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“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.
Chapter Five
“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.
