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“Everything I’m going to do is to protect you. I will not let anyone hurt you.”
I pulled back and frowned at him. “Why do I feel like you’re about to do something stupid?”
“I hope I won’t have to.”
I grabbed his biceps and squeezed. “Don’t you dare try to sacrifice yourself.”
“I will not let anything happen to you.”
“I’m armed and plenty capable of fighting. Do not go charging at Carlotti. Do you understand me?”
He looked away.
“Jesus. You were thinking about that, weren’t you?”
“If I can disarm him, he can’t hurt you.”
“You can’t disarm them all.” I couldn’t keep my voice low, and Dax noticed we were arguing.
“They kill on his command.”
“Once he’s dead, someone else will take charge.”
“Is he talking crazy?” Dax asked as he motioned for Remington to come over to us.
Ambrose shook off my hold and scrubbed his hands over his face. “Fuck.”
“We’ve been over this,” Remington said without prompting.
Ambrose snarled. “And I told you—”
“No. Our best chance is to psych him out. We’re not going to win if it becomes an all-out battle. He’s got more men than we do, and he doesn’t care how many of them die fighting us as long as he comes out on top.”
Dax nodded. “He’s unstable as fuck.”
“He’s fucking insane,” Lance said as he joined us.
“Exactly,” Ambrose said. “That means we can’t predict what he’ll do. We need to be prepared.”
“No.” I grabbed Ambrose’s arm and turned him to face me. “You will not do something stupid because of me. Listen to your family. I brought you into this, and I won’t have you taking idiotic chances here.
“Us being here at all, pitting ourselves against Carlotti, is already crazy.”
“Not with the backing we have,” Remington said.
I glanced around, knowing that out there somewhere were snipers sent by X who would be ready to take down Carlotti and his right-hand men. Unless Carlotti spotted them first.
Ambrose scowled at his cousin. “No matter how well prepared we are, things can always turn into a goat fuck faster than you can blink.”
Remington nodded. “True, which is why we need to stick to our plan.”
“This time,” Lance said, “even I agree with Remy.” Tony chattered his agreement from his perch on Lance’s shoulder.
I’d wondered if the little monkey went into battle with Lance. I was sure Lance knew what he was doing, but I couldn’t help but worry for Tony.
“This needs to end now,” Ambrose said. “Whatever we have to do to make that happen.”
“It will,” Dax assured him. “Now stop thinking about all the heroic moves you could make. Eric is already devoted to you. You don’t need to prove a thing.”
“I need to keep him safe.”
I grabbed Ambrose’s arm and turned him to face me. “I would hand myself over to Carlotti if I thought it would protect you. This goes both ways.”
Ambrose snarled. “Don’t even think about it.”
“Then stick to the plan.”
“I knew there was a good reason why I liked to stay in the bayou alone.”
I hoped that was his way of acquiescing. “You can go back there when this is all behind us.”
He glanced my way. “We’ll see.”
I pulled him to me and, keeping my voice low enough that only he could hear, said, “You won’t be going without me.”
“I know. And even when you’re fucking annoying, it’s worth it.”
I pulled him into a hug. “Take care of yourself.”
He nodded. I wanted to kiss him until neither of us could breathe, but I knew he wasn’t ready for that in front of his family. I followed behind him as we made our way closer to the shed that I’d be happy to see burned to the ground. Carlotti was there, flanked by several men, and others stood behind him. I almost told everyone to wait, but we were in this too deep now.
Just before he stepped out into the open, Ambrose glanced back at me. It was too dark to be certain, but I think he smiled.
I stayed where I had been before, watching, ready to assist if this turned into an all-out fight or to step forward if they had to take the charade of handing me over a step further. Ambrose had spent hours over the last few days trying to convince me I shouldn’t be here at all, but I’d finally worn him down.
My pulse pounded in my ears, and I was glad I hadn’t eaten much because my stomach was doing flip-flops.
Carlotti took a step forward as the Theriots approached.
Lance and Dax stood to either side of Remington with Corbin, Beau, and Ambrose just behind them.
Ambrose had argued about positioning too, but Dax had refused to let him be in the front line of fire. Whatever Dax knew about the events that led to Ambrose leaving the army, he must have realized Ambrose avoided killing if he could.
