“And you know if you hadn’t taken him down, he could’ve killed who knows how many innocent people,” Gabe continued.
Tom finished off his cereal and got to his feet to take his bowl to the sink. “That’s not the part that gives me nightmares, Gabe.” He braced his arms on the counter, his head hanging between his shoulders for a moment before he straightened and ran a hand over his dark hair in frustration. “You know, it never used to worry me that we were all in law enforcement. I mean, we’ve heard the lectures since we were kids about carrying on the Dawson legacy, making our family proud, protecting and serving the community. But after what happened…”
Gabe stared at his brother for a moment, taking in what he’d said. “We all knew what this job could cost us,” he said. “The Old Man lost our uncle to a hopped-up junkie in a routine traffic stop. And Carly…” His words trailed off at the heartbreaking look Tom sent his way. “My point is, it could happen to any of us.”
“But knowing that and watching it play out are two different things,” Tom said. “Seeing that fucker take aim at you…” Tom paused and shook his head. “In my nightmares I didn’t stop him in time, Gabe.”
Gabe’s stomach sank as the full extent of what his brother was going through hit him. “Shit, Bro. I’m sorry. I had no idea.”
Tom shook his head. “It’s not you. I gotta deal with this. It’s not like you, Joe, and Kyle are gonna give up your careers. At least you’ll be a desk jockey for a while when you get back, so—”
“What?” Gabe interrupted. “You’re parking me?”
“Isa said—”
“Isa?” Gabe asked, cutting him off. “Who the fuck is Isa?”
“Dr. Isabel Morales,” Tom explained. “Your surgeon. She said you’d be on medical leave for a couple weeks and would then need to take it easy for a while until your leg is healed.”
“It’s a flesh wound, Tom,” Gabe shot back. “It’s not even as bad as what Joe had to deal with when he was wounded in Afghanistan, for shit’s sake!”
Tom crossed his arms, giving Gabe the look he always did when pulling rank—not just as the eldest Dawson brother, but as Gabe’s boss in the sheriff’s department as their father’s executive deputy. “It’s not up for discussion, Gabriel.”
Gabe shoved his cereal bowl away from him, sloshing some of the remaining milk onto the tabletop. “You sound more and more like the Old Man every day,” he muttered. “Since when do you call me Gabriel?”
“I already talked it over with Dad,” Tom informed him, grabbing a paper towel from the roll and wiping up the milk. “You’re taking a break, Gabe. It’s not a punishment. It’s for your own good.”
Gabe scoffed. “Bullshit. It’s for your own good, Tommy.”
Tom heaved a frustrated sigh and clenched his jaw, the muscle in his cheek ticking from the strain. “Maybe. But I’m not going to let you get yourself killed. And I know that if I put you back on the road, the first thing you’d do is go after Monroe.”
“Got news for you, Bro,” Gabe said. “I’m going after Monroe regardless of whether I’m on the road or stuck behind a desk. He left me a present last night—a hanged man in a noose. If that’s not an invitation to go kick his ass, then I don’t know what is.”
Tom’s expression barely altered, but Gabe could see he was startled by the news. “You should’ve called me when you found it.”
“Why?” Gabe asked. “So you could come racing over here to hover around like a mother hen? I figured it could wait until morning. There’s nothing you could’ve done last night that I didn’t already do unless you want to canvas the neighborhood to see if anyone saw anything. I wasn’t quite up to pounding the pavement.”
“I could’ve filed a report so we could have the incident on record,” Tom snapped.
Gabe sighed. “Well, I’m telling you now. But there’re no prints on anything, of course—already checked for that. Nothing tying Monroe to the damned thing. There never is.”
Tom scrubbed a hand down his face, looking even more haggard than when he’d first arrived. “Shit.”
Gabe grunted. “Tell me about it.”
“Why’s he targeting you, though?” Tom asked.
Gabe shrugged. “Maybe I’m just up first because Mark didn’t finish me off? Or maybe it’s because I was the one who arrested Derrick after Chris’s murder.”
Tom frowned. “Yeah, but I was the one who killed Mark. You’d think he’d be coming after me.”
“Who says he’s not?” Gabe replied.
“I’ll give Kyle a call,” Tom told him, “see if we can get some additional surveillance going from the FBI. Unless Monroe gives us something to bring him in on, there’s not much else I can do.”
Gabe leaned back in his chair and spread his hands. “Exactly why I didn’t call you.”
Tom regarded him for a long moment then finally said, “If you turn up anything, you’ll tell me? You won’t go off half-cocked?”
Gabe raised his right hand. “My hand to God—if I go anywhere, I’m taking my whole cock.”