Page 175 of Sticks and Stones
“Yeah, he’s gone.”
She poured a glass of soda, and leaned on the counter to talk to her husband.
“The food will all be ready in an hour at the most. You should probably drop it off. I can’t be trusted. I’ll try to bum-rush Ethan. I’ll man the pub.”
That was the best thing she said today. It was better than her previous plan to scale their condo with rope.
“Sounds good, Alice.”
She was curious.
“How did you get rid of Will so fast? Did you tell him anything?”
He laughed.
“What? After I gave you the riot act? I just said I haven’t seen him, but he’ll call when he’s free. That’s all.”
Alice stared at him and John hoped her lie-dar didn’t go off.
His wife was tough to bullshit.
“You’re a better parent than me,” she said. “I would have slipped him some intel. He is in a relationship with him, and I like him.”
John shrugged.
“I like him a lot, but rules are rules, Alice. How about we follow them?”
She snorted.
“Look at you, the ever, rule-following Navy man. Luckily for you, I think that’s sexy in a man,” she said, giving him a kiss on his scruffy cheek before heading back into the kitchen.
That was when he let out a breath.
That was close.
Now, all he had to do was hope Will didn’t do anything ridiculous.
He should leave that up to Alice.
It was, after all, expected.
Chapter Eleven
Hospital
Same Time
Washington, D.C.
When he was coming to, he didn’t know what the hell had happened, or where he was. All Charlie LaRue knew was that he wasn’t at his and Sam’s home. That’s when the panic began, and the fight or flight kicked in.
As he tried to pull the tubes from his arm, to get out of the unfamiliar place, he was stopped by someone.
Staring up at his face, it slowly came into focus. That’s when Charlie saw Sam standing over him, and that helped calm him.
“Sammy,” he said, his voice slurred. “Where am I?”
Oh, boy.
