“Maddock’s a good man. Shit, 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 shitstorm.”
Sloane was surprised. If anyone knew how to hold a grudge, it was Ash. That whole incident with Herrera and that damned 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.
DEX SAT in Cael and Rosa’s office staring at nothing in particular. What a strange day. He didn’t quite know what to make of it. His dad had confirmed everything he’d suspected. His mom had tried to save Sloane and the First Gen kids. Whatever his fears regarding who his parents had been, he hadn’t been wrong about the kind of people they’d been. Whatever they’d been involved in, they’d died trying to do good. It was still hard to believe Tony had known about Sloane and Ash. It made him wonder what else his dad might know about.
As for the files, Tony would be taking them home, and Dex was welcome to go through them. He hadn’t made up his mind on that yet. Anthony Maddock had been a damned good HPF detective and an even better THIRDS agent. Dex trusted him when he said all he’d found were dead ends. It wasn’t surprising considering who they were dealing with and how long it had taken for all this shit to come to light.
“Dex?”
His arm itched, and he sat forward, a thought occurring to him. “Cael, can I use your desk?”
“Sure.”
Cael placed his palm to the desk’s interface, and it came to life. He motioned to it, and Dex logged into Themis, bringing up the algorithms screen. He set up several search processes.
“What are you looking for?” Cael asked.
“I want to see how many marked Therians and Humans there are, especially Humans.”
Cael looked thoughtful. “You’re thinking it’s possible they would have sought medical treatment after being marked, so there’d be a record.”
“Exactly.”
“You didn’t seek medical treatment,” Rosa reminded him.
“No, but Sloane is a THIRDS agent. He tended to my wounds, and he was able to control himself enough to know how deep to cut. I’m thinking not everyone would have that kind of control or know how to tend to the wound.”
Rosa nodded her agreement. “True.”
It took some time, but eventually Themis presented its results. The window split, Therians who’d marked Therians on the left and Therians who’d marked Humans on the right. The list on the left was small, considering the population of New York City. The list on the right was even smaller.
“This is fucking weird,” Dex murmured, frowning at the screen. “Is that right?”
Cael looked down at the results. “If Themis says it is, then it is.”
“What is it?” Rosa asked.
“All the couples on this list here, with Human and Therian mates, are all deceased.” An icy chill went up his spine. How was that possible? He clicked on the first name, bringing up the THIRDS report. “May 24, 1985, the wife goes to the hospital after being marked by her husband, a lion Therian. She was marked on her back, saw to the wounds, and three weeks later she and her husband are killed in a traffic accident.” He went back and clicked on the next report. “October 5, 1989, husband is marked by his leopard Therian wife. His arm is tended to. A month later he’s killed by his wife. She was convicted of first-degree murder and imprisoned. Shortly after, she was stabbed to death in her cell.” The more reports he read, the sicker he felt. “How can they all be dead?”
“Well, these are just the ones we know about,” Cael offered. “Think of how many must be out there who didn’t get medical treatment.”
“Don’t you find it strange that all these couples ar
e dead? I mean, all of them? Either they died together in accidents or happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or their mate killed them and then ended up getting killed in prison or killing themselves.”
“It is weird,” Cael agreed. “Why would they kill their mates?”
“Exactly. I don’t get it. Sloane was pretty convinced that Dylan Reynolds was telling the truth. You saw the video. It was like the guy’s heart had been ripped from his chest. That wasn’t a man who’d just killed his wife. His instinct would be to protect her, to tear apart anyone who’d try to hurt her.”
Something seemed to strike Rosa, and her eyes widened. “Shit. Dylan.”
“What about him?” Cael asked.
“If all these couples ended up dead….”
“Shit.”
Dex jumped to his feet and tapped his earpiece, connecting to dispatch, who put him through to the psychiatric ward Dylan was being held in.