Page 13 of Hero's Heart

Not that he’d ever be arresting Theo. First of all, the man was legally dead. As far as any government was concerned, he’d died as a child. Second of all, Theo’s adoptive parents, Dorian and Ray Lindstrom, would never let anyone—even Callum—take their son in. And they had the skills to back that up.

So luckily, Theo fought on the side of the angels, and arrest was never going to be an issue. He’d taken over Linear Tactical when Zac Mackay had retired.

“Then I’m all ears. What’s up?”

“Interested in a trip to Moldova?”

“Are you visiting the world’s largest wine cellar? It’s located there.”

Callum laughed. “I don’t even want to know why you know that.”

“Too much time spent with Lincoln.”

“Explains so much.” Lincoln Bollinger was nothing if not a mountain of facts.

“What’s in Moldova?”

“Old law enforcement contact”—frenemy—“reached out to me, needing help. An American has been kidnapped.”

“Rescue op?” Theo asked. Callum had to smile at the beat of excitement in the man’s voice.

“No. They’ve negotiated with the kidnappers and just need someone they can trust to drop off the money and deliver the woman back to daddy. We would be in and out in forty-eight hours, most of that being used to travel.”

“Is it someone you know? How’d you get involved?”

Callum grabbed stuff to make a sandwich out of his fridge. “They’re worried local cops and even some of their own team may be compromised, so my contact reached out to me since Ihave no ties to anything. Pay would be good for something pretty easy. Catch is, we need to leave tonight.”

Theo was on the short list of people Callum would want guarding his back in a fight. He’d helped Callum out with various law enforcement issues over the years. Not that he was expecting to need any of Theo’s tactical expertise in this case.

“I’ll have to check with Eva.” Theo sighed. “You know I’m going to owe her for this.”

“Women love that sort of shit. Your new bride will find ways of making you pay in spades.” Although both of them knew sweet Eva would never ask for anything Theo wasn’t willing to give her—especially since he was willing to give her damned near anything. “Plus, you can buy her some jewelry with the money you make.”

Theo chuckled. “She’d rather have vet equipment.”

“You were smart to marry that woman.” Callum finished making his sandwich and took a bite.

“Smartest move I ever made. Will it just be us?”

“I would like to get a third person, but I don’t think I can handle being trapped in an airplane with Lincoln the whole time.” Guy was a computer genius, but he was pretty damned socially awkward. “It’s the height of helitack season, so Derek is out.”

“What about Bear? I know he’s a mechanic, but he can hold his own in practically every tactical situation.”

Callum chewed, thinking about it. Bear Bollinger had a military background and, more importantly, was Finn Bollinger’s son. He could handle himself.

“Yeah. I’ll see if he’s available. Like I said, it probably won’t be very exciting, but it’s good money and we’ll be back before we know it.”

“Good. Bear would be one of my top choices. Plus, he’s single, so he won’t owe anyone sexual favors.” Theo laughed. “What’s our timeline?”

“It’s tight. We’ll have to be wheels up at midnight. We’ll get intel en route.”

“Then I better go. Unless you hear back from me immediately, I’ll see you in a few hours.”

As the call ended, Callum set the phone down and finished his sandwich, staring out the kitchen window into the darkness beyond. The stillness of his home felt like a cruel contrast to the chaos waiting for him on the other side of the world.

He took a deep breath, straightened, and headed toward the next task—telling Dustin he would do it, then calling Bear. There was no time to waste.

Chapter 6

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