Page 73 of Joey

Joey sighed. “I know. I just hate this for you.”

“I know you do, but I’m sure it won’t be the last time we’re in the news.”

“Just you wait until our wedding.”

Ethan’s heart skipped a beat. “Our wedding?” he croaked.

Joey’s laughter warmed his soul. “When weeventuallyget married, there is no chance of it not being in the news.”

Finding his voice, Ethan said, “I can imagine. I still don’t care, though. Not anymore.”

“Why?”

“Because I have you. Whatever else I have to deal with is worth it because I have you.”

Joey was quiet for a moment, and Ethan wondered if he’d said the wrong thing. “I hate that you’re so far away right now. You can’t say things like that when I can’t fuck you, Ethan.”

Ethan chuckled, even as heat rolled through him. “You’ll have to call me later and make me pay.”

“Nah. You can wait until I get my hands on you tomorrow. You’ll regret teasing me.”

“I doubt it. I’m adorable, remember?”

Joey growled. “Go back to your friends, Ethan. I’ll speak to you in the morning.”

“Yes, Sir,” he whispered and ended the call.

He spent the rest of the evening with his friends, and they made plans for them to visit London. Ethan could just imagine the chaos they would cause, but he was excited about it, too. Maybe he could persuade Joey’s friends to come with them and show them the sights.

When he woke the following morning, despite his hangover, he was ready to get the work done so he could head to his new home. He faced a fried breakfast, chugged several glasses of water and set to work. He didn’t stop, other than to speak to Joey between his clients, so when his phone rang, he answered without looking.

“You really think this is the end of it. Well, watch out. Just because I’m out of the picture at the moment doesn’t mean there aren’t others looking to see your and Joey’s downfall. Good luck, Ethan.”

David’s voice chilled him to the bone, and the call cut out before he could reply. He pursed his lips and dialled Detective Hines.

“Is David still in custody?”

“Yes, why?”

“He just called me.” He told him exactly what was said, and the detective cursed and apologised.

“I will see to it that he’s not let out on bail. We’ll see if we can’t get more information out of him about who he’s talking about.”

“You might want to liaise with the London police, too. There are things going on down there that might be linked, though I don’t know for definite. Detective Harmon and Keith.”

“Thank you. I will.”

Ethan glanced around him at what was left to do and decided it wasn’t worth it. Anything else could be thrown away. He spent several hours loading his car, packing it so full he could only see a small rectangle in his rearview mirror and headed to his parents.

“I’m heading back now. Thank you for agreeing to help sell the house. I’m going to arrange for someone to go in and take the remaining furniture and anything else they want for the charity shop. What’s left will be taken to the tip. I’ll let you know when the place is empty if you still don’t mind arranging for the estate agent to come in?”

His father shook his head. “Of course, we don’t. You just take it easy on that journey, all right?”

“I will.” He hugged his father and leaned down to kiss his mother’s cheek. “I’ll see you soon. If you need anything at all, call me.”

His father waved him off, and Ethan climbed into the car, trying not to cry. He was never going to like being so far away from his family and friends, but he had something amazing waiting for him. Even with everything that surrounded them—the uncertainty, the blackmail, Elliott, Grey, Robert, and more—he couldn’t imagine being without Joey now.

He just wished he knew what the endgame was. Who was behind everything?

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