Page 54 of Sticks and Stones (FBI Romance/Thriller #65)

“It’s amusing how you think I would be the one bleeding. Can I remind you that you’ve been shot a few times?”

He stared at him like he’d lost his damn mind to even go there.

“Yeah, the times I was shot and shot at, I was making sure you didn’t get hurt, EJ, because you were the target.”

Blackhawk grinned, and it made Gene’s heart skip in his chest.

He stopped him then and there.

“Don’t you use that grin on me. I know your game,” he warned.

Well, someone called him out on that. Only, he couldn’t help himself. Half of the fun was luring Gene in with the Blackhawk grin. Why use it on a stranger when he could use it on his man?

“Darn. You figured me out.”

Gene knew he would succumb to that grin nine times out of ten simply because Ethan was too damn handsome for Gene’s own good.

“Let’s get started,” Gene offered.

That worked for him.

Getting up, Blackhawk put his gun on the table and took one from the case. He loaded it and then passed it to his partner.

After Gene handed him his, he did the same thing again, loading the one he’d be carrying.

When Gene joined him at the table, he grabbed one of the holsters and placed it at his back.

“We’ll hit Mario Turner first and see what he knows,” Ethan admitted. “If we want to get this done tonight, before the sun is up, we need to hope they talk.”

Gene was aware.

Later, they would both need to get some sleep at some point. It had been a long-ass day.

When Ethan looked over, Gene was grinning like a freaking lunatic.

“What?” Ethan asked.

Gene was a little too happy for this assignment all of a sudden.

The big man shared with him what was going on in his head, and it wasn’t sex.

“We’re going to get to beat on these assholes to get information out of them. I get to whip that POS’s ass for when he touched my man. I didn’t forget that he pulled on your hair and stared at your body. That’s my job.”

Blackhawk just shook his head.

Gene was going to enjoy this.

A little too much.

And honestly, he didn’t blame him. Mario Turner was a piece of shit.

Meanwhile…

Once out in the car, the masked military man pulled off his face covering and picked up his phone.

Making a call, he pulled out of the parking lot to go get into position. He was going to be following the men and helping if they got into some shit—by orders from the deputy director.

Only, before he started work, the real work, he needed to check-in with home.

And his girl.

When she answered, he was all smiles.

“Hey, Red Queen. Miss me?” Lewis asked.

She laughed.

“You’ve been gone three hours, and you took a call in the middle of sex, so what do you think?”

He laughed.

“Come on, baby, it was work. You know I have to answer. You can blame the Deputy Director of the FBI.”

She sighed.

“Yeah, I miss you a lot. When are you coming home?” Axelle George asked.

Honestly, he hoped soon.

Lewis figured that the men would move fast. He’d given them everything they needed to do the job with the exception of telling them HOW to do the job. Gabe had promised they were just as competent as Elizabeth LaRue.

On that, time would tell.

“Tomorrow, at some point. I can’t imagine it’ll drag on longer than that.”

Axelle was glad.

She really did miss him, and having him leave in the middle of some incredibly hot sex was a bummer, but they both had jobs.

Unfortunately.

“So, you’re on an easy mission?” she asked.

Lewis knew this was tricky. Ironically enough, he was back in Philadelphia where he’d been at Christmas with his girl.

Life was ironic sometimes.

“Yeah, it’s in the US. Don’t ask for more. You know the rules, and I can’t tell you any more than it’s domestic, and I’m not far from home.”

Well, for that, she was grateful. The idea of him in some dangerous country made her worry—like he worried about her. They were a couple, and she wanted to make sure he made it out alive.

“I just want you to be careful. Call if you need backup. I’ll come dig you out any day, Marine.”

That made his heart skip. It was so damn nice to have someone who cared about him. Lewis was accustomed to being on his own, but with Axelle, she would come find him.

“Oh, I will, Red. I miss you and love you. Keep that bed warm for me. I’ll try and get back into it before you wake up tomorrow. Think about me. I’ll be thinking about you.”

Yeah, well, it was hard not to think about him. The man was running naked through her brain most of the day, and she liked it that way.

“Same, Lewis. Same. I love you, too. I’ll be the naked woman in bed. Make sure you sneak up on me and have your wicked way with me.”

His dick twitched at the mere thought of it. His feisty redhead was wickedly sexy and constantly in his thoughts.

“Oh, Red Queen. You had better believe it,” he said, seeing the two Feds drive past where he was parked waiting for him.

Now, officially, he was on the clock.

“I’ve got to go, Honey. Duty calls. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She kissed the phone.

“On your way home, pick up coffee and half and half,” she said.

It made him grin.

If that wasn’t the most couple-y thing he’d ever heard in his life…

“Anything else?” he asked, making a mental note of what she wanted from the local market.

“That’s all, Lewis. Be safe, and think about me,” she said and then disconnected the call.

And it made his heart happy.

When he hung up, Reaper knew one thing.

The two feds had better not screw this up. Lewis suspected that it would have been easier had Gabe just let him do the dirty work.

But no, they needed them for questioning.

Not in a body bag.

It looked like the Feds were about to play CIA.

Hopefully, they didn’t fuck this up, or Lewis would be playing clean up.

Who knew how long that would take?

* * * Blackhawk & Cantrell * * *

Renegade’s Home

AKA Mario Turner

Officially The Longest

Day Of Their Lives

Gene was tired, but he was giddy at the prospect of getting this handled. The universe must have loved them a little bit because this was a surefire way to get some justice for Corbin.

That was the bottom line.

If Renegade and his scumbag buddies had touched Corbin, Gene was going to touch them back.

With.

His.

Fists.

“When you smile like that, you look crazy,” Ethan admitted, staring through binoculars at the house that was tied to Mario Turner.

The location was pretty private, at the end of a dead-end street, and it wasn’t run down. It definitely looked like Renegade was making some money.

That was for damn sure.

Gene was honest.

“I can’t help myself. I pictured myself busting his balls with my boot and making him cry for hurting Corbin. Apparently, I derive pleasure from handing out some justice. Go figure.”

Ethan was the voice of reason.

“Maybe hold off on that until we find out if he was one of the guys. I’d ask Corbin to look at the pictures, but if we do, I’m afraid it’ll take him back to that moment.”

Gene understood.

He didn’t want Corbin to have to ID suspects either, especially since he was barely holding on as it was. Only, at one point, they might not have a choice. If they wanted to make sure all of the men paid, they would need to get the victim’s insight.

As for Renegade being one of the perpetrators…

Nothing went down in Bull’s without Renegade being involved. That was his bar and where his crew hung out. Gene had played motorcycle club plenty of times to know the truth. Renegade was the apex predator at that place.

He wasn’t just involved.

He was likely at the top of the food chain. In fact, Gene would bet his next round of hot sex with his Native man on it.

“I’ll ask nicely, and if he lies, I’ll beat it out of him for Corbin.”

Ethan could tell his partner was NOT kidding about that either.

Gene continued.

“This is like a normal stakeout, but we have a cleanup crew. There’s no doubt in my mind that the masked military guy is watching us watch them. I feel like I’m under the microscope.”

Ethan didn’t argue that.

“Marines are thorough,” he admitted. “He had a Marine flag on the back of his arm. I saw it peeking out by his elbow tattoo.”

Yeah, Gene had seen it too.

“He definitely had a lot of ink on him,” he stated. “His chest had some tats. They were peeking out by the collar of his shirt.”

Someone was observant.

Now, Ethan was staring at him but saying nothing. Gene could feel that speculative gaze, and it made him curious as to why.

“What?” he asked, suspecting he knew.

“Oh, I don’t know. I just happen to know you like lots of ink, and I was wondering how hot you thought he was.”

Gene laughed.

“Not as hot as the prickly Native man who is thinking I am attracted to masked men. Your body is ridiculous. I’d be an idiot to look elsewhere. I know where my happy place is. It’s below that Raven tattoo and above your thighs, just down the treasure trail.”

Ethan snorted.

“Glad I can make you happy.”

Oh, Ethan’s naked body made him more than happy.

Giddy.

Joyous.

Excited.

And that was just to name a few words to describe how he felt when his partner stripped down.

When they saw a guy leaving Renegade’s, they both slid down in their seats, just in case, but they kept talking because they could multitask.

“I can’t help it. I happen to like your body. You’re carved and sleek. That’s my favorite thing in the world. Like you and the hookers proved, everyone has a type. I’m yours, and you’re mine.”

That he was.

Blackhawk was grateful he understood that, and he wasn’t stressed about him falling out of love with him.

Ethan peeked out above the dashboard. As he did, the man got on a motorcycle and rode away. There was no doubt he was insane since it was pretty chilly outside—seeing it was winter and all.

“I think we’re good,” Ethan admitted, sitting up. “That guy who just left is in the packet of pictures,” he offered.

Now, they had to wait a few minutes to make sure there weren’t any more people leaving Renegade’s house.

Since they had time…

Gene was curious. Since the hooker fiasco, as he was calling it, Gene wanted to know more about what was in Ethan’s head.