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“Pearce,” Dex replied, as he tried to make sense of everything. Pearce had alibis, he had evidence, he wasn’t even the right species as their perp, but somehow, Dex knew in his gut. “He said the guy in the surveillance video was Tory Murphy, but I’m willing to bet it was our Eagles cap guy. Ford Wallace. Something must have happened after Pearce paid him to warn me off. He went after Wallace, and when we started getting close, he killed him.”
“But I thought Isaac Pearce wasn’t a suspect.”
“I don’t know what’s going on, but I know Pearce is our guy. I can feel it in my gut. That silver dust was all over his workshop. Tell Sarge to get the team geared up and come pick me up. It’ll be faster. And bring my gear!” He hung up and started pacing the room. Shit, Sloane! He dialed Sloane’s number again, a sick feeling washing over him.
“Come on, pal. Pick up. Please, pick up.” He didn’t care what Sloane was doing. After the fifth try, he left a message. “Sloane, buddy, you gotta ring me ASAP. Pearce is our guy.” He hung up and called Ash. The phone rang and Ash’s pleasant growl came on the line.
“What do you want?”
“Is Sloane with you?”
“Cael said you two were having a slumber party or some shit.”
“I’m too worried right now to tell you to fuck off so some other time. Oh God.” Dex tried his hardest to calm down. Ash must have sensed something was wrong because when he spoke, his voice was filled with concern.
“Please tell me Sloane is with you.”
Dex swallowed hard, a surreal feeling enveloping him. It couldn’t be.
“Dex!”
“Ash, I think Pearce has Sloane.”
TWENTY MINUTES later, a convoy of black Suburbans with flashing blue lights and three BearCats, including Destructive Delta’s, infiltrated Sunnyside, Queens. They blocked both ends of the street. Dex climbed out of the BearCat with the rest of his team, waiting for Tony’s instructions. He refused to give into the sick, foreboding feeling in his gut. They’d find Sloane, and he’d be napping or drunk off his face somewhere safe and sound, and then Dex would tear him a new one, they’d have makeup sex, and the world would be as it should.
Pearce’s house was a narrow brick building with concrete pathways on each side that led to the building’s backyard. The pathway was closed off by a chain link gate with a cinderblock on the ground propped up against it. The top floor of the building had a fire escape on the front windows, but only the right ones. Defense agents quickly got to work surrounding the building while snipers made their way to the rooftops of the apartment buildings across from the residential neighborhood. Tony’s voice came over Dex’s earpiece.
“Destructive Delta, Beta Pride and Beta Ambush have scouted the perimeter. The ground floor windows are all secured with burglar bars, as is the rear entrance. From what they can see and hear, it doesn’t seem like our perp is home. You’re clear to go in. Use caution. We have no idea what we’re going to find in there.” Tony’s voice was grave, his final sentence sending a chill up his spine. Dex exchanged glances with his brother. They were thinking the same thing. Please don’t let us find Sloane dead in there.
Dex grabbed the breaching gun, and he carefully, but quickly, crept up to the door, the rest of his team in formation behind him with rifles at the ready. The front door had burglar bars, but only over the glass. Dex stuck the barrel of the large gun up to the lock and after taking a deep breath, pulled the trigger. A flurry of activity followed the loud “bang” as he dashed out of the way, allowing his team access to the house. He handed the breaching gun to a fellow Defense agent before removing the safety on his rifle and going in after his team. They moved from room to room, making sure everything was clear, covering each other’s backs and looking out for any movement. The house was average-sized, two bedrooms, living room, small foyer, kitchen, dining room, bathroom, and office. It looked like any other home.
“Clear!” Ash declared over his earpiece.
Now that there was no immediate threat, the Recon agents flooded the place. They’d turn this place inside out, search every nook and cranny, under every piece of furniture, in every available space, all in search of evidence, and any hint their teammate was in danger. Dex made his way through the living room, spotting all the framed photographs of Pearce and Gabe from when they were kids up until Gabe joined the THIRDS. He stepped up to a photo of a smiling Gabe. He’d been about Dex’s age, handsome, a bright light shining in his eyes. Dex felt his heart squeeze. It was stupid, but he glanced around him, found there was no one within hearing distance and picked up the frame.
“I know you can’t hear me, and I might be losing it, but please, help me find him. I need to find him.” He swallowed hard, fighting back the fear threatening to grip him tight, statistics and facts hammering away at his heart. “I can see why you fell in love with him, and why you’d want him back. He’s a good guy. But maybe… maybe you can let me look after him for a while?”
Something shattered behind him and he gave a start. In the kitchen, Cael stared down at something on the floor in pieces. He looked up at Dex and shrugged. “Sorry. I must have knocked it over when I turned around.”
Shaking his head at his own silliness, Dex returned the frame to the mantle and joined his brother who was picking up pieces of what he’d broken. It was an “I heart coffee” ceramic mug that wasn’t going to be hearting any coffee any time soon. He was about to head back into the living room when he saw a small shard belonging to the mug over by the fridge. Walking over, h
e saw it was a small red heart. He reached down and plucked it from the floor when a breeze hit his cheek. Turning his face toward it, he saw a groove running up along the wall behind the fridge.
“Cael, get over here.”
“What?” Cael stood beside him, and Dex pointed to the fridge.
“Help me move this. I think there’s something behind it.” They each took one side and shifted the heavy two-door refrigerator out of the way. “Fuck me, it’s a door.” He tapped his earpiece. “Destructive Delta, I found something in the kitchen.” His team was there in seconds, standing behind him and Cael, staring at the door. There was no door handle. He put a gloved hand to the painted wood, testing it, and pushed it in. The door popped out.
Dex quickly took a step back along with the rest of the team. Motioning for them to move out of the way, he flattened against the wall to the left of the door and gradually opened it. “Hobbs,” Dex whispered, motioning to the dark entryway. If there were anything fishy, any explosives, Hobbs would sniff them out. The large agent approached the door, rifle in hand. He checked the doorway before disappearing inside. A few seconds later, Hobbs came back out and nodded. Coast was clear. Dex went in first, making his way down the wooden steps to what appeared to be a basement. Why would Pearce block off his basement? It was clearly in use, seeing as how Dex spotted the small high window across the stairs that had been left slightly open. At first it looked like any other basement with stacked boxes, washing machine, dryer, shelving units, filing cabinets, old exercise equipment, a dust covered Christmas tree box, but when he turned the corner, it became anything but.
Making a beeline for the wall behind the stairs, Dex came to an abrupt halt in front of it, his chest constricting and a lump forming in his throat at the eight-by-ten photograph pinned to the huge corkboard. “Oh my God ….” Slowly he stepped up to it, doing his best to keep his hand steady as he plucked it from the board. He stared down at the haunting scene captured through a madman’s lens. Beautiful blue skies, rich green hues on manicured lawns with blooming flowers in pinks, reds, and yellows. In the center, Sloane dressed in ceremonial uniform was helping the rest of his team carry the coffin of his fallen lover and partner. The grief and despair in his face was so acute, it tore at Dex’s heart.
He forced his gaze up, swallowing hard at all the photographs of Gabe’s funeral. Each and every one had Sloane in them. Corkboards filled with photos of Sloane lined the entire wall.
“What the hell?” Ash stood stunned. He reached up and snatched another photo off the wall. His eyes became glassy and he shoved the photo at Dex. “What kind of sick fuck would do this?”
The photo in Ash’s hand was yet another of Sloane, and it was even more heartbreaking than the last. Dex wouldn’t be able to get the image out of his mind for a long time. No man should have his anguish displayed for the world to see. Sloane was crouched down in front of Gabe’s tombstone, a hand to his mouth as he cried. There were several more like it. An intimate moment that should have been respected, had been violated by a man who took pleasure in another’s despair.
