Page 205 of Sticks and Stones
Ethan owned it.
“I told them to give you space to heal, and that the last thing you needed was them all over you. No one will bother you here. You’re safe, Corby.”
Corbin’s face said it all.
There was immense gratitude.
At Ethan’s words, he relaxed.
“Thank you for that,” he said.
For Ethan, he didn’t mind. They wanted him to heal and feel safe somewhere after he’d been assaulted.
“No problem. That’s what friends do. They run interference when you need a little time to regroup, and figure shit out. You taught me that, Corbin.”
Thank God he made friends with Ethan and Gene. Corbin was so damn grateful.
Because the bags needed to be handled, Gene took all of the food out of the bags, and it looked like dinner, breakfast, and lunch for tomorrow was now covered by the Prices.
Somehow, he figured they’d be dropping off more in the morning.
Glancing at his watch, Gene knew he wanted to hear what Ethan found out about the victims, but he wanted to put his phone on the charger before tonight’s fun.
If they were going to be playing games for the US government, he wanted to be dressed appropriately.
“I’m going to plug in my phone. I’ll be right back. Then, we can talk about what you found.”
That worked for Ethan.
This was going to be a different kind of a case. Since they didn’t have a serial killer, per se, but instead someone behind this drug issue and abduction of men, they had to work this differently.
As Gene walked away, Corbin watched him.
“I think I broke us,” he finally said, softly. “Gene won’t even look at me. I think I hurt his feelings.”
Ethan was honest.
“You didn’t hurt him, per se, Corbin, but he feels bad about what happened, and he’s trying to give you space to be angry if that’s what it takes. What I’ve learned about Gene is he’s tough on the outside, but inside he’s a teddy bear. He’s also like a poppa bear too. He’ll kill for his loved ones, and you, Corby, are like a cub to him.”
Yeah, and that was why he had to face the man down, and fix what he’d done out of rage over what happened to him. It wasn’t Gene’s fault.
It was his, but he couldn’t yell at himself.
Corbin put the water bottle down.
“I’m going to go talk to him,” he stated. “I don’t like what I feel between us. You guys are all I have now, and I need to be honest with him.”
Ethan knew that was likely for the best. The last thing they needed now was tension between any of them. If Corbin felt the need, Ethan supported it.
“Go ahead. He’ll talk to you. He’s not angry with you, Corbin. He’s angry with the situation. You can trust him to protect you.”
Yeah, Corbin knew that to be true.
Heading toward the bedrooms in the condo, the master bedroom door was closed.
It took him a second to build up his courage, but finally, he did.
Knocking, he waited outside until he heard his voice.
