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“From India’s Delights?”

“Could be.”

“Troy,” Dean growled in warning.

Troy grinned, holding out the bag. “There we go.”

Dean snatched the bag, mouth watering as he yanked out the takeout container and slapped it on his desk. He’d been wondering how he would get through another shift without eating, and now the answer had been dropped in his lap. Maybe he wouldn’t regret volunteering to work a double after all.

Troy plopped himself down on Dean’s desk. “So, what’s up with you anyway?”

Dean shoved a forkful in his mouth, moaning as the spice lit up his tongue. He eyed Troy, shrugging as he gathered another mouthful.

“Shoving food in your mouth isn’t going to save you from my questions,” Troy said.

“But I can try,” Dean noted.

“You not get any sleep again?” Troy asked.

“I sleep,” Dean protested.

“Yeah, and sometimes you go through stretches of sleeping like total shit.”

That was true, but Dean hadn’t known it had been obvious to anyone but Sloane and maybe Marco. Usually, when his sleep was disrupted by the nightmares of his last mission before returning to the States, he retreated to Sloane’s. Dean wasn’t sure if Sloane knew Dean slept better when he stayed in his apartment, surrounded by the man’s presence and even the faint hint of his cologne, but he never questioned when Dean showed up without warning to crash on his couch.

Dread settled in his gut, and Dean realized the night before had been the first time he’d slept poorly at Sloane’s.

“You and Sloane get into it again?”

Dean choked on his food. “Excuse me?”

Troy snorted. “It’s obvious you two had some sort of falling out before. I thought you being quiet today meant you two had talked, but you’ve just been weirdly quiet.”

True, Dean hadn’t exactly felt sociable, but he didn’t think that was so odd. He could easily go through a shift without needing to socialize, but Troy usually ensured that he did. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he had been unusually clipped in his conversations with Troy.

“No, we didn’t fight,” Dean said truthfully.

“Things not work out with you and Marco?” Troy guessed.

Dean cringed, really wishing Troy would stop. The last thing he wanted to think about was Marco while trying to make sense of what he’d done. True, he and Marco were still in the casual dating stage, but it didn’t make Dean feel any better. Not that he felt as though he had crossed a line. He was safe in that regard, if only because he’d been too afraid to commit to Marco yet. But if he was still so hung up on Sloane that he was willing to give the guy head in the heat of the moment without a second thought, what did that say about the possible longevity of a potential relationship with Marco?

“Nothing happened with Marco,” Dean said finally.

Troy eyed him, smiling. “You gonna tell me anything?”

“You’re being nosy.”

“I’m concerned. You’ve been in a foul mood forever, and apparently, Sloane has too. Now you show up today, and you’re practically on a different plane of existence.”

Dean pushed his food around, chewing slowly as he considered what to say. Troy might be chatty, but Dean knew he wouldn’t blabber to everyone who might listen. The two of them worked well together for a reason, and Dean had come to trust the man.

But the idea of telling the whole story filled him with dread.

Dean sighed. “We’re not...fighting, but things are really strained with Sloane and me at the moment.”

“Because?”

Dean looked up, wincing apologetically. “Would you blame me if I said I don’t want to get into it?”