Ambrose (The Theriot Family 5)

“Has he called or texted you?”

“No. I’ve called him twice but gotten no response. I didn’t think that was unusual, though. My understanding is that he only responds if he’s really in the mood to, and that’s almost never.”

Lance snorted. “That’s true enough. Any idea where he might have gone?”

“How much did he tell you about our conversation yesterday?”

“I’m the one asking the questions here. I don’t have time to play games.”

“Did he tell you about Carlotti?” I knew I was taking a risk, but it was out now.

“Yes.”

Thank God. “Then my best guess would be that he’s scouting out the area where I saw Carlotti’s men.”

“I’ve already checked there.”

Shit. “He might be following a lead to another place where they’re meeting.”

“There’s no evidence he was ever there.”

My stomach flip-flopped. Please let him be okay. “What about Hope?”

“She’s with Beau and Corbin having a fantastic day as a shop dog.”

Beau ran a body shop and had a great crew working for him. I could imagine how much Hope would enjoy all the attention there. The tightness in my chest eased. If Ambrose had made arrangements for the dog, then he had a plan. He hadn’t been taken by Carlotti or someone else, not that his plan was likely anything I or his family would approve of. It did still bother me that Lance was worried. I doubted he was someone to jump to conclusions.

“I thought it was pretty common for Ambrose to disappear.”

“It is, but he doesn’t usually ignore a summons from Remington.”

I shouldn’t be surprised by that, although the idea of anyone having power over Ambrose seemed wrong. “Did he drop Hope off before or after he should have shown up for the meeting?”

Lance seemed to consider that for a moment. “After. That’s the last time he was seen. Corbin told him he should go see Remy, but he said he had something to take care of.”

“When was that?” I didn’t think he would tell me. Eventually, I was going to piss him off, and he’d tell me again that it wasn’t my place to ask questions. He surprised me by answering right away.

“Around nine this morning.”

That wasn’t long after I’d called him, but that was good, wasn’t it? That confirmed that he’d gone off with a plan of his own. The question was, had he meant to be gone this long? Had he ever intended to show up at Remington’s? If he had, then what had happened to him? If he didn’t, why not? What did he have to do that was more important than pleasing the head of his family?

“I want to help find him.”

“He wouldn’t like that.”

“I don’t like him disappearing when he told me he’d check in with me today.”

Lance snorted. “He doesn’t check in with anyone.”

“Is it possible he’s just hiding out somewhere, tired of being around people?”

“It’s possible. But…”

“Your gut tells you that’s not it.”

“Yeah.”

“Mine too.”

Lance blew out a breath. “Stay where you are. One of us will let you know when we’ve located him.”

“I’m not just going to sit here while he’s in—”

“Stay put. Do what you would normally do. We don’t need anyone to suspect there’s something wrong.”

“You mean if Carlotti’s got someone in town, you don’t want them to sense that something’s going on and I know about it.”

He chuckled. “Damn, you’re smarter than I expected.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

“Hang in there, Sheriff. We’ll find my fucking cousin. Of course, we might kill him ourselves when we do.”

He ended the call.

He was kidding, right? They wouldn’t… No, their family was close. I’d seen that. They cared about each other. Lance wouldn’t be concerned about Ambrose otherwise.

I considered my options as I finished my sandwich. I could do as Lance said and go on about my day as if nothing was happening. If one of Carlotti’s men was watching, the last thing I wanted to do was tip them off to what I knew or lead them straight to Ambrose, but I couldn’t let this go. I couldn’t consider all the things that could have happened to him and just ignore it. Surely the afternoon would be quieter than the morning had been. If I did a little poking around, the deputies could handle most anything that might come up on a weekday afternoon. It was too hot for most people to do anything but sit around or get out on the water in a boat.

I wasn’t sure what I was most concerned about, one of Carlotti’s men following me out of town or the wrath of Lance—or worse my sister—when they found out what I was up to. Whatever I did, I was likely to piss off someone, but I wouldn’t have gotten where I was if I’d taken the sensible route every time.

I settled up at the café, then headed back down the street, speaking to everyone I passed. At least most people were happy to acknowledge me, even if they talked about me constantly behind my back. It had taken a while, but I did have a number of people in town who truly accepted me, including Janice the dispatcher. I stepped into the station and headed to her desk.