Rise & Fall (THIRDS 4)

“I was missing you,” Bautista replied, standing to wrap his arms around Collins’s waist. “You’re always so busy these days.”

“Yeah. But it’ll be over soon.”

Dex’s gut twisted. The alarm bells in his head went off, and he listened intently.

“What will be over soon?” Bautista asked, cocking his head to one side.

Collins kissed his boyfriend on the lips before taking a step back, an almost heartbroken expression on his face as he held his hands up in surrender. “I don’t blame you for turning me in. You’re a good guy. It’s why I fell in love with you. Take care of yourself.”

Shit. He knows. “Destructive Delta, move in!” Dex held his tranq gun at the ready as he and the rest of his team emerged from the shrubbery and rushed Collins who remained still, his hands up in front of him as he called out to them.

“I’m unarmed, agents.”

“How could you?” Bautista cried as Calvin tried to drag him away. “How could you kill all those people?”

“You wouldn’t understand,” Collins replied, turning away from his distraught boyfriend. Calvin led Bautista to Seb’s black Suburban heading their way while Ash removed the Therian-strength zip ties from his belt. He kicked at the back of Collins’s knees, forcing him onto the ground before he secured the Therian’s ankles, then his wrists behind his back.

“You’re going to rot in jail, you piece of shit,” Ash said, roughly hauling the Therian to his feet.

Dex frowned. He studied the area around them. Everything was quiet. No telltale signs of an ambush. No Therians hiding in the bushes or the reflection from sniper beams. Nothing.

This is too easy.

Collins smiled maliciously, and Dex’s blood ran cold. He marched up to Collins and grabbed a fistful of his shirt. “What did you do?”

“Me? I haven’t done anything.” The smile never left the smug bastard’s face. “The question you should be asking, Agent Daley, is what have you done?”

Something wasn’t right. Dex’s gaze shifted to Ash who looked equally annoyed by Collins’s cryptic threat. A phone went off, and Dex looked around, the rest of the team shrugging. It took Dex a moment to realize it was coming from Collins. Searching the Therian’s pockets, he pulled out a burner phone. There was a text message. He opened it up, and his heart almost stopped.

We’ll be in touch. Don’t do anything stupid until then, or your cheetah won’t be chirping much longer.

On the screen, an image of Cael bound and gagged, his cheek bruised and split lip, popped up. Dex thought he was going to be sick.

“Oh God.” He shook his head. No. No way could that sick son of a bitch have Cael. It couldn’t be. The phone slipped from his hands onto the grass. It couldn’t be. The photo was a lie. It had to be. Dex walked away from Collins before his shaky hand touched his earpiece. “Seb. I need one of your guys to check the van. Now.”

“On it.”

“What is it?” Ash asked worriedly.

Dex held a hand up, signaling for him to wait. He had to know for sure. A few heart-stopping moments later, and Seb’s anxious voice came on the line.

“It’s empty, Dex. Cael’s gone. Looks like there was a struggle.”

“Fuck!” Dex put his hands to his head. It had been a trap. The whole thing had been a fucking trap. Had Collins known Bautista would turn him in? He had to have been expecting it. No wonder the guy had turned himself in so easily. It had all been a distraction for Hogan to get his hands on Cael. How long had the bastard been waiting to make his move?

“I’d listen to what he says,” Collins called out behind him. “Hogan likes them cute and perky.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Ash demanded, giving Collins a shake. Dex stormed over, his anger reaching boiling point as he threw a punch and hit Collins square across the jaw, forcing his head to snap to the side.

“You motherfucking piece of shit, where’s my brother?”

Hobbs appeared beside Collins, holding him up. Furious, Dex concentrated on Collins, barely aware of the gasp behind him or the lack of Ash’s presence. He was about to beat the shit out of Collins if he had to when Ash’s claws dug into Collins’s neck, drawing a horrible gurgling sound from him. Startled, Dex took a step back. He stared in stunned disbelief as the Felid inside Ash looked out from his amber eyes. His claws had grown out along with his fangs, and he lifted Collins off his feet. Tiny rivets of blood trailed down Collins’s neck.

“Tell me where he is, or I’ll rip your fucking throat out!” Ash snarled.

Fuck. Dex looked from Ash to Hobbs, who was staring wide-eyed at Ash. So this was a first for his teammates as well.

“Tell me!” Ash squeezed his fingers tighter around Collins’s neck, drawing more blood and choking from Collins.