Our pizza arrived as we were talking through the last details of the plan. Ambrose continued to protest any involvement on my part in between bites. For the most part, I stayed quiet and ate. I knew it would be better for me to talk to him in private where I could remind him how capable I was.
To make him feel a little better, I agreed to pretend I needed personal leave for the next few days. It would take the Theriots forty-eight to seventy-two hours to put their plan into action. The fact that something like this could be done that fast amazed me. I was sure the Theriots were calling in a lot of favors, favors they would owe on the other side of the business with Carlotti.
When we finally ended the call, Ambrose closed his laptop, stood, and walked out of the room without saying a word. I called my counterpart in the neighboring parish—a man I didn’t see eye-to-eye with on many things but who I respected—and told him I would be gone for the next few days. Then I called into the station and explained to everyone there that I was going to be mostly unavailable, though I could answer calls if they needed consultation.
I was sure everyone was very curious where I was going and what I was doing, but no one pried. I assumed they figured someone knew and the information would filter through the gossip mill soon enough.
I heard Ambrose speaking in a low voice and realized he was talking to Tubby. I wondered if he needed more time alone or if I should go to him. I wasn’t sure if he was angry with me or worried, probably a mixture of the two. I decided it was best for me to check on him, doubting he would ask for comfort even if he needed it and knowing he would tell me to go away if he wasn’t ready to see me.
Ambrose was sitting on the floor in the middle of the living room with Tubby on his lap, stroking his back over and over as he stared out the window. I sat down behind him and put my hands on his shoulders. His muscles were hard as stone. I began to massage him, pressing my thumbs into his trapezius.
He didn’t respond at first, but finally when I hit a particularly hard spot, he groaned and leaned back into me. “Don’t stop.”
I smiled and kept going, loosening up his shoulders and neck, then working my way down his back. He bent forward, and Tubby protested loudly before squeezing his bulk under Ambrose’s arm and taking up his favorite spot on the couch, curled on top of the throw blanket my mom had crocheted for me.
When I had finished working on Ambrose’s back, I pulled him against me and wrapped my arms around his waist.
“Please don’t put yourself in danger.” His voice sounded far too small.
“You do realize I worry about you too, right? What if I told you to stand down and let the rest of your family and whoever X and his friends are handle this?”
“I’m used to this, and I signed up for it.”
“Did you? I thought you ran away to keep from being pulled into the family business.”
“I did, but I missed them. I missed working with them, and I realized that while they are criminals—we are criminals—there are plenty of people technically working within the law who are so much worse, who hurt many more people.”
I couldn’t argue with that.
“When I came back, I did what I was capable of, just mostly in the background. I didn’t want to kill again.”
“But yesterday you…”
“I won’t seek out opportunities to end people, even the worst of the worst, but if they come for someone I love, then I will take them out with no remorse. Taking out that bastard yesterday felt right. I would do it again in a second.”
I squeezed him tightly. “Thank you.” Suddenly, the full impact of his words hit me. “Wait. You said a person you loved.”
“I love you, Eric. I thought you knew that.”
“I hoped for that, but I didn’t know it, and when Dax and the others brought it up, you didn’t agree.”
“They don’t need to know. Not right now. This is too precious to talk about too much.”
I understood exactly what he meant. “I love you too. Did you know that?”
“I was afraid…” Ambrose shook his head. “What if you didn’t feel the same way? I prayed you did, though, because I knew I wasn’t going to change my mind. I was going to keep you.”
“You can’t just claim someone.”
He shifted position so he could look at me. “Yes, I can. But I didn’t think anyone would ever love me, could ever love me, after what happened.”