3. Eric
ERIC
One Month Later
I watched through binoculars as men unloaded crates and put them into the shack LePlatt had used for storing drugs before the Theriots had put an end to him and his operation.
If the rumors were true and Valentino Carlotti had taken over moving drugs through the state, shouldn’t a criminal of his standing have better sense than to use the same spot where his predecessor was killed?
Apparently, he didn’t, unless those crates were actually filled with oranges like they said.
I wanted to get a look after the men were gone, but I knew if I was caught, Carlotti’s men wouldn’t hesitate to kill me.
They’d likely torture me for information first, but one way or another, I’d be dead and unable to do anything to stop them.
The thought sent a chill through me, and I crouched farther down in my hiding spot, hoping the men moving the crates wouldn’t see the light glint off my binoculars. I’d dressed in camouflage, and the thick foliage help to conceal me, but I wasn’t stupid enough to think I was invisible.
Not more than a week after the Theriots had slaughtered LePlatt and his accomplices, I started hearing rumors that there was a new dealer in town, one with a lot more product to move and a lot less patience with anyone who got in his way.
The Theriots had sold me on their plan by convincing me it was beneficial to the whole parish for them to remove LePlatt.
They were right, but they hadn’t mentioned the likelihood someone worse would take over.
If our parish hadn’t been on such a convenient path north, maybe the drop-off location would have remained abandoned, but now, if Carlotti was truly in charge, and despite the Theriots “help,” I was worse off than before.
I continued to watch as I pondered how to handle the situation. I could always call in my favor from Ambrose, but I wasn’t sure it was wise for me to see him again.
The men finished unloading and drove away, but I stayed put. I wasn’t sure I wanted to risk approaching the shack, and I certainly wasn’t going to do it until they were long gone and I was certain no one else was going to show up to pick up the crates they had left.
LePlatt was nothing but a petty criminal compared to Carlotti.
His name was widely known in the criminal world.
All he had to do was appear, and doors opened with people ready to do his bidding.
I wasn’t even sure the Theriots could get him out of my parish.
They’d recently had an altercation with him, but they’d settled it without an all-out war.
Still, no matter how much I wanted to avoid Ambrose, I was going to have to seek him out. What other choice did I have?
I’d spent way too much time over the last month thinking about him.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get him out of my mind.
The haunted look on his face when I’d asked him how he would go about eliminating me still bothered me, and the way he’d smiled at me and teased me still made my cock stir.
I hated myself for wanting him, but I couldn’t help it.
He’d become my primary fantasy fodder. I’d jerked off again and again imagining him fucking me, thinking of how rough he’d be, how little he’d say, and then envisioning it all again but with me topping him, opening him up, pushing inside him, watching the ecstasy on his face as he came with my dick buried in his ass.
When I felt as confident as I could that no one else was going to show up to collect the drugs and possibly see me moving through the woods, I got out of there. I made myself dinner as soon as I got home, then managed to convince myself to wait until the morning to call Ambrose.
The next morning, I had to handle a call about a domestic dispute first thing, so it was almost lunchtime before I had a chance to make my call.
I parked on the side of a deserted road and pulled out my phone.
There was no way in hell I was going to make a call like this anywhere near the station or where anyone else might hear me.
I brought Ambrose’s contact up, and before I could talk myself out of it, I placed the call.
“Good morning.” His rich voice had me hot with just those two words. “I didn’t expect to hear from you again.”
“You owe me.” I blurted the words out without thinking. Why hadn’t I planned what I wanted to say? This wasn’t the time to let my nerves show. Why did this fucking man affect me so much?
He’s hurt, and you want to fix him .
“You’re calling in your favor? I didn’t expect to actually hear from you. I got the impression you never wanted to see me again.”
“I didn’t,” I lied. “But I have a situation here.”
“Tell me about it.” I could hear the smile in his damn voice.
“You know how you said if I just took down one guy in LePlatt’s operation, someone would replace him? Well, the same rule applies to taking down a small-time dealer.”
Ambrose was silent for a moment, but I knew better than to rush him, so I waited until he spoke. “You’re telling me someone has taken LePlatt’s place?”
“Yes, an enemy of yours. Valentino Carlotti.”
“Fuck.”
I heard the unease in Ambrose’s voice. I pushed my advantage. “You not only went back on our deal, you made things worse, and now you’re going to help me fix it.”
“You’re right. I am.”
I pulled the phone from my ear and stared at it before bringing it back. Had he really agreed to help me just like that?
I heard a dog barking in the background. I’d been under the impression Ambrose preferred to be alone, completely alone, without even a pet. “Do you have a dog?”
“No.”
“I hear a dog.”
“The longer you keep me on the phone, the longer it’s going to be before I can start my research on Carlotti.”
Why was he being so cagey? “I’ve got information for you.”
“I can get my own.”
I heard another sharp yip. “You have got to be the most fucking stubborn man I’ve ever met, and that is definitely a dog.”
Ambrose gave the put-upon sigh I’d heard a million times while we were staked out, waiting for LePlatt to show up.
“It’s Travis’s dog.”
“The one LePlatt’s men used to trick him.”
“Yes.”
More sharp barks. “What’s going on with her?”
“She wants attention.”
I couldn’t keep from smiling at the annoyance in his voice. “Are you dog-sitting?”
“Yes.” The word was obviously said through gritted teeth.
“It’s okay to be doing a favor for your brother.”
“Then why are you laughing?”
“I’m not.” I pressed my lips together and tried my best not to make any sound.
“Yes, you are.”
I cleared my throat, composing myself. “I need to meet with you.”
“No.”
“I saw Carlotti’s men today.”
“Fuck, Eric. Stay away from them.”
Why did I love hearing him say my name so much? I hadn’t wanted a man as badly as I wanted Ambrose in years. Maybe ever. What had I done to deserve being punished like this?
“I was careful. I didn’t approach them or anything.”
“However careful you were, it wasn’t careful enough.”
I was done with him. “You have no idea what I did.”
“Whatever it was, if you were close enough to see them, you were putting your life at risk.”
“I’m not just going to let them take over my parish.”
“That’s why you contacted me, right?”
I took a calming breath before I spoke. “I contacted you because you owe me, and I could use some extra muscle.”
Ambrose made a low sound of disgust. “I’m a hell of a lot more than muscle. I’m the only way you’re going to get this top-level asshole out of your way. I could fight a grizzly bear and win, and I’m a damn fine shot, but you need my brain just as badly.”
I grinned. He might be a bayou hermit, but I knew very well that didn’t mean all he could do was wrestle gators.
He’d been a Green Beret. He had to be damn smart to accomplish what he had as well as able to plan then replan in the moment when things went wrong.
I liked that he was all pissy about being my muscle.
I’d never expected him to agree to play that role, but I wasn’t going to tell him that, at least not yet.
“What does your expert brain tell you we should do?”
“It’s telling me to get you the hell out of there, throw you in a safe house, then figure out how to destroy Carlotti.”
I stood frozen, heart pounding. No way was I going to let him cut me out of this, but his reaction was not what I expected. If he was as indifferent to me as I assumed, would he care that much about protecting me?
Maybe that was just his nature, but he sure as hell hadn’t cared about protecting the men he and his family had shot to pieces a few weeks ago.
They were enemies, but wasn’t I an enemy as well?
I was a sheriff, and he was a criminal. I tried to think of Ambrose as what he was, a mobster I should bring to justice, but if I’d learned anything in my years in law enforcement, it was that nothing was that black and white.
Ambrose cared about his family, and his enemies were my enemies as well.
That had to be why he was willing to help me. His family wanted Carlotti gone anyway.
“Are you still there?” Ambrose asked. “Because if not, I should probably go play with Hope before she tears up Dax’s house.”
“I’m here, and I’m not going to a safe house. I’m working with you.”
Ambrose snorted. “We’ll see about that, but if you’re serious, then come talk to me.”
Why the fuck did it sound like he was flirting with me?
Because you want him to be.
Did I, though? That would be a disaster.
“You want me to come out into the bayou? That sounds like a mistake.”
Ambrose laughed. “While I’d love to see if you could survive the trek to my cabin, I’m at Dax’s house.”
“In the Garden District?”
“You’ve done your research.”
I’d found out where all the Theriots lived, all except Ambrose, whose location was apparently secret even to some of his family. “I am actually good at my job.”
“If you weren’t, I would never have worked with you. Meet me here in an hour.”
“I can barely get there that fast if I leave now.”
“Then get moving.” He laughed, and the sound sent heat all through me.
When Ambrose ended the call, I blew out a long breath. Was I really going to do this? Could I really consider myself a decent sheriff if I kept working with criminals?
He’s an informant. You learned long ago that you can’t catch everyone. You have to pick and choose, and there is no doubt Carlotti is far worse than Ambrose.
I had the day off, so I could go to New Orleans to see Ambrose without it being official business, except there weren’t really days off for a sheriff in a small department. If something happened…
Get the fuck out of here and worry about that when it comes up.
I listened to my inner voice, even though I was fairly sure it just wanted another chance to see Ambrose. Maybe he’d piss me off badly enough that I’d be able to stop thinking about him all the fucking time.