"Gloria's grandson. That fucker William, he set the kid's trouble off early. Every time he cried, a handful of people would just. Drop dead." Duke hung on tight in return. "Kid's not more than a year old, Luce. And he has a body count. His dad -- Ben volunteered. How could I -- he was willing to die to save that kid, how could I do anything less?"

Whatever had been behind his eyes was sliding down his face now. Getting cold, not vanishing.

Tears. They were just tears.