She gave a sniff and straightened. Always so in control, except now Dex could see the chink in her armor.
“He loves you boys more than anything, and he’d never do anything to hurt you. I was afraid if he told you and Cael, that you’d give him an ultimatum. Me or you boys. It wouldn’t go well for me.”
Dex narrowed his eyes at her. “If you think that, then you obviously don’t know me and Cael very well. Even if we didn’t approve—and the verdict is still out on that one considering everything you’ve put us through—you really think we would do anything that would hurt our dad? If you make him happy, treat him right, who the hell are we to say he shouldn’t be with you? Of course if you hurt him, then we’ll be having words.”
“A lot of people think we shouldn’t be together. I’m a Therian. He’s Human.”
“Who gives a shit? You know how many people give me and Sloane dirty looks for being together? How many times we get called names or get spit at? Fuck them.”
Sparks chuckled. “You sound like Tony.”
“He’s a smart man. You should listen to him. Not about movies, though. Never listen to him about movies. He doesn’t know his Star Wars from his Star Trek.”
“Star Wars is the one with the Klingons, right?”
Dex peered at her, and she laughed. He’d never heard her laugh before. It was odd to see but suited her. It changed her whole face, almost made her look like a different person.
“I’m kidding.”
Dex held back a smile. “I think you’ll do okay. Cael’s going to hit the roof, but he’ll come around.” Well, he supposed now was as good a time as any. “You told me my mom wasn’t a spy.”
“She wasn’t.”
“I listened to the rest of the tapes, remember? She specifically said hand the evidence over to ‘the proper operatives.’ Not proper authorities, but operatives. Come on, Sonya. Let
’s put all our cards on the table here. My mom couldn’t have done everything she did without help, and my dad, as good as he was, wouldn’t have known how to breach Shultzon’s security.”
Sparks arched an eyebrow at him. “All right. I suppose I owe you that much.”
Dex grinned wickedly. “Oh, you owe me a hell of a lot more, but let’s start there.”
And just like that, she was all business again. “Very well. Dex, only Therians can work for TIN. That’s why it’s Therian intelligence, but just as we have Therian freelancers, we have Human associates. We’re hardly going to dismiss an asset because they’re not Therian. The war between Humans and Therians affects us all. Despite what many Therians believe, we have a great many Human allies. Like your mother and father.
“TIN took notice of them when they were still in college. They held such great promise. I was still in high school, but I was already at the academy. TIN searched out the best and brightest. We reached out to them not long after you were born. Everything changed for them then.” Sparks smiled, a genuine warm smile.
“Wait, did you know them?”
“I’d done surveillance, and they were used as examples of the ideal Human associates, allies who were interested in making a difference in the world.” She looked away, as if lost in an old memory. “The night your parents were killed was the first and last time I cried. I’d grown attached to them, and that was something I couldn’t afford. If my superiors had found out, I would have been sent home, my career over before it started. I kept an eye on you after that. Always from afar. When your partner killed that Therian informant, I knew it was time to bring you in, to have you closer.”
“So Shultzon was right?”
“Some of it. You were destined for great things, just like I believed your parents to be. I figured it was only a matter of time before they came looking for you, and I was afraid they’d use the death of your parents to get you working for them against us. I didn’t know you very well or how loyal you were to your family—Tony and Cael.”
“If you’d been studying me like you say you have, then you’d know how much they mean to me. I’d never betray them.”
“You’d be surprised what people are capable of when faced with the truth.”
The way she said the words told Dex she was speaking from experience, but it wasn’t his place to ask.
“Not long ago, I had hoped you would work for TIN as a Human associate, but now….”
She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out two black wallets. She handed them to Dex. He opened the top one and stared down at the ID. It was a badge with his photo and the title of Therian Intelligence Network Operative. The second one was Sloane’s.
“I don’t get it. I thought you had to be a Therian to work for TIN.”
Sparks cocked her head to one side as she studied him. “And you are. Well, part of you. TIN would very much like to have the first Human-Therian working with them. Hang on to those, and think about it.”
“You really think we’d work for TIN? We’ve seen how you guys operate. The secrecy, the whole means-to-an-end thing. You really think we’d go around kidnapping people, torturing them? Shit, they call you Tin Men for a reason.”