Three A.M
When the call came in, Gene had been out cold in bed. The pain pills had knocked his ass out, and he’d stayed like that for a good five hours. That worked in his advantage because any less time than that, and he would have been high as a kite.
Hell.
He was still a little high.
When he heard his phone, it had sounded so far away, as did the voice answering it. Opening his eyes, he saw the alarm clock on the nightstand, and his man missing from bed.
That alarmed him more than anything.
Only, after waking up for a few seconds, he found Ethan at the little table not far away, laptops open, and working as Gene slept. He was currently on the phone, Gene’s phone, taking a call.
It took all he had to pull himself together.
Oh, the meds clouded his brain, and he was confused.
Then, he recalled the evening, and how he must have passed out after they’d shared cake.
Shit.
That probably was a mistake. It was clear that the man he loved had been up all night, carrying the weight of their team while he’d been passed the fuck out.
Damn.
It.
When Ethan hung up, Gene knew. It was the look on his partner’s face.
They were going to have another body.
He’d bet money on it.
“That was the detective,” he said, still using his phone to text the location to the FBI ME and forensics team that had arrived yesterday. “Dispatch called. The park has a little gift for us, and they think it’s ours because it’s a woman, and she’s skinned.”
Well, shit.
That was most definitely ours.
“We have to get there,” Ethan said, heading toward the coffee pot and hitting the button to brew a quick pot for them. Well, mostly for Gene. He was going to be drugged up still, and it was a good thing Ethan had only had one glass of wine.
“Okay,” Gene said, trying to focus. He was shaking his head and struggling. “How long was I asleep, EJ?” he asked. “And did you get to rest?”
Ethan looked at his watch.
“We were talking, and I lost you right around the cuddling after we had cake. I took a two-hour nap and then decided to do some work so we’d be ready for today,” he stated.
Gene immediately began apologizing, and the whole time, Ethan was staring at him like he’d lost his mind.
“I couldn’t stay awake…”
Ethan stopped him.
“Gene, you had surgery less than a week ago. It’s okay. I knew you were going to pass out. I’m not upset.”
Gene hesitated.
“Babe, really,” Ethan said. “I took a cat nap next to the bear rug, and then, I woke up thinking about the case. I’ve been profiling and dealing with the stuff we needed to handle. There was no way I was leaving all the research to the detective. I like to make sure we don’t miss anything.”
