Ambrose (The Theriot Family 5)

Ambrose grinned. “Because we have all the money.”

“That’s for fucking sure.”

“Speaking of tech, I’ll place a camera in the woods where you were so we can keep watch. There’s no need for any of us to risk ourselves by going out there.”

Eric frowned at me. “What about you? Won’t you be risking yourself taking the camera out?”

I would, but it wasn’t the same. Eric was a good shot and not bad in a fight, but he didn’t have the training I had. He also wasn’t shocked to have lived as long as he had like I was. “No more than is absolutely necessary.”

His expression told me he knew I was lying, but he didn’t call me out on it. “I suppose you have access to whatever equipment you want.”

“I sure do.”

“You’re just as rich as your cousins, aren’t you?”

I shrugged. “Probably not as rich since I haven’t really bothered with finessing my investments, but I have plenty. You don’t need to worry about the cost of this operation.”

“I can only imagine what I could do if the police were as well funded as the criminals.”

“That would be a serious problem for me.” I lifted Hope off my lap and moved closer to Eric. When I laid a hand on his arm, my skin tingled. His warmth made me want to rub my face against him, which was ridiculous. The air conditioner could barely keep the house under eighty.

“Don’t put yourself in danger. My family and I created this problem for you, and we will take care of it. I know you want to be part of our plans, but it would be better—safer—for you, and anyone around you, to stay out of this.”

“No one else knows. I told you I’m not bringing anyone else in on this.”

“No one’s going to know how their sheriff saved them and kept this big crime ring out of their parish?”

He snorted. “If I thought being in law enforcement was going to result in me being celebrated as a hero, I learned my lesson on that back in Baltimore. Most of the time when you do good, people just hate you more. I want in on this but not because anybody is going to celebrate me for it. I want in because I need to know I’ve done everything I can to keep them all safe.”

“Maybe calling me is all you needed to do to accomplish that, and now you should back off.”

He narrowed his eyes, and my heartbeat pounded in my ears. We stared at each other. He was close, so close. What would happen if I…

But that wasn’t going to happen. I wasn’t going to find out where things between us could go, no matter how badly I wanted to. Even if I really did like men, Eric was not for me.

I scooted back and looked down at the patch he’d made for the bullet hole in Dax’s floor. “Damn, that’s almost perfect. Maybe you should go into construction.”

“Then there’d be one last person on the good guys’ side.”

“Are there really good guys and bad guys? Do you really still believe that?”

“Hell no, but I’m trying to do good.”

“Yeah, you are, and I need to do something bad. Why don’t you get out of here, and I’ll talk to you tonight?”

Eric studied me for a moment. “Don’t make a move without me.”

“We won’t move that fast. Doing so would be foolish as hell, even though I want to just blow up the shed, track Carlotti down, and kill him with my bare hands, slowly.” But if I did that, where would I be? If I went in like that, would I lose myself?

“Could you really do that? Find him and kill him that easily?”

“Maybe. Probably.”

“So why don’t you do it?”

“Because of the chance that I won’t succeed and the consequences that would come if I did. Carlotti’s brother would just step in and take his place. Carlotti is cruel and calculating, but he’s also vain. He makes sure everything he does makes him look good. His brother doesn’t care about his image. He’s not likely to make narcissistic, stupid choices. All he cares about is power, and he’ll come for us hard.”

“Also, if you succeeded, you’d probably be killed before you could escape.”

“Probably.”

“Ambrose, don’t do that. Don’t take that kind of risk.”

“Someone may have to.”

“No, we’ll find another way.”

I shrugged. “What difference would it make to you? If I’m gone, there’s another criminal off the streets.”

“My understanding is that you’re not a major threat in the streets. You mostly keep to the bayou where you’re a danger to gators and anyone stupid enough to come to your cabin without an invitation.”

Did he really care about me, or would he be concerned about anyone because he was just that good of a person? I needed to get him out of there before I did or said something stupid—stupider. “Don’t you have any work to do?”