Rise & Fall (THIRDS 4)

“Do you realize what would happen if Lieutenant Sparks found out?”

“That asshole has threatened my family and my team. I’m putting a stop to this before anyone else I care about gets hurt. It’s not going to stop until Hogan is behind bars or dead.” Dex hesitated, wondering how much he should confide in Austen. Sloane trusted him, which meant Dex would trust him. “There were Felid Therians staking out Sloane’s apartment today.”

“Shit. I was going to pass by but got held up. Were they Hogan’s?”

“Yeah. One of them knew my name. I don’t know what the hell they were doing there, but it couldn’t be anything good.”

“Damn it. Are you going to tell Sloane any of this?”

Dex thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. “Not yet. I don’t want him worrying about it. I’ll tell him once he’s settled in at home.”

“Fine. What do you need?”

“Information. I have access to Themis for a couple of days to finish off my reports on the Coalition exchange and the explosion outside my house. I’ll get what I can without raising any red flags, but I might need you to follow up on some leads. I need to find Ox Perry and Brick Jackson before Hogan does. If you get any information on either of them, on Hogan, or any of Hogan’s guys, I want to know about it first.”

Austen gaped at him. Not exactly the reaction Dex had been hoping for. “You want me to keep information from Sebastian Hobbs? I know he looks like a nice guy, and he is, sexy too, but if you fuck with his case, he will bust your shit up. He fucked up once, he’s not going to let it happen a second time.”

“What did happen?” Dex leaned against the terrace wall, and Austen followed his lead, getting a little closer to him than Dex would have liked, but he let it slide. If anyone came nosing around, they’d think they were a couple of guys sneaking in a little make-out session. It wasn’t exactly uncommon. Especially with Austen being a Therian. It was amazing how many Humans got stupid when they saw a Human and Therian kissing in front of their kids. It was okay for them to suck face, but the moment it wasn’t two Humans. Bam. Bring on the plague of locusts. He turned his attention back to Austen. “I know Seb was on Destructive Delta, and he was transferred, but I don’t know much else. Everyone’s pretty tight-lipped about it.”

“Because it was messed up,” Austen replied with a shake of his head. “Seb and Hudson were involved at the time. Seb was crazy about the guy. They were inseparable. Really sweet. Anyway, the team was at a murder scene, and they’d been given the all clear. Except it wasn’t clear. The gunman was still there. Hudson was seeing to the body when the shooting started. The guy shot at Hudson, and Seb broke protocol. He should have made sure all the civilians were safe. Instead, he went for Hudson. A bullet missed the doc and killed a kid.”

“Shit.” Dex had known it was something bad, but he had no idea. No wonder Seb had looked devastated when Dex had brought up the incident at the hospital.

“Yeah. A shitstorm of epic proportions rained down on them. The family pressed charges, the lawyers came out, and it went to court. In the end, the agent who’d reported the all clear took the fall. He’s probably working in a pretzel kiosk in a mall somewhere. Seb got demoted and transferred from the team, and the THIRDS introduced the “no fraternizing” rule. The most dangerous cases he dealt with were the ones giving him paper cuts. They stuck him in archives for a while. The world moved on, and Seb was put back in the field. Of course, by then, there was no salvaging his relationship with Hudson. I don’t think either of them could face what happened. Guess the THIRDS decided to give Seb another chance by promoting him into Stone’s old position. Can’t believe the bastard turned traitor on us.”

Dex was hardly about to lose any more sleep on Levi Stone. Right now, he had his own problems. Knowing what happened to Seb made him feel worse, because no matter what, he couldn’t back out of this. He’d never impede another agent’s investigation, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to conduct his own. “Austen. Please.”

“I can’t withhold information.”

Damn it. He’d really thought Austen would help him out, if only for Sloane’s sake. The two went way back. Sloane had taken him off the streets, gotten him recruited to the THIRDS, and trusted him like family. Austen gave him a cocky grin, and Dex held his breath.

“But I can give you whatever intel I get on this case before I give it to Seb. I’ll hold out as long as I can.”

Dex couldn’t keep his relief from showing. He gave Austen a smile and shook his hand. “Deal. Thank you. I owe you one.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that, Daley.” Austen winked at him before disappearing into the shadows again. How the hell did he do it? Dex walked off in the opposite direction toward Seventy-Second Street where he’d parked his Challenger.

Tomorrow morning, Sloane would be released from the hospital, and Dex would take care of him like he’d promised he would. He would also try his damn hardest to find Hogan. The tough part—besides finding the guy—would be trying to do so without rousing Sloane’s suspicion. The thought of lying to Sloane made him feel like shit, but he had to see this through. If he told Sloane, his partner would most likely try to talk him out of it, and if that didn’t work, Dex was sure Sloane would come up with a way to stop him. He couldn’t let that happen.

As he headed home, Retro Radio played in the background, relaxing him. He thought about his next move, because as good as Austen was, Dex couldn’t sit around waiting for intel to fall into his lap. Austen had his work cut out for him. Had Hogan sent those two to finish Sloane off? It didn’t make any sense. Hogan was smart. He had to know the THIRDS would be keeping a close watch for him. Damn it. Dex needed more information, but he needed a place to work from first.

Traffic stopped for the red light near Columbus Avenue, and Dex’s gaze landed on La Pain Quotidien on his left. An insane idea struck him. Shit. And he was only five minutes away from the place in question as well. Instead of turning on Columbus to head home, he continued toward West Seventy-Seventh Street. He managed to find a parking spot next door to Clove Catering.

Lou’s catering business was open twenty-four hours a day. It was fancy but

reasonably priced. They catered weddings, corporate events, galas, and fundraisers. Dex didn’t know anyone else who worked as hard at their career or loved it as much as Lou. His ex was also a bit of a control freak, which most likely played a part in his success. But his hard work had paid off, and over the last couple of years, Lou had been featured in the media as an up-and-coming talent. He’d been interviewed in New York Weddings magazine among a host of other big-name wedding magazines and newspapers. The company had doubled in size. The food was top-notch, the service second to none, and Lou wasn’t pretentious like some of the owners of a few other companies Dex had met while accompanying his ex-boyfriend to a couple of conferences. He hadn’t even been aware caterers had conferences. It was weird going somewhere to see the latest in food-tray technology. But the eats had been awesome, so Dex never complained.

The little bell above the glass door jingled merrily and announced his presence as he walked in. There was a large greeting area containing several sleek white tables with couples sitting across from event organizers browsing through menus and albums. Event photos lined the walls in elegant, antique-style frames. The circus roses in frosted white vases added a burst of color to the mostly white and black décor. At this time of night, Lou would still be in. He always worked late on Wednesdays to catch up on invoices. Dex greeted some of the employees he recognized along the way to the main reception area where he found the twins, Jeremy and Joseph. They were a couple of cute blond twinks who were Lou’s assistants. They smiled brightly when they saw him, greeting him in unison.

“Hi, Dex.”

“Hey, guys. How’s it going? Still saving the world from the fashionably challenged?”

“Oh my God. Seriously, Dex. Some people can’t be saved, no matter how much you try,” Jeremy said, leaning forward and adjusting his trendy black-framed glasses. “Have you ever been to a vampire wedding?”

“Thankfully, no.” The thought alone made him cringe.

Joseph shook his head sadly. “Sweetie, Mauricio spent ten hours gluing tiny white rhinestones to the groom so he would sparkle when he walked down the aisle.”