That was stressful to the max, but then, add in this trip back, and having to leave Ethan behind…
Oh, the Blackhawks weren’t Blackhawking well this month.
That was for sure.
Yeah, this was pushing their family to the limits, and that was always worrisome. Oh, she had faith in her family, and thelove that bound them together, but sometimes, things were just a little too much.
Like the last month.
Deep down, Elizabeth knew this return to the city for Gene was going to be rough because he was silently sitting beside her.
Normally, he’d have a book, or he’d be chatty Cathy, but not now. He was staring out the jet window, and had the weight of the world on his shoulders.
That told her everything she needed to know.
This might just be the two, in the one-two punch, that kept the man down.
Gene was one of the toughest men she knew. He loved fiercely, he fought tirelessly, and he cared endlessly, but he was fraying at the seams.
Even she could see that.
Now, Gene was about to face down old demons, and she needed him to do it so that they could put this part of his past behind him and move on.
He wanted to marry Ethan, and there was clean-up on aisle ex-relationship first.
The lesser priority was so that Thomas Bernard would finally leave The Hunters alone.
The more important reason was to make sure that this man was really over his ex before he had a ceremony with Ethan.
He couldn’t be a runaway groom on the day of the wedding. She’d have to hunt him down, kick his ass, and get mean if he hurt Ethan.
And no one liked her mean.
NO.
ONE.
When the silence between them was giving her anxiety, she went there.
“Want to talk about it?” she finally asked, broaching the subject once and for all.
It was the best time to do this.
They had privacy.
In the back of the jet, Ivan, Raphael, and Gunny were having something to eat as they stayed back to give her space to deal with this.
Turning his head, Gene stared at her.
“I don’t know where to even start when it comes to talking about it,” he admitted. “All I know is the closer we get to this city, the more nervous I get. I feel twitchy as fuck.”
Oh, she wasn’t shocked there.
To help soothe him, Elizabeth took his hand in hers, and held it.
She loved Gene, and they had become close in the last few months. The man was sweet, kind, and part of her family.
Only, she was in a precarious position here.
