Free Smoke & Mirrors by Charlie Cochet Page B

was buried in.”
    Dex fisted a handful of the bedsheet. “If you’re trying to intimidate me—”
    “I’m trying to warn you. Consider your next move very carefully, Dex. Those who hired me won’t hesitate to put you in the ground, just like they did with your father. Actually, that was the plan. Hence the suit. I was ordered to bury you after retrieving the information. Between you and me, I’m rather pleased with the outcome.”
    “Why are you telling me this?” Dex glanced over at Sloane, surprised he hadn’t woken up. Sloane was such a light sleeper, especially when he was worried about something.
    “You escaped. No one has ever escaped me before. I have great respect for you, Dex. Though I’m still very curious as to how you managed to break through the restraints.”
    Dex shakily put his fingers to Sloane’s neck. Please, God….
    “He’s fine. I gave him a little something to calm him. He’ll wake up feeling like a million dollars.”
    Dex swallowed hard. He slowly got off the bed and turned on the lamp. The room looked empty, but that didn’t mean it was.
    “Oh, Dex, I left quite some time ago. You’re a very lucky man. You should have seen him. He was wrapped around you, so protective.”
    “You could have killed us,” Dex said, feeling his knees go weak, forcing him to sit back down on the edge of the bed. Wolf had been in their house. Again. He’d stuck a needle in Sloane. Again. And neither had heard a thing. Who the fuck was this guy?
    “Why would I kill you? No. My contract is void. My employer—or should I say former employer—has failed in their assessment of you. I was led to believe you were an ordinary man.”
    “I am an ordinary man.”
    Wolf chuckled. “You are many things, Dexter, but most certainly not ordinary. I am no longer associated with my former employer. I detest incompetence. Do try not to die, Dex. I’m quite fond of you.”
    There was a pause before Wolf spoke again, and Dex could hear the smile in his voice.
    “Oh, and do let Sonya know she still owes me for Budapest.”
    What the ever-loving fuck?
    The line went dead, and Dex stared at his phone. His heart was beating a mile a minute. Dex quickly scrolled through his contacts until he found Sparks. She answered on the first ring.
    “I’ll call you back.”
    She hung up on him, and he scowled at his phone. Before he could redial, a call came through his phone, the caller unknown.
    “Hello?”
    “That number is not secure. What is it?” Sparks asked in her no-nonsense tone.
    “How do you know Wolf?” The line was so quiet that for a second Dex thought she’d hung up on him.
    “He said something to you?”
    “Yeah, we just had a very pleasant conversation. He was in my house again. How the fuck did your operatives not see him?” Dex jumped from the bed, the fact Sloane didn’t stir only fueling his anger. Realizing he was naked, he quickly found his T-shirt and pajama bottoms and dressed as he spoke. “Who the fuck is this guy, and how do you know him!”
    “Dex, calm down.”
    “Calm down? Sloane was drugged. The guy was in our bedroom while we slept. Again .”
    “You’re no longer in danger as far as Wolf is concerned. If he wanted you dead, you’d be dead.”
    “Thanks, that makes me feel better. Your protection is for shit.”
    “I’ll deal with my operatives. What did Wolf say to you?”
    Dex ran a hand through his hair as he paced. “He said to let you know you still owe him for Budapest. What does that mean?”
    “It means Wolf, or Fang, as I knew him—though that’s simply another alias—was once a TIN operative.”
    Dex’s mouth hung open. “Wolf was TIN?”
    “Years ago, he was one of our best operatives.”
    “And what? He decided Therian Intelligence wasn’t enough of a challenge?”
    “Back in 2005, I was part of a covert team sent to Budapest. Somehow information was leaked, and the operation went terribly wrong. Wolf was almost killed. His partner wasn’t so lucky.