Dex opened his mouth to reply but instead grabbed his dad in a crushing hug. He shut his eyes tight, the last of his adrenaline leaving his body. As hard as he tried to keep the tears at bay, he couldn’t. The relief that flooded through him was overwhelming.
“I love you too, kiddo.” Tony kissed the top of his head, and Dex pulled himself together.
“You scared the shit out of me.”
“I know,” Tony replied. “The whole time I was there, all I could think about was my boys.” His jaw muscles worked as he shook his head. They heard the rumble of the BearCat as it got near, and Dex pushed himself to his feet. As they headed for the street, Tony cast him a sideways glance. “So, we gonna talk about the fact you roared like a jaguar Therian?”
Dex shook his head. “Nope. You got bigger things to worry about.”
Tony arched an eyebrow as the BearCat pulled up to the curb, and Cael was the first to jump out the back.
“He knows about you and Sparks.”
Tony stilled. “Fuck. I wanted him to find out from me.”
“Yeah, well, he found out when the Chairman called to threaten your girlfriend. I say you got until tomorrow before he brings it up.”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Tony said quietly. “We’re taking things slow. It’s not easy for either of us.”
Before Dex could ask, Tony climbed over the fence, and Dex did the same. Actually, in Dex’s case, it was more like crawled. He was suddenly feeling exhausted, which was odd. Yeah, he’d pushed himself, but he wasn’t injured or anything. His muscles strained, and his body felt sluggish. He was also starving. Like he hadn’t eaten in days. What the hell was wrong with him? Sloane ran over and helped him down. He didn’t say a word, just wrapped Dex up in his strong arms and rubbed his cheek against Dex’s temple.
“You’re okay,” Sloane murmured.
Dex nodded, clutching on to Sloane’s arms. Cael hugged the life out of their dad, the rest of the team soon joining in. Dex closed his eyes and laid his head under Sloane’s chin, a rumbled sigh coming up through his chest. Dex and Sloane pulled back at the exact same moment, their wide eyes meeting. Dex’s jaw dropped.
“Did you just…?”
Dex shook his head fervently. “Ixnay on the purringbay,” Dex ground out through his teeth.
“You did,” Sloane said, stunned. “Holy fucking shit, babe. You just purred like a Felid.” Everyone’s head whipped around to stare at Dex. Sloane cringed. “I said that kind of loud, didn’t I?”
Dex gaped at him. Oh my God. He was going to strangle that sexy beautiful neck. Sloane had not just outed him. With a glower, he poked Sloane in the vest, announcing loudly, “Well, now that makes two of us.”
Ash let out a bark of laughter, and Sloane groaned. “Why would you do me like that?”
“Because if I’m going to suffer, so are you, darling, precious, love of my life. You and your sexy mouth let the jaguar Therian out of the bag.”
“Wait,” Ash said, walking over, motioning between Dex and Sloane. “You two can purr in Human form?”
“Human form is my only form,” Dex replied with a sniff, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Which purrs like a jaguar Therian?” Ash turned to Sloane. “You purr in Human form?”
Sloane let out a long-suffering sigh. “Just get it out of your system, Keeler.”
Ash did not get it out of his system. He laughed his ass off on the way back to the BearCat. He laughed all the way to the drive-thru where Dex ordered Therian-sized everything and polished it off in minutes. He immediately felt better afterward. Like his energy had been restored by the meaty-carby goodness. Ash was still laughing.
“Jesus, Ash, you making up for the whole of your freakin’ life?” Dex asked, shaking his head in disbelief. Every time he thought Ash was going to shut it, he started laughing again. His face was red, he was crying. He was actually shedding fucking tears. Dex let his head fall into his hands with a groan. He was never going to hear the end of it. Never.
BACK AT HQ, they tried to get Tony to go to the hospital or at least have Hudson look him over, but Tony was stubborn as hell. While they’d all put their weapons and armor back in their respective armories, Tony had showered quickly and changed into a clean pair of jeans and black long-sleeved henley. Then in Unit Alpha, he personally thanked every agent who had gone out there to bring him home. Those who were injured, he called. Tony had spent hours in the hands of murderers who’d planned to kill him, and instead of going home, he was here at HQ. This was where he wanted to be. Though Dex noticed that Tony made sure to stay close to Dex and Cael. Every so often, he would reach out and squeeze their shoulders, put an arm around to pull them in for a brief hug, or he just stood with his arm against theirs, as if seeking their comfort.
When Tony was done speaking to the other agents, he headed for Sparks’s office, and Destructive Delta followed. He stepped foot through the door, and Sparks stood, her gaze darting to Dex before moving back to Tony. She waited, and Dex could tell it was killing her. Usually Sparks was unreadable, her expression guarded. A skill she’d mastered to perfection. But as Tony rounded the desk, a crack appeared in her armor.
Tony stopped in front of her. “I’m sorry.”
The crack fractured and splintered. His soft words struck something inside Sparks, and she launched herself into his arms. Although they were the same height because of her heels, she looked small in his beefy arms. He turned his face into her red waves and murmured something Dex couldn’t hear despite his Therian hearing. Tony kissed her temple, and Sparks nodded. She cleared her throat and pulled away, straightening her formfitting suit jacket. With a smile, she turned to address Destructive Delta.
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