Oh, well, he was good with that.
Gene hauled ass out of there because he had his own issues at that moment. The pain pill had kicked in, and he wanted to ask a million questions.
Ill-timed ones.
To make this easier, Ethan sat down on the shower floor with his brother against him.
“I’m sorry,” Callen whispered over and over again.
Well, it all made sense.
Every single moment of their childhood. The times he’d wake up against Callen in his embrace. He knew then too. Ethan had just pushed it deep.
What they’d felt was always there.
Someone had been his other half for all of those years. When he’d walked in and seen Callen fucking Kaya, in their youth, now he got why he left.
He had felt cheated on.
But not by the whore.
By Callen.
“We’re going to get you dressed, and you’re coming with me, okay?”
Callen was at his mercy. He couldn’t even think straight.
“Please don’t hate me.”
Ethan didn’t.
“I will never hate you. It’s okay. We have to get you out of here. Kaya will keep coming back, and I can’t stay here. I have a case.”
Callen put his big hand on Ethan’s face.
“Don’t come back,” he whispered. “Run and never return, EJ. I can’t let this disease spread.”
And now, Ethan understood why he’d said it. He was saving him.
From that truth.
Because of the truth, Blackhawk knew he wouldn’t be back. Not until he could make sure those feelings were gone, and there was no chance of them coming back.
Half-brothers absolutely couldn’t be doing bed-time together.
“I can’t now, CJ. Now that you told me, I can’t come back because we can’t. We can’t be no matter what we feel, we can’t take that path.”
Callen stared into his eyes.
“Did you feel anything?” he whispered, trying to focus.
Oh, he could have lied.
It would have been easier for him, but harder for Callen. Only, he’d just said he didn’t want to run from things, and that meant facing down the scary moments.
Ethan just nodded, sharing the truth with him.
Oh, now he realized he did. That was the worst part of all of this. He understood what made him want to come back here. He knew deep down why Callen was the lure.
