposure, and once they were in their Therian form, if they committed a crime, they were the THIRDS’ responsibility. Now they were his responsibility, and he was going to be dealing with Therians who wiped their asses with the law.

The closest Dex had ever gotten to being mauled was when Cael hit puberty and his first shift happened. Therians could control their shift but it was possible for an overly stressful moment to trigger a shift; which was why most first shifts happened when puberty hit and tended to happen spontaneously. Like every other young Therian going through the frightening ordeal for the first time, Cael went nuts. Despite having attended all the mandatory classes for Families with Therian Youth—which was meant to prepare them for that exact moment, they all panicked, and Cael managed to graze Dex’s leg with his claws before Tony got his hands on the First Shift Response Kit containing the necessary sedatives.

As much as Dex understood it was still his little brother inside the cheetah Therian and that Cael hadn’t meant to hurt him, Dex’s blood all over the kitchen floor had left them all shaken. It was Tony who had then made certain his boys recovered, both physically and psychologically from the aftereffects. The faint scars on Dex’s leg no longer brought them the overwhelming guilt it once had—Tony for not preventing the near miss, Dex for being afraid of his own brother, and Cael for having hurt Dex.

“I’m not being a drama queen here. I am about to shit a brick.”

Tony stopped to give him a pointed look. “You want to survive, Rookie, you listen to your partner.”

“Rookie?” What the hell? “I’ve been on the force ten years!”

“The Human Police Force. In this world, you’re a rookie. You’ll be dealing with all the same nutjobs you were dealing with before, except now they have jaws and claws that will pull you apart like your favorite string cheese. Remember that. Jaws and claws. Repeat after me. Jaws.”

He was serious. Dex took a deep breath and released it slowly, his anxiety giving way to irritation. “Jaws.”

“And claws.”

“And claws,” Dex said, enunciating each word. He had a terrible urge to make claws with his hands, but he got the feeling Tony might kick his ass. Still, it was tempting. Clearly his face must have said as much, because Tony jabbed a finger in his direction.

“Don’t fuck around with this, Dex. I’m serious.”