Page 86 of His Forbidden Obsession

“Ambrose is coming in the airboat. I won’t have to carry the body far. We’ll cover it up so you don’t have to see him. You can handle it.”

“Yeah, I can.” I didn’t like how shaky his voice was.

“I’ll be with you the whole time. I swear.”

Half an hour later, we were flying down the bayou at breakneck speed in Ambrose’s airboat. Niko clung to me, clearly scared he was going to fly out over the side. Landry had his arm around Alina, who looked even paler than Niko. Apparently, the ride wasn’t suiting her like it was Ambrose. He was clearly in his element, not the least bit concerned that we had a body on the floor of the boat wrapped in one of the sheets from the cabin.

When he slowed and pulled up to a tiny dock that was falling apart, Landry held Alina’s hair back while she vomited over the side. When she was done, she glared at Ambrose. “I fucking hate boats.”

He just laughed. “You’ll recover. Come on.”

We all got out, and Ambrose picked up Dimitri’s body and tossed it on the shore.

“Is this where Gerard comes up?” I asked Ambrose.

“Yes, it’s his favorite spot.” He motioned away from the water. “Everybody, move on back.” He turned to me. “Let’s get him out of the sheet. I’m sure that’s not good for Gerard.”

“Who’s Gerard?” Niko asked.

I glanced back at him, not sure how he was going to feel about our disposal plan. “Ambrose’s pet alligator.”

“Wait a minute,” Alina said. “What the fuck are you planning?”

“Gerard is going to help us with cleanup,” Ambrose said. “He likes a real good treat every now and then.”

“You’re going to feed my father to the alligator?” Niko asked.

I tensed. He hadn’t liked looking at the body, but he hadn’t seemed upset. Still, emotions had to be swirling in him. It had been hell the last few hours. “That’s the plan.”

After seeming to process that for a few seconds, Niko nodded. “I like it. It seems fitting.”

“Are you doing okay?” I asked him.

“Eventually, I will be. I’m a lot more worried about you. He hit you hard. You were unconscious.”

“Landry and I have hard heads. We’re going to make it.”

Ambrose whistled and began to call for his friend. A few seconds later, I noticed the bumpy back of an alligator above the surface. As he got closer, he stuck his head out of the water and looked right at Ambrose. “I’ve got you a treat, buddy. I’m going to push it in for you.”

I swear to God, the alligator nodded.

Niko backed up several more feet. “You’re sure this is safe?”

“We’re offering him food,” Ambrose said. “This body will more than fill him up, so he’s not going to be interested in the rest of us. He might even share it with some friends.”

“Alligators have friends?” Alina asked.

“Well, I’m his friend,” Ambrose said.

She nodded, looking at him like she thought maybe he’d been hit in the head a few too many times. That was nothing new—the whole family thought that constantly.

“All right, here goes.” Ambrose pushed the body into the water like he was launching a boat.

I put my arm around Niko, and he turned into me, burying his head against my neck. “I can’t watch.”

“You shouldn’t,” I said as the alligator found his snack and began to tear into it.

“I’m really glad Dimitri’s gone and no one will ever find him, but can we get out of here?” Alina asked.