Alyssa watched Cord hesitate in the doorway as he cast a concerned gaze her direction before closing the door behind him. ‘Yes.’ She had a feeling Tony was about to explain his sudden disappearance, and she was right.

‘You know my dad has been struggling with dementia for a few years now. I felt guilty putting him in a home, and I was doing okay with the day nurse coming by. But in the last month or so, he’s become more violent. I actually didn’t go hunting that week I took off because I wanted to stay close to Dad. Wednesday night, his neighbor called. Apparently, Dad had attacked his caretaker because he thought he was robbing him. By the time I got to the house, he was pretty much out of control, and he ended up attacking me for the same reason.

‘I didn’t want to do it, but I knew I had to get him committed right away, and it wasn’t sitting well with me. Before my mom died, I promised her I’d always look after him, take care of him. Anyway, I knew I needed to distract myself, so I called Hammond and told him I’d gotten back from my “hunting trip” early, and so that’s why I was there at the Kensington house Thursday night. But it became pretty clear to me pretty quickly that my head wasn’t fully in the game. So, I decided to take off, telling myself that the team had Sandra now.’ He snorted. ‘Clearly, that went well.’

‘Tony, why didn’t you just share this with us? We’re a team; we stick together. We might’ve been able to help you through it.’

‘I know, and I know this is going to sound lame, but the truth is, I was embarrassed that my elderly, sick father had gotten the jump on me, and on top of everything else, I guess I didn’t handle it right.’

‘Tony, you kept the promise you made to your mom,’ Alyssa said. ‘You put your dad somewhere where he’d be safe, despite the hurt it caused you. You have no reason to feel shame.’ She smiled gently up at him. ‘Well, except for choosing not to share with the rest of your team, who could’ve helped you out.’

‘I know.’ Abruptly, Tony shoved to his feet, pacing from the table to the whiteboard and back again, raking his fingers through his hair as he did. ‘But that’s not everything.’

Tony’s head dropped forward on his neck, and as much as Alyssa was compelled to go to him, she fought it, afraid he’d bolt. Considering he was finally opening up, she didn’t want to risk it.

Just as suddenly as he’d begun pacing, he stopped and faced her, allowing her a glimpse of what she could only describe as a look of self-loathing.