Page 59 of Hero Unbound

“No, definitely not. Last I saw them a few minutes ago, they were wrapped around her feet.”

Theo let out a breath of relief. It would be unbearable to think of Spice and Sugar being trapped in a burning vehicle.

He slapped Bear on the shoulder. He needed to find Eva. “Thanks for everything.”

Bear nodded. “I’ll look into what caused it and keep you posted. It’s possible that it was some sort of electrical issue from the roll down the embankment. Unlikely, but possible.”

Theo began circling the crowd again. Finding Eva was difficult in the dim light. He ran into Callum, who was encouraging people to head home. Although it was hard to convince people in a small town to leave when there was anything remotely resembling drama happening nearby.

“Have you seen Eva?” he asked the older man.

“No.” Callum pulled back some teenagers trying to sneak a little closer to the smoldering car. “Although I need to talk to her about what the hell happened here. I’ve just been managing people for the past hour.”

“I don’t think she was here when it happened. Bear towed the car in from Linear, and Becky was giving Eva a ride when the fire started.”

Callum grunted. “She’ll still need my statement for her insurance report.”

Theo nodded, but he was afraid she might not have insurance. “Bear thinks it could’ve been electrical failure or something.”

“Yeah, that could’ve happened.” Callum turned so he was face-to-face with Theo. “I’m not going to lie, Theo. My gut doesn’t like this. Something’s off with Eva. First the stuff with the hotel, and now this? It’s weird.”

“Maybe.” Theo could see why Callum would think that. But right now, he didn’t want to offer any more information about what he’d discovered today. Not until he found Eva and made sure she was all right.

Callum wiped a hand down his face. “I’ve got to get everybody out of here. If you find Eva—whenyou find Eva—tell her I need to talk to her.”

“I’ll bring her by tomorrow. Between the storm and repairs and this…it’s already been a long-ass day.”

“Fine, tomorrow,” he said over his shoulderas he took off after some teenagers who’d started darting too close to the car again.

Theo spun in the opposite direction and saw Eva sitting on a curb at the far end of the parking lot. Becky was sitting next to her. The closer he got, the worse Eva looked. She was petite on any given day, but right now, sitting there with her arms wrapped around her knees, she looked like even the slightest breeze would topple her over.

He walked quickly until he was close then slowed his approach. The last thing he wanted to do was startle her.

Becky’s face was pinched as she sat with her arm around Eva. She saw Theo first.

“Look, Eva.” Becky squeezed her shoulder. “Theo’s here.”

Eva looked up at him with eyes that shattered his heart.Hopeless. There was no other way to describe her gaze.

“Can I have a minute with her, Bec?” he asked softly.

She nodded and stood. “I don’t know how to help,” she whispered as she stepped closer to Theo. “I know seeing your car burn is a shock, but she’s taking it way harder than I would’ve expected.”

That was because she’d lost way more than just a vehicle. She’d lost nearly everything she owned, plus her ability to be independent.

“Let me talk to her for a minute. I’ll take her back to the property. I’m going to set her up in a room at the big house so she doesn’t have to worry about anything.”

Becky let out a sigh of relief. “That’s great. She’s got to be tired of staying at a hotel. Especially with two dogs.”

So much for his hope that Eva had been staying some nights with Becky. Looked like Eva had been fooling everyone.

Not anymore.

“We’ll talk to you tomorrow. Thanks for calling me, Becky. I want to be here for Eva.”

She gave him a grim smile. “She needs someone who’s here for her. I have a feeling she hasn’t had that for a while—dogs notwithstanding.”

She walked away, and Theo slowly lowered himself onto the curb next to Eva. For a moment, he didn’t say anything, just let her know he was there.

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