13. Ambrose
AMbrOSE
I knew I was out of line. If Eric hadn’t thought I was crazy before, he surely had to now.
Lance was going to try to take Eric away, and I wasn’t ready for that.
I couldn’t give him up yet. Fuck, I was never going to want to give him up, but at least he could be mine until this was over.
I could let myself have that. How much more could it hurt to walk away in a week or so than it would now?
“Remington arranged a safe house, and I came to pick up Winston.”
“I’m not going to a safe house.” Eric’s voice was still annoyingly calm and even.
Lance got out of the car and focused his attention on me. “What do you think about that?”
I needed a moment alone, or I might just shoot Lance and run away with Eric. “I’m going to get dressed.” I pushed past Eric and disappeared into the cabin.
“We have a plan,” I heard Eric say.
“That’s very interesting, and you seem very comfortable with a naked Ambrose.” Shit. I did not need Lance causing me even more trouble.
“He was showering.” Eric remained ridiculously calm.
“That wasn’t the first time you’d seen his body.”
“Goddamn it, Lance.” I stomped back into the main room half-dressed. “I’m taking care of Eric. I already told you I would handle things.”
“You seem to be taking quite good care of him. You could have told us you liked men, you know.”
“I don’t.”
Lance raised his brows.
“I didn’t… Not before…” I glanced at Eric.
“This gets more interesting all the time.”
A screech interrupted us. I glanced at Lance’s car and saw Tony jumping up and down in the driver’s seat, thumping on the windshield.
“You brought the monkey?”
“Of course I did. You know he hates staying by himself.”
“Remy could have watched him.”
Lance laughed. “He wasn’t in the mood after you defied him and refused to take his calls.”
“He called?”
“Jesus.” Lance shook his head. “When are you going to start paying attention to your phone?”
“I turned my phone off last night.”
Lance growled as he lifted Tony out of the car.
“If he runs off and gets eaten, you can’t blame me,” I told him.
Eric was staring at us both. “You have a pet alligator, and Lance has a pet monkey? Does Dax have some exotic pet too or just a dog?”
The amazement on Eric’s face made me smile. “Just a dog. For now.”
Lance glanced my way. “You took him to meet Gerard?”
I ignored the question. “You’re not leaving until you come inside, are you?”
“No. Winston says you have a plan. If it doesn’t involve his protection, Remy will never approve it.”
“I’m not going to let anyone hurt him.”
“I can take care of myself,” Eric insisted.
Lance and I both huffed, and I gestured toward my pantry cabinet. “There are some dates in there. Tony can have them if they’ll keep him out of trouble.”
Eric watched in fascination as Tony scrambled up onto the coffee table and bounced up and down, chattering as Lance found the snacks and brought them to the little guy. Tony snatched a date from his hand, then turned and stared at Eric.
“Here.” Lance held out a date to Eric. “Feed him, and he’ll be your friend.”
We both watched as Eric lured Tony over with the treat. Tony took it, then petted Eric’s hand and cooed.
“Damn, he really likes you,” Lance said. “You did good.”
“He’s made friends with your monkey. Great. Now can you leave and stay out of my personal life?”
“Only after you discuss your professional life with me.”
I rolled my eyes. “This isn’t a profession.”
“Don’t tell that to Pop or Remy.”
“I’m going to stay at Eric’s house until things are settled with Carlotti.”
Lance’s eyes widened. “You’re going to live in a regular house?—”
“I was already staying at Dax’s.”
“That’s different. There weren’t any other people there.”
“Eric knows what I’m like. He’s not going to expect me to be a gracious guest.”
Eric laughed. “Never.”
Lance shook his head. “It’s too risky.”
“You want to talk to me about risky? Would you like me to name all the fucking insane risks you’ve taken in the last year?”
Lance scowled at me. “I wasn’t endangering anyone else.”
“Would Julian agree with that?”
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t.”
“Then stop being a fucking hypocrite.”
“Winston would be better off at a safe house. He’s a sitting duck back in St. Claireville.”
“I’m right here, and I’m a sheriff, not an innocent child. I’m not going to hide out from someone who is running drugs in my parish.”
“Carlotti isn’t your average idiot dealer.”
Eric glared at my cousin. Even Tony gave Lance a dirty look. Lance threw up his hands. “Fine. You understand the risks. We’ve offered you protection and you?—”
“I am protecting him,” I snarled. “Are you saying I don’t fucking count?”
Lance studied me for a moment. “I think you’re too close to this one.”
“And if Julian was in danger, would you turn him over to someone else?” I thought Lance would get angry at me again for daring to mention his boyfriend. Instead, he smiled.
“It’s interesting that you compare your desire to protect Winston to my desire to protect the man I love.
“Eric is my responsibility.”
“Right.”
I pointed to the door. “Get out of here and tell Remington I’ve got this under control.”
Lance held his hand out to Tony, but the little monkey shook his head. Lance rolled his eyes and handed over another date. After eating it, Tony scurried up to his shoulder and waved goodbye to Eric.
“Bye, Tony.”
He squawked happily.
“Maybe I’ll get you to babysit him next time I need someone,” Lance said.
Eric shook his head. “I doubt he’d get along with my cat.”
“You have a cat?”
“Yeah.”
“I was going to bring Hope to your house.”
Eric shrugged. “Tubby will just ignore her. He’s too lazy to give her any trouble.”
“Have fun.” Lance smirked as he disappeared out the door.
I checked the antique mantle clock that sat on a shelf in the kitchen area. I couldn’t remember if I’d wound it the night before, but the time it showed matched my estimate based on the sun. “We need to get moving. I wanted to get to your house while it was still dark.”
“That’s why you were rushing me.”
“If we arrive early enough, there won’t be many people out. I’d rather no one know I’m there, at least at first.”
“What about Hope? People will see her.”
He was right, and I hated that I hadn’t thought of that. I wasn’t sure my brain was fully functional yet even after a good night’s sleep. Eric had truly wrecked me with his responsiveness.
“I really don’t think Dax would mind if she stayed with one of your cousins as long as she’s well taken care of.”
Dax had trusted her to me, but I suspected it was just a ploy to get me out of the bayou. I hadn’t asked him, though. He would just have denied it, and I liked being useful, even if I’d never admit it to Dax.
“Fine. I’ll see if Corbin and Beau can keep her with them.”
“Lance said she loves being at the shop.”
I frowned. “Dax won’t like that. It’s too dangerous.”
“Don’t you mean Travis won’t like it?”
“Dax doesn’t like anything that makes Travis worry.”
Eric smiled. “It’s obvious they love each other.”
I sighed. “Yeah, it is.”
I was happy for my twin. He deserved everything he had with Travis, but I was used to having him at my beck and call, and now he was… Travis’s. It was strange.
We managed to make it to Eric’s house before it was fully light. We used my bike to get to where he’d parked his truck the day before. I let Eric drive this time so I could keep a low profile. He pulled into his garage, and I didn’t get out of the truck until the door closed behind us.
Lance was arranging for someone to retrieve my motorcycle and deliver it to the woods behind Eric’s house. It would be good to have a second vehicle no one knew about.
As soon as Eric opened the door into the house, a fat orange cat jumped down from the kitchen table and raced toward us. Eric bent and scratched his ears as he twined around Eric’s legs, purring loudly.
“You should have told me you had a cat waiting for you when we left for my cabin.”
“Would you have brought me home if I’d told you?”
“No, but I would have had someone take care of your cat.”
“Tubby has an automatic feeder, and I always leave him plenty of water. I never know when something is going to take me away for a long time.”
“You could have brought him to the safe house.”
“I was never going to agree to let you hide me away.”
He shouldn’t be hidden away at all. He should be able to be exactly who he was. He deserved someone who could care for him like a real boyfriend and someone who could stand up for him if anyone in his parish gave him shit.
You could be that person.
No. I didn’t deal well with people, especially ones I couldn’t shoot at.
Eric checked Tubby’s food and water, then scooped him up and gave him a kiss. The cat was so docile he just flopped in Eric’s arms and even allowed his belly to be kissed.
Eric opened his pantry and grabbed a bag of cat treats. “You want to give him a treat?”
“Will that make us friends?”
“He’d likely be your friend anyway, but?—”
I held out my hand for the little bag. As soon as I opened it, Tubby came running, tail straight up. I offered him several of the little morsels, and he bumped his soft face against my hand and purred. I scratched his ears. “We’ll get along just fine.”
“If you’re not careful, he’ll expect you to pet him all day while I’m gone.”
“Gone where?”
“To work. I’m supposed to be at the station in thirty minutes.”
“You think you’re just going to run around the parish unprotected.”
“I’m here to do my job. What’s the point of me being here instead of in a safe house if I’m not going to turn up for work?”
You’re here so I can be the one keeping an eye on you. “Call in sick.”
“No.”
He’d be too vulnerable. I couldn’t lose him. “Just for today. Give me a chance to do some recon to see if I think Carlotti is aware you’ve been staking out his drop-off point.”