“It matters!” Ash snapped, making Cael flinch.
Ethan had no idea what was happening, but one minute Ash was about to go feral, the next he had Cael in his arms, his voice soft.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, Ash.” Cael hugged Ash close and buried his face against Ash’s T-shirt. After a few seconds of being in each other’s arms, Cael pulled back, but he wouldn’t meet anyone’s gaze. “Before Hogan knocked me out, he managed to pin me on my stomach. He….” Cael shook his head and closed his eyes. “He felt me up, said maybe he should fuck me right there, that we should make a video for you. He said he would’ve loved to see your face when he defiled me. Then I head-butted him.”
“That motherfucking son of a bitch!” Ash turned away from Cael, his fingers flexed at his sides. Sloane was going to say something, when Ash slammed a fist into his locker, the force behind his punch denting the metal.
“Ash, please.” Cael took hold of Ash’s arm, turning him so he could cup Ash’s face. “I’m okay. Hogan’s dead.”
“He’s damn lucky he’s dead, because if he wasn’t, I’d beat the ever-living shit out of him until he joined Collins in hell for putting his fucking hands on you.”
“Stop. Why do you think Sparks is so concerned about our training? We’re not as prepared as we think we are. None of us are. We rely on our weapons, our partners, our proficiencies and Therian forms, everything that can quickly be used against us. What good is all our training if we let our emotions get the better of us?” Cael lowered his voice. “I’m willing to bet the kind of assholes TIN operatives face know how to discover and use those weaknesses.”
“But we’re not TIN operatives,” Ash argued. “We have to be careful.”
“The way we were a few minutes ago?” Cael shook his head. “I’m glad Sparks is training us. I don’t want to ever feel helpless like I did in that van. I can’t rely on you to protect me.”
“I’d do anything to protect you.”
“And when you don’t have that choice? We’ve all got each other’s backs, but we have to learn to be strong on our own.” Cael took Ash’s hand in his. “I love that you’re always there for me, but that leaves you vulnerable. You’ve already
taken a bullet for me once. I don’t want you to be placed in that position again. Not if I can do something about it. If I lost you because I wasn’t equipped to handle the situation, I’d never forgive myself.”
Ash swallowed hard. He let out a resigned sigh and nodded. “I understand.”
“Cael’s right,” Dex said, grabbing his bag off the floor. “We need to step up our game. If Sparks can help us do that, then I’m all for it. Pearce, the Coalition, Hogan? We’re dealing with a whole new type of criminal. They’re strong, smart, and will do whatever is necessary to take anyone down. We can’t give them the means to do that.”
“The only question is, what’s Sparks’s training going to cost us?” Sloane put his arm around Dex, taking the duffel bag from him. “We don’t know what the end game is with Sparks. She’s not putting in all this time and effort for nothing. At some point, she’s going to want something in return. On a lighter note, see you all at my apartment tomorrow morning.”
Cael groaned before turning to glare at Calvin. “Thanks for shooting me the day before moving day.”
Ash gave Cael’s head a kiss. “That’s okay, sweetheart, it means Calvin will have to do twice the lifting.”
Calvin flipped Ash off before grabbing his jacket. The rest of their team said their good-byes and headed off, leaving Ethan and Calvin alone. Knowing there was no one in there for the time being, Ethan turned to Calvin and drew him close to plant a soft kiss on his lips.
“You did great,” he said quietly. His partner had been quick thinking, using whatever was available at the time to help him survive, because that’s what Calvin did. Survive.
Calvin smiled up at him, his blue eyes filled with warmth. “Thank you. Now let’s get out of here. I’m starving. Mom’s invited us over for dinner.”
Ethan’s eyes lit up, and his stomach rumbled. “Did she…?”
“Of course she did. She made chicken-and-dumpling casserole, cornbread, fried green tomatoes, and her famous pecan pie. Like she doesn’t know you,” Calvin said with a chuckle.
A mew escaped Ethan, and his mouth watered. Calvin’s mom made the best southern food ever. Usually he ate so much he wouldn’t be able to move for hours. She knew all his favorites and always cooked up Therian-sized portions, plus leftovers because she knew neither he nor her son liked to cook. Ethan could eat Darla’s cooking every day, though it was probably a good thing he didn’t, or he’d never fit into his uniform. He grabbed Calvin’s hand and pulled him along to hurry him up, making him laugh.
“I’m driving,” Ethan declared before hurrying out of the locker room with Calvin in tow.
“Yeah, all right. Just don’t get us pulled over. Again. I have a feeling the next cop might not see jambalaya as a good enough reason not to give you a speeding ticket.”
They were headed for the elevator when Dex and Sloane showed up. Both were out of breath and flushed. Dex’s uniform shirt was half hanging out, and Sloane’s collar was a mess.
“I don’t even want to know,” Calvin muttered.
“Hey, we’re getting some dinner,” Dex said as he tucked in his shirt. “You guys wanna come?”
Ethan shook his head and pointed to Calvin before patting his belly.