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“Wait, you told me you didn’t know I had a brother.”
“I didn’t. At least I didn’t think so. When Gina spoke of you and Sloane, she referred to you by your surnames. Brodie and the Keeler boys. When I checked your file, you were listed as an only child. I figured maybe Gina had made a mistake. So when you told me about Arlo, I was genuinely surprised. During my search, I never found any record of an Arlo Keeler. Now I know it’s because Shultzon altered your records just as you’d stated.”
It suddenly occurred to Sloane that Dex had been silent throughout this entire exchange. Sloane stood, startled by Dex’s stillness.
“Dex?”
Dex turned to Maddock, tears in his eyes. “You knew. You knew this whole time that they’d been murdered? Why did you keep letting me believe it had been a random shooting?”
With a heavyhearted sigh, Maddock turned to face Dex. “Because I knew what it would have done to you, and I didn’t want that life for you. I didn’t want you to throw away everything they wanted for you to chase ghosts.”
“That wasn’t your decision to make! Did you even bother to look for the men who killed them?”
Maddock flinched so hard Sloane was sure everyone in the room felt it.
“Dex,” Cael warned gently, getting to his feet, but he remained where he was. Dex’s anger was rolling off him in waves, yet Maddock maintained his calm.
“Of course I looked for them. Do you really think I didn’t try to find the sons of bitches who took them from you? From us? Gina and John were like family.”
Dex began to pace the office, his eyes red and filled with unshed tears. His face was flushed, and Sloane wished he could go to him, but he didn’t dare. He’d hurt Dex so horribly. How could he possibly hope to make it up to him?
“So what, then? You just stopped? Explain it to me, Dad, because I need to understand how you could keep something like this from me. How you could look me in the eye knowing what you did.”
Maddock walked over to the far wall where he pushed against a small panel. A tiny section slid open to reveal a black scanner. Maddock placed his finger to it and a different section opened, exposing a medium-sized safe. Once Maddock had disabled the security measures, the door opened. He pulled out a heavy-looking set of files bound together by small bungee cords. With a grim expression, he placed the files on his desk, then slid them toward Dex. They looked old, beat-up. Dex swallowed hard.
“People came asking questions after their deaths. Questions about Gina’s work at the CDC. I didn’t know who I could trust, so I didn’t trust anyone. Remember how I left you with Aunt Danelle for a while, even after Cael joined us? I left you boys on and off with her for months.”
Dex nodded, his gaze still on the files. He didn’t move to touch them.
“A week before the funeral, I received a call from the HPF. There was a
break-in at your parents’ house, and mine. Here I was, grieving with a five-year-old who’d just lost his family, and someone was still trying to hurt us. I wanted nothing more than to hunt down those assholes and make them pay, but I had the funeral to take care of, your parents’ will, the estate, all the paperwork and red tape that followed. Not to mention I was holding on by a thread myself. Once I’d legally adopted you, I started investigating. Soon Cael joined us, and I went to work for the THIRDS. I kept looking. I did everything under the radar, because if anyone suspected I knew something, they’d come after me, and God help me, if they came after you boys….” He shook his head and sighed, a weary sigh that seemed to go down to his bones.
“It was eating away at me. I had nothing. Any information Gina had was gone. I couldn’t find a damned thing. No files, lists, nothing. I’d even lost Sloane and Ash. Disappeared. Whoever these people were, they left nothing behind. I had a choice. Keep looking, continue the path I was on, or be a father to two boys in desperate need of one.” Maddock’s conviction never faltered as he stood before Dex. “I chose to be a father.”
Cael stepped up beside Maddock, offering his silent support, ready to step in if his family needed him to. Maddock’s voice was quiet when he spoke to Dex. A tear finally escaped those pale blue eyes and rolled down his cheek. Maddock wiped it away with his thumb.
“I don’t regret that choice. I could have told you when you were old enough, but by then you had your heart set on becoming an HPF detective like your dad. I raised you, son.” Maddock put his hands on Dex’s shoulders. “If I told you the truth, you would’ve gone out there, and you wouldn’t have stopped looking. It would’ve destroyed you.” Maddock straightened, his arms dropping to his sides. “I’m sorry I kept the truth from you, but I’m not sorry for the choices I made. Not where you and Cael were concerned. You both finally had a family again, and you were happy. I wasn’t going to let anyone take that away from you. I watched you grow into the fine men you are. Revenge is a poison that spreads and destroys everything it touches. I didn’t want that for you.” He turned, and put his hand on the stack of files. “I never stopped looking, Dex. Once you boys were old enough, I picked up where I left off. I exhausted all my resources, ran every lead, left no stone unturned. God knows I tried to find something. All I found were dead ends. That failure has lived with me for a long time.”
Dex swallowed hard. He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He pressed his lips together before hugging Maddock, his head on his shoulder. Maddock patted his back, murmuring comforting words. Sloane silently stood. They shouldn’t be here. This moment was for Dex, his father, and his brother. He motioned for Ash to follow him.
Silently, they left the room. He headed for his office with Ash quietly at his side. Once inside, Sloane took a seat behind his desk, curious when Ash sat in Dex’s chair. Usually his best friend avoided touching anything that belonged to Dex. Afraid he might “catch the crazy.” His friend was surprising him often these days.
“So what are you going to do?”
“About what?” Sloane asked.
Ash wasn’t impressed. “About Dex.”
“I don’t know, but if he kicks me to the curb, I deserve it.”
“But you won’t allow it,” Ash said pointedly. “You fucking fight for him, Sloane.”
“Where’s this coming from?” Sloane asked, curious about Ash’s vehemence.
Ash let out a sigh and sat back. “I’m just getting tired of all the fucking drama. Haven’t we had enough? You have a good thing going on, Sloane. This is everything you wanted. Dex is everything you wanted. Live your life, get a dog, get married, have a bunch of little Sloanes—because if you have Dexes, I swear I will kick your fucking ass—and be happy. Don’t you think it’s about damn time?”
Sloane nodded. “I got it. So does this mean you’re not pissed at Maddock?”
