This was the burden of being the boss.
“No, it won’t be a problem. I can juggle the teams,” she said, and both Callen and Gene were staring at her because they knew.
She.
Just.
Lied.
Oh, it was a huge pain in her ass, but she knew Ethan and Gene had special ties to this man.
The circle was getting bigger and while she loved that, she also hated it. It was a juggling act.
Corbin was grateful.
He needed to avoid Alex, even though he was a damn good partner, and he loved working with him. He was a constantreminder of what he lost, and what he’d never be free to have again.
It was too much.
“Thank you,” he said.
Elizabeth needed to know.
“Will you be okay?” she asked.
He nodded.
“I just need to get my mind off of that, and get into a room where I’m alone.”
She glanced over at Callen, and he knew what she wanted. It was time to book another room. The last thing she wanted was Alex to go at Corbin, and he knew the man well enough that he’d do exactly that.
Not in violence, but to figure out what had happened. Alex would assume it was his fault, and it would be a mess.
“Can you get him into a room?” she asked.
He nodded.
“Yep.”
He pulled out his phone and went into an app to do just that.
Now, Elizabeth had to decide if she wanted him working in this state, and she didn’t. She was going to be down two people, but that was more than okay.
The detectives were detective-ing.
“Take the rest of the night off,” she said.
Corbin protested.
“You need our update about what we found out,” he said. “I can work.”
She stopped him.
“Corbin, you’re off your game. No offense, but if I want to stay ahead of this, I need everyone ready to go. Get some sleep, and we’ll regroup tomorrow. If you can’t, I understand.”
He was so grateful.
Elizabeth wasn’t done.
