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It was amazing how quickly the haughtiness disappeared when faced with the possibility of prison time. Sloane pretended to give the matter some thought. “Okay, here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to leave you with a warning. Either get your employees to register, or call them in. No more hiring illegal help. Got it?”
“Yes.” She nodded vigorously before releasing his arm. “I’ll do that.”
Reaching into his front breast pocket, he pulled out one of his contact cards and handed it to her. “If you hear from or see Mr. Everton, you call me immediately.”
“Of course. Thank you, Agent Brodie.” She motioned toward the door and they headed out, stopping in the reception area. Ms. Thalia caught his arm again and went on about how sorry she was about her tone, how she would do everything within her power to help, and whether there was anything she could do to make it up to him. The last part had been a loaded question, and Sloane passed her on to Rosa with a pleasant smile. Leaving Cael and Rosa to get Ms. Thalia’s contact details, Sloane turned to find himself short one partner. He strode out into the lobby filled with several white loveseats, dark coffee tables with elaborate centerpieces, and more framed photos of classy events lining the walls. No smartass agents in sight.
Sloane cursed under his breath. He could easily call Dex on his communicator, but he didn’t want anyone else overhearing how he’d let his partner give him the slip already. He couldn’t wait for this day to be over.
Chapter 6
DAMN IT. His partner couldn’t have gotten far. How Dex had managed to slip away without Sloane noticing was something he was still trying to figure out. Maybe he wasn’t giving the guy enough credit. He’d have to be extra vigilant around the rookie from now on.
A petite woman appeared before Sloane. “Agent?”
“Yes, ma’am?” He expected her to start asking all kinds of questions regarding their presence and what was going on. Instead, she gave him a knowing smile and pointed to a set of doors tucked into the corner of the room.
“I believe you’ll find what you’re looking for in the kitchen.”
Teeth gritted, Sloane gave her a nod in thanks before taking off in search of Dex, telling himself that shooting his partner would most likely be frowned upon. Maybe he could get away with a small flesh wound? Accidents in the workplace were, after all, very common occurrences. He stepped through the swinging doors into a huge kitchen filled with wall-to-wall stainless steel appliances, storage units, and fridges. Down the center of the room was a row of wide stainless steel tables and toward the end, Sloane spotted what he was looking for.
What the hell? Sloane gave a slow, disbelieving shake of his head at the sight before him. In the middle of the kitchen, a pretty, young Therian stood on his toes popping something into Dex’s open mouth.
“Mmm,” Dex hummed as he chewed, his eyes closed and the look of sheer pleasure on his face unsettling. After swallowing, Dex opened his eyes, his tongue poking out to lick at his bottom lip. “Now that was really good. What was in that one?”
The young Therian chef batted his lashes and leaned in to wipe something nonexistent from the corner of Dex’s mouth, his big brown eyes all but devouring the agent. “Hazelnut praline with dark chocolate.”
Dex beamed at him. “That was good. I really liked that one. It was even better than the strawberry and white chocolate thingy with the little chocolate shavings.”
The young Therian placed his hands on the stainless steel table behind him and arched his back, his eyes on Dex’s lips. “Tell me, Agent Daley. Do you like café con leche?”
Dex’s face lit up. “I love café con leche.”
“Agent Daley,” Sloane barked, causing the two to jump.
“Crap.” Dex cleared his throat and gave the young chef an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Jordan, duty calls. Thanks so much for the free samples.”
“Any time, Agent Daley.” The Therian was practically purring.
Sloane waited, his jaw clenched as Dex hurried over. As soon as they were outside the kitchen, Sloane turned to Dex in disbelief. “We’re in the middle of a case, and you’re flirting?”
“I wasn’t flirting, I was eating. I’m starving. Which is your fault.”
“My fault?” Clearly he’d had a momentary lapse of judgment by thinking the two of th
em could get along. The urge to punch the guy was steadily rising. “How is this my fault?”
“You gave my Cheesy Doodles away!”
“Jesus Christ, again with that?” Sloane tried to summon patience, but instead he kept seeing Dex’s stupid tongue poking out to lick his bottom lip. He pushed that thought away, grabbed Dex’s arm and hauled him toward the exit. “That back there had nothing to do with food, unless we count you being a part of the menu. The guy was two seconds away from pouncing on you.”
“What? No way. We were talking about chocolate and café con leche.”
Sloane stopped in his tracks. “You’re not serious are you? You can’t be that oblivious.”
“To what?” Dex’s wide eyes told Sloane he most probably was. How could a guy like Dex be so clueless? The way Hudson kept trying to have eye sex with him, the Therian in the kitchen undressing him with his eyes? Hell, Sloane had even caught Letty eyeing Dex’s ass on more than one occasion. Yet Dex never seemed to notice.
“To the fact that he wasn’t talking about drinks, you idiot. He wanted you to be the leche in his café.”
