Like now.
“I will be,” he said, knowing he needed to say something, or his partner was calling the Blackhawks to get him a psych evaluation.
From his spot behind the wheel, Alex wasn’t sure how to help him.
Reaching over, he put his hand on his leg, and tried to comfort him. He knew what it felt like to be lost in a storm.
“If you want to talk it out, I’m here to listen,” he said. “I’m here for you, Corbin.”
He didn’t look down at his hand on his thigh, but he wanted to, and for a myriad of reasons.
It was the little licks of pleasure that radiated from where he touched him that scared him stupid.
Instead, he kept staring out the window, that mantra in his head berating him over and over again.
‘Will died because of you. Don’t make someone else a victim.’
He took a deep breath.
“I don’t need to talk it out, but thanks,” he said, as the man parked the car on the side of the road that led down past the railroad tracks and the location of the homeless encampment.
At the icy tone in his voice, Alex moved his hand.
“Okay, partner,” he said, hoping the man understood that if he needed to talk, he would always be there. “Want me to handle this alone?”
There was no answer, but his actions spoke loudly.
Instead, Corbin got out.
Okay, then.
Immediately, he headed toward the trees, and down the incline, forcing Alex to jog to catch up.
Yeah, something was eating at this man.
So, he didn’t let up. That’s exactly what Noah did when Alex was floundering.
“Getting shit off your chest can make you feel better,” he stated.
Corbin hated that Will always said that to him. Mostly because he was right, but also because Alex was starting to sound a little too much like a man he desperately missed.
And loved.
Hanging onto his memory was all he had left because there was no way he could have that love again.
Especially with his partner—who wasn’t gay.
“I don’t want to talk about it, Alex. Really,” he said. “You wouldn’t understand. No one ever does.”
He didn’t know what that meant, but he knew how to back off. Later, he was going to have to talk to Elizabeth. She’d asked him to keep an eye on Corbin, and now, he was suspecting this had something to do with it.
He was also going to do some research.
Something was up, and he’d been an agent long enough to know that.
As they cleared the trees, he saw a couple homeless people’s tents, and their things gathered around them.
As soon as they approached, one shouted to alert the others—and for no reason.
