Despite that, Chris knew why she refused to tell Ivan anything.
“She loves you a lot,” he said. “You’re legitimately her brother from another mother. Elizabeth has a lot on her shoulders right now. She is trying to protect our kids, us, and you guys. Give her grace to do it. If she needs you, she’ll call for you, Ivan.”
Oh, he hoped that was an accurate statement.
From where he was pacing, Gene was curious.
“Aren’t you scared?” he asked the man. For one of Elizabeth’s husbands, he was irrationally calm.
Hell!
Gene wasn’t in that kind of a relationship with her, and he was scared shitless.
At his question, Chris laughed, and he sounded…exhausted.
“I’ve been doing this a lot longer than all of you. I was there when the carnival killer nearly drowned her to death. Breathing life back into her was a miracle. I was there when she went after not one, but three different mob men. That nearly ended fatally. I was there through it all in our youth. I’ve spent the majority of my life scared of what was going to rise up and bite us in the ass, and the antics she was going to pull out of her hat at any moment. Trust me. I know fear.”
Callen patted him on the leg.
“I don’t wish that on anyone.”
Yeah, Chris was aware.
He was the one legally married to Elizabeth, despite her being a Blackhawk, and being her husband was not easy.
Loving her was the simplest thing.
Watching her walk through fire…not fun.
It was terrifying.
She’d been blown up.
She’d been shot.
She’d been nearly killed.
All he could hope was that she managed to stay one step ahead of this crazy.
“We will get through this,” Chris said, trying to stay optimistic.
From his mouth to God’s ears.
Or the universe’s ears.
At this point, he hoped whoever was listening did them a solid favor and got them all through this in one piece.
When they heard footsteps, they all glanced over, and it was Ethan coming back into the room.
Behind Ethan, Gryphen was following him.
He was so close to the back of the man, in some states, they were breaking a few laws.
Sodomy ones.
Yeah, that’s how far up his ass Gryphen was.
Immediately, Gene headed toward his husband to see if he was okay. That would set the tempo for the rest of the day.
