Page 41 of Abducted

A warm, fuzzy feeling expanded in his chest.

“Shit, you’re not going to kiss me, are you? Bro, don’t make this awkward.”

Cal elbowed him and laughed.

“He’s getting soft. I kind of like this side of him, though.” Nate stood and cleared the table.

“Shut the fuck up, you two.” Cal followed Ethan out with a shake of his head.

They took Ethan’s truck to the hotel, just in case anyone was looking for them—surely they were by now. Cal had left Nate his keys so he could move his vehicle into one of the garage bays. He climbed in the passenger seat and Ethan backed out.

“You’re not worried about Nate coming on to Lana, are you?” Ethan asked, his tone concerned.

Cal shook his head. “Like I said, I trust him. Both of you. Nate can be an idiot, but I know he would never overstep like that.”

“Aha.” Ethan grinned at him.

“What?”

“You’ve staked your claim. You just admitted it.”

Cal let out a long sigh. “What is it with you guys lately?”

Ethan shrugged, the ridiculous smile still on his face. “It’s about time, that’s all.”

“Me? It’s about time for me? Unbelievable.” He rubbed his jaw. “You’ve been pining over Brittany for what? Three years? And Nate has a different woman in his bed every night.”

“Two years. And I haven’t been ‘pining’, you make me sound pathetic.”

“Not pathetic. Sad, though,” Cal said as Ethan’s hands tightened on the steering wheel.

“Can we not talk about it?”

Cal nodded. Regret knotted his stomach. He’d hoped Ethan would have been ready for the friendly nudge, but it was something he would need to do on his own.

They pulled up to the hotel and parked. Ethan turned to him. “I think I should go in and get your things. They’ll be looking for the person involved in the murder.”

“Good thinking. They’ve probably pulled the tapes by now.” Cal passed him the room key.

“They don’t have your credit card on file, do they?”

“Don’t worry. I didn’t register under my real name.”

Ethan disappeared. Cal kept his head low and waited. Ethan was a good man. He would give the shirt off his back for anyone. He hated seeing his friend suffer, but hell. It was a personal battle. Nate had tried getting him out to socialize, hoping he would get laid and move on. Instead, he’d gotten drunk and cried. It had been fucking depressing as shit.

He shook his head. Why the hell was he worrying about Ethan’s relationship status? Maybe Nate and Ethan were right and he was getting soft. Was that such a bad thing?

Christ. All he could think about was Lana. She’d monopolized his mind since the moment Stamos had showed him her picture, and now he was damn near obsessed. He scrubbed his hands over his face. It wasn’t lust. The guys were right about that much. He’d been in lust a million times before. One good lay got that out of his system. Not this time.

The smell of her hair, the way she laughed, the feisty spark in her eyes, and her smoking-hot body—every damn thing about her drove him wild. He’d never get enough. But he didn’t want anyone else, either.

He only wanted Lana.

The back door opened. “Got everything.” Ethan dropped their bags in the back and got in the driver’s side.

“Any luck tracking Will?” Cal asked as they eased out of the parking lot.

Ethan made a face, and disappointment burned in Cal’s chest. No, they couldn’t be wrong about this. If they were, they had jack shit.

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