“Well, that’s a good sign,” Ash murmured before returning to formation. Sloane motioned for them to follow, and he raised his rifle, keeping an eye out for any movement as they entered the makeshift alley. More scaffolding and an aluminum roof had been placed between the buildings, with heavy mesh and a string of lightbulbs. Sloane would hazard a guess that this was the entrance the demolition crew intended to use before they brought the whole thing down. To his left there was another set of double doors. This one wasn’t locked either. The hairs on the back of Sloane’s neck stood on end as he reached for the handle.

  “What’s wrong?” Dex asked from behind him.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “Something doesn’t feel right.” It wasn’t just the convenience of finding no locks on either set of doors. His gut was telling him something was off. He checked around the doors, the hinges, the frame, looking for any trip wires or any evidence of something suspicious, but he found nothing.

  “Do you want to find another way in?” Dex asked.

  Sloane shook his head. “Everyone, stand back.” Gripping the handle tight, he carefully inched the door open. Nothing. He opened it and motioned for Hobbs to come forward and check it out.

  Hobbs stepped in, rifle at the ready. He quickly checked the area, his sharp eyes not missing anything. Hobbs knew exactly what to look for. He inspected the walls, the ceiling, the floor, checked the dust, the splintered boards, everywhere. He sniffed the air and then turned to Sloane, shaking his head.

  “Okay.” Sloane nodded, and Hobbs rejoined the formation. “Area’s clear,” Sloane said, motioning for his team to follow. They headed through the dilapidated corridor, the walls plastered with old fliers and posters, the floor still littered with old ticket stubs and candy wrappers. Sloane held his rifle at the ready, his Therian vision helping him see into the shadows. He listened for any sounds that shouldn’t be there. So far there was no movement. They reached the door that led out into the orchestra level of the theater, and Sloane turned. He signaled for Ash, Letty, Hobbs, and Calvin to take the stairs up to the balcony level. If there was any trouble down below, he wanted his sniper up there with a full view of everything and everyone. Ash, Letty, and Hobbs would provide cover for Calvin, should he need it. The rest of the team would go in with Sloane.

  The old blue doors had seen better days. They were rotting, the paint crackled and chipped. Pieces of the decorative molding had broken off over the years. Sloane took hold of one handle and motioned for Dex to take the other. He mouthed the words “on three,” and Dex nodded.

  Sloane counted down on his fingers, and on three, they opened the doors with a loud creak. Sloane cringed, but there was no way around it. This place had been built in the twenties and abandoned decades ago. What was left of it was crumbling around them. Sloane quickly took the lead once more, and the rest of the team entered behind him and spread out into the orchestra pit filled with broken furniture, debris, and empty boxes. They each checked a section, making sure there was no one hiding behind the mountains of rubble and garbage. Each one of his teammates came back with the same reply. The area was clear.

  “Sloane.”

  Dex’s tone had Sloane running over, and he gently put his hand on Dex’s shoulder when he saw the weathered black leather bomber jacket hanging from the back of a bloodstained chair.

  “That’s Tony’s,” Dex said, reaching out to take the jacket, then hesitating. There was a note sticking out of the front breast pocket. Dex pulled it out and opened it for them to read.

  Predictable. Nice try. We’ll say hi to dad for you.

  Dex crushed the paper in his hand. Before he could reply, Ash shouted from the balcony.

  “Everybody out!”

  Sloane grabbed the jacket and Dex. They turned to run as a boom shook the theater. Sloane’s eyes widened as the balcony popped up and for a moment, Ash, Calvin, Hobbs, and Letty were floating before everything came down.

  “Ash!” Sloane took off, a cloud of dust smacking into him when the balcony hit the floor. Pieces of rubble flew out in different directions, chunks of plaster and wall. Sloane coughed and covered his nose and mouth with his arm as he walked through the fog. Somewhere behind him, he heard Cael shouting for Ash and the rest of the team calling to the others.

  “Up here!” Ash coughed, and Sloane took a step back, looking up. As the dust began to settle, he could make out several hanging dark shadows. Dex, Cael, and Rosa stood beside Sloane. A tiny section of balcony remained, the chunk of concrete holding a row of chairs hung precariously from several steel rods that had bent downward but not broken. Ash was clutching one of the chairs, Letty wrapped around his waist and legs, and Calvin hanging by one arm from the strap of Ash’s rifle, which was thankfully strapped to Ash’s vest.

  “Ethan!” Calvin called as he tried to get purchase.

  “Fuck.” Sloane looked around. He’d seen a mattress somewhere around here. “There! Guys, grab that mattress and bring it over.” It was a mighty small target to hit if Calvin fell, but it was better than the jagged slabs of concrete. If anyone could make it, it would be Calvin. As the rest of the team went for the mattress, Sloane kept his attention on Ash and the others.

  Hobbs was in the doorway on solid ground, kneeling and quickly pulling out the grappling rope from his backpack. He secured it to himself, then around an exposed beam in the wall. He jerked on it, and seeming satisfied it would hold his weight, he turned, and as quickly as possible, rappelled down the wall to the hanging piece of balcony.

  Dex, Cael, and Rosa returned with the mattress. They placed it where they thought Calvin would land. It wasn’t an exceptionally long way to fall, but with all the dangerous debris on the floor, it could cause some serious injury.

  Hobbs placed a boot on the edge of the broken structure, and it shook. Ash cursed, and Calvin cried out, the pain from hanging from one arm jolting him. Hobbs pressed his lips together and shook his head. It wasn’t going to work. Ash looked up at Hobbs, and Hobbs motioned downward and made a swinging motion.

  “Shit.” Sloane took a deep breath.

  “What’s going on? What’s he going to do?” Dex asked.

  “He’s going to come down fast and swing toward Ash. Ash is going to have to grab him on the first attempt and make sure he gets a good grip or they’re all coming down. The section they’re on won’t hold Hobbs’s weight, and there’s no time for me to get up there and get them down.” Dust was raining down from the chunk of balcony, and the crumbling sounds told him all he needed to know. Sloane held his breath, and Hobbs counted down on his fingers.

  On three, Hobbs sped down the rope and swung right, making sure he was lower so when Ash fell, he wouldn’t miss Hobbs. Gasps were heard all around as Ash and everyone hanging on to him fell. Ash latched on to Hobbs’s vest with both gloved hands. Everyone bounced and shouted, but they held on tight.

  “Everyone okay?” Sloane called out.

  “Peachy,” Ash replied with a growl. “Get us the fuck out of here, Hobbs.”

  Hobbs planted his feet against the balcony, and Sloane ushered everyone to the doors they’d come in from. The balcony was about to come down. They ran for the stairs leading up to the balcony, and Sloane placed Tony’s jacket on the floor to one side so he could grab the rope.

  “Everyone pull,” Sloane ordered. Dex, Cael, and Rosa all grabbed the rope with him and heaved. Sloane gritted his teeth, his muscles straining. They each took one step back at a time, one foot first, then the other. If Dex hadn’t been part Therian, there was no way they would have been able to pull up Hobbs, Ash, and their two Human teammates. As strong as Cael was, Sloane would have been doing most of the heavy lifting, and Hobbs would have been challenge enough.

  As soon as Hobbs’s shoulders were up, they grabbed him and carefully pulled him in through the doorway until he could rest his arms on the floor before Sloane. They all clipped their rappelling ropes to his vest and secured them around the exposed beams to each side of him. They held on to the ropes just in case. Sweat dripped down Sloane’s face. When Hobbs was secure, Sloane leaned over.

  “Cal, you need to climb up!”

  Calvin cursed under his breath and let out a pained growl as he swung himself and grabbed onto Ash’s vest with his other hand. He let his head rest against Ash for a second before he started to climb up Ash, then Ethan. When he was close enough to reach, Sloane grabbed him by the vest and hauled him inside.

  “You’re next, Letty,” Sloane called down.

  Letty climbed up Ash, then Hobbs, and when she was close, Sloane pulled her in as well.

  “Ash, buddy, come on.” Sloane prepared himself as Ash climbed up Hobbs. He crouched down, feet firmly planted on the ground as he grabbed hold of Ash’s vest and pulled hard, Ash landing on Sloane as he hit the floor.

  “Fuck,” Ash said, breathless. He patted Sloane’s cheek and rolled off him before pushing himself to his feet. It was a group effort getting Hobbs up. “Jesus, pal,” Ash grumbled. “How much do you fucking weigh now? Because it’s definitely more than before.”

  “It’s all the training,” Calvin said as he tried to catch his breath. “He’s over three hundred now.” Hobbs flicked Calvin’s ear. “Ouch, what? It’s true. Besides, it’s all muscle, Ethan.” He rubbed his arm, and Hobbs fussed over him, checking him over and touching his arm. Calvin grumbled, but it betrayed the gentleness in his eyes. “I’m fine. Just sore.” Hobbs wrapped an arm around Calvin’s shoulders and brought him up against his much larger frame.

  “Let’s get the hell out of here,” Sloane said, grabbing Tony’s jacket and handing it to Dex, his voice soft when he spoke. “They’re gone.”

  “Is that…?” Letty didn’t finish her sentence, her eyes on Tony’s jacket.

  “Yeah,” Dex replied gruffly. He turned and walked off. Sloane let him go on ahead, knowing Dex needed some time on his own. He followed several steps behind, with the rest of the team close by.

  Ash walked beside Sloane, talking quietly. “They knew we were coming.”

  “Yeah, they left a note.” Sloane told Ash what the note said, agreeing with Ash’s curses. “I doubt they were here long. The bloodstains on the seat looked pretty fresh. I didn’t have time to really look.”

  “Fuck. Now what?”

  That was a good question. They had no leads, no van, no Makhai to interrogate, and they were running out of time.

  NINE

  Dex stared down at the jacket in his hands. His father’s jacket. Had the bloodstains on the chair come from Tony? They’d looked relatively fresh. Had Tony been there, or were the Makhai just playing games? They’d known Dex would be there. That’s why they’d left the note. Taunting him. Dex pulled off his helmet and threw it against the wall.

  “That son of a bitch is toying with us!”

  “Dex.”

  Dex kicked at the scaffolding’s metal bars. “Motherfucker! Son of a fucking bitch!”

  “Agent Daley!”

  Dex jerked to a halt. He blinked at Sloane, then looked around him at the gathering crowd of pedestrians. Shit. Clearing his throat, he held up a hand. “Sorry. I’m sorry.”

  “Hobbs, check the truck. I’m not taking any chances. As soon as it’s clear, we head back to HQ.” Sloane handed Dex his helmet and pulled Dex to one side, turning him toward the building so his bigger frame blocked the onlookers’ view of him. Despite his closeness and his hand on Dex’s arm, it just looked like he was having a quiet word with a team member rather than a lover. “I need you to keep it together, sweetheart. I know it’s shitty of me to ask you that, but we need to keep our heads if we’re going to find Tony. Yes, this is a setback, but we’ve been in tight spots before. We’ll find something.”

  Dex nodded. He was pissed. No, he was beyond pissed. It was bad enough his father was in the hands of murderers; now they were taunting him, throwing his failures in his face. Dex swallowed hard, and he met Sloane’s gaze, allowing the love and support he saw there to wash over him, to bring some calm to his turmoil.

  “We got nothing, Sloane.”

  “So we go back to HQ, follow up with Sparks, and see what’s happening on her end. I’m guessing the Chairman’s been in touch. Then we check in with Austen and see where he and his CIs are on locating that van. We can start with that and go from there, okay?” Sloane pulled their heads together, and Dex closed his eyes. He took a few deep breaths. When he was ready, he opened his eyes.

  “Okay.”

  “Dex?”

  Dex turned to find his brother standing there, his gaze on the jacket in his hand. “Hey, Chirpy,” Dex said softly, walking to Cael.

  “That’s Dad’s, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah,” Dex replied quietly. As much as he didn’t want to add to his brother’s worry, he was done hiding the truth from Cael. “We found it on a chair inside. There were bloodstains. They looked fresh. I don’t know if the blood was Dad’s or if the Makhai are just fucking with us, but…” Dex swallowed hard, and Cael sucked in a sharp breath, followed by another. Dex quickly pulled him into a hug, murmuring in his ear, “We’re going to find him, okay? He’s stronger than those assholes realize. This is Dad we’re talking about. He survived our teenage years, so he can survive anything.”

  Cael sniffed and let out a quiet laugh. “You mean your teenage years. I never stole his car to go on a date with a junior when I was fourteen.”

  Dex pulled back. He shrugged and held back a grin. “I didn’t steal it. I was borrowing it. Besides, you never would have reached the pedals at fourteen.” Dex winked at him and laughed when Cael shoved him, grumbling under his breath that he was a jerkface.

  Cael returned to Ash’s side, his anxiety visibly easing as Ash once again occupied his attention. Dex’s smile fell away, exhausted by the pretense.

  After Hobbs cleared the truck, having scanned it for any devices that didn’t belong there or any signals out of the ordinary, they all climbed in and headed back to HQ. Everyone was quiet, and Dex held a tight grip on his father’s jacket. Sloane was right. He had to keep his shit together.

  Back at HQ, they dropped their gear off in the armory before heading upstairs to the locker rooms for a quick wash while they waited for their meeting with Sparks. After the announcement went out in the media about the changes to Destructive Delta, she’d been inundated with phone calls. The timing was shit-tacular. Dex stood in front of his open locker, staring at his father’s jacket hanging neatly on the wooden hanger.

  “Dex?” Sloane came to stand beside Dex and put a hand on his shoulder.

  Dex smiled sadly as he motioned to the jacket. “It was John’s, you know.”

  “The jacket belonged to your dad?”

  “Yeah. The right pocket has a hole. Tony says he was always bitching at Dad to get it fixed because of course that was the pocket that my father kept shoving all his change into. The coins would fall into the lining, and whenever they had to chase someone down, Dad would jingle and give their position away. It drove Tony batshit crazy.” Dex slipped his hand into the pocket, his lashes growing wet as he laughed softly. “The hole’s still there.”

  “And Tony never gave it to you?” Sloane asked gently.

  Dex shook his head. “He tried to, a long time ago, but I could see how much it meant to him. Besides, my dad had given it to him after my mom bought him a new one for Christmas.” Dex’s jaw muscles tightened. “That was the one he’d been wearing when he was killed. Tony couldn’t bear to see it. John’s blood had soaked into the leather.” Dex slammed the locker shut. “Let’s go talk to Sparks.”

  The team was waiting for them outside, and together they headed for Sparks’s office. The door was open, and she motioned for them to enter. As soon as they were in, she put the room into privacy mode.

  “Is that going to work?” Cael asked.

  Sparks nodded. “I have a small team of operatives who I trust with my life. I had them install a new system. It’ll take the Makhai weeks to break through it, so we have some time.” She reached behind her desk and pulled out a metal case. After placing it on the desk, she opened it. There were eight earpieces and eight cell phones. “Everyone take an earpiece and a phone. Seb, Hudson, Rafe, and Dom have already received theirs.” She tapped the one she was wearing. “These are secure and use a private tower, which will keep the Makhai guessing. The same software has been installed in your BearCat’s security console. Unfortunately, Themis is still compromised.”

  “What about everyone’s families?” Dex asked, not mentioning it was Wolf who’d brought up the information. “What if the Makhai decide to go after them to get to one of us?”

  “Several hours ago, I had everyone moved to a secure location under the guise of official THIRDS protocol concerning a possible threat to their safety due to a sensitive case your team is working. I assured them you were all well and would see them as soon as you were able. They’re safe.”

  “And what about the Chairman? Has he been in touch?” Dex asked.

  “Yes. So far he’s instructed me to upload whatever is on this drive. It arrived by courier an hour ago.” She placed a small black USB fob on the desk. “I’ve managed to deter him for a few hours since the fob needs to be plugged into one of TIN’s servers. One only I have access to. Fortunately for us, I can’t get to any of our facilities due to the current media frenzy over today’s announcement.”

  A thought struck Dex. “Wait, you made sure the announcement went out. You were buying us time.”

  Sparks nodded. “Under the current circumstances, the announcement would have been canceled. I made certain it wasn’t, making it look like a clerical error. Based on the intel we have on the Makhai, I knew whatever they had in mind was a long time coming, and they’re not about to risk everything by having me go out there with all this media attention. They’ve waited years. I’m sure they’ll wait a few hours until things die down. The PR department is handling everything, but several news stations want to hear from me. I’ve bought us several hours, twelve at most.”