Page 315 of Sticks and Stones
“Will, I was going to call,” he said. “I just don’t have my phone.”
Uh-oh.
Ethan knew he forgot to do something. He should have given Corbin his phone so he could read the text messages.
Shit.
Now it didn’t seem like a good time.
Standing toe-to-toe with Corbin, Will stared into his eyes. The man he loved, his handsome detective, was a mess. His one tooth was missing, another was broken, and his face looked like he’d been punched repeatedly. On his arm, there was a black cast.
“Why didn’t you call me from one of their phones?” he asked, glancing back at Gene. “Since they clearly knew where you were.”
Uh-oh.
Gene was in trouble along with Ethan. They’d hid him out, and were protecting him.
Only, Corbin got his attention.
“Will, they did what they did for me. I asked them not to tell you where I was,” he said.
When he faced Corbin, Will didn’t care anymore. As long as he had him back. It had been a rough two days without him.
“It’s okay.”
Was it?
No.
It would never be okay again. Corbin knew he had to do the worst thing in the world to save himself, and protect Will.
So, he dropped the bomb.
“It’s all my fault because I was trying to get the nerve up to break up with you. I need to say goodbye.”
Oh, shit.
Corbin was taking the lonely path, and this was going to blow up.
The men who were protecting him knew this was bad.
On top of that, it was uncomfortable.
Both Gene and Ethan couldn’t escape because they knew Corbin might need them.
At his words, it was like a sucker punch.
This had been what he was afraid of, and here it was, coming to life. Corbin’s father told him not to worry, but he’d been wrong.
Here came the end.
Will closed his eyes, and then opened them again. When he did, there were tears in them.
“I see.”
Corbin hated this, and it hurt so badly. Only, he was a bad bet now. He couldn't even bear to be touched. It was taking all he had to face Will like this. All he could hope was he’d forgive him one day.
To make it worse, he said the worst words in the whole world, other than goodbye.
