Page 52 of Sticks and Stones
“Well, at least you’re consistent, Corby. There’s that,” he stated, feeling all kinds of emotions at that moment, and none of them were good.
He.
Was.
Pissed.
Oh, and not at Corbin, exactly.
He was angry at whoever did this to him, and he was even more irate that some boss at his job thought that Corbin was ready for an undercover stint looking for some sex trafficker.
This could have gone completely differently. He could have been taken and shipped off. This was the best of the two possible incomes.
And that said a lot about the kind of case he’d been working on.
Despite him joking about it, Corbin really felt bad.
“I know you were looking forward…,” Corbin began, but was cut off.
Harshly.
Gene snapped.
“Stop. Okay? You matter more than a fucking vacation, and that’s the end of it.”
Immediately, Corbin stopped talking.
That silence hung there, and Corbin just couldn’t let it go. They were his lifeline, and now, he needed to find a way through this mire back to being who he’d once been.
If that was ever possible.
“You’re angry,” he finally said, breaking the silence of the stairwell.
Gene felt like a dick snapping at the wounded man, but he was terrible with emotions when they overwhelmed him.
The bottom line was that he loved this man, and considered him a brother. He might bust his balls all of the time, but he’d protect him because he was important to their family.
The family he and Ethan had created there.
“Yeah, I’m angry,” he said.
Corbin needed to know why.
“Want to talk about it? You know since we’re married in Bali and possibly Tahiti?”
Gene said nothing, and he wouldn’t look at Corbin directly. The wounded man knew that wasn’t good.
“Please don’t shut me out. You and Ethan are all I have now. I need you to show me how to survive this. I am a baby detective, and I see that now.”
Well, shit.
Gene couldn’t be angry with him.
Oh, he definitely wanted to, but he couldn’t kick Corbin when he was down. It was like taking your anger out on a puppy.
“What the hell were you thinking?” he asked. “Why would you take an undercover job atBull’s. I told you it was a bad place, and that you weren’t ready to play that kind of a game. More importantly, what kind of dumbass would put you in to do this? Anyone who has worked undercover, and put their asses on the line could see you and see the green. Corbin, this was so incredibly dangerous and stupid.”
The whole time, Corbin said nothing.
