Page 32 of Sticks and Stones
Bull’s Biker Barwas a hotbed of trafficking, and a sane person wouldn’t go in there.
That was a death wish.
What the hell was he thinking?
“Assaulted?” Gene asked. “Are we talking sexually?” he inquired, needing to know even as he prayed that wasn’t the case.
With tears in her eyes, Alice nodded.
As she shared what she’d found out, her heart was breaking for her son.
Honestly, she didn’t know how to make this better—if she even could.
Both she and John were at a loss with this one.
“The doctor said it appears that he was raped multiple times,” she whispered. “He won’t talk to us or let us in the room to see him.”
Oh, boy.
That didn’t sound good.
Not.
At.
All.
“I know my son. He’s hiding, and I don’t know what to do. I know you guys are leaving for a vacation, but I had nowhere else to turn. Corbin mentioned that you guys were heading out the last time I spoke to him, but I’m at a loss. I’m scared.”
Well, she didn’t need to worry about them leaving on vacation.
They couldn’t leave now.
TheirPhiladelphiafamily needed them.
Corbin would need them.
They both wrapped their arms around her to comfort Alice, and it gave her the strength to keep talking.
“Corbin once told me that if he was ever hurt or killed that he’d want you two to find who did it. He said he didn’t trust anyone more than the both of you.”
They felt that way about Corbin too.
Alice somehow continued.
“I need you to figure out what happened to Corbin, and let me know. I’m being blocked from my own son, and I’m so scared I’ll never see him again if he can’t pull out of this. Please, guys, I need your help, and I’m afraid for him. I know my son. This is going to break him.”
Well, shit.
No one had died, but this was right up there with something that would make Gene cancel his vacation with Ethan.
It was one of theONLYreasons he would not get on the plane today.
Corbin was family, and so was Alice. If she was here, that meant they had to help. There was no doubt in Gene’s mind that if the roles were reversed, Corbin and Alice would be there for them.
To.
The.
