Ambrose (The Theriot Family 5)

I shook loose from Ambrose’s grip. “Why the fuck do I even bother?”

“We’re not the bad guys here.”

I raised my brows and glared at him. “Six men are dead. “

“Six evil bastards.”

“They were, but that shouldn’t matter. I was supposed to give them the chance for a fair trial.”

Ambrose held my gaze, and the intensity in his eyes made me dizzy. “It would never have been fair. You know we did the right thing.”

I couldn’t argue with him when, deep down, I agreed with him. “You still lied to me.”

He frowned. “I protected you.”

His words hit me hard. He looked so fucking sincere, but I didn’t want to be taken in by him. “Lying to me is not protecting me.”

“You didn’t know what would happen. That’s what was best for you in your position.”

“What would have been best for me was you not forcing me into this bullshit.”

“And then LePlatt would have continued to prey on the citizens of Albertine Parish. Is that what you wanted? Because you weren’t going to bring him down by yourself.”

“You don’t know that.”

Ambrose growled. “Yes, I do. If you’d tried, you’d be dead. This way, you’re alive, and you won’t be affected by any of this.”

My hands clenched into fists as anger burned in my chest. “Not affected? I just watched you slaughter those men, and now I’m supposed to pretend I know nothing about it?”

“Those men deserved what they got, and you won’t need to do any pretending. No one is going to mention them again.”

It was never that easy. “Maybe not the ones from out of town but the local guys? Someone is going to miss them.”

Ambrose nodded. “Most people will be glad they’re gone and those that miss them will know better than to talk. You don’t ask questions around here, not when someone disappears under these kinds of circumstances.”

I shook my head. “I’m never going to understand this town, am I?”

His lips quirked up. “You will. You just need someone to teach you.”

“You?”

He laughed, but it sounded bitter. “No. I’m going back to my bayou. I’ve been around people way too much over the last few weeks.”

“What are you hiding from?” As soon as the question was out, I knew it was a mistake.

Ambrose’s expression went blank, and he stilled. It was like a switch had been flipped. The only sign he felt any emotion at all was the fact that he was flexing his hands.

Was he going to hit me? I’d almost welcome it. A good fight might be just what I needed to bring me back to reality, a reality where I’d let a criminal family railroad me into sanctioning their version of justice. But peacemaking was in my blood. “That’s none of my business. I shouldn’t have asked.”

Ambrose gave me a curt nod. He seemed to relax a little, but his smile didn’t return. Rare as it was, I missed it.

“I assume you know the consequences of revealing anything you saw today.” His voice was grim, but his expression remained neutral.

“You’re telling me you’d kill me?”

Ambrose shrugged. “You’d leave me without a choice.”

“How would you do it? A bullet through my head or something more personal like a knife between my ribs?”

The color drained from Ambrose’s face, and he stepped back. He brought a hand to the back of his neck and rubbed it as he stared around like he didn’t know where he was.

Fuck. He looked like my first partner had when his PTSD pulled him into the past. Ambrose had been a Green Beret. There was no telling what he’d seen.

“Ambrose?” He didn’t respond. I fought the instinct to touch him, knowing that could easily go south.

I glanced toward the shed where Ambrose’s cousins were directing men to do their bidding, wiping the area clean of evidence and loading up the bodies. I wondered if I should yell for one of them, but I didn’t want to risk calling attention to myself, and I would have to walk past Ambrose to approach them.

“Ambrose. Are you with me?”

This time he blinked, but when he took a step, he wavered.

“Why don’t you sit down? Do you need some water?” I reached for the bottle I’d left on a stump when the action started.

Ambrose turned to me, a look of confusion on his face. “What?”

“Water. You should drink some.”

He took the bottle from me and drained it. “Thanks.”

“Sure. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. As far as anyone else is concerned, this didn’t happen.”

I nodded. Who was I going to tell? Surely his twin knew how he’d been affected by his time in the army, and if not, it wasn’t my place to share.

He glanced my way, then turned his attention back to the water bottle. “None of this happened. We’ve never met. We’ve never worked together. None of it.”