Catch A Tiger By The Tail (THIRDS 6)

Calvin sighed. “This is about me. I’m sure of it.”

Sloane shook his head. “This is about all of us. We’re a team, Cal. If someone decided to take matters into their own hands and express their opinion on what happened with Ruiz, then it’s on all of us. Whoever did this has to answer for it.”

Ethan put his hand to Sloane’s shoulder and motioned out the door. He put his hand to his heart. I need to check on Seb.

“Yeah, of course. We’ll meet you guys at the hospital. I’m going to call the sarge.”

Ethan nodded his thanks and hurried out the door with Calvin at his side. If things had been tough for Seb before, they were about to get a whole lot tougher. Ethan had no idea how his big brother was going to handle this. He’d been struggling with it for months now. Not that he’d had it easy back when Hudson had ended things, but like Seb stated, things had been getting worse for him.

Calvin climbed in behind the wheel of his Jeep, and Ethan joined him in the passenger side. He buckled up and tried to wrap his head around everything as Calvin drove them to the hospital.

“Hector Ruiz.”

Ethan glanced over at Calvin. “You think he did this?”

“Do you remember what he said to me the day of the protest? He said this wasn’t over.”

Ethan nodded. Calvin was right. Hector had motive. Just because his aunt had accepted Calvin’s word didn’t mean Hector felt the same. He’d been pissed. Ethan

pulled out his smartphone and sent off a text to Sloane, letting him know about Hector Ruiz and his threat to Calvin that day. If Hector was responsible for this, the THIRDS needed to pick him up before he disappeared, if he hadn’t gone into hiding already. The guy had opened fire on a room full of law enforcement. It also meant Hector hadn’t been alone. Ethan put away his phone, noticing how Calvin’s knuckles were tight over the steering wheel.

“This isn’t your fault,” Ethan said firmly. It was written all over Calvin’s face. “You were doing your job. If it was Hector who did this, then he’ll have to face the consequences of his actions, along with anyone else who was with him.”

“What if Hudson—”

“Stop,” Ethan ordered gently. “Hudson’s going to be okay.” He held his hand out, relieved when Calvin took it and gave it a gentle squeeze. They’d get through this, the same way they did everything else. Together.

Chapter Ten

HERE THEY were again.

Ethan and Calvin joined Seb, Nina, and Rafe in the emergency room at NYC Presbyterian Hospital. At least when they walked into a waiting room Rafe and Seb weren’t fighting. Rafe was holding Nina’s hand and comforting her while Seb stood at the far end of the room by the doors, staring off into the distance like he was lost. His eyes were red, and Ethan could all but feel his brother’s heart breaking. Ethan walked over and gently put a hand on Seb’s shoulder, making him flinch. He hadn’t even realized Ethan was there. His brother let out a heart-wrenching sigh.

“Hey, little brother. He’s still in surgery.”

Seb shook his head, and Ethan could see his brother fighting to keep his emotions at bay. Ethan brought Seb into his embrace and held him.

“What if I lose him for good this time? Having him away from me was hard, but it was better than this. Anything is better than this.” Seb pulled back and wiped at his eyes. “I can’t believe he did that.”

Ethan put his hand to Seb’s chest over his heart. He loves you.

“Yeah.” Seb gave him a small smile when the rest of the team showed up. Sloane and Dex came over, their expressions filled with concern.

“How is he?” Dex asked worriedly. “Any news?”

“He’s in surgery,” Seb replied. “It’s too soon to tell, but the outlook is promising.”

Sloane nodded. He looked around the waiting room. “We’ve been seeing the inside of this place a little too often lately.”

“Tell me about it,” Dex huffed. He patted Seb’s shoulder. “How about we bring you some coffee?”

“Thanks. That would be great.”

Dex and Sloane headed off toward the café. Cael and Ash were huddled together talking quietly, while Rosa and Letty joined Nina. Ethan’s mom wasn’t able to come, but she called Seb every few minutes to check up on him and Hudson. Darla was putting an overnight bag together for Seb and would be there soon. Hudson was still considered family to them, even if he’d distanced himself some time ago. Ethan’s mom refused to abandon Hudson the way his own family had. Seb had tried to get through to Hudson’s parents in England, but they ignored his calls. When he tried calling from a hospital line, they hung up on him. Ethan had no idea why Hudson had been cast out of his wolf Therian family, but it was heartbreaking knowing his family didn’t care that their son was fighting for his life.

Years ago Ethan’s mom declared her family and Darla to be Hudson’s new pack and refused to have it any other way. Ethan knew his mom missed Hudson. He’d been like one of her boys, a quieter, calmer son. Whenever he could, he’d have tea with her, bring her celebrity gossip magazines so they could chat about the latest Hollywood scandal. They’d watch soap operas together and he’d been there to help with Ethan’s dad when Seb and Rafe were on call.

The waiting room was quiet at this time of night but still plenty busy. Ethan agreed with Sloane. Wasn’t it time someone cut them a break? The job was dangerous, no doubt about that, but the last year had been unlike any other. Ethan was getting tired of ending up in the hospital, no matter which side of the doors he was on.