“Elbows cause a shit ton of damage. You’ll want to go for your attacker’s most vulnerable areas.” He pointed two fingers to each part of Cael’s body as he listed them. “Eyes, neck, liver, kidney, groin, and knee. And when I say groin, I’m not talking about punching the guy in the balls. It might hurt like a motherfucker, but eventually he’s going to get back up. So not only will he not be out, he will be fucking pissed.”

  Ash moved away from Cael and stood to face him. “You can’t rely on your punches alone. Look at me. Think about what I just told you, and attack me.”

  “What, just come at you?” Cael looked uncertain.

  “Yes. Use whatever you think would take me down.”

  “But what if I hurt you?”

  “You won’t.”

  Cael frowned at him. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

  “This is my proficiency. You’re just learning. So come on.”

  Taking a deep breath, Cael charged. Every punch Cael threw, Ash was able to dodge or smack away. The force behind Cael’s punches was good. His form was good. But he was relying on his strength in a scenario where strength alone wouldn’t cut it. Maybe it would against a wolf Therian but not against a larger Felid Therian. He might get some good hits in, but he wouldn’t take them down.

  Ash thought about Hogan and that asshole Fuller. He needed Cael to be ready. Fuller. That son of a bitch had pretended to have Cael’s best interests at heart, using his supposed love for him to hurt him. The moment the thought entered his mind, Ash pushed it behind a door inside his head and slammed it shut. He wasn’t Fuller. He loved Cael, and he was doing this to protect him. To give him a better chance out there in the wild streets of the urban jungle. Ash grabbed Cael around the waist, hoisted him off his feet, and slammed him down on the mat.

  Cael gasped and wheezed, rolling onto his side before coughing. With a groan, he pushed himself into a sitting position. “Shit.”

  “Get up,” Ash growled.

  Cael glared at him. “I’m coming.”

  “That’s what she said.”

  Cael picked his jaw up off the floor and pushed himself to his feet. “You dick! What the hell?”

  “What’s the matter, baby?” Ash leered, slowly circling Cael. “Hurt your feelings?”

  Cael narrowed his eyes. “What did you just call me?”

  “You heard me.” Ash smiled wickedly as he took a stance. “Let’s go, baby. Come at me fast and hard.”

  He could see Cael’s temper flaring, see the anger flash in his steel-gray eyes. Cael took a stance and slowly circled Ash. Finally, he was getting it. Ash could see him assessing, looking Ash over, trying to work out his vulnerabilities, where he might be able to get a good hit in. With a growl, Cael charged. Instead of going for a hook, he went low and turned at the waist to get a jab against Ash’s ribs. Ash blocked with his elbows. He didn’t attack. This was about Cael trying to land a hit.

  Cael moved quickly. When he saw he was unsuccessful, he moved out of the way and approached from a different angle. He side kicked at the back of Ash’s knee, but Ash was already jumping over his leg. If he did the same with an opponent, he might have just hurt the guy. Good.

  With every punch and kick Ash blocked, the more pissed off Cael became. He wanted to land a hit, to show Ash he could do it. The harder Cael tried, the more Ash patronized him. Prodding him, poking his ribs, ruffling his hair as Ash avoided getting hit.

  “Would you quit it!” Cael snapped, charging Ash only to have Ash step to the side and smack his ass. Cael let out a yelp and spun, his steel-gray eyes blazing. “Asshole.”

  “Just let me know when you’re ready to start, sweet pea.”

  “Fuck you!” Cael advanced, jumping as he neared Ash and throwing a punch. Ash ducked out of the way and threw his arms around Cael’s waist. He knocked him onto his back, straddled him, and pinned his wrists above his head. With a smug grin, he forced his weight down, purposefully sitting on Cael’s thighs so he couldn’t move.

  “What’s your move, Chirpy?”

  “Kiss my ass, you bastard!”

  “Ooh, ouch. That hurt.” Ash smiled sweetly. “Emotionally, obviously, not physically. Which really doesn’t help your current situation any. Get angry.”

  “I am angry!”

  “Not angry enough,” Ash growled fiercely. “Get angry, Cael! Some asshole has you on the floor. You’ve been disarmed. He’s going to fucking kill you. What are you going to do? Whatever it is, it better be a fucking step up from what I’ve seen, because if not, you’re as good as dead.”

  Cael pulled at his wrists and writhed, trying to get free.

  “That’s not going to help you survive, Cael.”

  “You want angry? I’ll give you angry!” Cael smacked his head hard against Ash’s, momentarily stunning him. The distraction lasted mere seconds, but long enough for Ash to release one of Cael’s wrists and end up getting punched in the balls.

  “Motherfuck!” Ash let out every swear word he knew as he was shoved off Cael. He held on to his balls and curled up on himself. Cael crouched down beside him.

  “That angry enough for you, Ash?”

  A pleasant voice resounded from the speaker system. “Destructive Delta’s Agent Cael Maddock and Agent Rosa Santiago, report to dispatch.”

  Cael smacked Ash across the cheek hard just for good measure before storming off.

  Fuck! Motherfucking son of a bitch asshole fuck-buckets. Ash pressed his head against the mat, his cheek stinging and his balls feeling like they might crawl up inside him. He closed his eyes tight when he sensed someone looming over him.

  “Keeler, you okay?”

  “Fuck. You,” he ground out. He didn’t know who it was, and he didn’t care.

  “Holy shit!” someone else piped up. “Did you see that? Cael just punched Keeler in the fucking nads, bro.”

  Ash opened his eyes and glared up at his fellow Defense agent. “Herrera?”

  “Yeah?”

  Ash used his recuperated powers of speech to threaten the agent hovering over him.

  “Unless you want me to rip off yours, you’ll get the fuck away from me. Now. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you trying to take a piss on my fern during Daley’s party at my apartment.”

  Herrera jumped to it and made like the wind, taking the other half dozen or so agents who’d gathered with him. Ash pushed himself to a sitting position, and any agents remaining in the boxing bay vacated the premises like someone had announced they were giving away free donuts in the canteen. One lone figure remained, heading toward him.

  “How’s Cael’s training going?” Sloane held a hand out and helped Ash to his feet.

  “Let’s see. He’s pissed, and he punched me in the balls. I think it’s going rather well.” Ash headed for the towel rack and snatched up a towel to wipe the sweat from his face.

  “Good.” Sloane patted Ash on the back, a big dopey grin on his face. “I want you to train Dex.”

  “What the fuck?” Ash threw his towel over his shoulder. He’d prefer letting Cael sock him in the nads again. “Are you shitting me?”

  “It’s important.”

  Sloane’s smile faded, and Ash groaned internally. He hated when his friend got that stupid sad-puppy look on his face.

  “He’s learned a hell of a lot since he joined, but I need you to teach him what you’re teaching Cael. I haven’t been cleared to train yet, and you’re the close-quarters expert.”

  “Let me get this straight. You want me to teach your certifiably insane partner my weaknesses. How to take me out.”

  Sloane shrugged. “You’re teaching Cael.”

  Ash took a seat on the bench, and Sloane joined him. This argument was pointless. Sloane had already won. The least Ash could do was attempt to put up a fight.

  “Cael would never use it against me.”

  “Really? He just punched you in the balls, man.”

  “Because I told him to, not because he wanted to.” Maybe he hadn’t exactly told Cael to do that, but he had told Cael to fight him. It had been painful, but it worked.

  “You sure about that?” Sloane teased.

  “Is this you making me feel better about all this, because I hate to tell you, it ain’t working.”

  Sloane laughed and threw an arm around his shoulders. “Come on. Please. I mean, you’ve only just started with Cael, and he managed to get away from you. That’s impressive.”

  He was so going to regret this. “Fine. But you owe me. Big time.”

  “You got it.” Sloane held a hand up in promise.

  “What’s up with your boy, anyway? He’s been really pissy lately. Angry.”

  Sloane let out a sigh. He checked the bay to make sure no one was close enough to hear. A few agents had wandered back in, but they were staying as far away from Ash as possible. No doubt Herrera was off telling anyone who would listen how Ash had gone down.

  “He’s really worried about what’s going on with me. I know he’s pretending everything’s okay, but it’s just to keep me from worrying. It’s got him on edge. And then there’s that whole other mess, you know.”

  Ash nodded. Sloane was referring to what they’d been told by Shultzon. After Sloane had returned from his therapy session, Dex and Ash had sat down with him and told him what they’d learned. Sloane was adamant Austen wasn’t involved, or if he was, he didn’t know what he was involved in. Dex had dropped it quickly. Ash guessed he didn’t want to add to Sloane’s concerns, especially not without proof. Sloane said he’d think about it, but since they had nothing to go on other than Shultzon’s suspicions, there wasn’t much—if anything—they could do. Sloane said he’d contacted Austen but as yet hadn’t heard back. None of them had brought it up.

  “It’s been a while since we’ve been on a date, so I’m going to take Dex to Jersey this weekend, watch a movie and get some dinner. Try and get his mind off everything. I think working a case might do him good. He gets restless when he’s not keeping busy.” Sloane stood and gave Ash’s shoulder a squeeze. “Thanks for doing this for me, man. I’m going to submit the request to Sparks. Make it official.”

  “Sure. Could you put one in for Cael? Work your magic to get it approved?”

  “You got it. See you later.”

  Sloane was off, and Ash remained seated on the bench. He leaned back against the wall, thinking of his next move. It was certain Sparks would approve Sloane’s request for Ash to train the brothers in an official capacity. He also knew she would allow it because it was him. Ash’s experience and track record meant he held a certain amount of sway, and rather than sending Dex or Cael offsite to train or arranging a THIRDS training specialist, Ash would be permitted to carry out the training as he saw fit. That’s if he could convince Cael to continue training with him. His methods might have been unorthodox, but he got results. He’d managed to get Cael really pissed, and that’s what the young agent needed for combat. He wasn’t lacking in ferocity; he simply needed to learn to reach deep down and draw from it.

  Ash stood with a groan. Time to work on his groveling.

  SIX

  That jerk!

  Cael climbed into their black Suburban and slammed the passenger side door shut. He was so mad it took him over a half dozen tries before he could click his seat belt into place. All he could think about was Ash yelling at him to get angry. Then he thought about Ash writhing on the floor in pain. Poor Ash. Unbelievable! “No,” he scolded himself. “You are not allowed to feel guilty after what he did. Nope. No. Noooo.”

  Rosa eyed him worriedly. “You okay, gatito?”

  “Ugh!” Cael let out a frustrated grunt. “Ash Keeler is the most frustrating, infuriating, jerkface jerk ever!”

  “Wow.” Rosa stared at him. “A jerkface and a jerk. Must have been bad.”

  Cael felt his cheeks growing warm from his little outburst. “Just start the car.” He folded his arms over his chest, refusing to give it another thought. He was not going to feel guilty. Ash had asked for it. Literally. He’d asked Cael to get mad and attack him. So he did. He’d given Ash exactly what he’d asked for.

  “What did jerkface do?” Rosa asked as she turned on the ignition and pulled out of their designated parking spot. Cael ignored the amusement in her tone.

  “He’s training me in CQC.”

  “Oh?”

  Rosa drove out of the subbasement at the rear of the building where the THIRDS garage housed all their tactical vehicles and onto the street. They were heading to NY Presbyterian Hospital. Their first case since returning to duty. Why did it have to be that hospital, of all places? Like they hadn’t been there enough recently.

  “And it’s not going well?”

  “I punched him in the balls,” Cael muttered, feeling embarrassed now that he’d said it out loud.

  Rosa let out a bark of laughter. “I’m sorry.” She tried to keep herself from laughing but was failing miserably. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh.”

  “Liar. You’d do the same if you had the chance.”

  “You bet I would. Don’t think I haven’t tried. Fucker’s too fast.”

  “Wasn’t fast enough this time around,” Cael said with a snort.

  Rosa laughed as they drove, their siren and flashing lights announcing their presence and demanding traffic get out of their way as Rosa maneuvered through New York City’s busy streets. Cael couldn’t help thinking about his training. Ash had said and done what he had to get him angry. Cael knew that. He thought about Ash’s crude remark about what “she said,” and his frown deepened. It was stupid, but it had really gotten under Cael’s skin. It made him think about the women Ash had been with. Why was it so easy for Ash to be with them? All Cael wanted was to understand. Was that too much to ask? Dex had a point. Why was it a big deal for Ash? Images of him on Ash’s lap Thanksgiving night made him want to crawl under a rock and never come out. God, what an idiot he’d been. He’d even taken off his shirt, dry humping Ash like some wolf Therian in heat. It was pathetic. And then to make things worse, Ash had shot him down.

  “Gatito? Cael.”

  Rosa prodded Cael’s arm, and he gave a start. Shit.

  “Sorry, Rosa.”

  “We’re here.”

  She motioned to the main hospital entrance, and Cael hopped to it. Time to get to work. Berating himself for his poor romantic choices would have to wait until later.

  They headed through the glass doors to the reception area and spoke quietly to one of the nurses.

  “Agent Cael Maddock from the THIRDS Unit Alpha and Agent Rosa Santiago.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  The nurse quickly got to her feet and spoke quietly to her coworker before motioning for them to follow. They followed her through the hospital wings toward the ICU and down another wing containing only offices. At the entrance was a medium-sized reception area with three nurses.

  “I’ll leave you to it, Agents.”

  The nurse excused herself, and Cael frowned. He looked over at the nurses by the desk, who were chatting as if nothing was happening. The corridor was empty. No flurry of activity, no agents, no CSIs coming and going. Rosa must have been thinking the same because she turned to him with a questioning look.

  Cael shrugged, and they headed over to the nurses’ station, showed their badges, and introduced themselves. One nurse pointed to one of the open offices. Did they know one of their coworkers had just died? Why was everyone so… blasé?

  “This is fucking weird,” Rosa whispered as they walked into the doctor’s office. Cael stilled.

  “Where is everyone?” The only occupant was the dead body lying on the floor in the middle of the room.

  Hudson and Nina were always the first ones on scene, with a long line of CSIs trailing behind them. They should have arrived long before Cael and Rosa. He tapped his earpiece and asked Lisa, Unit Alpha’s receptionist, to patch him through to Hudson. There was no answer from him or Nina. That was odd.

  “Agents?”

  Cael turned in the direction of the soft voice and found a blond male Human nurse with pale-blue eyes, his mouth covered by a surgical mask. His hospital ID said his name was Jude Russell.

  “What can I do for you?” Cael asked.

  “I’ve been instructed to inform you that your team has been momentarily detained. They should arrive shortly.”

  Cael nodded, waiting for the nurse to leave before turning to Rosa with a frown.

  “Why wouldn’t Hudson or Nina call us?”

  “I don’t like this.” Rosa walked around the body and crouched down, reading the doctor’s ID. “Dr. Ward. Why does that name sound familiar?”

  “Shit. Dr. Ward?” Cael crouched down beside Rosa. “This is the doctor that treated Ash when he was shot. He was also Sloane’s doctor when he was brought in after the explosion.”

  “Carajo.”

  “Yeah.” Cael looked the body over. “Male wolf Therian. Looks to be in his mid to late thirties.”

  Rosa took notes on her tablet, and Cael pulled a pair of examiner’s gloves from his pocket. He tugged them on as he studied Ward. “We’ll need Hudson to confirm, but from the looks of him, I’d say he hasn’t been dead long. About an hour at most.”

  “I don’t see any signs of a homicide.” Rosa used her pen to push open the sides of the doctor’s coat. “No blood, bruising, or wounds.”

  Cael very gently placed his hands on the doctor’s head, feeling around and under. “No lacerations or bumps. Strange, considering he’s on the floor.”

  “Heart attack?” Rosa asked.

  None of this was sitting well with him. He removed his hand from Ward’s head when he noticed a tiny purplish-blue blemish behind his earlobe. “I found something.” He leaned in for a closer look. “I’ve got an entry point. He was injected with something.” Damn it. Where the hell was Hudson? Cael was about to pull back when he noticed something white under the doctor’s desk.

  Rosa followed his line of vision. “What is it?”

  “I don’t know yet.” Cael got down on his hands and knees in front of the desk and reached under it, then pulled out a small white prescription bottle. He read the label. “Thelxinomine. I’ve seen this name before.” And recently too. “Can you run it through Themis?”