Page 67 of Sticks and Stones
Well, he wasn’t going to like this.
Because the only‘BUG’Gene had was the one currently up his ass over what happened.
“The cop we help all of the time was hurt on an undercover operation. There’s some flesh peddling going on inPhilly, and he has three homicide victims, and was a victim himself.”
Gabe paused.
He didn’t like that.
Why?
Because he knew what trouble brewed behind the scenes inPhilly.
“Gabe?” Gene asked when the man said nothing. “Did you hear me?”
Oh, he did.
“I’m aware that there are murmurs of some shit going down regarding what you just said. What has the detective gotten himself into?” he asked, needing to know more.
Gene told him.
With Gabe, he was your best friend or your worst nightmare. If you left him in the dark, eventually, when he found out, he was going to boot your ass around the city for shits and giggles.
Since they were screwed already, because he knew about him and Ethan, he opted not to play‘fuck around and find out’.
“Corbin Price was assaulted undercover while trying to find a sex trafficking ring. The men’s bodies were found, and he was called in to help work it since he handles homicides.”
Gabe listened, and so far, he wasn’t hearing anything that made him believe that Ethan and Gene needed to wade into the local law’s jurisdiction.
“And?” he asked.
Gene went there.
“Unfortunately, during his investigation, he was sexually assaulted, dropped in a dumpster, and left for dead. By some miracle, he lived.”
And now he understood.
“Oh, shit,” Gabe said. “Is he okay?”
Was he?
They didn’t know about his mental well-being.
As for his physical well-being, what they did know was that he was beat to Hell and back.
Gene tried to be optimistic.
“He’ll live, but I want to work the case he was on so I can figure out who assaulted him. Both Ethan and I feel like starting where he began will lead us there.”
Uh…
“To do what, exactly?” Gabe asked, reading between the lines as he made his agents prove they needed this case. It wasn’t that he disagreed, but if he gave away favors like candy, he’d have a line around the block.
That and he knew his agents.
Since he saw all of their psych evaluations, Gabe knew what would trigger them to cross lines.
Gabe knew what he’d do if someone he loved had been assaulted sexually by a killer.
