Dex had smelled it before. It had been faint, but he remembered thinking it was gross because it had a hint of something he didn’t like.
“It’s licorice,” Dex said, giving another sniff.
Sparks waved her hand in dismissal. “Oh, that. Admiral Moros, the Chief of Therian Defense is at HQ. It’s where I just came from. He wears this hideous ointment for his joints.” Sparks sniffed her hand with a frown. “We shook hands.”
Where had he smelled that? Dex closed his eyes, racking his brain. It was important he remember. He didn’t know why, but it was important. His brain was fuzzy, the last few months messing with his head. The seizures, the passing out, the kidnapping….
“Dex?” Sloane ran a hand over Dex’s head. “What’s wrong?”
“I smelled that somewhere.” Somewhere dark…. His eyes flew open. “Oh God. It’s him.”
“What?” Sparks grabbed his shoulders. “Explain.”
“The Chief of Therian Defense. He was in the facility where Wolf held me.”
“Are you certain? This is an incredibly delicate situation, Dex. If you’re wrong—”
“It was him! I remember the smell. I thought about how much I hated the smell of licorice. Had one too many shots in college. It had to be him. He’s a tiger Therian, isn’t he?”
Sparks’s eyes went wide, and for the first time since Dex had known her, she looked truly scared. “Oh no.”
“What?” Dex asked, following her as she took off. He called out over his shoulder. “Seb, look after Hudson. We’ll be in touch!” Dex didn’t wait for a reply. He and Sloane ran out of the house after Sparks. He’d never seen her move so fast, but Dex caught up. He grabbed her arm and spun her around, surprised by the tears in her eyes. “What the hell is going on?”
“He’s with Tony! He said he showed up when he heard about Taylor going feral, and he wanted to interrogate him himself. Said he had to make sure there wasn’t a breach in THIRDS security.”
Dex’s heart leaped into his throat. “He’s going to kill Taylor to keep him from talking.” Which meant he would kill any witnesses. “Dad….”
They ran to Sparks’s car, a shiny black Firebird Trans Am parked at the curb. They climbed into the muscle car, and Sparks burned rubber. They weren’t far from HQ, and Dex tried to call his dad’s cell phone.
“Shit. He’s not answering.” He prayed they’d get there in time. He could be completely wrong about the Chief of Therian Defense, but the guy matched Shultzon’s description, though clearly he’d changed some in thirty-five years. Something in his gut warned Dex. He tried to call dispatch and got nothing. “Why can’t I get through to anyone?”
“I don’t know.” Sparks tapped her ear. “Tell me what the hell is happening at THIRDS HQ. What? Shit. I’m heading that way now. You know the drill. We’re going all in on this. Stay out of sight. I want someone in there with Sergeant Maddock. I don’t give a shit what protocol says. If anything happens to him, you’ll have to answer to me. Do you hear me? Get him out alive!”
Dex had never seen Sparks like this. He had no idea she cared so much about Tony. Then again, the two had been partners for years, and he was Dex and Cael’s father.
“HQ has been evacuated. A fire up in the labs. Everyone’s made it out safe, and the fire’s contained, but Tony’s down in the subbasement in the Therian holding cells. Transmission has been cut off. He has no idea there’s anything wrong. It’s a goddamn war zone over there. No calls are coming through dispatch.”
She growled as she floored the accelerator, and they sped through a red light.
“Chief’s initiated Emergency Shield Protection Protocol.”
Dex closed his eyes. He’d heard of the ESPP. It was initiated only if a terrorist attack was suspected. With the protocol in place, no one was getting in or out.
“How are we going to get to Tony?” Sloane asked worriedly. “The place is a goddamn fortress by now.”
“My operatives are working on it.”
She sped in through the back entrance of the parking garage across from THIRDS HQ and brought the car to a screeching halt at the end of the floor. They jumped out of the car and ran after her, meeting several TIN operatives in black suits waiting for them.
Please, Dad, be okay. Dex and Sloane followed Sparks and the Tin Men through a steel door marked Security Personnel Only. They hurried down several flights of stairs to what appeared to be an expansive subbasement. At the end of one of the many corridors, the TIN operatives stopped at a huge boiler. One of them put his hand to a panel, and something clicked. He stepped aside as his partner took hold of the massive iron handle and pulled. The door opened, and Sparks climbed in. Inside, she turned to Dex and Sloane.
“Follow me,” Sparks ordered. “This goes through to the parking garage under HQ. We had it built back before the THIRDS opened its doors.”
She disappeared into the shadows, and Dex quickly followed. Inside it was dark and damp, but Dex didn’t have a problem. He could see ahead of him just fine. Sloane’s hand touched his back, and Dex nodded, knowing Sloane could see him.
“Whatever happens,” Sloane said quietly, “you be careful.”
“You too.”