Since this whole mess began withThe Grave Robber, Ethan had been off.
Hell.
Everyone had been off.
That was a problem in their world. Because they all worked together, and as a finely tuned machine, when one part of the whole was a mess, they were all a mess.
Ethan wasn’t sleeping.
He wasn’t eating.
He was filling his days with being a Shaman, but you could tell his whole heart wasn’t in it.
And Gene was worried not only about him, but about Elizabeth, too. The last thing he wanted was for her to be hurt. He’d come to love her more than he’d ever thought possible.
They had a history of friendship, but now, they had a path of love.
She mattered to him.
“I’m worried about how this is going to derail him. I know what he’s thinking. He made the choice to stay here, and he’s going to carry this.”
Chris tried to reassure him.
Hopefully, they all made it through this unscathed, but he was beginning to see the cracks in their family.
And that scared him.
“It will be okay, Gene. Ethan will get back on his feet. This just sideswiped him. It caught us all off guard. It’s not easy being on lockdown.”
Ivan was not far away.
Oh, and he had news for them.
“If you think that’s difficult, imagine burying someone you love. I suggest everyoneSTAYon lockdown. We’re down two Archangels while they are on Elizabeth protection. Don’t make me get mean.”
Callen was curious.
So, he had to ask.
“Where is she right now?”
That was a damn good question.
He shrugged.
“She’s been given the greenlight by the president to fly off the radar. So, her jet is not trackable. If that wasn’t annoying enough, she’s turned off her trackers, and so has Raph and Uriel. They won’t tell me shit,” he said, sitting not far away.
Truth be told, Ivan looked like hell warmed over.
He was covered in lacerations that were scabbed over, and his face was bruised from the blowback last week when Devon tried to yeet them off the planet.
If that wasn’t enough, there was no doubt he was stressed about not being near Elizabeth to protect her.
“Ethan will know,” Gene admitted. “There’s no way his bestie will keep that from him,” he added. “Raph will spill it, so he doesn’t stress. I’ll bet big money on that. He can’t help himself when it comes to keeping Ethan calm.”
Ivan shrugged.
“Well, you’d think he’d tell me—HIS ACTUAL BOSS. All I know is that I complained about not being with her, and she wasn’t having it. She claimed it’s classified, which we all know is Elizabeth for fuck off.”
