Page 55 of Sticks and Stones (FBI Romance/Thriller #65)

Or his libido.

“Why do you like a bear?” he inquired. “Is it really the cuddle factor, like your new friends the strippers said or is there more?” he asked curiously. “Asking because I want to make sure I keep my man interested.”

Ethan had been digging through the packet of pictures to play ‘match the scumbag to a name’ , but at Gene’s question, he contemplated a serious answer.

Honestly, he was just attracted to him. The heart loved who the heart loved, right?

Maybe it was because he was accustomed to big men. His brother Callen was bigger than him. Oh, they were the same height, but genetics had given Callen a big, broad chest and massive hands.

It could be that familiarity.

Ethan didn’t have a lot of men he was attracted to, so he was just going with his libido. If it showed up at the party, he wasn’t stopping it. The bottom line was that Gene turned him on, and he’d learned that sex was more than just to get aggression out.

It was fun.

It was to make a connection.

It was about love.

The bottom line was that Gene got him all worked up, and that was a good thing in his world. Then, he wasn’t overthinking anything.

“That’s part of it,” Ethan admitted, “but I also like your size. There’s something cathartic about being next to you, naked in bed. I’m trying to be intuitive,” he admitted.

His partner was listening.

“I overthink things, so I’m trying to go with what makes me feel good. Your size does that. When you wrap yourself around me, I feel safe,” Ethan admitted.

Gene knew that the man had come a long way from ten months ago when they began dating.

He was open.

He shared his needs and desires.

Ethan was an amazing partner.

Blackhawk continued.

“When I just feel, I’m safer. There are things about you that I have never experienced before.”

Gene was curious.

“Like what?”

Blackhawk shared some of the things that made him happiest. Things he didn’t think he could live without.

“I’ve never curled up with someone who has chest hair. What I’ve learned is that I love the way your chest hair tickles my body. It feels amazing against my nipples when we’re pressed together,” he admitted.

Gene let him talk, and in that moment, he knew they would be okay for the rest of their lives. The man he loved was opening up and sharing.

The walls were all the way down.

That was a gift to Gene, and he’d always treasure it.

“I’m not weak by any means, but there’s something about your strength. Like when you just toss me over your shoulder, my libido turns on. I’m not small, and there aren’t many people who can hoist my six-foot-five frame over their shoulder so easily.”

Well, if he liked it, Gene would keep doing it.

“So, I guess I love how strong you are and how new that is for me,” he added. “Normally, I’m an ass man, but you have really amazing arms. They are strong and thick. That gets me all hot and bothered.”

He ran the search.

“I also like your dick. The size of it gives me goosebumps, and trying to swallow it gets me off.”

Now, Gene was overheating.

“It’s damn difficult keeping my hands off of you,” he admitted. “I want you all of the time, EJ.”

Thank God for that.

“Then, let’s get this handled, and maybe we can use that hotel room before we go home. We have to get our guns anyway.”

That they did.

Gene focused so they could wrap this up.

“Did you have a name for the guy who just left Renegade’s place?” he asked.

Ethan nodded and showed him.

“His real name is Miles Radcliff, but he goes by the biker name, Bullet. I wonder why?” he asked, showing Gene the picture and then his rap sheet that he pulled up on the encrypted laptop.

It was LONG .

On top of that, every offense involved a weapon of some sort. He’d been tagged for assault with a deadly. Sexual deviant behavior with a weapon. Kidnapping with a weapon, and then his favorite, the man pistol-whipped a nun.

Yeah, this scumbag was a gem.

“Well, someone needs better friends,” Gene joked.

Wasn’t that the truth?

“He might be involved,” Ethan admitted. “The masked dude said they didn’t open the bar, so the cockroaches are hiding in the shadows.”

That they were.

Now, they just needed to get Renegade to sing, sharing the names involved in this whole mess. There was NO way that he wasn’t involved.

Why would he be laying low then?

“If the guy who left is involved, we’ll catch him at his place,” Ethan admitted. “We have his address thanks to the CIA.”

Yeah, they did.

“Well, they are helpful more than not,” Gene offered.

Now, it was all about incapacitating them so they could be questioned.

Going forward, Gene knew they had to be careful.

“Okay, let’s see if we can breech the house,” he offered, knowing that the minute the man saw them, he was going to be a dick. Corbin blew their cover, and he was pretty sure Renegade held a grudge.

Call it a hunch.

Together, they headed out, making sure they locked up the car. When they got to the man’s yard, they slipped around the house, making sure to stay close.

When Gene peeked inside, he saw Renegade was alone and on the phone.

Well, this was their best opportunity.

The minute he hung up, they’d make their move and not before then. They didn’t need him alerting anyone.

In the back of the house, Ethan pointed. Two metal Bilco doors led to a basement.

It looked as if they were going to break in through the back.

Quietly, they lifted the metal door, and thankfully, it didn’t make any noise.

Then, they walked down the steps toward the basement’s outer door.

Using his little flashlight, Gene shined it on the doorknob, and Ethan got to work. He picked the lock so fast that Gene was impressed.

Only, this wasn’t the time to talk. They couldn't risk being heard.

When the door was opened, they moved through the darkness. They heard a dryer running, and it looked like Renegade was doing laundry. Well, at least the sound would muffle any noise they made.

At the stairs, they climbed them, with Gene making sure that Ethan was behind him. He was using his body to protect his partner, just in case the man pulled the basement door open. He’d take Renegade down as quickly as he could if that happened.

As they listened, Ethan tapped him, and Gene knew why.

Someone was talking up a storm on the phone.

So, they listened.

“Nah, I’m staying in. Cash kept the bar closed just in case.

The five of us are laying low for the time being.

The cops were in the alley today, and we don’t want to risk it.

They were nosing around after that cop. Someone must have seen the body and called the police.

Tomorrow, we’re going to move out for a while. ”

That made Gene curious.

How did they know that?

Had someone been watching the place?

Those were questions he hoped to get the answers to as they talked to the man.

And by talk, he meant forcefully.

From the room, there was silence, and they knew Renegade was likely listening to whatever the person on the phone was saying.

“Yeah, we fucked him up to the point he couldn’t have survived that. It’s not in the news whether he’s dead or not, but we ain’t taking chances. All we know is that he wasn’t in the alley this morning, and the cops were there today. That has to mean someone found him.”

He laughed, and as he did, Gene wanted to punch him so hard his fist left an indentation in the asshole’s head. They thought it was funny that they dumped a living, breathing human in a dumpster like he was trash?

What the fuck?

Unfortunately for Renegade, the asshole kept asshole-ing.

“We headed to his place when we found his wallet in the car. All of us partied there, too.”

Now, they had him admitting to more crimes.

Attempted homicide.

Theft.

Breaking and entering…

Oh, they were screwed.

“I fucked one of the pieces of ass that the boss is shipping out next. That stuff is sweet, I’m telling you. He was more than happy to take dick. I thought doing it in the cop's bed was ironic. My only regret was that we couldn’t use the stuff on the cop. He would have been begging for more.”

From where they stood, Ethan and Gene were both pissed.

This man was a piece of shit.

“Nah, we used him up, and filled his belly with balloons. It’s so much easier to use the drug on them, and when they’re begging for sex, they’ll willingly swallow the goods.”

Ethan and Gene were learning a lot.

“The buyer picked him up this morning. That old rich dude is going to be enjoying his goods. As for the rest, tell the boss, if he calls, to give us a few days, and we’ll transport the men to their next stop.

We’ll get them packed full of product. We just gotta get those asses loosened up first. I wish the cop didn’t break so easily.

I would have liked to ship him off like he deserved. ”

He laughed, but he was the only one laughing. Gene and Ethan definitely were not.

“Nomad got a little rough and broke his arm while fucking him. You know how the buyers don’t like the merchandise damaged. He was garbage at that point.”

There was more chuckling.

And it was clear that the man was sick.

Gene was shaking with rage, and Ethan knew that Mario was about to meet his worst nightmare.

“Yeah, I know he’s in a hurry, but we get to fuck them first. That’s the deal.

Then, we’ll pack them full of Snow and have them at their next location to be used up by buyers.

They’ll be begging for more with just a little hit of that shit.

I let that one go wild on me last night, and it was the best sex I’ve ever had, minus the cop who fought.

I love it when they fight, and finally, they cry when you break them. ”

Ethan looked at Gene.

That was what they needed.

Renegade just admitted to the drugs, someone being sold, and what he did to Corbin.

Judgment day was coming for the man.

Now, they’d wait.