Smoke and Mirrors Part 18

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 cras.h.i.+ng 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.

"f.u.c.k." 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. f.u.c.king great.

"What the h.e.l.l 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 b.i.t.c.h always gets one over on us."

"Who?"

"No one. I need to go."

Sloane left the office, heading through the bull pen toward the elevator. Before he reached it, Maddock took hold of his arm and pulled him to one side, his voice a quiet hiss.

"You're not going anywhere until you tell me why you've broken my son's heart."

"No offense, Sarge, but it's none of your G.o.dd.a.m.n business."

"d.a.m.n it, Sloane."

"Sarge, I need to ask you-" Dex came to an abrupt halt when he saw Sloane. "Sorry, I didn't realize you were here."

"I was just leaving."

"Right."

And because his day wasn't f.u.c.ked enough, Taylor appeared. He placed a hand to Dex's lower back, and leaned in. "Hey, you wanna grab some lunch later?"

"Are you f.u.c.king joking?" Sloane ground out through his teeth. "f.u.c.k off, Taylor."

Taylor straightened. "Pretty sure I wasn't talking to you, Brodie."

Sloane got in Taylor's face. They were practically chest to chest. "You're hitting on my f.u.c.king mate in front of me?"

"From what I hear, you walked away." Taylor gave his shoulder a shove. "You don't deserve him. How many chances has he given you? Step aside and let a real Alpha show you how it's done."

The last of Sloane's resolve snapped, and he pulled back a fist. Maddock and several other Therian agents were all over them, breaking them apart before someone could land a hit. Who the h.e.l.l did Taylor think he was? That he could just step in and take Sloane's place?

"What part of no don't you f.u.c.king understand?" Sloane spat out. "You stay the f.u.c.k away from him!"

"Screw you, Brodie! You miserable f.u.c.k!" Taylor shook his head, and sneered. "The infallible Sloane Brodie. Prince among Therians. You think we should all fall at your feet like the peasants we are. f.u.c.k you!"

"Get him in meeting room C. Now," Maddock ordered the agents dragging Taylor away. "Stay with him. I'll be there as soon as I can." He turned to Sloane who jerked his arm free from Maddock's.

"I'm fine."

"Yeah, you look it," Maddock growled. "What the h.e.l.l was that about?"

Beside them, Dex didn't say a word. He averted his gaze, and it hurt Sloane to see him looking so tired. His hair was unruly, his beard growing in. Normally Sloane would have thought he looked s.e.xy, but the bags under his eyes, the redness around them, pained Sloane.

"I know it's not your fault, Dex, but you have to understand how f.u.c.ked-up all this is."

"Yeah, I understand perfectly. I also understand that instead of letting me in, you're just going to f.u.c.king brood about it."

Sloane's hackles went up. "Well, seeing as how the only person who could explain is f.u.c.king dead, there's not much else I can do, is there?"

Dex flinched. "Wow, I hadn't expected that. Thanks, babe. You're getting really good at knowing where to stick that knife."

f.u.c.k. What the h.e.l.l was the matter with him? "I'm sorry. That was a d.i.c.k move. This is why I need to go," Sloane pleaded. "I don't want to keep hurting you. Whatever you might think, I do love you, Dex."

He turned to go when Maddock stopped him again.

"Who's dead?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it."

Maddock grabbed them each by an arm and dragged them along with him. "You two are coming with me, and so help me if you even think about walking away from me, I will discipline your a.s.ses so fast you won't know what hit you." He led them to his office, pus.h.i.+ng them in before setting the room to privacy mode. "Neither of you is getting out of this room until someone gives me an answer. Now, who's dead?"

Dex turned to Maddock. "There's been a lot of s.h.i.+t happening that you don't know about."

"I'm listening." Maddock perched himself on the edge of his desk, his arms folded over his chest. "I've been waiting for you to come to me for months."

Sloane took a seat on the leather couch against the wall. This was going to take a while. It was obvious Dex didn't even know where to begin, so he started with Shultzon, telling Maddock all about the Therian control drug, the hijack, Sloane, Ash, and Hobbs getting kidnapped. He told Maddock about the facility, leaving out the part about Sparks being an operative for TIN, referring only to a Therian agency, until finally they got to Dex's latest kidnapping, torture, and everything Shultzon had said to them. Sloane waited for the blowup, surprised when it never came. Something wasn't right.

Maddock stood motionless, his gaze on the carpet. Sloane had never seen him like this. Usually he would have blown a gasket at Dex not having told him what happened to him, and then Sloane wondered if Maddock knew something they didn't. He stood slowly, his eyes narrowed.

"You have nothing to say about any of that?"

Maddock's expression hardened, his dark eyes daring Sloane to challenge him. "I'm getting there," Maddock replied, his voice as icy as his gaze. "But I will say this. You watch your tone when you speak about Gina Daley."

Sloane confronted Maddock. "She could have stopped them, could have saved me, my parents, Ash, and countless others, but she walked away!"

"Are you f.u.c.king joking, son? That a.s.shole Shultzon has been lying to you from day one, and you're still believing him?" Maddock shook his head, his hands planted on his hips. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His eyes became gla.s.sy, and he gave a sniff before turning to Dex. "I'm sorry. Just know everything I ever did was to protect you and your brother. To give you the lives you deserved."

"What's going on, Dad? You're kind of freaking me out here."

"Yeah, well, it's about to get worse." Maddock tapped his earpiece. "Ash, Cael, I need you in my office right now."

Sloane waited, giving Maddock the benefit of the doubt. The man had never let him down. He'd always been there for Sloane, and for Ash. Always looking out for them, standing up for them, protecting them. He'd accepted them and taken them in when the world thought they were nothing but a couple of f.u.c.ked-up Therian youths, damaged and broken. Tony Maddock had been the closest thing to a father he and Ash had since they'd been branded animals.

There was a knock at the door, and Maddock opened it long enough to let Ash and Cael in before closing it again, the room still in privacy mode.

"What's going on?" Ash asked, taking a seat on the couch Sloane had just vacated. Cael joined him, his curious gaze on their sergeant.

Maddock took a deep breath as he resumed his seat on the edge of his desk, facing them. "Yes, Gina knew. She knew about the kids, about the facility they were planning to open, about Sloane being the first to be taken. She knew Sloane was about to s.h.i.+ft after examining him that day his family brought him to the CDC."

The room was silent, and Sloane's heart sank. Maddock addressed Sloane, his anger catching Sloane by surprise.

"Here's the part where Shultzon is full of s.h.i.+t. Gina wanted to tell your family, but he wouldn't let her. Jesus, Sloane. These were very powerful, dangerous people she was dealing with. She knew if she was going to do something, she'd have to do it right, without them getting wind of it, and she'd have to do it quickly. She was determined.

"Gina didn't walk away. She and John died trying to save you, Ash, and all the other First Gen children on that list. They wanted their son to grow up knowing there were people out there willing to do what was right. When she saw you, she couldn't walk away. The night they were killed, Gina wasn't carrying any file, because she wasn't pa.s.sing anything off to anyone. She was going to meet with your parents."

Sloane had to sit down before his knees gave out from under him. He sat next to Ash, numb, as Maddock continued.

"Gina tried to go through the legal channels, and when that didn't work, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She copied some list Shultzon had and did G.o.d knows what else. I think she'd been doing some reconnaissance far longer than even John knew. She wouldn't tell me, didn't want me involved. What I do know is that she was determined to stop them from hurting those kids, and when she met you, she had to do something."

"How do you know all this?" Sloane asked.

"Because I was at the house the day Gina told me what was happening. She and John were going to put a stop to it. While they were at the theater, she called in to check on Dex." Maddock swallowed hard. "I could tell in her voice that she was scared, and I begged her not to do whatever it was she was going to do. She said she had to tell the Brodie boy's parents about his s.h.i.+ft. Then she was going to blow the whole thing wide open. She told me to kiss Dex good-night for her. That night I lost my best friends, and Dex lost his parents."

Sloane couldn't believe it. He was at a loss for words. She'd tried to meet with his parents? She had tried to save him.

Cael shook his head, as if attempting to get his thoughts straightened out. "Wait, you knew about Sloane?"

"And Ash," Maddock replied, looking from Sloane to Ash and back. "Yes. And believe me, I tried to find you. By then it was too late. You'd both disappeared."

"I don't understand." Ash stood. "Then you knew who Sloane and I were when we started at the THIRDS?"

"I was the one who submitted your names to Sparks for recruitment. I asked her to find you."

"You acted like we'd never met," Ash growled.

Maddock's gaze never wavered. "We hadn't. Officially."

"How could you look us in the eye and act like you didn't know?"

"Guilt. The fact I wasn't able to help you boys has eaten away at me since the day I found out about you. When I saw your names on the new recruits' roster, I knew it had to be the same boys Gina talked about. Your cla.s.sification, your age, the fact your files were sealed, I knew it had to be you. Sparks had found you like I'd hoped she would. I wanted to say something, but you boys had been through so much. I couldn't change the past, but I could help you have a future. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, but the moment I saw you, I told myself I was going to make up for my failure."

Sloane didn't say a word, mostly because he had no idea what to say, and even if he did, he doubted he could get his voice to function. Which was fine, because Ash wasn't done.

"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 b.i.t.c.hes 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 a.s.sholes 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 G.o.d 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 d.a.m.ned 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. G.o.d 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 f.u.c.king 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 f.u.c.king 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 f.u.c.king a.s.s-and be happy. Don't you think it's about d.a.m.n time?"

Sloane nodded. "I got it. So does this mean you're not p.i.s.sed at Maddock?"

"Maddock's a good man. s.h.i.+t, he was more of a father to me than my own. He had his reasons for what he did, and I respect that. Case solved. Let's move on to the next s.h.i.+tstorm."

Sloane was surprised. If anyone knew how to hold a grudge, it was Ash. That whole incident with Herrera and that d.a.m.ned fern was proof, but these days Ash was pretty laid-back about most things. He wasn't as angry at everyone and the world. Oh, he was still angry, but it was different. Lately, most of it was just for show. It occurred to him now, as he watched Ash texting, a smile on his face, that even his best friend was making changes, and for the better. He was talking less about how screwed up the world was and how happy they should be. He was looking toward a brighter future. Maybe Sloane could actually learn a thing or two from Ash.