Page 93 of Sticks and Stones (FBI Romance/Thriller #65)

“We told him you were injured. We didn’t say anything else about the assault. We kept it vague. We need an ME’s help, and ours is out of the question,” he admitted. “Trust me. We’re in control.”

He hoped so.

Because he felt out of control.

“Do you need anything?” Ethan asked.

Corbin didn’t.

“No, I’m good. Will ran out to get some things to wear while he’s taking care of me this week.”

Ethan was glad.

“There’s a spare key in that drawer with your gun. You can give it to him, or better yet, put it on your key ring. It’s next to your wallet, badge, and gun.”

Honestly, he couldn’t bear to look them right now. Maybe later, he’d deal with it.

“We’ll be back as soon as we can. If you need me, Corby, or Gene, call us.”

Oh, he would.

“Ethan?”

He waited.

“Thank you for going to Will and telling him about it. Thank you for loving me enough that you’d risk me being angry over it.”

There was silence.

“Are you angry?” he finally asked. “Because I’m shit when it comes to relationships, Corbin. I did what I thought Gene would do. I hope I didn’t make you hate me for telling Will about what happened. I wanted to help you, because I could see how much he loves you, and how much you love him.”

He didn’t hate him.

In fact, it was the absolute opposite.

“I feel even more for the two of you. Thank you, EJ. I love you,” he said.

The man was grateful.

“We love you, too, Corbin,” he said, able to say it so much easier now than before Gene. “We’ll check-in. Stay safe,” he said, and then hung up.

Taking his phone, he went to sit on the couch to wait for Will. While he was sitting, he opened his phone, and saw that he had messages.

Opening the app, he read over them.

One was from his mother.

‘I love you, Corbin, and when you’re ready, let us know. We won’t pressure you and force you to face us. Just know that Dad and I are in your corner no matter what. Thank you for being my son. You’ve been nothing but my miracle. I love you.

Mom.’

It brought tears to his eyes.

Closing the message, he saw Will’s name, and he opened the messages. They’d been read, but not by him.

As soon as he read them, he started to cry. He’d almost given this up.

He’d almost let the man walk out of his life over his fears, and for that, he felt like an ass. He should have known Will would stick.

When he heard knocking on the door, he went to it, and peeked out the peephole.

It was Will.

When he opened it, the man smiled at him.

“Flower delivery for A Corbin Price,” he said, handing him a bunch of roses.

That caught him off guard.

“You don’t have to tip the delivery guy,” he teased, coming into the condo.

After he locked the door, and turned, he didn’t get to say anything before Corbin was on him.

Hugging him.

Will wrapped his arms around his waist, holding him as the man let that emotion out. It was clear that he’d been crying.

“Are you okay, Corby?”

Was he?

No.

“I’m so sorry that I nearly threw us away. I read your texts. You were desperate to find me.”

He knew he’d found his phone on the counter.

“Oh, Corby, of course, I’m going to look for you. Wouldn’t you look for me?”

He nodded.

When he lifted his head, Will wiped the tears on his cheeks with his chilly fingers.

“I’ll always look for you, Corbin,” Will said. “Until my dying day,” he promised.

Corbin was grateful for that.

Sniffing the roses, he liked them.

“These are a nice surprise. No one’s ever given me roses before,” he admitted.

Will grinned.

“Well, that’s my job. So, buckle up. You’re getting roses for the rest of our lives.”

That sounded like an amazing thing.

“But those aren’t the surprise,” Will said, holding up a bag filled with things.

He was curious.

“What do you have there?” he asked, following Will back into the living room.

“Have a seat, and I’ll show you,” he said.

Corbin did as he asked.

That’s when Will emptied out the bag. First, he handed him a pint of his favorite ice cream.

“I thought this would be easy to eat, so you can keep your calories up. Plus, it’ll soothe your mouth and throat,” he stated.

Corbin stared at it and then closed his eyes.

“Unless you don’t want it,” he said. “I can put it in the freezer. I’m sorry,” he offered.

When Corbin opened his eyes, the tears fell.

“They did so many horrible things to me,” he whispered. “I don’t know how I survived,” he said, his fingers going to his throat where the bruises were on his neck.

It didn’t take a genius to know why his mouth and throat were raw, or why he was in pain. They’d brutalized him.

Will sat beside him.

“I hope I can make you forget all of that one day,” Will admitted. “I hope that with time, and therapy, you’ll wake up one morning and the last thing on your mind will be how they hurt you.”

Corbin lifted his head.

“Are you sure you want to live the rest of your life chasing these demons?” he asked. “If you don’t, Will, I won’t be upset. I’ll understand.”

He put his fingers over his bruised and battered lips to stop him from speaking.

“Yes. I want to chase the demons, and hold your hand when it’s too much. I want you to need me, Corbin, because I need you. Had you died, I would have been lost. So let me chase. Let me fight for you. Just let me be here.”

Corbin picked up their joined hand, and he did something very Corbin-like.

He kissed their joined knuckles.

It was something Gene always did with Ethan, and something he never thought to do before seeing it. It was sweet, and it was special.

Will rested his forehead against Corbin’s.

“We have this.”

Corbin believed him.

“Promise me that you’ll never leave me,” he whispered. “Promise you’ll stay with me so I can fight this,” he asked.

Will didn’t hesitate.

“I promise.”

That was all Corbin needed to hear.

“Then, I’ll promise to keep fighting to find me again, Will. I’ll fight to get back to you.”

He brushed some of his hair from his eyes.

“It’s a deal,” he said.

Corbin focused on the bag.

“What else did you bring?” he asked, pulling the ice cream closer to him.

Ice cream did sound good.

Will smiled.

“Close your eyes and put out your hand. This is your surprise.”

Corbin did what he asked, and when something was put in his hands, he opened them.

It made him laugh.

“Clue?”

Will wiggled his eyebrows.

“Yep.”

That amused Corbin.

“Going to take advantage of me while I’m not at my best?”

Will was amused.

“I thought more so that we could get really good at it and dethrone Gene. He’s too damn smug about being the best.”

Corbin didn’t mind that.

He’d love a little normalcy back.

When Will got up, he brought him a spoon back from the kitchen. Then, he sat beside him so they could both have ice cream.

“Thank you, Will,” he said.

He didn’t need to thank him.

Not.

At.

All.

It was, after all, his privilege to be part of this wonderful man’s life.

“What wouldn’t I do for you, Corbin? I’d die for you,” Will admitted.

Corbin knew that it was damn good to have people around him who would fight for him.

Because honestly, he couldn’t fight for himself.

Not anymore.

* * * Blackhawk & Cantrell * * *

Across The Country

California Airport

Arrival For Work

When Anthony Magnus got off of the flight, the first thing he did was turn on his phone. The second he did, the thing went insane.

He had fifteen missed calls, and twenty-nine text messages.

Immediately, he knew something was wrong, and his heart started pounding.

It had to be about Charlie.

Had something happened?

When he went to start reading his phone, someone came up beside him and grabbed it from his hand.

“HEY!” he began, looking over, and seeing Charlie standing there.

That immediately freaked him out.

The man was supposed to be back in DC, not on the opposite coast.

Then, it hit him.

“Oh, my God! What the hell did you do?” he asked.

Charlie was in pain, and he wanted to get to his daughter. The flight had been brutal, and he wasn’t having a good time. Granted, he slept most of the flight, but he had to avoid Tony, and that wasn’t easy.

The man had the bladder of a pregnant woman.

“Let’s just skip those messages, and you can take me to my daughter.”

Tony stared at him.

“How did you get on this flight?” he asked. “How did I not see you?”

Charlie rolled his eyes.

“I don’t have tits, Anthony. You flirted with every woman on this flight.”

He grinned.

“I mean, yeah, because I’m in my prime. You look like shit by the way.”

He handed his phone back to him.

“I’m sure Sam has called and texted. If you turn your phone back off, you can pretend you didn’t see them. He’s going to kick both of our asses.”

Wait.

What?

How did he get pulled into this? He literally got the man a coffee, saw he was at testing, and then hopped a flight.

“Again, how did you get here?”

Charlie started walking with Tony.

“I stole your credit card, booked a flight, and here I am. I’ll pay you back. If I used my card, Sam would have called Elizabeth, and she would have had the FBI turn that flight around.”

Oh, shit.

Elizabeth.

Tony knew she was going to think he was an accomplice. That meant one thing.

He.

Was.

Dead.

“She’s going to think this was all me,” he said. “Elizabeth is going to think I sprung your ass and brought you here. I’m getting disowned! I’m getting murdered!” he said loudly.

Charlie shushed him when people were staring at them.

“ SON ! Talk a little louder. We want the whole place to know what our business is.”

Tony was not happy.

“You did me dirty. I’m the one she’s going to blame, and I didn’t have anything to do with this,” he said. “She’s never going to believe I’m innocent since I’m never innocent. Oh, God, I’m going to get my ass kicked by an angry sister from another mister.”

Charlie rolled his eyes.

“You’re fine. She’d have to figure out that I stole your credit card to buy a flight.”

Tony was sick.