“Want to join us for lunch?”

  Tony gave him an apologetic smile. “Have to head back to the office, but why don’t you boys come on over for dinner? I’ll make your favorite, country fried steak and gravy.”

  Dex wiped at his mouth in case he was drooling. “I would very much like that. Just don’t tell Lou.”

  Tony winked and pointed a finger at him as he walked backward. “Eight o’clock. Love you, kiddo.”

  “Love you too, Dad. See you at eight.” Dex spun on his heels and strolled down the street in the opposite direction, a dopey smile on his face. There was a great little donut shop on the corner. Surely one donut wouldn’t spoil his lunch. One maple donut. With bacon bits. Maybe he’d pick up an order of donutty goodness for the whole crew. He’d definitely need to get a cab back to the park if he did that. No way was he getting on a crowded train with an armful of tasty treats. He’d grab a bear claw for his Broody Bear, though these days Sloane was neither broody nor bearish. The thought of his boo had his smile growing wider.

  Sloane was probably going to try and sweet-talk some information out of Dex about his tux. He was adorable. Dex loved that Sloane was just as much of a dork as he was, excited by things like seeing each other in their tuxes and their first dance as husband and husband.

  Dex glanced up as a black commercial van with pitch-black tinted windows sped by, nearly hitting a pedestrian. Dex shook his head. He should give the guy a ticket for being an asshat. Tires screeched, and Dex cringed, waiting for the sound of an impact. Instead he heard a strangled cry that turned Dex’s blood to ice. His stomach dropped, and the blood drained from his face. He whirled around in time to watch two masked men load Tony up into the van.

  “Dad?” Dex’s brain misfired, unable to process what he was witnessing. “Dad!” He broke into a run as the tires screeched and the van lurched forward into traffic, uncaring of who or what it ran into. Dex bolted into the street, ignoring the honking horns and shrieking tires. He sped after the van as it swerved through traffic, dodging cars, bikers, and pedestrians. Dex ran as fast as he could, his muscles straining and lungs burning as he attempted to catch up to the van. He couldn’t lose it. Whatever happened, he couldn’t let them take his father. He couldn’t lose that fucking van. There was no license plate, no signage or text, no discernable marks.

  Please. No, no, no.

  Dex struggled for breath, but he just pushed himself harder, his eyesight sharpening, and his heart pounding in his ears as something inside his gut swirled and expanded, spreading through his chest and exploding out through his body. He had no idea what the hell it was, but as his claws extended and his fangs grew in, he picked up speed. He tried to reach for the handle on the rear door, but the van’s careening made him miss, and he only succeeded in scratching the paintjob with his claws. With a feral growl, he launched himself at the van, grabbing the handle and landing on the rubber bumper. He threw a hand up, his claws digging into the aluminum roof. He had no idea his claws were that sharp. Not wasting the opportunity, he grabbed hold of the roof rack with his free hand and climbed on top of the van.

  If there was ever a time he wished he’d been on duty, this was it. He had no firepower to aid him, and he couldn’t waste a second trying to get backup. He needed to do something to stop this van. Dex retracted his claws, hissed, and unsheathed them again, throwing them forward and sinking them into the roof once more. He used his claws to keep him secured to the van as he crawled forward, his sneakers braced on the rack as he was jerked from side to side. The van ran red lights, and Dex flinched when a truck whizzed across, the van missing the truck’s back bumper by a hair.

  Rage and desperation exploded through Dex, and he grabbed the roof rack near the front and launched himself over the side of the van on the driver’s side, bringing his left fist with him and smashing it through the window, cutting and slicing the hell out of his arm. The van swerved violently, and the driver cursed. Dex grabbed the steering wheel and jerked it to the left. He hung on for his life as the van careened to the side and the driver fought for control. Dex saw the gun from the corner of his eye and hauled himself back onto the roof just as two vehicles came at them, one from each side, T-boning the van.

  Dex soared through the air, and then everything went black.

  SIX

  It was time to eat. After everyone used the privacy stalls at the park to shift back, they received PSTC from their teammates. They grabbed some protein, but they needed a proper meal to regain their strength. Sloane decided to text Dex and have him meet them at the restaurant that way they could all start on some appetizers while Dex made his way over.

  “Where do you guys want to go?” Sloane asked, finishing his text, then returning his phone to his pocket. He was starving.

  Ash shrugged. “Why don’t we just go to the Boathouse? They do Therian-size burgers now. It’s like a five-minute walk. Everyone good with that?”

  They all cheered for food, and they headed south on one of the many trails. As his friends laughed and talked, Sloane checked his phone to see if Dex had replied, but there was nothing yet. He told himself not to be ridiculous that Dex hadn’t texted back right away. Dex probably got caught up in the emotion of it all, especially with Tony there. He was a little more sensitive than usual these days, and Sloane couldn’t blame him. There was so much going on in both their personal and professional lives. So many changes.

  When they got to the restaurant, Sloane murmured to Calvin, “Where do you guys want to sit?”

  Calvin subtly put his hand to Hobbs’s lower back, and Hobbs craned his neck to look inside. He shook his head and pointed to the outdoor seating area.

  “You got it,” Sloane said with a smile. “We should take advantage of this weather while we can, huh?”

  Hobbs grinned and nodded.

  One of the waiters very kindly put several tables together for them, and once they were seated, menus were brought out. Everyone put in their drink orders, along with appetizers for the table. Once the waiter left, they mulled over what they were going to eat.

  Cael leaned into Sloane. “Have you heard from Dex?” he asked quietly, his eyes filled with concern.

  “Not yet. I’m sure he’s fine. You know all this wedding stuff has him a little restless.”

  Cael nodded, his attention then seized by Ash, who asked him what he’d like to eat. As Cael rambled excitedly about the menu, Ash looked over his head at Sloane and winked at him. Sloane appreciated Ash distracting Cael. He didn’t want to lie to Cael about how worried he was. The waiter returned, and Sloane asked Ash to order for him, then excused himself to go to the bathroom.

  He walked into the restaurant and headed for the restroom, then stepped inside. He called Dex, only to get a voicemail. His Felid half was awake now and very unhappy. He had Sloane pacing. Calling Martina yielded the same results, though her voicemail stated she was with a client and would get back to him as soon as possible. The door to the bathroom opened, and Sloane was relieved to see Ash.

  “Hey, you okay?”

  Sloane shook his head. “Something’s wrong, Ash. I can feel it.” He paced furiously, his anxiety higher than it had ever been. This wasn’t normal for him. He got restless but not anxious, like his body couldn’t contain all the frantic energy inside him. He felt nauseous, terrified, and… “Oh God.” The pain that hit Sloane brought him to his knees.

  “Sloane!” Ash grabbed hold of him and lifted him to his feet. “Talk to me. What’s going on?”

  “It’s hard to breathe,” Sloane wheezed. He clutched at his chest. “It feels like my heart’s going to explode.” His lungs burned, like he couldn’t get enough air into them, and his muscles strained, agony shooting through every inch of him. “Something’s happening.” Fuck, his mate was in trouble. Whatever it was, it was causing Dex an extraordinary amount of physical and emotional pain. Then it stopped. Sloane sucked in a lungful of air and straightened.

  “What the hell just happened?”

  “It stopped. It just stopped.” Sloane ran a shaky hand through his hair. He grabbed onto Ash to steady himself. “It’s like he…” Sloane couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence. “I can’t feel anything.”

  “Okay, come on. Let’s go round up the guys. We can take the stuff to go.”

  Sloane nodded. Ash was right. If they didn’t get some real food in them soon, they wouldn’t be any help to anyone. They hurried outside, where thankfully the food had arrived and everyone was digging in. Rosa took one look at Sloane and stilled.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Something’s happened to Dex,” Ash said. “Grab your food or shovel that shit, ’cause we gotta go.” He grabbed a burger and handed it to Sloane. “Eat.”

  Years of working at the THIRDS, of not having enough time to fully recover, made them experts in getting food down as quickly as possible so they could get on with saving lives. In three bites, Sloane was done with his burger. The rest of his team was ready to go. They’d still need some time to be back to their full strength, but it was a start.

  “Hudson Colbourn?”

  Everyone looked over at the huge tiger Therian in jogging attire. He smiled wide at them, and Hudson smiled politely.

  “Yes?”

  The rustling sound met Sloane’s ears seconds before Hudson jerked, a tranq dart sticking out of his chest. Everything happened as if in slow motion. Hudson’s eyes drifted shut, and he crumpled to the ground. Sloane made a dive for him, catching him as Seb’s roar shook the trees. People screamed and ran as Seb jumped the iron rail and tackled the jogger to the ground. The team scrambled, flipping the hefty ironwork tables and taking cover as gunfire erupted. Sloane said a little prayer of thanks to the restaurant for their choice in sturdy, thick, iron-laden dining furniture. They weighed a fuckton, and the solid wood surface would provide some temporary cover.

  They’d come for Hudson.

  Ash huddled in beside Sloane, who had Hudson cradled in his arms. “Where the fuck is Seb?”

  Sloane peeked around the corner of the table. “He’s busy. We need to find one of the shooters and get that gun in Calvin’s hands.” He scanned the area and saw movement in the trees. “There.”

  Ash nodded and dashed over to the next couple of tables, where Calvin and Hobbs were. He said something, and the two nodded. Ash lifted the table and walked it over to the rail, covering them. In a swift movement, Calvin and his partner were over the rail. Ash tossed Hobbs the table, and Hobbs caught it, swinging it around to give him and Calvin cover just before Calvin dove into the bushes.

  Seconds later, Calvin emerged from the trees, shooting while Hobbs covered him. One bullet was all it took. Calvin aimed with precision and fired. No hesitation, no mistakes. Didn’t matter if his target was moving or not. He calculated and pulled the trigger.

  Sloane turned his attention to Letty, who was huddled behind another set of tables to his right. “Letty, what’s the status on backup?”

  “Fifteen minutes,” she called out.

  “Shit. Okay.” These guys had no intention of being here for fifteen minutes. It had to be the Makhai. No one else wanted Hudson as badly as they did.

  Ash returned to Sloane’s side. “These assholes were waiting for us. How the fuck did they know to strike us now? How the hell did they know we’d be unarmed and vulnerable from post-shift?”

  “Probably were watching us.”

  Ash nodded his agreement. He moved his gaze to Hudson, out cold in Sloane’s arms. “They want the doc.”

  “They can’t have him.” Fuck, it couldn’t be a coincidence. What he’d felt from Dex and now Hudson?

  “How the hell are we supposed to stop them, Sloane? There’s fucking dozens of them, all in tac gear and armed.”

  Ash was right. As skilled as Calvin was, there were only so many bullets in that gun, and from the number of emerging hostiles wearing tactical gear, it looked like they were outmuscled and outgunned. They hadn’t recovered enough for another shift.

  “We’re going to have to retreat.” There was no way they could face that many armed Therians in the state they were in.

  More gunfire erupted, followed by a small explosion that had Sloane and Ash ducking on instinct. Ash’s eyes widened.

  “What the fuck?”

  Sloane looked around the table. “Holy shit.”

  Ash joined him, his jaw dropping. “Is that… That’s our BearCat.”

  Hobbs appeared in front of Sloane. He jabbed a finger at Hudson, then in the direction of the truck before making a driving motion.

  “Hudson’s driving?” Ash asked, confused.

  Sloane’s eyes went wide. “No. Hudson’s brother is driving.”

  The BearCat came plowing through the parking lot, aiming for every armed mercenary in its path. It soared over the grassy hill, and everyone scrambled out of the way as it skidded and turned, the back of it plowing through the restaurant’s fence. A hailstorm of bullets followed.

  The back doors opened, and Wolf jumped out. He looked like he’d just stepped out of a damned Armani ad. With a wide grin, he tossed Hobbs the keys.

  “There you go. Sorry I’m late. Dreadful traffic in this city.”

  “Gear up,” Sloane ordered, and everyone ran for the back of the BearCat to grab vests and firearms. Wolf crouched beside Sloane, his expression softening when he saw Hudson. He ran a hand over Hudson’s head.

  “How is he?”

  “Okay, just out. You knew, didn’t you?” Sloane asked, motioning to the BearCat behind him.

  “The Makhai are making their move. Whatever they’re up to, it’s big. I’ve been monitoring certain channels of chatter. Unfortunately, the Makhai are very good at what they do, and I was only able to decipher one of their encrypted messages, which stated they planned to take Hudson today.”

  “So you’ve been watching Hudson.”

  Wolf nodded. He brushed Hudson’s hair away from his brow. His steel-blue eyes flashed, and Sloane swallowed hard at the transformation.

  “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have some Makhai to kill.”

  Before Sloane could say a word, Wolf was off. He didn’t sneak or duck for cover. He stood, unbuttoned his suit jacket, and removed the guns with silencers strapped to the thin black ballistic vest. Sloane had never seen anything like it. Wolf walked straight into the zone of fire. One bullet to the head of every Makhai mercenary who made the mistake of showing himself.

  Sloane hoisted Hudson onto his shoulder and stood. He ran to the back of the BearCat. His team had their shields out and were positioned around the truck, returning fire.

  “Seb,” Sloane called out. Where the hell was he?

  “In here,” Seb said, and Sloane noticed his knuckles were bloodied and there was a splatter of blood across his T-shirt. When Seb saw him looking, he motioned inside the truck. “It’s his.”

  “Help me with him.” Sloane turned so Seb could grab Hudson and carry him inside the truck, and then Seb helped Sloane up. Hudson lay on the bench, and on the floor next to him, the “jogger” lay on his stomach, his wrists and ankles zip-tied behind him. His face was a bloody mess, one eye swollen shut. His nose was broken, and there were a couple of teeth on the floor.

  “He’s not talking,” Seb growled, kicking the guy for good measure.

  “Sloane.”

  Sloane turned to Letty, who stood at the back of the truck.

  “Yeah?”

  “They’re gone.”

  “And Wolf?”

  She shook her head. “He’s gone too.”

  Ash appeared beside her. “My guess is he’s not going to just let them walk away. Personally, whatever those assholes get, they deserve.”

  “Everyone okay?” Sloane asked, and received a nod from Ash and Letty. “Good. Backup should be here any minute. They can get this place cleaned up. We need to get this guy to HQ, and—” His phone rang, and Sloane dug in his pocket for it, praying it was Dex.

  Unknown Caller flashed on his screen. With his heart in his throat, he answered. “Hello?”

  “Sloane.”

  “Austen?”

  “In about a minute, a car is going to pick you up and take you to an undisclosed location.”

  “Austen, what’s going on? Have you heard from Dex?”

  “It’s about Dex.”

  The world around him fell silent, and his breathing stopped or at least felt like it did.

  “Dex was in a car wreck.”

  Considering Dex hadn’t been driving, all kinds of scenarios entered Sloane’s head.

  “He was picked up by a TIN medical team and is now at a TIN facility. See you soon.” The call ended, and Sloane stared down at his phone.

  “Sloane?” Ash put a hand on Sloane’s shoulder, startling him.

  “Dex… He’s been in a car accident. TIN has him. They’re going to pick me up.”

  “I’m going with you,” Cael said, stopping in front of Sloane.

  Sloane nodded. “Letty, can you…?” He motioned around them, and Letty nodded.

  “We’ll take care of it, boss. You do what you gotta do, and keep us informed.”

  “Thank you, Letty.”

  Letty went off, rounding up the team and relaying information. Sloane was grateful when everyone got to work, and then Calvin stopped by the back of the truck.

  “Sloane, there’s a black SUV here.”

  Sloane hopped down from the truck, followed by Ash and Cael. The back doors were opened, and they climbed in. As soon as they were seated, the usual black bags were thrown over their heads. The doors closed and the car drove off. Sloane felt numb. He couldn’t even process what Austen had told him. Whatever had happened, Dex had to be okay. Now more than ever, Sloane knew the two incidents were connected. They had to be. Whatever was going on, he was going to get to the bottom of this. If Wolf was right and the Makhai had something up their sleeve, they had to find out what it was and put a stop to it before anyone else got hurt.

  The ride was short, and Sloane didn’t bother trying to figure out where they’d gone. He didn’t care. All he could think about was Dex. As soon as the SUV doors opened, Sloane jerked the black bag from his head and burst through the facility doors. Austen was waiting for them at the end of the corridor; the look on his face had Sloane breaking into a run to get to him. His heart sounded in his ears, and he was still feeling nauseous from Austen’s phone call.