“Where are you going? I thought Sparks wanted us in her office.”

  “She does. I need to make a quick call.” He put his hand to his desk’s interface and tapped Hudson’s extension into the digital keypad. Hudson answered cheerfully.

  “Cael. What can I do for you?”

  “Where were you guys?”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “You and Nina weren’t at the hospital.”

  “Were we supposed to be?” Hudson asked, sounding puzzled. “We’ve not had any callouts today.”

  “You’re weren’t requested at NY Presbyterian?”

  “No.”

  “Okay. Sorry. Must have gotten my intel wrong. Thanks, Hudson.”

  “No worries. Let me know if you need anything.”

  “Will do.” Cael hung up and arched an eyebrow at Rosa. “That nurse told us they’d been detained. They hadn’t even been called out. Let’s see what Sparks has to say.”

  They’d left the office and were walking through the bullpen when he saw Ash sitting at his desk in his and Letty’s office. Taking a detour, he knocked on the glass wall. Ash looked up and smiled tentatively.

  “Hey. Everything okay?”

  “I’m not sure.” He walked in with Rosa beside him. “What was the name of the doctor who attended to you at NY Presbyterian Hospital?”

  “Dr. Ward.”

  “I knew it! That bastard.” They weren’t losing their minds. Ward had been there. Dead.

  “Who?”

  “Something really fucked-up is going on,” Rosa said, coming to sit on the edge of Ash’s desk, talking quietly. She brought Ash up to speed on everything that had happened from the moment they’d arrived at the crime scene, the puzzling game of musical chairs with various nurses, disappearing staff, vanishing bodies, and altered information. “And then Sparks orders us back here.”

  “Wait, what was the name of the drug you found?”

  “Thelxinomine,” Cael replied. “Have you heard of it? I swear I’ve seen it somewhere.”

  “I know exactly where you saw it.” Ash opened his desk drawer and straightened. “What the fuck?” He jumped to his feet, and Cael was immediately at his side.

  “What is it?”

  “My prescription. It’s gone.”

  “Are you sure you left it in there?” Rosa asked.

  “Yes. I took one at lunch and put the bottle in this drawer. And now it’s fucking gone.”

  Ash searched through the rest of his desk drawers, coming up empty every time. Ash’s side of the office was impeccable. It would be hard to believe the guy could lose anything there. Letty’s side was less organized but still tidy enough not to drive Ash mad. Cael knew what a neat freak Ash could be.

  “Where’s Letty?” Rosa asked.

  “She’s with the sarge, taking inventory on the last shipment of ammunition.”

  “Did you leave your office recently?” Cael looked around the office, not that he’d be able to spot if something was out of place. If Ash hadn’t noticed, it was likely whoever had come in and taken the pills had done so discreetly. Someone had to have seen something. They were in the freakin’ bullpen, for crying out loud.

  Ash narrowed his eyes at his desk, as if doing so might make the pills reappear. “About twenty minutes ago. I went to the bathroom.”

  Rosa walked to the door and discreetly peeked outside. “You can get a new one, right?”

  “I suppose, but the doctor who prescribed it for me is dead. It was Thelxinomine. Dr. Ward signed off on it. I had two weeks’ worth of doses left.”

  “There’s no way this is a coincidence.” Cael tapped his earpiece. “Dex?”

  “Hey, bro. What’s up?”

  “Are you around?”

  “Yeah, in the office with Sloane.”

  “Stay there.”

  “Sure.”

  The three of them left Ash’s office and found Dex sitting behind his desk. His brother quickly tapped his desk, as if they hadn’t noticed the brightly lit neon table hockey he’d been playing on his desk’s interface. Ash entered his badge number into the security panel and initiated the office’s safe mode. The walls went white, and he turned to Sloane.

  “Your doctor at the hospital was Dr. Ward, right?”

  Sloane nodded. “Yeah, why?”

  “Was he the one who prescribed your meds?”

  “Yeah, Thelxinomine. I’ve still got another few weeks left. What’s going on?”

  Ash walked over to Sloane’s side. “Where the bottle?”

  “In my desk.” Sloane opened his drawer and frowned. He tried the other drawers. “At least it was in my desk.” He looked up at Dex in question. “Have you seen my meds?”

  “Not since this morning when you took your last dose, but I saw you put them back in the top right hand drawer.”

  Cael turned to Sloane. “Were you and Dex out of your office recently?”

  Sloane nodded. “Sparks called us into her office about twenty minutes ago. She wanted to know how I was doing and if Dex was up for some extra training.”

  “How long did the meeting take?” Cael asked.

  Dex shrugged. “Maybe ten minutes at most.”

  “Guys? What’s going on?”

  “We’ll let you know as soon as we get some answers. Until then, don’t let anyone know your prescription has gone missing.”

  Cael entered his badge number into the security panel, and the office went back to normal. He left with Rosa and Ash in tow. As they left the bullpen and headed for Sparks’s office, Ash took hold of Cael’s arm and pulled him to one side.

  “Before you go in there, connect to my com and leave your line open.”

  Cael stared at him, his voice low when he spoke in case anyone was close by. “You want to listen in. Why?”

  “Trust me. I’ll explain later.”

  “Okay.” He had no idea why Ash was asking him, but there had to be a good reason for it. He tapped his earpiece and connected to Ash, then pressed the button in farther until it clicked, putting it on covert mode with no green light to give him away. Ash would be able to hear whatever Cael heard. They walked into Sparks’s office.

  “Close the door behind you,” Sparks said from behind her desk in her usual no-nonsense tone.

  Cael obliged, pressing his hand to the security panel. The door closed, and he joined his partner, taking a seat in the empty chair.

  “Why the detour?” Sparks asked.

  Shit. How the hell did she know? “Sorry. Dex had asked me to pick up some ibuprofen from the hospital while I was there. For Sloane.”

  “It could have waited.”

  Cael cleared his throat and tried his best not to fidget under her penetrating stare. “My apologies.”

  “I apologize as well.”

  Wait, what now? Cael was flabbergasted. Since when did their lieutenant apologize for anything? Before he could ask, she elaborated.

  “You and Agent Santiago weren’t supposed to have been called out to NY Presbyterian Hospital. Dispatch was misinformed. They were under the impression you were taking calls. They were meant to have put the call through to another Recon team. That’s why Dr. Colbourn and Dr. Bishop weren’t on scene when you arrived. The CSIs had already been there and processed the body.”

  “You mean Dr. Ward.”

  “I’m afraid that information is classified.”

  Cael frowned. “It’s not classified if we’ve already seen it. We saw the body. It was Dr. Ward.” And since when was a regular homicide classified? The information was most likely already public knowledge.

  “You must be confused, Agent Maddock. The wolf Therian brought in was a Dr. Fredrickson. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some important matters to attend to. You may return to your duties.”

  What the hell? “With all due respect, Lieutenant, what’s going on? The body we saw belonged to Dr. Ward, but then the nurse at the station—which wasn’t the first nurse we spoke to—told us the guy didn’t exist. The information on Agent Keeler and Agent Brodie’s files had been altered, and then the bottle—”

  “Lieutenant,” Ash interrupted. “Damn. I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were in a meeting.”

  Sparks didn’t look pleased by the disturbance. “The status on the door hasn’t glitched again, has it, Agent Keeler? It does say ‘engaged’ in English and not Japanese.”

  Ash cringed. “Sorry. I wasn’t paying attention. Have a lot on my mind.”

  Sparks seemed to consider that before giving him a smile. “Understandable. What did you need, Agent Keeler?”

  “Am I cleared for authorization on advanced CQC training for Agents Daley and Maddock?”

  “Your request has been accepted. I’d like an eighteen-week training schedule submitted to me by the end of the week, detailing what you hope to accomplish and the expected results.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Sparks gave him a nod and turned her attention back to Cael and Rosa.

  “You’re dismissed, Agents.”

  “But—”

  “There’s nothing further to discuss. Get back to your training. In light of recent events, we need Destructive Delta to be in top form. I’m expecting to see results, Agent Maddock.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” There was something about the way she said it that had Cael wondering if she was hinting at knowing more than they believed she knew. With Sparks, there was no way to tell. The female Therian was impossible to read. But if she knew about the unsanctioned mission, why hadn’t they heard anything about it? Surely they would have heard something from Seb, who’d been permanently assigned the position of Team Leader for Theta Destructive.

  They silently left and headed back to the bullpen. Cael tapped his earpiece and shut it off before leaning into Ash. “What’s going on? Why didn’t you want me to tell her about the drug?”

  “Tell your brother to put in a call to Bradley and ask if we could borrow the second floor of Dekatria before it opens. We’re having a team meeting. I want everyone there. This is off the books, so no one says a word. You inform Dex and Sloane. I’ll inform the others. Something fucked-up is going on around here, and it’s time we get to the bottom of it.”

  “THANKS FOR letting us use your bar.”

  Ash would never have thought they’d be using Dekatria as a base of operation, but the place was secure enough for them to have a meeting without having to worry someone was listening. Ash was comfortable here, which was saying something. He was always alert and on edge when hanging around someplace new, but he’d quickly acclimated himself to Dekatria. The retro décor didn’t even bug him anymore.

  “No problem. If you need anything, let me know.” Bradley leaned over Ash to pass Cael a soda, his tattooed arm in front of them.

  Bradley gave them a cheerful salute and headed toward the door. Ash excused himself to use the bathroom. On the stairs, he caught up to Bradley and took hold of his left arm. Puzzled, Bradley’s smile dimmed. Recognition came into his eyes as Ash tightened his grip and turned his arm.

  “Tell me this isn’t a problem anymore and it’s the last time I’ll be bringing it up. I won’t let you endanger my team.”

  Bradley’s amber eyes glowed with a familiar fire, his reply grave. “It’s not a problem anymore.”

  Ash nodded. “Does Lou know?”

  The anger in Bradley’s eyes dimmed. “No. It’s in the past.”

  “The past has a way of catching up with us. Believe me.” Ash released his arm. “Tell him. If he really cares, he’ll stick around. But he has a right to know.”

  Bradley nodded. “Thanks.”

  Ash turned and headed back upstairs, hoping Bradley was right. It made sense now, why the guy was happy to have them in his bar all the time. Who wouldn’t want half an army to back them up if an old gang came around to give them trouble? Ash had seen the gang tattoo woven into a new design. Someone had done a great job of covering it up with a tattoo sleeve of new art, but Ash had seen it. The symbol wasn’t the only thing he’d noticed. Several of Bradley’s tattoos hid a variety of scars. Whatever Bradley had been mixed up in, it had been bad. Poor Lou. The guy was crazy about Bradley. He hoped things worked out for those two. They made a sweet couple. Speaking of sweet….

  Ash slid into the booth beside Cael as they waited for Calvin to arrive. Glancing at his team, he saw Rosa was chatting with Letty, while Dex and Sloane were being all close and stupidly cute together. Ash took the opportunity to bump Cael playfully. He leaned in to talk quietly.

  “So exactly how much groveling do I have to do to make up for what happened during training?”

  Cael looked thoughtful as he sipped his soda, his plump lips especially pouty and wet as he sucked on his straw. If Ash didn’t know any better, he’d say Cael was doing it on purpose. Was Cael giving him the silent treatment? No, Cael wouldn’t do that. He knew how much Ash hated those sorts of games. Cael was either thinking up ways for Ash to make it up to him, or he was plotting his demise. Both were somewhat worrisome, though not exactly surprising.

  “I know I was an asshole,” he said, his fingers finding the hem of Cael’s T-shirt. He slipped them under the gray cotton and held back a smile at the way Cael’s cheeks turned pink. “And you’re the last person on this earth I would ever want to be an asshole to. But your safety and well-being mean more to me than what you might think of me for my methods. You are what matters most to me, and if I have to piss you off every day to make sure you stay safe, then so be it. Whatever happens during our training, I promise to apologize after every session. To remind you that what you see in there is me doing what I have to do to protect you. So I’m sorry for being an asshole. As a peace offering, I’d like to make you dinner. We can watch a movie, hang out, play video games. Whatever you want. Just like we used to. What do you say?”

  Cael looked up at him, his big gray eyes and loving expression stealing Ash’s breath away.

  “Really?”

  “Really. Do you forgive me?”

  “Only if you forgive me for punching your boys.” He cringed. “I’m so sorry.” Cael put his hand to Ash’s bicep, his expression worried. “Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you too bad, did I?”

  “You punched me in the nuts.”

  Cael burst into laughter, then slapped a hand over his mouth. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I didn’t mean to laugh.” He laughed again, a sweet chuckle that warmed Ash’s heart. “I am so sorry.”

  “No you’re not.” Ash pretended to be put off. He laid his arm behind Cael’s head on the seat’s backrest and poked him in his side, making him squirm.

  “Sorry I’m late.”

  They all turned their attention to Calvin, who looked like he could use some sleep. Something was going on with his teammate. Ash had stopped by Calvin and Hobbs’s office after his training with Cael, but neither had been in. He hadn’t seen Hobbs all day, which was unusual.

  “Where’s Hobbs?” Ash asked. He’d specifically told everyone they had to be there.

  “He couldn’t make it. I can’t stay long. He’s on his own at home.”

  Everything fell into place. Jesus, why hadn’t Calvin told him Hobbs was having a rough time with his anxiety? It wasn’t as if the team didn’t know Hobbs. They all understood and supported the guy, had been doing it for years. They knew when to encourage him and when to back off. If Hobbs was home, it meant he couldn’t leave the apartment. This was usually one of those times when Calvin would stay home with his partner. He always did.

  “It’s been a while,” Cael said, worried for his friends.

  Calvin sighed and slipped into the booth across from Ash and Cael. There were bags under his eyes, and he looked exhausted. “Sorry I haven’t told you guys. It’s been a rough couple of weeks. He hasn’t had it this bad in a while. Thanksgiving was a fucking disaster.”

  “I thought you and your mom spent every Thanksgiving with Hobbs and his family?” Cael said.

  “We do, and we did again. Man, I wish we hadn’t. That morning, when Ethan woke up, I knew it was bad. It took me three hours to get him out of bed. I helped him pick out his clothes, and then his mom called, and he didn’t even want to talk to her. She understood. His parents are really supportive and understanding, always have been. They’ve done everything they could for him and his condition since he was a kid, and the meds were really helping. He still has rough days, but they haven’t been nearly as bad as this.” Calvin looked like he was on the verge of tears. Dex must have noticed, because he sat down beside Calvin and put his arm around him.

  “What happened, Cal?”

  “Ethan calmed down. I made him some tea, and he seemed okay. I told him if he didn’t want to go to his mom’s it was no big deal. We could stay in and chill. His mom even offered to drop us off some Thanksgiving dinner. Ethan said it was fine. I know he just didn’t want to disappoint his mom. So we went. My mom was already there, because she always heads off early to help with the cooking.

  “We all sat around the table, and everything was fine. Ethan was quiet, but he was smiling, so he was doing okay. Then the doorbell rings. Rafe had fucking invited a friend without letting us know ahead of time, some guy Ethan had never met. He panicked, got up so quick he knocked over a bottle of red wine by accident, and that fucking prick Rafe yelled at him.” Calvin blinked back his tears. “His brother is fucking hyperventilating in front of him, and he’s yelling at him, telling him not to be such a child, that he does it to get attention.”

  “Hey, it’s okay, pal.” Dex rubbed his hand over Calvin’s back.

  Calvin balled his hands into fists on the table, a tear rolling down his cheek. “Rafe is yelling at Ethan, and then that stupid son of a bitch friend of his starts laughing and calls Ethan a spaz. I fucking lost my shit. Tackled him and punched him in the face. Seb pulls me off him, and I would have gone right back to beating the shit out of him if I hadn’t seen my mom hugging Ethan. He was sitting on the floor covering his ears and struggling to breathe. Seb helped me get him to his old bedroom. We got him into bed, and Seb left me alone with him. I don’t know how long it took, but I stayed up with him, soothing him until he fell asleep.” He drew in a shaky breath and let it out slowly before wiping his eyes. “Sorry, I just, I haven’t been sleeping well.”