“They’ll suspend him and put him through enough evals to keep him off duty for months. We can’t let Sparks or any of the higher-ups find out about this.” Ash considered his next words very carefully. “I think maybe we should consider talking to Dr. Shultzon.”
“Do you trust the guy?”
Ash frowned. “I don’t trust anyone outside of my team.”
It was the truth. He trusted those he worked with to an extent. Not because he believed they were shady or anything, but because he’d never been the trusting sort. Trust left you vulnerable. Ash had taught himself a long time ago to survive. His teammates, his friends, those lucky enough to be called family had earned his trust. He’d never admit it, but he counted Dex among his family. Sort of like the annoying brother-in-law. You’re happy he’s making your bro happy, but damn, sometimes you just wanted to punch him in his stupid smiley face. Who the hell smiled that much, anyway? A crazy person, that’s who.
Dex worried his bottom lip, looking almost embarrassed. “Will you come with me?”
“Sure.” Ash couldn’t help the surprise in his tone. Dex never asked him for anything. It went to show how worried the guy was. There was also little Dex wouldn’t do for Sloane. Ash was coming to see that. “I’ll put in a call. See if we can stop by sometime after Thanksgiving. I get the feeling Sparks is gonna call us back in any time now. Sloane’s only got a couple of weeks of recovery left. I’m pretty good to go. Your bro will be back to his bouncy self in no time, and there’s no longer an Order or Coalition to threaten us. Happy holidays to us.”
Dex chuckled. “Guess we should enjoy it while it lasts, huh?”
“Yeah.” Ash’s gaze went to Dex’s bandaged arm. “Didn’t realize things were that serious between you two.”
Dex followed Ash’s gaze to his arm before moving on to Sloane. “Surprised the hell out of me too. I think that last mission was rough on everyone. Put things into perspective for all of us. One minute I was thinking he might never feel the same way I did, next thing I know he’s telling me he loves me and that we should move in together.” He brushed Sloane’s hair away from his face and stroked his cheek. “It’s scary, isn’t it?”
“What’s that?”
“How one person can become your whole world. One day you’re going about your business, and next thing you know, you’re handing someone all your trust, your love, your heart, everything you are. You’re just handing it over and hoping for the best.”
“Hope for the best, prepare for the worst,” Ash said quietly. It’s what he and Sloane had always done. They’d embraced it. Now things were different for the both of them. Ash never would have seen this coming, at least not for himself. Sloane had always wanted someone to love him for who he was. Despite of what he was. Ash remembered his best friend confessing as much. One night back when they were kids in the facility, they lay on the floor staring up at their ceiling, painted like a starry night, and Sloane had opened up for the first time since they’d met. Ash had assured Sloane he’d find someone great one day, and Sloane had replied Ash would as well. Ash had nodded, but inside, he’d told himself no one would ever love him. He didn’t deserve to be loved. After years of telling himself that, he started to believe it. Then he’d met Cael.
“Thanks, Ash. For everything.”
“No problem.” He got up and motioned to Sloane. “Will you be okay with him?”
“Yeah. He’ll be out for a while. I’ll get some dinner ready for him for when he wakes up. Even if he didn’t complete the shift, he’ll probably be hungry from the attempt and the tranquilizer.”
“Okay. If you need me, just call. I’ll check up on you guys tomorrow.” He headed for the door, doing his best to occupy his mind with something other than the shitty day this had been, when Dex called out to him.
“Hey, Ash.”
Ash turned, studying Dex and the wide smile on his face. He braced himself.
“You hugged me.”
Ash held back a smile. “Don’t let it go to your head. It was a momentary lapse of judgment.”
Dex’s grin got wider. “You hugged me, and I was naked.”
“Thanks for the disturbing reminder. Next time I see you two, you better have some pants on.”
“No promises.” Dex beamed.
Ash shook his head, grumbling to himself as he left. He went downstairs, unable to help his smile. Looked like Sloane had found that someone he’d been hoping for since he was a kid. Maybe he hadn’t exactly hoped for a Cheesy Doodle crunching nut, but Sloane seemed content with the guy’s peculiarities. Sloane was happy. It was all Ash needed to know. Now if he could only sort out his own love life, or whatever it was he had with Cael.
Outside, he decided to take a walk in the brisk late-night air before calling a cab
. In a few days it was Thanksgiving, and Maddock expected him and Sloane to spend the night, which was fine with Ash.
CAEL WAS nervous.
He was torn between trying to make everything absolutely perfect and pretending it was no big deal. And it wasn’t, really. Ash had come over for Thanksgiving last year. Except last year they hadn’t kissed or admitted to being in love with each other. Well, Cael had admitted it. Ash hadn’t said the words yet, but Cael knew. He didn’t need to hear the words. Or so he kept telling himself.
“So… Ash Keeler.”
Cael stopped whipping the sugar frosting. He should have known this was coming. Frankly, he was surprised it hadn’t come sooner, considering his brother’s impatience. “Dex.”