“Cael knows.” He might as well get it out there now. “And Shultzon, though I never confirmed it. You know what he’s like. I’m pretty sure Bradley knows, though he’s been trying to get us together from the start. Oh, and Lou.” He cringed at Ash’s murderous glare.
“The fucking bartender and Dex’s ex-boyfriend knew before I did? What the fuck, man?”
“I didn’t tell them. I swear, I’m not making excuses, but I really didn’t tell anyone. Lou walked in on us at Dekatria that night he showed up. I got into an argument with Dex, we were making up in one of the unused back-of-house halls, and Lou walked in on us. If I was going to tell anyone, you have to know you would be the first person I’d tell, even if it meant you threatening to kick my ass.”
“Yeah, all right. I know.” Ash rubbed a hand over his head. “Okay, well. Cael won’t say anything, and I don’t think the others will either.”
“Dex doesn’t know Cael knows.”
“Those two are going to be the death of me.” Ash ran a hand over his face and sat back with a heavy sigh.
“Dex I’m not surprised. But Cael? What’s going on with you two?” Something was going on with his friend. Ash hadn’t accompanied them to Dekatria in weeks. He barely dropped by the office. Unless they were training or out in the field, Sloane barely saw Ash.
“Nothing. It’s fine.”
“You haven’t been hanging out with him recently.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“Too busy for Cael?” Sloane couldn’t hold back his disbelief, especially when Ash snapped at him.
“What am I, his fucking babysitter?”
Sloane stood and faced his friend. “What the hell, man? First you brush him off in the canteen and now this?”
“Sorry. I’m just tired.”
“Ash, if something’s going on, you know you can talk to me.” His friend was reserved, but Ash’s behavior was starting to worry Sloane.
“Thanks, but I’m fine.” Ash got up and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I came by to tell you I won’t be in most of today. I’ve got an eval sc
heduled.”
“Shit. Are those coming up already?” He wouldn’t be surprised if that was the reason behind Ash’s strange mood lately. Psych evals were never fun, especially the kind they were subjected to. The THIRDS wanted to make sure their First Gen agents weren’t going to go off the deep end, so they pushed until an agent either caved under the pressure or dealt with it. Sloane always felt out of sorts the days surrounding his psych evals.
“Yeah. You know I don’t like texting that shit, which is why I tried to call you.”
“Thanks. I’m glad you came by.”
“And here I was pissed off I got caught in a jam over on Ninth Avenue. Any sooner, and I might have caught you two—” Ash cut himself off and shuddered at the thought. He turned and headed downstairs with Sloane following close behind. Dex stood from the couch, his anxious gaze going from Ash to Sloane. When Sloane gave him a wink, Dex visibly relaxed. At least until Ash marched over to him and stuck a finger in Dex’s face.
“You better hope this doesn’t get out, Daley. If he gets transferred I’m going to kick your ass.”
“Got it.”
“This is serious.”
“Yeah, I figured. The getting my ass kicked part sort of gave it away,” Dex said with a frown. “Look, I know what’s at stake. I’d never do anything to screw things up for Sloane.”
Ash went quiet for a moment before giving Dex a nod and storming off without saying another word. Sloane let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and then dropped down onto the couch with a heavy sigh. Dex quickly followed.
“That went better than I expected.”
Sloane gave Dex a sideways glance. “We really need to work on those freak-outs.”
“Yeah, I’m not very good under stressful conditions.”
“What are you talking about? You work under stressful conditions nearly every day.”