Smoke & Mirrors

  This conversation was far from over, but Sloane knew when it was time to move on. For now. He returned to his chair and took Dex’s hand again. “Okay, what about your parents?”

  Dex frowned. “I don’t think I want to talk about that.”

  “Hey, look at me.” Sloane opened his stance so he could pull Dex’s chair closer to him. He reached out and cupped Dex’s face. They’d reached the source of his partner’s true pain. It wasn’t just Wolf; it wasn’t whatever was happening inside Dex. It was about his parents.

  “I know it’s stupid. They died when I was five. I mourned their death. I moved on. And it’s not even finding out they were killed. Deep down, I knew that. I knew something wasn’t right. Kids pick up on a lot of things, more than adults realize. Yet despite all that, I told myself they were ordinary people leading ordinary lives who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Dex’s eyes grew glassy. He pushed away from Sloane and stood, pacing the office.

  “What are you afraid of?” Sloane asked gently.

  Dex worried his bottom lip with his teeth. His brows furrowed, and he rubbed at his eyes. He turned to face Sloane, and Sloane could see how hard he was fighting his emotions.

  “What if they weren’t the people I thought they were? My dad was my hero. My mom, she was….” A tear rolled down his cheek, and he quickly brushed it aside. “What if everything I remember about them is a lie? What if it was all bullshit?”

  “Dex….”

  “I’ve been thinking a lot about this. About TIN, Shultzon, my joining the THIRDS when I did. Don’t you think it’s all a little suspect?”

  Sloane stared at him. “What are you talking about?”

  “It’s like everything I’ve done has led me here to this moment, to these exact events. I can’t explain it, but I feel like there’s something bigger going on. My first case with the THIRDS concerned Pearce, who happened to lead us to Shultzon, who ran the First Gen Research Facility where you grew up, and for some reason Shultzon deemed my parents enough of a threat to have them killed. My mom had some kind of file that no one seems to know anything about. What if everything is somehow connected?”

  “What if it is?” Sloane asked, standing. He walked over to Dex and pulled him close. “That’s not going to mean your parents loved you any less. From what I’ve heard about them from you, from Maddock, they adored you, Dex. Whatever happened to them, whatever the reason behind their deaths, you were their son, and they loved you.”

  Dex closed his eyes and nodded, allowing Sloane to pull him into his arms. Sloane held him, offering comfort. Family was important to Dex. It was the one thing he felt the strongest about. His family meant everything to him. It drove him.

  “You’re afraid to find out the truth. Afraid of what it might mean for you now.” Sloane pulled back enough to plant a kiss on Dex’s cheek. “Listen to me. Whatever you find out, it won’t change how they loved you. It won’t change the amazing man you are, and it certainly won’t change how much I, Tony, or Cael love you. We’re your family, Dex, and we’ll be here to face whatever comes our way, right at your side. You’re the bravest man I know. You can do this.”

  Dex nodded, a small smile coming onto his face. “You’re right.”

  “Of course I am. I’m always right, remember?”

  Dex laughed, and Sloane brushed his thumb across his cheek before kissing his lips. It was a sweet, tender kiss, one he wished could go on for much longer. When he pulled away, his heart swelled at the vibrant light in those amazing eyes.

  “There you are.”

  Dex smiled warmly, causing little wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. “Hi.”

  As much as Sloane wished they could stay like this all day, they had to get back to work. As if sensing his thoughts, Dex nodded toward the door.

  “It’s okay. Duty calls. I’m good. Promise.”

  “If at any point you’re not, you tell me, yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  Dex resumed his seat behind his desk, and Sloane took their office off privacy mode. He’d wheeled his chair back to his desk when Maddock’s voice came over his earpiece.

  “Sloane?”

  “Yes, Sarge.”

  “Reynolds is ready for you. Interrogation room A7. Send Dex down to Hudson’s lab. He has some results for us.”

  “Copy that. On my way. I’ll relay the information to Dex.” He disconnected with Maddock and motioned toward the door. “Reynolds is ready for questioning. Hudson’s got some results for us. Sarge wants you to pick it up from the lab.”

  Dex gave him a nod, and Sloane left their office to head to the elevator. The interrogation rooms were on the first floor near processing. Cael and Rosa were out questioning the Reynoldses’ coworkers, friends, and family. The information would appear on the file as they filed it. By now Sloane should have a better idea about the kind of man Dylan Reynolds was and what might prompt him to kill his wife in such a brutal manner.

  Reaching the assigned interrogation room, Sloane nodded to the two Defense agents from Unit Beta keeping guard on either side before he went into the room. Dylan Reynolds looked like he was barely holding it together. Sloane took a seat across from him. It was hard for Sloane to picture the man as a murderer, seeing him looking so shattered. He’d clearly been crying. His nose was red, his face flushed, his eyes bloodshot and puffy.

  “Dylan, my name is Sloane Brodie. I’m the Team Leader for Destructive Delta, the team that brought you in. I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

  “I didn’t kill her,” Dylan murmured. He appeared dazed, his head lowered and his gaze on nothing in particular.

  “Why don’t you tell me what happened?” Sloane drew his tablet out from his tac pants, logged in, and brought up the case file, along with Dylan’s personal file and his wife’s. Dylan was a college graduate. He studied architecture, had a good job, excellent salary, and no debt. His parents lived in Philly, wife’s parents lived in Virginia. On screen they looked like any other couple.

  “I already told those other four or five agents. I didn’t kill my wife.”

  “I want to help you, Dylan, but I need you to tell me what happened.” Sloane tapped the screen, placed the tablet on the table, and tapped Record. “From the beginning.”

  Dylan let out a heavy sigh. “Around noon, Alicia sent me a text saying she wasn’t going to yoga because she wasn’t feeling well. I was worried. I called her up to see how she was and if she wanted me to bring her something on my way home from work. She didn’t answer. I tried texting, calling, e-mailing, everything. I started to panic. Something was wrong. I could feel it.”

  Sloane frowned. “How?”

  “I just knew. It was like this ache deep in my soul. It got worse and worse until I felt like it was trying to tear me apart from the inside out. And after the seizure she had a couple of weeks before, I was terrified she was about to have another episode.”

  Sloane’s head shot up. “Seizure?”

  Dylan nodded. “Yes. A few weeks ago, she suffered a seizure with convulsions. I’d never been so scared in my life. I called 911, and they rushed her to the hospital. The doctors ran all kinds of tests but said the results might take some time.”

  Was it possible? Sloane pushed back the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Dylan, did you mark your wife? Were you two bonded?”

  Dylan swallowed hard before nodding. “A few months ago. On our honeymoon. I was afraid to. I didn’t want to hurt her, but she wanted to so bad. I wanted it too.” He looked up at Sloane, the agony in his green eyes hard to ignore. “I would have given my life for her, Agent Brodie. She was everything to me. My whole life.” His bottom lip trembled, and a tear rolled down his cheek.

  Sloane brought up his interoffice messenger and sent a message to Hudson asking him to request Alicia Reynolds’s test results for the seizure she had a few weeks ago. Hudson replied with an acknowledgment. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Except Sloane had a hard time believing in coincidences lately.
Alicia Reynolds was a Human, marked and bonded by her Therian husband. Not long after being marked, she had a seizure. Why? What the hell happened? Then there was the fact that Dylan had supposedly mauled his wife to death.

  Either Dylan Reynolds was an exceptional actor, or something wasn’t right. Could someone who’d marked their mate truly murder them? There were times when Sloane feared he’d lose control, but his fear came with the possibility of hurting someone else, never Dex. Sloane would turn his claws on himself before he hurt Dex. The thought startled him, and he was grateful for the knock that jolted him out of his thoughts.

  Dex walked in, his expression stoic as he leaned to whisper in Sloane’s ear.

  Alicia Reynolds had been pregnant.

  Sloane closed his eyes for a moment, getting his bearings before nodding to Dex.

  “Thanks.”

  Dex nodded. He turned to leave when Dylan sniffed the air. His gaze darted to Dex as he left the room before Dylan turned his wide eyes back to Sloane. He leaned forward, his voice quiet.

  “Tell me, Agent Brodie. Would you ever hurt him?”

  Sloane cleared his throat and tapped away at his tablet. “You said something was wrong with your wife. What happened then?”

  “You’d sooner die than hurt him, wouldn’t you? The thought of him in pain tears at your heart, like your feral half is sinking its claws into you, as if it would rather destroy you than physically harm him.”

  “Dylan,” Sloane insisted. “What happened next?”

  Dylan pressed his lips together before letting out a heart-wrenching sigh. “I left work early. When I got home, her car was parked out front, and everything looked normal. The door was locked, windows closed. The moment I stepped foot inside the house I tore at my clothes. I couldn’t… I couldn’t control my Therian half. I went feral.”

  “What did you see?”

  “It wasn’t what I saw, Agent Brodie. It was what I smelled. Alicia’s blood. So much blood. Enough for my feral half to know she was dead, but my Human side refused to believe it. My vision grew sharp, and I tried to fight it, but when I entered the kitchen and saw the trail of blood, I… I shifted. I followed the blood and found—”

  Dylan broke down, tears streaming down his cheeks. Sloane swallowed hard, feeling a lump in his throat. Could Dylan be telling the truth? The guy was distraught, on the verge of losing his grasp on the fine thread of his sanity. It was either the greatest performance Sloane had ever seen, or Dylan Reynolds was telling the truth, which then brought up the question. If Dylan didn’t kill his wife, who did? And why were they trying to frame Dylan?

  Once Dylan got a hold of himself enough to speak, he continued. “I found what was left of her in the living room. For a split second, I considered joining her.” He looked up at Sloane. “You have no idea what the loss feels like, and I hope you never find out, Agent Brodie.”

  Sloane couldn’t bring himself to respond, so he continued. “Then what happened?”

  “I lost track of time. I was numb. At a loss. In my Felid state, I couldn’t think of what to do, so I just stood there, over her, wailing like the wounded animal I was.”

  “Do you know of any Therians who might have wanted to hurt your wife?”

  Dylan shook his head. “Everyone loved Alicia. She was the sweetest, kindest person. She was a therapist, working with Therian children down at the hospital. Those kids loved her.” He shut his eyes tight and wiped at his nose. “They’re going to be devastated.”

  “Was she having an affair?”

  Dylan looked offended by the question. “Of course not. We were just married. We wanted to start a family. She asked me to mark her. You all of all people should know that’s not something that’s taken lightly.”

  “Were you having an affair?”

  “No,” Dylan replied through his teeth. “How could you ask me that?”

  “I’m sorry, Dylan, but I have to ask these questions. I need to understand why—”

  “Why I would kill her? I didn’t kill her!”

  Sloane asked a few more questions, satisfied with the answers. He told Dylan what would happen next, but Dylan didn’t seem to care. He was only half of a whole now. Sloane made to get up when Dylan threw a hand out.

  “Agent Brodie, please find out who killed my wife. I don’t care what happens to me, but I need to know. I need to know who would do this to her. To us.”

  Sloane swallowed hard and nodded. “Your lawyer will keep you informed. I’ll do my best, Dylan.”

  Dylan nodded before he dropped his face into his hands and cried. It was hard. Sloane hadn’t had a case this bad in a while. He left the room and went into the observation room next door, where Maddock sat, his jaw clenched tight.

  “You think he’s innocent.”

  “I think there’s some credit to his story.”

  “Dental records identify the victim is indeed Alicia Reynolds. She was five weeks pregnant. Dylan’s blood, fur, and saliva has been found on the body. A claw analysis shows Dylan’s claws are a match for the tears in the skin.” Maddock continued to scroll through the information on his tablet, including new evidence recently added by the forensics team. “Although his employer confirms the time Dylan left work, and phone records show he spoke to his wife minutes before, no one saw him go into the house. Hudson puts the time of death at roughly half an hour before we arrived.”

  Maddock looked up at Sloane, his dark eyes searching for something. Sloane had no idea what.

  “It doesn’t look good.”

  There had to be more. “Why would he have stayed? Why not run?”

  “Maybe he only realized what he’d done when she was dead. It could have been an accident, and he’s trying to cover it up. It wouldn’t be the first time, Sloane.”

  “What’s the motive?” Sloane looked through the information himself. “Everyone who was questioned by Recon said the same thing. He was a good man who loved her with all his heart. They never fought. No marital problems that anyone knew of.” Sloane met Maddock’s gaze. “She was pregnant with his child and either didn’t know or was waiting to tell him. There’s no motive.”

  “Yet. Do you really believe he’s innocent? Or do you want to believe there’s no way a Therian can harm his marked mate?”

  Sloane swallowed hard. “It goes against our nature.”

  Maddock pressed his lips together and placed his tablet on the empty chair beside him. “Son, none of us know what we’re capable of when we’re pushed over the edge.”

  Sloane entered his security clearance into the panel by the door, securing the room. He turned back to Maddock. “Do you think I could hurt Dex?”

  Maddock frowned at him. “Sloane, I don’t think—”

  “I’ve gone feral before. I’ve hurt him.”

  “Those were extenuating circumstances, Sloane. You were being pumped full of some drug that was messing with you. Besides, things are different now.”

  “Because Dex is marked. That’s what you were thinking, right? That now that Dex is marked, the idea of my feral half intentionally hurting him is hard to believe.”

  “Ah, but there it is,” Maddock said, leaning forward. “Intentionally. Let’s say Dylan would never intentionally hurt his wife. We have to consider that something might have caused him to go feral, lose control of his Therian half, and for some reason, he attacked her instead of protected her.”

  “Okay,” Sloane conceded. “You have a point.” It wasn’t like there was a whole lot of information out there on Therian markings. Every Therian was different. Their experiences were different. After what happened with him and the drugs Shultzon had pumped into him, there’s no telling what was out there. If there was something that had indeed caused Dylan to lose control of his Therian form.

  Sloane stood. “I’ll ask Hudson to run an in-depth toxicology report on Dylan’s blood, along with a full Therian scan. I want to know if anything changes while he’s in his Therian form.”

  Maddock nodded. “Keep me posted
.”

  “I also think we should hold off on telling Dylan about his wife’s pregnancy. I recommend he be placed under observation. There’s a good chance he might try to harm himself.”

  “Okay.”

  Sloane was about to leave when Maddock caught hold of his arm. “Sloane, I’m worried about Dex. He’s acting like everything’s okay, but I know that boy is hurting. It kills me that he won’t confide in me. He’s never kept anything from me. The last few months… it’s been nothing but secrets.”

  Sloane turned to face Maddock and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Tony, Dex loves you. If he hasn’t told you, it’s for a good reason. You have to believe that.”

  Maddock shook his head. His eyes narrowed. “I don’t know how much longer he thinks he can keep me out of whatever the hell is going on.” He turned his hardened gaze on Sloane. “If I don’t get some answers soon, I’m going to find them on my own. Don’t suppose you have any answers for me?”

  Sloane frowned, annoyed that Maddock would ask such a thing of him. “Are you asking me to betray Dex’s trust?”

  “What I’m asking is, how far are you willing to go to keep Dex’s secrets? How much are you willing to risk? His life, maybe?” He got in Sloane’s face and jabbed a finger in his shoulder. “Because I’m not willing to let my son die for pride or whatever else the fuck he thinks he’s doing. His life is more important to me than anything, even my own. Even if it means him hating me for the rest of my goddamn life. I’m willing to pay that price. How about you, Sloane? Is his trust worth more to you than his life?”

  “Yes.” Sloane swallowed hard, his inner Felid roaring inside him in protest. Much like Maddock, his feral half didn’t understand. It only understood the potential loss of its mate.

  Maddock stared at him. When he spoke it was through his teeth. “Explain, before I start wondering why the hell Dex fell in love with you.”

  Sloane straightened. He wasn’t about to back down, not on this. “Trust, like family, means everything to Dex. This is a man who would sacrifice himself for those he loves, for a cause he truly believed in. For him, betrayal from someone he loves would be worse than death. Your son is not afraid to die.” Sloane met Maddock’s gaze head-on. “He’s afraid of being abandoned. Of losing those most important to him. When he loves, he loves wholeheartedly. He’s given me his heart, and along with it, his trust. I won’t betray either. Not for you, Cael, or anyone.”

  They stood facing off for what seemed like an eternity when something in Maddock’s eyes gave way.

  Sloane was stunned by the emotion he saw there. Maddock was an unmovable mountain of a man. Always stoic, never faltering. Sloane had never seen him look so… vulnerable. He’d never seen this side of Anthony Maddock before.

  “I guess I wasn’t as prepared for this day as I thought I would be.”

  “What day is that?” Sloane asked, confused.

  “The day my boys wouldn’t need me anymore.”

  Sloane’s anger melted. “No matter what happens, or how old they get, they’ll never stop needing you, Tony. You’re their father, and they love you. The fact that Dex has me, and Cael has Ash, doesn’t mean for one second that they don’t need their dad. You know that.”

  Maddock pressed his lips in a thin line and gave him a nod. “I’m happy for them. I really am. It’s all I’ve ever wanted for them, to be happy. Seeing him in pain and not knowing what’s causing it tears me up inside.”

  Sloane nodded his understanding. “You’re right. I’ll talk to him about it, okay?”

  “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

  Sloane gave him a smile and pressed his hand to the panel. The door opened, and Maddock called out to him.

  “Sloane?”

  “Yeah?” Sloane turned, finding Maddock’s lips twitching into a grin.

  “Thanks.”

  “For what?”

  “For calling me Tony.”

  Sloane hadn’t even realized he’d said it. He returned Maddock’s smile. “You’re welcome.”

  After putting in the test requests with Hudson, Sloane met Dex in their office. “We need to talk.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Dylan Reynolds’s wife was marked.”

  Dex’s eyes widened. “Shit.” He shook his head, as if trying to understand. “But… that doesn’t make any sense.”

  “That’s not the only thing.” Sloane took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “A few weeks ago, his wife had a seizure.”

  Dex slowly sank into his chair. “She was marked, and she had a seizure?”

  “Yeah.”

  Dex swallowed hard. “Do we know what caused the seizure?”

  “I had Hudson request her test results from the hospital. If they don’t have the results back yet, he’ll make sure it gets prioritized at the lab.” Their eyes met, and neither had to say a word. Sloane knew they were thinking the same thing. There was no way this was a coincidence. Whatever had been happening to Alicia Reynolds was happening to Dex, and it was connected to them being marked. How, Sloane had no idea. Then there were the circumstances surrounding Alicia’s