He.
Was.
Bored.
Okay, and the lives of his agents were his responsibility. He basically sweated blood to keep them safe, and the two men were way too cavalier.
“Yes,” he said. “You know the rules. I’ve decided that it’s too much of a risk. Mr. Cantrell will be fine without you. It’s my way or the highway, Blackhawk. You could have been honest, but you two opted to lie to me. Do you think I wouldn’t check to see if you caught a flight back?”
Oh, God.
The panic was messing with him.
Gabe continued.
“You caused a shitstorm with Javier Hughes, and I had your back over that video. Do you know how pissed the director was when he found out? I’ve been spending way too much time protecting both of you, especially since you lied to me. Part ofbeing a team is trust. Had you come to me, and been honest, this would be a different conversation.”
No, it wouldn’t have been.
Ethan was smart enough to know that. Now, though, he was fighting for the calm. His whole world was falling apart, and he wanted to puke.
He.
Was.
Losing.
Gene.
He fought as hard as he could.
“The director is crooked. When are we going to talk about that pink elephant in the room? When?” Ethan asked. “Do you think I give a shit about what that piece of garbage who is aligned with Javier Hughes thinks?”
Gabe was watching his prey, and while he was angsty, the fight wasn’t there. He expected the man to argue this until the cows came home.
That made an agent weak. If you wanted something, you fought hard, and dirty.
Ethan didn’t have it in him.
He was nervous and crumbling.
That told him one thing.
Sasha hadn’t lied.
They were a couple, and he’d managed to catch the infallible Ethan Blackhawk off of his game. Had they been on their game, they would have had a backup plan.
Clearly, they didn’t.
“We know that, Agent, but you made it more difficult on yourself. You’re inSan Juanuntil further notice.”
Ethan stood up.
“You can’t punish me like this. I’m a good agent. Gene is a great agent. We solve everything we get our hands on. This isn’t cool, Director.”
Oh, he saw him get a little fire back, and Gabe expected quite the battle.
“Rules are rules. Are you going to deny it?” he asked. “Are you going to say you’re not a couple?”
