Page 211 of Sticks and Stones
When he came in, Corbin looked like a wounded animal looking for a corner to hide.
“Hey,” he said, moving closer. “It’s okay. What’s going on?”
Gene was honest.
“I need to know if he blew our cover when he went intoBull’s,” he said. “I mentioned we might have to go there to work this undercover.”
Corbin was twitchy as fuck, and they understood why. The trauma had been brutal.
Blackhawk got Corbin to sit, and then, he took his free hand in his.
That’s when he tried to calm him down.
“Breathe,” he said, as he saw Corbin going pale, and then clammy. “You’re going to pass out if you don’t control your breathing.”
He tried.
Only, his breathing was erratic.
Getting up, Gene grabbed a clean washcloth, and soaked it in cold water. He rang it out, and brought it to Corbin, whose head was between his knees.
“This is going to be cold, but it’ll shock you back to breathing regularly,” he said, putting it on his neck.
The man flinched.
“It’s not as cold as crawling through the snow with a broken arm and dislocated shoulder,” he said, whispering.
Ethan put his hand on Gene’s arm because he was tense too.
“It’s okay,” he said, more for Gene, but Corbin too.
Corbin managed to get the breathing regulated, and then, and only then, he owned it.
He blew their cover in an attempt to save himself.
“They know that we know each other. When it got dangerous, I had to use your cover story to buy me time. I was hoping they’d believe I wasn’t a cop if I told them I knew you. I didn’t think it would blow your cover. I was trying to survive.”
Gene wasn’t upset.
Honestly, he couldn’t even think about going back there without killing people.
That’s how angry he was.
Oh, and there was no way on this green earth he was taking Ethan in there so he could end up raped and trafficked.
Fuck.
No.
“It’s okay, Corbin. Don’t worry. We’re not going back there, are we, Gene?” Ethan asked.
The big man reassured him.
“Absolutely not. It’s not happening. We can figure this out without going there.”
It was going to make it more difficult, but their cover was their cover, and now, it had been blown apart.
“I just needed to know. I’m not upset.”
