Page 42 of Dan

“Well, it seems to me that you were able to make some conscious decisions about not sharing what was in your head. That certainly played out well for all of us,” said Wilson. She looked at Antoine with a serious expression.

“Dan tried to tell me a little bit about how you met Ella. Will you tell me?” she asked.

“I’m happy to,” he smiled. “We were breaking up a child trafficking ring. It was in multiple locations around the country. I was sent with Clay and Mac to St. Louis. I’ve had to do a lot of tough things in my life, Finley, but sitting in that audience pretending to be a buyer of those children sickened me.”

“But it wasn’t you. It was a role,” she said innocently.

“I know, honey. It’s still tough. There were four girls that came out first. It was Robin and her sisters.”

“Robin? The nice lady married to Otto?”

“That’s the one,” he smiled. “They pushed those four girls out, then Ryan and Ella. He was so terrified. I just remember looking into that boy’s eyes and thinking that all I wanted to do was keep him safe. But when I saw Ella, I knew I was fucked. I mean, screwed.”

“It’s okay,” she laughed. “I know what you meant.”

“Her arm was broken. She was a mess. When Robin and her sisters left, Ella wasn’t sure what would happen to her. That’s when I offered for her to stay until our legal team could help her get custody of Ryan. I knew I was never going to let her go, but I couldn’t admit it to myself.”

“Stubborn asshole,” smirked Wilson.

“We’ll get to your stubborn ass in a minute,” huffed Antoine. “Anyway, we were all at the courthouse a few weeks later, finalizing the adoption of Luke and the others with Gaspar and Alexandra. My father, always the wisest man I know, I remember every word he said to me in that hallway of the courthouse.

Antoine watched as Ella straightened the shirt of Ryan, tucking it in more tightly and pushing back his hair. They had been in his home for weeks now and had developed quite a routine. It was more than that, and he knew it. Ella was funny and smart… and she was fucking beautiful. She worked harder than anyone at REAPER and had single-handedly changed their bookkeeping system, and she was a damned fine aunt acting as a mother to Ryan.

So, what was he waiting for?

“You gonna take that chance, son, or let her slip through your fingers?” Matthew Robicheaux stood behind his son, smiling.

“I don’t know, Pop. We haven’t been… involved in that way.”

“Then get involved. That’s a beautiful woman, son, with a heart and soul to match. They don’t just drop from the sky, you know.”

“I know, Pop. I… I’m just…”

“Scared? Yep, I know. But scared is good, and I bet if you tell that girl how you feel, your fear will go away.”

Matthew walked back toward his wife, kissing her soundly. They grabbed the hands of two of their new grandchildren and walked back in to take their seats.

Now or never, you coward.

“Antoine?” called Finley.

“Sorry, honey. I was remembering what a perfect day that was. I asked Ella to marry me, and we were able to secure her parental rights. It was a long time before Ryan finally agreed to be adopted. That boy had a serious chip on his shoulder, but who could blame him? He never knew his father. His mother was an addict who abandoned him. I know it was rough on him.”

“B-but you loved him anyway,” said Finley. Antoine and Wilson stared at her a moment. “It didn’t matter that he had issues or that later he did something terrible. You loved him anyway. That’s what matters.”

“You’re right,” smiled Antoine. “We loved him anyway.”

“And you? How did you meet Sara? I think it has something to do with all of this,” said Finley.

“Yes, and no,” said Wilson. “Sara was the caterer for Nine and Erin, and Lauren and Trak’s wedding. I saw her and thought my heart would explode. We didn’t get to speak. We only saw one another across the room, but I knew I would see her again.”

“And you did,” smiled Finley.

“I did. I was working security at a dinner for a fundraiser for some senators who had been getting some threats. She was the caterer at the event and foolishly placed herself in the line of fire, taking a bullet to the shoulder. Before becoming a chef, she’d been a cop in Chicago.”

“Oh, wow!”

“Yeah, but it didn’t thrill me. All I wanted to do was protect her, Finley. It took us a while, but we finally found out that it was one of Baker’s illegitimate children who was threatening her. I almost felt sorry for that girl. She needed help and never got it. She was mentally disturbed, had learning challenges, psychopathic tendencies, all of it. He just ignored her. In fact, we believe he killed her mother.”

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