“Mom? Are you okay? I got your message.” Rafe rushed into the room in full tactical gear. He came to an abrupt halt when he saw Calvin and Sloane. “What are you two doing here?”
“I asked Darla to call them,” Julia said gently, standing to greet her eldest. Darla returned from the kitchen and quietly took a seat beside Calvin, her hand going to his knee. She knew him too well. Encounters with Rafe rarely went well for him these days.
Calvin would say Rafe looked pissed, but he always looked that way. Ash had nothing on Rafe Hobbs. Even Ash was known to smile and laugh every once in a while. Calvin had never heard Rafe laugh in all the years he’d known him. Smirk, maybe. Look not as angry, definitely. Smile? Calvin couldn’t remember. Laugh, definitely not.
Rafe turned to his mother. “How’s Dad?”
“He’s sleeping. The boys helped me.”
“Where’s Ethan?”
“I told Calvin not to tell him,” Sloane said. “I came instead.”
Rafe shook his head. “You can’t keep your nose out of my family’s business, can you?”
Sloane stood, and Calvin tensed. He kept an eye on the two, hoping there wouldn’t be a repeat performance of the epic fight they’d had after the shooting incident that had cost Seb his place on Destructive Delta. Rafe had punched Sloane, and Sloane’s retaliation had been just as brutal. Tension had been high enough without Rafe making things worse. It had taken several Therian agents from Unit Alpha to break up the fight. Both had walked away with bruises and split lips.
“I was helping,” Sloane said steadily.
“You’re enabling. You’re as bad as the rest of them, babying him. He’s never going to be normal if everyone keeps treating him like a spaz.”
“Watch your mouth,” Calvin growled, jumping to his feet. He got up in Rafe’s face, not caring that Rafe towered over him by nearly a foot and a half. “Maybe you don’t give a shit about your brother’s health, but the rest of us do.”
Julia took hold of her son’s arm. “Please, honey. You know your dad doesn’t want Ethan to see him like that. He feels guilty enough.”
“Well, he shouldn’t. Ethan’s an adult. He should have grown out of this by now.”
Calvin couldn’t believe the arrogance. “Grow out of it? Do you go around telling people in wheelchairs to walk it off? Or tell people with disabilities to grow out of it? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Baby,” Darla warned gently. She put her hand on Calvin’s shoulder, and he told himself to calm down before he planted one in Rafe’s face. His mom was right. The last thing they needed was another fight. There was enough pain in this house.
“Forget it. Like you give a shit.” Calvin sidestepped Rafe and kissed Julia’s cheek. “Take care. If you need anything at all, you call me.”
“Thank you, sweetheart.”
Calvin turned and kissed his mom. “Talk to you later. Love you.”
Darla hugged him close. “I love you too. Take care, baby.”
Julia and Darla said their good-byes to Sloane and thanked him again before they headed off. They climbed into Sloane’s car, and Calvin was surprised when Sloane popped on an eighties music station. Calvin arched an eyebrow at him, and Sloane gave him a guilty smile.
“It helps calm me down.”
Calvin laughed. He buckled up as they drove off, listening to some eighties ballad. Was Sloane aware of all the quirks he’d picked up from his boyfriend? It was probably best he not mention it. Dex on the other hand hadn’t changed one bit. No, wait, he was eating healthier, though some of that was down to Sloane sneaking healthy options into Dex’s meals without him knowing.
“Has Rafe always been such a dick? When you were growing up, I mean.”
Calvin shrugged. “The guy was hardly ever there. No one knew where he’d disappear to. Seb was the one who looked after Ethan. Seb and Rafe argued so much that Rafe kind of stopped coming home after a while, but then again it was up to the two of them to keep the family afloat. Between Thomas’s medical bills and Ethan’s, I really don’t know how they managed. I try to remind myself of that every time something infuriating comes out of Rafe’s mouth.”
Sloane went pensive. “I wonder if the whole thing with their dad hits him harder than he’s let on. Rafe’s not exactly the sharing type, but he cares about his family. He has a fucked-up way of showing it, but you remember the shitstorm that hit after the shooting? Rafe was out for blood. He was pissed with Seb, but he went after anyone remotely involved. When Ethan got hurt in the youth center bombing, Rafe got there before Seb and turned the hospital upside down. I had to warn him off because he kept getting in my face about it. I told him if he wanted to go at it off the clock, fine, but he had to stop that behavior at work. It was unprofessional and unacceptable, especially for a Team Leader. I understood his concern, but he went about it the wrong way. The guy’s always so pissed.”
“Yeah, most of the time we all stay out of his way.” Sloane was right about Rafe always being pissed, and especially about him not being the sharing type. Calvin wouldn’t be surprised if his anger was rooted in something, but it’d be a cold day in hell before Rafe told anyone what that would be, and lashing out at everyone wasn’t going to help him any.
On the ride back to Dex’s house, Calvin thought about what excuse he might give Ethan if he asked. He didn’t want to lie. It wasn’t something they did, and even if he felt he had no other choice, he’d feel shitty about it. When they arrived, no excuse was needed. There was little chance Ethan would grow suspicious or wonder where they’d been because what they walked into at Dex’s house was nothing short of chaos.
Ash, Cael, and Ethan were in their Therian forms, and they’d turned the living room into their personal Felid playground. Ethan was nestled inside the huge box, though he hardly fit. His big tiger butt was sticking up in the air while Ash chased Cael around the box, packing peanuts flying every which way. Dex, Letty, and Rosa were on the couch. Letty was painting Dex’s toenails, and Rosa was styling Dex’s hair.
Sloane’s jaw went slack. When he regained his powers of speech, he planted his hands on his hips. “What the hell is going on here?”
Everyone came to a screeching halt.
“Seriously? I step out and suddenly we’ve got Felids Gone Wild?” He walked over to Dex with a deep frown. “What happened?”
“Check it out, babe.” Dex lifted a foot. “Blazing Blue Bombshell. Letty says it matches my eyes.”
Sloane closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, which was a bad move on his part. Clearly, he’d forgotten about what had happened a little while ago, and his nose started bleeding again.
“Shit.” Dex carefully scrambled to his feet. “What happened?”
“It’s fine. You want to help me out in the kitchen?”
“Yeah, of course.” Dex glanced over at Calvin and gave him a nod. He smiled before leading Sloane into the kitchen. It was hard to believe that at one point Ethan had been Calvin’s only friend. He’d never trusted anyone else, and those who’d tried to get close to them always ended up bailing, unable to stick by them when things got rough. Now they had a whole team of friends willing to walk through fire to help them. A mew caught his attention, and he walked over to the box. Ethan was sitting serenely, his innocent furry face watching Calvin.
“Look at you. You look like a big loaf of striped bread with a tail.”
Ethan chuffed and closed his eyes, making Calvin laugh. He scratched Ethan behind his ears and under his chin, smiling at his friend’s mews and chuffs. He was so happy sitting there in that box, surrounded by people who loved him. Rafe was wrong. They weren’t enabling Ethan. Their team treated him like any other guy, but the fact remained that Ethan needed support sometimes. Sparing him pain and hardship was what loved ones did for each other. Calvin let his head rest against Ethan’s and hugged him close, his heart ready to burst from the love he felt for Ethan. As long as Calvin was at Ethan’s side, he would always do everything he could to protect him.
“HOLY SHIT.”
Ethan looked up at Calvin sitting at his desk interface, his jaw all but hitting his desk’s surface. Had Dex sent out another memo with Ash’s picture? Ethan listened intently. Nope. No cursing or chaos.
“What is it?” Ethan asked.
“Have you checked your inbox?” Calvin glanced up at him, eyes wide. Whatever it was, it was big. Ethan shook his head. He tended to leave his e-mails for when he needed a break from his reports and invoices. They always had
so
many e-mails, and the ones from Intel made his head hurt. He needed Google to help him decipher the text. It was THIRDS policy for Intel to explain every upgrade, every change to Themis, every tiny detail of anything and everything they did that affected all the other departments. The problem was that Intel agents seemed to speak a different language that no one understood. Except for Cael.
Calvin swiped his hand across his desk interface, sending the e-mail onto Ethan’s desk.
“She did it. Sparks amended the no-fraternizing rule.”
Ethan couldn’t believe it. Sparks had kept her word.
“She’s added a shitload of subclauses, but she did it.”
Ethan read through the amended rule, which had been sent out to everyone at THIRDS HQ. Agents were instructed to be discreet and professional, but relationships were no longer subject to discipline or transfer unless it resulted in an agent being unable to perform their duty to the best of their ability. The new amendment was extensive, but the gist of it was they were no longer subject to disciplinary measures simply for conducting a romantic relationship with a teammate. He wondered if Dex and Sloane had seen this.
The alarms blared, and Ethan sat up. They listened intently as Dispatch called in Destructive Delta. Suspicious device found off Times Square at the Deimos Tower. Calvin cursed under his breath as they both jumped to their feet and rushed out of the office, joining the rest of their team in formation as they hurried out of Unit Alpha to the elevator. Their sergeant took up the rear.
As they descended to the armory, Dispatch called in Theta Destructive and Beta Ambush. Looked like Seb would be joining them. Ever since Seb was promoted, Ethan noticed that Theta Destructive was often called on to assist Destructive Delta. Not that Ethan was complaining. Having his big brother near was comforting, but it meant there was a greater chance of Seb and Hudson running into each other. In fact, it was pretty likely they’d be working the same scene.
Downstairs, Ethan grabbed his EOD Packbot from his weapons locker and two EOD X-Ray kits, then handed one to Calvin. Anything else he might need he could pick up from the BearCat. They hurried to their tactical vehicle, parked in the garage next to Theta Destructive’s. Before Ethan could climb up into their vehicle with the rest of his team, Seb pulled him aside.
“You be careful out there, little brother.”
Ethan gave him a big smile. He playfully poked his brother in the chest.
You be careful too.
He didn’t have to say the words. Seb knew. His brother chuckled and knocked their helmets together.
“Yeah, all right. Get going.”
With a nod, Ethan turned and climbed into the truck. He secured his equipment in the weapons cage before heading into the front cabin. Calvin was already buckled up in the passenger seat.
“Everything okay?”
Ethan gave him a wink and buckled up before starting the truck. Time to get his baby moving. And boy could she move. Dex was always teasing him that he drove the BearCat like he was at NASCAR, and maybe he did, but he had years of maneuvering her through the streets of New York City. The BearCat might be an oversized beast of armored steel, rubber, and bulletproof glass, but Ethan had quickly tamed her wild ways. Her engine purred like a kitten, and she vibrated under his touch, her every move graceful and flawless.
“Seriously, I think you’ve got a kink for this truck,” Calvin muttered, his blue eyes narrowed.
Ethan laughed. He threw Calvin a suggestive look.
Don’t worry, baby, your engine’s the only one I love to rev.
“By that look, I’m gonna assume you just gave me a cheesy pickup line.”
The fun and games quickly came to an end when they reached their destination and the chaos that surrounded it. Ethan parked the BearCat at the end of the block, maneuvering it so it blocked the street and any possible oncoming traffic. One would think a bunch of flashing lights and law-enforcement vehicles might deter motorists from entering that particular street, but nope. Unless the street was on fire, citizens would try to drive through, and even then there were always exceptions.
Ethan waited for Calvin to exit the cabin first, then joined their team in the back. He tossed the keys to Maddock and removed his Packbot from the weapons cage. Calvin helped him secure it to his vest before handing Ethan one of the EOD X-Ray kits.
Maddock gave Ethan’s shoulder a pat. “All right, Hobbs, you get in there and check it out. The device is said to have been found in the server room on the twenty-third floor. Calvin, you’re his backup. Assess the situation. I want you giving Sloane updates as soon as you have them. Destructive Delta, clear the building. Let’s get these people out of here.” Maddock opened the back doors, and they all jumped out. Taylor and Seb were organizing their teams when Sloane joined them.
Seb presented a map of the area on his tablet, and with a swipe of his finger, Sloane circled the perimeter. “Four-block radius. Get your teams to clear the area. As soon as we get word on the device, we’ll reassess.”
Ethan was about to head to the building when Taylor grabbed Dex by the arm and jerked him against him. Dex made to shove Taylor away, but the guy wasn’t budging. What the hell was he doing?
“What the fuck, Taylor?” Dex tried pulling his arm out of Taylor’s grip, but Taylor held on. He sniffed at Dex, a low rumble of a growl coming up from his chest.
Shit.
Was it the mark? It had to be. They all knew Taylor had a thing for Dex. He’d been sniffing around Dex since he joined the THIRDS, but Ethan thought they’d reached an understanding. With a feral growl, Sloane jerked Taylor away from Dex. He got up in Taylor’s face, his larger stature imposing as he loomed over Taylor’s smaller leopard Therian size.