Page 13 of Sticks and Stones (FBI Romance/Thriller #65)

Ethan was NOT going to like this.

Not.

At.

All.

Gabe warned him. The last thing he wanted was for them to come back and say they hadn’t agreed at a later date.

“Think about it. I’ll see what I can do,” he said, knowing he had them on this.

If anything, Cantrell and Blackhawk were good agents, and they believed in Justice. That meant utilizing them.

He had few people under him that he trusted, and that were covering the rough cities.

Elizabeth LaRue.

Salem Dane.

Ethan Blackhawk.

Gene Cantrell.

They were his power players.

Ironically, they were all partnered up. Well, not Salem. Director Moore had a literal boner over the woman, and was making her jump through hoops for some reason. She was currently in Seattle .

“I’ll call you later when I figure this out,” Gabe said. “Oh, and I’m sorry about your canceled vacation to Puerto Rico . You can reschedule.”

With that, he hung up.

Greyson sighed.

“Well, you just screwed the pooch there. He’s going to own you and start claiming you and Blackhawk on his taxes as dependents at this rate. Did you miss the ‘give or take’ part? It’s definitely going to be ‘take’ . You can bet your ass on that one.”

Oh, he was aware.

Only, he had bigger problems.

“Did you tell him where we were going on vacation?” he asked, catching that one slip up from Gabe. It was either a mistake, or a warning.

He just didn’t know which.

“Uh, I only knew it was a beach. I had no clue it was Puerto Rico . I love it there. I did a stint at the office there for a few weeks on cleanup duty.”

Yeah, that made him paranoid.

And for one reason.

“No one knew,” Gene said. “We were extra careful to make sure no one found out where we were going. The place we were staying was a gay inclusive resort.”

Greyson knew why they weren’t letting that cat out of the bag.

“Seriously, Gene. I didn’t know. I only talk to Gabe when I need to. I haven’t talked to him in a week. He’s been busy in meetings.”

Well, shit.

“Well, if he knew the location, that tells me that someone is watching us, and I doubt it’s Gabe. He’d need eyes on us. Someone is spying. He found out about us being a couple, and now this. Once, it’s a coincidence. Twice, it’s a problem.”

Greyson didn’t like that.

Not.

One.

Bit.

He didn’t play those games, and if he had a Gabe mole in his office, he wanted them out.

Shit like that made him irate. The least favorite thing he liked was backstabbing.

He ran the place on the up-and-up, and prided himself on that.

There was no sketchy shit going on here. That’s why he rode Blackhawk and Cantrell like a cheap pair of undies. He was like a thong.

Up.

Their.

Asses.

“That’s not good,” Greyson admitted. “I didn’t even think about it, honestly. I figured he guessed because you guys are sharing a place.”

Yeah, he doubted that.

“A two-bedroom? No, someone had to tell him we were a couple, and this vacation likely confirmed it. Everyone in the office knew we were both off, but no one knew we were going to the same place. We said we were each going home to visit family.”

Yeah, he saw his point.

“I don’t like spies.”

Yeah, well, Gene either, since it was his partnership with Ethan that was on the line. There had to be a way to cover their asses.

He just needed to figure it out.

When Greyson’s phone chimed, he picked it up and read the incoming message.

It was from Gabe.

‘You’re to work on this case with Blackhawk and Cantrell.

I don’t want this fucked up and blowing up in our faces.

The sex peddling ring has been on our radar for a while.

If they pull this case, it’s on them to handle it.

I want it shut down, and you’re going to make sure that happens.

I don’t care how long it takes them, but when they’re done, it’s no longer our problem. ’

Yowza.

This was exactly what he meant by Blackhawk and Cantrell having the uncanny ability of finding the deepest, smelliest pile of shit to land in.

They’d done it again.

Because he was worried, Greyson showed Gene the text.

It looked like they were all in that sinking boat together. This wouldn’t be a one and done case. They were going to have to figure out who was behind this to completion, or heads would roll.

Tag.

They were it.

Unfortunately.

“Oh, fuckity,” Gene said, once he read it. “That could take forever to find the head of it. They bury them so deep…”

Greyson reminded him.

“Call Gabe, he said. He could handle it, he said. Apparently, he saw us coming, and now, I’m in this mess with you,” he stated.

Well, shit.

They were screwed seven ways to Sunday, and they did it to themselves.

Once.

Again.

* * * Blackhawk & Cantrell * * *

The Condo

Philadelphia, PA

Same Time

Saturday Morning

With a whole lot of patience and understanding, Ethan had somehow managed to get Corbin settled down, and all was right in the world.

For now.

The man was calm for the time being as he tried to get some sleep in their spare room.

He was hydrated, tucked away, and safe from anything that might upset him.

What Ethan hoped was that Corbin would be okay when all was said and done.

Blackhawk knew that after his abduction, it took months to not be so afraid, and he hadn’t been sexually assaulted.

That said a lot about what was on the horizon.

Corbin had a long road back, and that worried Ethan to no end. When pressured, Corbin made questionable choices, as he’d proved, and that was dangerous.

They really needed to work on that.

When his phone rang, Ethan picked it up, and saw that it was Gene calling him.

Immediately, he answered.

“Yes, Gene?”

His partner and lover knew that he needed to break this to Ethan the best way he could. That meant telling him about the deal he’d made with their boss.

And he prayed Ethan didn’t freak the fuck out.

The bottom line was that Ethan wanted to go home in the worst way, and helping with this case tacked a whole year on—or more.

They were basically Gabe’s bitches, and going to have to handle this sex trafficking ring.

“Hey, Baby,” Gene said, clueing Ethan in that he was able to talk openly.

Ethan was curious.

“How did it go?” he asked.

That brought on some laughter, and it didn’t sound like happy chuckles.

Not.

At.

All.

That was Gene’s ‘were fucked’ laugh. That told him everything he needed to know.

There was trouble in paradise.

Their paradise.

“Well, Greyson had to call Gabe, and he managed to get us the trafficking case. We’re to start that right away.”

Oh.

Well.

That was good.

Maybe this wouldn’t be a giant circle jerk for the two of them.

“I’m sure Gabe is more than happy to dump that mess on us. He’s sadistic like that.”

Oh, he could say that again.

“We’re to work it until it’s closed down. So, that means it might take some time.”

Blackhawk didn’t flinch.

“No shock there. If we dive into it, we’ll be the most familiar with it. You know how Gabe is. He likes it handled.”

That.

He.

Did.

Only, for Ethan, here came the bad news.

“That’s the first half, but after talking to him, Gabe said he won’t just give us Corbin’s rape case. That’s one he has to talk to the Commissioner about.”

Ethan got angry.

What the hell?

Since when did he not want them overwhelmed and overworked? That was right up his alley.

“What do you mean he won’t give it to us? Any idiot can see it’s tied to it. He wouldn’t have been assaulted had he not been working that case.”

Oh, he was aware.

Only, why did Gabe do what he did?

That was one of the great FBI mysteries—much like J. Edgar Hoover’s boner over spying on anyone he could build files on.

“He said there’s only one way to get it. I had to make a deal with him,” Gene admitted, being honest. With Ethan, lying was always a bad idea.

He could see through most of them—like when he was being sneaky at Christmas to buy him presents with his tattoo.

That had bitten him in the ass.

“What’s the deal?” he asked, curiously. Gene sounded hesitant, so he knew it would suck. Most of the deals done with Gabe did. Thus, why agents tried to avoid that nightmare at all costs.

The favor purveyor was evil.

Because Gabe had managed to hit that one sore spot for Ethan, Gene tried to soften the blow.

“Have I told you how much I love you?” he asked, trying to find a way to do this.

It was going to suck.

“Oh, no,” Blackhawk said. Whenever someone sugarcoated the precursor to bad news, it was going to be damn ugly. “What did you do, Gene?” he asked.

Since he was onto him, Gene pulled the bandage off as quickly as possible.

“Gabe said that the only way he’d get us Corbin’s case was if we stayed in Philadelphia for another year, give or take. If not, we couldn’t work Corbin’s case.”

There.

Was.

Silence.

Oh, Gene suspected he was either sleeping on the couch, or crying in a beer over his new breakup. There weren’t many options on this, and he knew it. He’d taken a deal without consulting with Ethan first.

Desperation, thy name was Cantrell.

Ethan did NOT like it in Philadelphia . He’d rather work directly in the hottest part of Hell before being locked out of DC for another year.

When he heard that, there was only one answer, and Ethan knew it.

“Okay. So, we stay another year,” he finally said. “Corbin is our family, and he’d do it for us. I can survive a third year.”

Wait.

What?

To say that Gene was surprised would be an understatement.

“You’re not angry with me?”

Ethan was confused.

“Why would I be angry with you? We’re here, and we know Gabe is sadistic. If anyone but us works Corbin’s case, they’ll have the file for everyone he works with to read it. That’s a no-brainer. We work it and pay the price.”

Holy shit.

That really surprised him.

Ethan sounded calm.

“Can I speak to the real Ethan Blackhawk?” he asked. “You know…the sexy one who hates Philadelphia so much he’d gnaw off his own arm to escape that trap?”

He actually laughed.

The visual was amusing.

“Gene, you make me sound feral. Like I have rabies and need to be contained.”

Because he could, and he liked sexually harassing his man, Gene lowered his voice.

“I like you feral—in bed. It’s hot.”

Blackhawk snorted, even as his body reacted to that visual. Oh, well, he liked Gene feral in bed too.

That eased the pain of being here.

They were together.

“You’re a nut, but my nut,” he admitted. “Corbin is our family. Look at the shit he got into without us. We have to stay longer. He can’t be trusted on these cases. He’s a baby detective, and it’s crystal clear that we need to teach him how to be safe.”

Yeah, they really did.

Corbin was a disaster on his own.

“Thank you for not sleep divorcing me because of this,” he stated. “I thought I was humping our couch and not you.”

Now, he laughed.

His man was insane.

“I’ve humped the couch. It’s not that bad,” he joked. “You’re better,” he admitted.

Well, yeah.

And if Gene had anything to say about it, he’d be getting humped as soon as he could score some alone time with his sexy Native.

“And you’re really okay?”

He was honest.

“I mean, I’m not thrilled. I don’t want to be here any longer than I need to be. I want to climb that ladder, but Gabe will just send us back here if we don’t clean it up. He’s a dick,” he admitted.

That.

He.

Was.

It was clear that Ethan was mellowing out, and he wasn’t freaking out about the littlest things.

“Thank you for not being angry. I’ll text Gabe and tell him we’ll take the deal.”

Yowza, but the things they’d do for family.

Corbin most definitely owed them one.

That was for damn sure.

He should start by not getting himself into shitty situations that pulled them in.

Ethan reassured him.

“It’s not your fault that we have to be here.

It would be different if you were intentionally doing it to trap me here,” he admitted.

“I’m not beating on the messenger when you’re in just as much shit as I am.

Gabe knows I hate his fucking guts. I sometimes think he avoids me just as much as we avoid him. ”

That was possible.

The last three weeks had been radio silence.

Gabe was a sadistic asshole who made their lives hell if he was bored, but he could read a room. They had him over the barrel, in a way.

They cleared cases, and the FBI needed agents who could carry the load. As long as they did that, they made him look good, and that kept him in his job. The president could replace him if need be.

“We’re going to wait on Gabe to get us this case, and then, at some point, I’ll stop back at home so we can talk this out. Oh, and Gabe is forcing Greyson to help us. He’s been pulled into this mess with us. Apparently, we’re problematic and need a babysitter.”

Well, at least it was a decent agent who had been shackled to them.

Greyson gave them a long leash to close cases.

That worked for them.

“Tell him I’m sorry about that. I know what it’s like to be a pawn in Gabe’s game. It sucks the big one.”

That it did.

Gene checked out his watch.

He needed to get moving.

“I’ll see you in a little while. Do you need anything for Corbin?” he asked.

They did.

“He needs some of his things. Can you swing by his house and get him some clothes, his toothbrush, and some shoes? We aren’t the same size, and honestly, he might feel a little more secure if he can wear his clothing and not feel like a refugee in our condo.”

He could do that.

Corbin was always welcome there.

Gene wanted to help out, and he knew Ethan would need it if he was on Corbin duty.

“I’ll grab lunch,” he offered.

It was the least he could do.

“Thanks, my love,” Ethan said, grateful to his man. The last thing he wanted to do was leave Corbin alone. He was struggling.

“I’ll text you anything that we get that you can use to start working this,” Gene said. “See you later, handsome.”

And with that, he hung up.

As Ethan sat there, he considered the situation at hand, and what Gabe was doing. Normally, he’d be pissed that Gabe had dropped this on them.

Only, now that he had Gene…

It was bearable.

The question was…

How long would this city not irritate the shit out of him?

It looked as if they were going to find out.