Page 6 of Sticks and Stones (FBI Romance/Thriller #65)

“Or would you like to take a little ride with us to the local FBI office, and explain why when we said it was official FBI business, you thought it was a good time to block us from doing our job? Run her, Gene,” he said, playing bad cop.

“If she as much has a single skeleton in her closet, I’ll be notifying the hospital of that so she can find another job. ”

That worked.

The woman’s resolve failed, and she shared the information they wanted.

“He’s in room four twenty-five. I’ll alert the doctors and nurses at the station that the FBI is on its way up for a formal investigation.”

And there it was.

The bad cop won this round.

“Thank you,” Ethan said, as they both headed toward the elevators to take the ride up.

Once inside, Gene glanced over.

“It’s rare that you are bad cop,” he said. “Are you okay?” he asked.

Ethan was honest.

Why?

Because he wasn’t okay at all.

He had this irrational feeling of wrapping Corbin up and protecting him like he was their brother. His ability to be objective was out the window, and now, he was hellbent on helping their friend.

“I’m just worried about Corbin. If he’s hiding, he might not want to see us either.

Plus, I’m sickened over seeing him like this.

When I think of him, I think of good-natured Corby, the man who makes me laugh.

I want to hurt someone because they did this to him, and I’m not accustomed to feeling that way.

Normally, I can block it out and follow the rules. ”

Well, Gene understood that.

Yeah, he was worried about their baby detective, too, as well as being pissed that someone let him do an undercover stint when he couldn’t even close a serial killer case while playing cop.

“We just need to know what happened, and we’ll fix this,” he said, hoping it was actually fixable. “We won’t let him down.”

Ethan knew the truth.

Some things, unfortunately, weren’t fixable. He was hoping this wasn’t one of them.

As they got off of the elevator, there was a doctor waiting near the room, and they didn’t think it was a coincidence.

This had to be one of Corbin’s doctors, and he was ready to either stop them or update them.

“Gentlemen?” he asked, seeing their badges and guns on their hips.

They stopped and waited to figure out if Ethan was playing bad cop again.

“Are you here about Detective Price?” he asked.

Together, they nodded.

“Yeah, we’re here to investigate it. How is he?” Gene asked, trying to keep emotion out of it, for now.

They had to pull this off.

When the doctor sighed, they didn’t need an answer for that question. Instead, they pushed on.

“What happened?” he asked.

The doctor sighed.

“He’s short on the details when it comes to sharing with us, even though we’re just his medical staff.

All I know is a good Samaritan saw him at the mouth of an alley, naked, battered, and nearly frozen to death.

They got him here, and he was triaged in the ER and had his arm set.

It was broken. His shoulder was dislocated too.

That he pulled himself to the street is a miracle in itself. It had to be incredibly painful.”

Jesus.

Poor Corbin.

This made them even more worried about him.

The doctor was to the point.

“We know that he was beaten badly by looking at him, and we’re assuming that he was raped in the process.

His thighs are bruised, but he won’t let us do a kit.

His boss was here, and he tried to talk him into it, but he wouldn’t let him in either.

The detective is not handling it well, and that’s to be expected.

It’s also why we’re assuming he was raped.

Male victims SELDOM admit it to get help. ”

Yeah, they weren’t shocked.

Not.

At.

All.

Gene was pretty sure he wouldn’t admit it if he was assaulted like that.

“He’s combative,” the doctor admitted. “All that we know is someone, or a group of someones, did a number on him, and he won’t even let his own family in. I had to stop his mother, and she wasn’t happy. If she’s scaling the building, I wouldn’t be shocked.”

Oh, well, they bet.

Alice was…Alice.

You couldn't keep her away from her only child on a good day.

When he was hurt?

Yeah, no.

It was only a matter of time before she got through the line of doctors and nurses. Gene wouldn’t be shocked if she was at home, looking for her old badge to try and get in that way.

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

The doctor continued.

“I need you both to talk him into a kit. Like I said, we were able to do a preliminary visual exam, but he’s not letting us do a full exam. He’s being hostile, and I don’t want to upset him more. He’s the victim in this, and we have to remember that.”

Yeah, they didn’t want to do that either.

All of this made Ethan want to rage that someone did this to Corbin. He was theirs, and now, he had to make sure he was okay.

Gene was honest.

“Well, we’ll do what we can. I can’t promise that he’ll submit to the rape kit, but we’ll try,” Gene offered. “You know how it is with victims. That shame is there.”

Oh, the doctor was aware.

“Since you’re officially handling this case, you can go in. That’s it, though. If his mother shows up, I have to keep her out. The detective wants NO ONE in there.”

They got it.

Corbin might get upset that they were seeing him like this, but that was a chance they’d have to take.

For.

Him.

As the man headed away, Gene kept his voice low as he clued his partner in. They weren’t officially handling this, but they would be.

Soon.

“Can you talk to him? I want to call Greyson and let him know what’s going on, and see if he can help me tag team Gabe. We’re absolutely going to work this.”

Ethan nodded.

“Yeah, make the call. I’ll see if I can get Corbin to talk to me. We really need that kit, Gene, but I don’t have it in me to make him. When I woke up after what David Neives did, I didn’t want it either.”

He was aware.

Only, what Ethan didn’t know was that they swabbed him before he woke up. They also tested the condom that Corbin managed to get before their backup had arrived.

“Good luck,” Gene said, pulling out his phone to make a call into their other friend.

They had a good chance he would help.

Greyson liked Corbin, so he was pretty sure the man would go to bat for him if he heard about this situation.

In a heartbeat.

Ethan approached the room door, peering inside. The lights were off, and the blinds were closed.

Ethan could tell that Corbin was in the bed. There was a lump covered with blankets.

After closing the door behind him, Ethan moved closer, and he could see that the detective was curled into the fetal position.

That broke his heart.

At the side of the bed, he saw the man tense when he sensed he wasn’t alone.

“Hey, Corby,” Ethan said, softly. “It’s EJ.”

Immediately, the man began shaking, and Ethan could hear the soft sobs from under the blankets. Listening to him sob was devastating.

Ethan went into protection mode.

“I’m here now, Corby,” he offered, not touching him because he wasn’t sure what that contact would do in this situation.

They’d dealt with rape victims before when they worked in vice, and for a man…

This was damn difficult.

Even though Corbin was gay, this was a violation of his body. They’d have to tread lightly and let him set the pace when it came to contact.

Ethan crouched down, and kept his voice low.

“We heard what happened, Corby. Tell me how I can help you, and I will. Tell me what I can do to protect you, and I’ll make sure that happens.”

There was nothing, and Ethan really believed he wasn’t going to talk to him.

Then, it happened.

Slowly, his hand slid out from under the blanket, and Ethan got it. Corbin was going to give them the chance to fight for him.

Without a word, Ethan took his hand, and Corbin held it. He clung to him, and Ethan didn’t mind the least. In fact, he wanted him to.

They’d protect him now.

“It’s going to be okay, Corbin. I swear it is. Gene and I are here. He’ll be right in.”

Corbin had no intention of letting anyone see him like this, but the second he heard Ethan’s voice, he knew he had to trust someone.

He was putting his faith in the two men who had never let him down.

Still holding his hand, he reached for a chair not far away, and pulled it closer so he could be at eye level with Corbin if he came out of his tent of blankets.

Blackhawk could see the dried blood on his hands, and he was scared shitless to see Corbin.

Why?

Because he knew what rage lived in him on a good day, and this would really piss him off.

On a bad day…

He could be a dick. Whoever did this to Corbin wasn’t getting away with it.

“I don’t know how to process this,” Corbin whispered. “I don’t know how they knew I was a cop,” he added, not shocked that they’d gotten around the doctors and nurses.

Honestly, he had hope they’d come. At that moment, Corbin needed them.

To reassure the man, Ethan squeezed his hand.

“Do you think someone made you, or do you think someone burned your cover?” he asked, since Corbin brought it up.

Honestly, Corbin didn’t know.

So, he didn’t answer.

Ethan ran his thumb over Corbin’s pulse, as he sat beside the bed. It was erratic, and he understood why.

Corbin had been through a lot.

Only, Ethan needed to push a little, so he could assess the situation for them.

“How about you let me see you?” Ethan asked, knowing that would be the first step. “So I can figure out my next steps to help you.”

It took him a good minute to answer, but finally, he did.

“Okay,” he whispered, knowing he could trust Ethan to read the room and know what to do, and what not to do.

Pity.

Him.

Honestly, he couldn't bear it. Already, Corbin was pitying himself plenty.

And blaming himself.

Anymore and he’d slide deeper into the pit, and never get out.

Pulling the cord behind the bed, the light went on in just that area, and Ethan was able to see the bed better. Then, he slowly pulled the blanket down to reveal Corbin beneath it.

And HOLY SHIT .