Page 48 of Sticks and Stones (FBI Romance/Thriller #65)

“So we have a professor who is tied to all three victims. One was his teaching assistant, and two were students in his class.”

Ethan nodded.

“And in case that’s not enough, I kept digging to see if there was more. I’m talking a deep dive into their lives. I was curious about the professor. He’s wealthy and from a prestigious family in Philly .”

That was a good find, and Gene knew it.

“Whoever is playing these games, connected to these drugs, and trafficking could be wealthy. They’d have to have some money.”

Oh, well, Ethan wasn’t done.

Not.

Quite.

Yet.

“Well, let’s just say that it had me thinking. I did even more research, and Harrison Dunne didn’t get any of his family’s money, that I can find. His grandfather died, and he wasn’t in the will. There’s a big article about how half the family sued to get it contested.”

Greyson was curious.

“Then where did he get rich?” he asked. “Because I don’t think professors who aren’t tenured are raking in the dough,” he stated.

They weren’t.

So, Greyson’s inquiry was valid.

It was a good question, and one he couldn't answer. No one seemed to know. For all they knew, he had a sugar daddy, or robbed a bank.

“We should ask him that. According to the internet, he’s not making millions working for two universities, so why does he have a big house and fancy car?” he asked.

Oh, well, they all knew.

That might be a sign of dirty deeds on his behalf. When you were rich, you’d do anything to stay rich.

There were no ethical millionaires.

Not ones that they’d investigated.

Drugs sounded right up his alley, or he was working with someone who was doing all of the heavy lifting.

“I found more. Who buys male sex trafficked victims?” Ethan asked, waiting for them to answer.

Gene knew.

“A gay buyer. You seldom see women buying male trafficking victims. Is the professor batting for the same team?” he asked.

Ethan nodded.

“When I searched his name, it took me to a dating website where he started looking for love,” he admitted. “He made the profile seven years ago when it just started becoming popular to look for love online.”

Greyson laughed.

“And dangerous. We get a lot of homicides where the killer uses dating sites.”

Yeah, them too.

Corbin was curious.

“Were the men on the same dating site?” he asked, munching on a french fry since he couldn’t bite into the burger on his own.

Ethan shook his head.

“No, this was for rich men looking for discreet lovers. College kids tend to be broke, and that led me down a whole other path.”

Gene lifted a brow.

“So, we have a good link on how the victims were picked, and you found more?”

Ethan nodded.

“You know me. One suspect isn’t enough. I like to have a backup criminal in case we get our feet kicked out from under us.”

Gene laughed.

“He’s not lying. When Plan A fails, jump on Plan B,” he said, staring at Corbin, hoping he was taking this all in.

For later.

“So I kept digging. The next thing that made me curious was that college is expensive. Right?” he asked.

Greyson shrugged.

“I didn’t go to college. I served. Because of my rank and duties, I was destined to work for the military or government.”

Well, Gene knew.

“I had student loans,” he said. “I’m from a Midwestern middle-class family. I had scholarships for athletics and student loans. All of my brothers do, too. That’s the only way we were going to school. My father runs a farm, so we weren’t going to Harvard.”

Ethan was staring at his man.

He pictured him getting all sweaty and working on a farm, and it pulled up countless sexy pictures in his head. He must have been grinning because Gene laughed.

“Behave,” he warned, squeezing his thigh under the table, even though that was the last thing he wanted his lover to do.

Granted, they’d just rolled around, but he could go a few more rounds with his man. He was sexy as sin, and Gene couldn’t help himself.

As for Corbin, he couldn’t relate to the college thing. Maybe that’s why he didn’t dig deep enough into that angle.

“I didn’t go to college. I got my Act one-twenty training and went to police training. I guess it was at a college, but it was more police classes.”

That left Ethan.

“I had a shit ton of scholarships,” he said. “A poor Native kid whose father didn’t hold down a job and whose mother was dead? I had a full ride. I didn’t have to pay for anything. It gave me time to study.”

This was all fun, and sharing was caring, but Greyson was confused.

“And what are you pointing us at? Because college student loans are through the government.”

Ethan told them.

“Loans are, but scholarships aren’t. Every one of the victims had a scholarship through the same place. It’s through a very rich donor family—the Mercers.”

That was another good lead. It gave them another angle of how someone could prey on three people and have them connect.

Gene was curious.

“Impress me, Detective,” he said. “Did you dig through all the missing person reports and see if any of them were college students?”

He nodded.

“I did because I’m only half an idiot—the idiot part went undercover. The smart part knew enough to search all the MPRs to find any more students. There weren’t any.”

Ethan was profiling it.

“That makes sense. A predator looking for men would move the hunting ground around to not get caught.”

And it was clear whoever was behind this did.

Gene was to the point.

“I doubt that the bikers who hurt Corbin trolled college campuses. They might only be transporting and using the goods,” he said, not wanting to upset Corbin.

Only, he wasn’t an idiot.

“You can say it,” he stated. “The bikers who raped me didn’t likely troll the college campuses,” he said, being to the point. “Sugarcoating it doesn’t change it,” he admitted. “I have to adjust to hearing it.”

The tone in his voice told Gene it hurt him, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. So, he put his big hand on the back of Corbin’s head and made him stare into his eyes. They were the window to the soul.

“If you’re okay with us being direct, we’ll be direct. Our job is to protect you. Set the boundaries for us, so we can be what you need.”

He nodded.

“You can say it. I’m not going to have a breakdown whenever you use the ‘R’ word,” he admitted.

Well, then, they’d use it.

Ethan changed the subject because while he believed Corbin didn’t care if they used that word, he knew it still hurt him.

“So tomorrow, we’re going to have to talk to the professor, the people who knew the victims, and also the family who gave each one of them merit scholarships.”

It was officially on their agenda.

After they handled whatever Gabe had planned for them tonight.

“You found some good leads,” Gene admitted, giving his partner a fist bump.

Corbin sighed.

“I missed those. It never occurred to me to dig there and go outside the box. I jumped the gun, and it made a mess,” he admitted.

Ethan reassured him.

They weren’t going to rub salt in the wound. Instead, they were going to hold his hand until he could learn.

“Corby, you’ll learn,” Ethan admitted.

Gene agreed.

“And we’ll teach you,” he said. “Because I’m not leaving this city until you’re no longer green. I need you to be able to think for yourself.”

Normally, Corbin would be angry and insist he was a good cop, but after what happened…

He needed to check his ego.

Here.

And.

Now.

It was crystal clear that he was a menace to his own well-being, and there needed to be an intervention if he was going to go back to work as a detective.

“Please teach me,” he said. “If I go back, I need to know how to do this. I want to be safe.”

Oh, they would do just that.

Bet.

On.

It.

Because he ate all of his fries but didn’t touch his burger, Ethan cut up Corbin’s food for him and handed him his fork so he could keep eating.

Then, he went there.

“When you need help, Corbin, you should ask for it,” he said. “Instead of sitting here staring at your food, you should have asked one of us to handle it for you.”

He sighed.

“It’s a difficult thing to do when your ego is too big for the room,” he admitted.

Ethan leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Don’t be an idiot. Ask.”

From here on out, he would.

“Thanks,” he said. “Oh, and Ethan?”

He glanced over.

“Yeah?” he asked.

Corbin tried to find himself in all of this and have a little normalcy in his life.

“Gene said I could run off and marry you. Since you just kissed me, we should.”

From where he sat on the other side of Ethan, Gene started laughing and didn’t even flinch. He knew Corbin was fighting hard to get some normalcy back.

“I can also say that I can toss you off of the balcony to see if you can fly, Corbin. Do we want to test gravity along with my patience?”

He didn’t miss a beat.

“Is that a pig and cop joke? Because you’re technically a cop, too.”

Gene winked at the man.

Honestly, Gene felt better knowing Corbin was still inside that broken shell. Now, his family just needed to help him get better.

Ethan ate some of Gene’s fries as he finished up Ethan’s burger.

“While I appreciate your offer, Corbin, I like a bear. Sorry,” he stated. “I’ve seen you eat, and you're never going to bulk up like Gene.”

The big man smiled at Corbin.

“Told you, Corby. He’s got a bear kink, not a twink kink.”

Corbin laughed, and it hurt, but it felt good to be normal. He knew the men at that table were taking it easy on him, and he appreciated it.

He.

Felt.

Safe.

Thank God for family.

Because they had work to do, Ethan flipped through the file.

“I’m not going to lie,” he said, holding the file from the Vice detectives. “This file is pretty bare. For two Vice detectives working this, and the Commissioner all over this like white on rice, they don’t have a lot.”

“Yeah, I thought the same thing,” Gene admitted. “Then again, they were poking into a drug case the FBI was trying to block. Who knows how many walls they put up and if they crossed into Corbin’s case?”

That was a good point.