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“Well, this one does. So good luck with that.”
Sloane couldn’t help his curiosity, and a little part of him was enjoying his best friend’s embarrassment. “How did you comfort him?”
Ash mumbled something, but Sloane couldn’t make it out.
“What?”
“I said, I brought him gummy bears, okay? Get the fuck out of my office and sort your shit out. This is all your fault.”
“My fault? You’re my best friend. Aren’t you supposed to be understanding and shit?”
“Not when your fucking boyfriend is fucking with my head, looking like a fucking puppy who’s been left out in the cold. It’s not right, Sloane.”
“So I’m supposed to just, what? Never argue with him? Walk on eggshells around him?”
“This is different,” Ash said through his teeth. “This isn’t a spat with you sleeping on your own damn couch or an argument where you both stomp your feet and pack up your toys. This is serious shit. You walked out on him, and something’s sending off this thick fog of hurt. I don’t know what the hell is going on with Dex, but you two need to work it out before it catches Sparks’s attention, if it hasn’t already. I know she’s given us a pass, but there’s only so much she can cover up around here, Sloane.”
Sloane had no idea how he was supposed to fix this, especially since he couldn’t smell whatever the hell Ash did. He could feel the hurt. It was deep in his chest. His arm itched, and his chest was tight, but he didn’t smell anything different. It was all connected to Sloane marking Dex, but why now? And how long would it last? What else could they expect? He hated not knowing. It’s not like there was another marked Human he could ask. Hell, the only other marked person he knew was Hudson, a Therian. As far as he knew, Hudson had never suffered from seizures. He didn’t give off the kind of scent Ash was describing.
Sloane didn’t know what he was going to say to Dex when he saw him, but they were partners. They’d have to behave like adults and do their job.
Dex wasn’t in their office. In fact half the morning went by without Dex showing up. He was definitely in. Not that they needed to be behind their desks to work. They could connect to Themis from anywhere in the building on any device, be it their phones or tablets that they carried on them. Dex was probably working from Cael and Rosa’s office, or maybe even Calvin and Hobbs’s.
Sloane spent the morning going through the Reynolds case. Dylan Reynolds was denied bail and placed on suicide watch. The tests for Alicia Reynolds came back from the hospital, and Sloane quickly accessed the file only to find the results were inconclusive.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” How could that be? There had to be something, a reason for the seizure. Everything came back inconclusive. CBC, lumbar puncture, MRI, EEG, toxicology screening all with the same results? “This is bullshit.” Sparks’s words ran through his head. All the tests TIN had performed on Dex had returned with the same results. Sloane was about to put in a call to Sparks when Calvin walked in.
“You’re a dick. You know that?”
“Thanks. I’ll add you to my list of people who think I’m an asshole. Is there something else you wanted, or is that it?”
Calvin shook his head. He opened the medium-sized book in his hand and tore out a page before walking over to Sloane, his expression dark. Sloane stood. If Calvin wanted to get into it, fine. Calvin searched Sloane’s gaze. What he was looking for, Sloane had no idea. With pursed lips, Calvin shook his head and shoved the piece of paper at Sloane.
“I know it’s none of my business, but whatever it was, I hope it was worth it.”
With that Calvin turned and walked off. Sloane shut the door to his office and put the room in privacy mode. Cursing up a storm, he balled the paper up, then chucked it across the room. He paced the office, a white heat of anger spreading through him. None of them understood. Did they think he wanted this? That he didn’t love Dex so much it was fucking tearing him apart? That he couldn’t feel Dex on him? Smell him? Sense him when he was near? Wherever he turned, Dex was with him, whether he was physically there or not. He had every right to feel upset over what he’d learned. Dex wasn’t the only one in pain. Why was he the bad guy here? Because Dex was the one who was marked? Because of these supposed pheromones? Did Dex know what he was doing? What his scent was doing? Sloane doubted it.
Unable to keep his curiosity at bay any longer, Sloane walked over to pick up the balled-up paper. He took it with him back to his desk and sat down to smooth it out. Tears welled in his eyes as he gazed down at the colored drawing. The striped lighthouse stood tall and strong in the middle of a stormy sea, the ocean waves curling and crashing against it. Its beacon shown bright, just like Dex. On the bottom left, red roses framed it beautifully, along with a curling ribbon with the words I’ll guide you home through the darkest night. Always.
It was Dex’s tattoo. Or at least the one he’d planned on getting. It suited him, the retro-style design. The kind sailors used to get back in the day, but with a slight modern twist. The whole thing would probably reach to his elbow.
“Fuck.” Sloane tossed the drawing on his desk. There was a knock on the door, and Sloane quickly wiped at his eyes and stuck the drawing in his desk drawer. He tapped at his desk’s interface, and took the room off privacy mode. “Come in.”
The door opened and Maddock walked in. Fucking
great.
“What the hell is going on? What did you do to him?”
“What did I do? I didn’t do anything. I just—something’s changed, and I need to work through it.” Sloane got up. He didn’t have time for this. He needed to talk to Sparks, and maybe Hudson, and have some algorithms set up on Themis.
“What happened to working through it together?”
“Look, Sarge, this is different. I can’t help how I feel, knowing what I know.” Sloane was still having trouble wrapping his head around all this. Even if Shultzon was lying, which was likely, the seed had been planted. Sloane let out a humorless laugh. “That son of a bitch always gets one over on us.”
“Who?”
“No one. I need to go.”
