Ciampa stands outside of Mike's hotel room, on the phone with his own wife and child while Mike paces inside, tugging at his hair, biting his lip. "Yeah, the girls are fine," Mike tells AJ in a hushed voice. "They were kinda freaked out, but all in all, fine. I just don't even know what to do anymore. Everyone keeps bugging me about what he did, he won't back off. I really... I'm really spiraling here."
AJ looks sympathetically at him. "Mike," she says softly. "I think you should take some time off and just come here, spend time with me and the kids. I doubt he'll think to come here, and there are a lot more people to keep an eye out. You know? Please."
"I might," he hedges slowly. "But the guy had a knife. And he tried to take Ciampa too. I'm not going to put you and the kids at risk, it was bad enough that Maryse, Heath and the girls were in danger. That never should've happened, I thought there'd be enough security at that place to keep him away, but even that wasn't enough."
"Look, we'll figure it out," she tells him. "But I just... I want you here. I want to know you're safe, and I want to... I want to hold you, and know that you're alright. Just... think about it, alright? And let me know in a day or two."
Mike nods. "I love you, AJ," he sighs.
"I love you too," AJ tells him gently. "I'll talk to you soon."
"Talk to you soon," he parrots before hanging up. He drops down onto the couch and looks up as Ciampa finishes his own call and joins him. "So," he says softly. "Your family ok? I know seeing that... with the knife... couldn't have been easy." He shakes his head. "I'm really sorry I've dragged you into all of this, Tommaso."
"Yeah, they're alright," Ciampa says. "I think Willow Belle didn't even realize what was going on." He looks at the phone Mike is currently white knuckling before turning his gaze back onto him. "So are you heading back to Pennsylvania?"
"Maybe," Mike mumbles. "I haven't decided yet. I won't bring danger into Alicia and Ricardo's house, no matter how much I'd love to see my wife and kids again." He stares down at his hands, twisting them together anxiously.
"I think it'd probably be good for you to go," Ciampa says honestly. "They live in a smaller home, right? It'd probably be easier to keep secure than Maryse's house, or even yours."
"Well, that's true," Mike says. "I have a day or two to decide. I might go home and see how I feel about it before I really commit to something. Thanks, Tommaso."
"You're welcome. I know this isn't how either of us expected things to go when we started working together, but hey, I'm gonna be here, by your side, until we figure this out. Promise."
Mike smiles at him. "I know I can depend on you. Thanks, Tommaso." He leans back into his seat and exhales, trying desperately to relax as he ponders what to do next.