Page 81 of Hero Unbound

Theo rubbed the back of his neck as he walked into Fancy Pants. It had been a long fucking morning.

He was glad that the two college-aged hikers had been found, but he was slightly pissed off that he’d been called out to help find two people who had obviously been drinking way too much.

He hadn’t wanted to leave Eva in the bed this morning, hadn’t wanted even another single hour to go by between them with whatever she had to say weighing so heavily on her. But she’d needed sleep, so he’d gone without waking her. Then all he’d been able to think about during the tracking of the “lost” hikers was that he’d promised he’d be back to talk to her this afternoon.

But he needed coffee first. A lot of it.

“Hi, Theo.” Ella O’Conner greeted him with a soft smile from behind the counter. “Heard you guys found the lost hikers.”

“Less lost than drunk, but yes. Callum locked them up and is going to make them pay for the entire search and rescue event, so they’ll probably wish we’d never found them in the first place.”

She giggled sweetly. Everything about Ella was sweet. As the daughter of one of America’s most well-known country music stars, she didn’t have to work in this bakery. Hell, her family had enough money that she didn’t have to do anything. But one bite of her tasty treats and everyone was damned sure glad she didn’t hide away counting her money.

He gave her his order, and she turned to make the coffee—probably one of the simplest orders she’d have all day since it was a complete lack of froufrou.

“Here you go. On the house for saving drunk hikers.”

“Thanks, Ella.”

“And tell Eva next time she runs out of here without my recommended goodies like she did yesterday, we’re going to be fighting. Although I told her it wouldn’t take much to butter you up when it came to her. I hope I was right.”

“You’re definitely right.”

Eva hadn’t come home with treats; she’d come home with some sort of misguided seduction routine. What had happened that had led her from one to the other?

Theo took his coffee with a thanks and headed out the door. Once he was outside a few steps, he slowed.

He could feel eyes on him.

He’d been able to feel them the whole time he’d been in the building. He’d ignored it, thinking it was heightened senses from the search and rescue that hadn’t settled down. But it was definitely more than that.

He turned and saw a man just outside the shop door. Dirty-blond hair, in his early thirties. Around six feet, maybe a hundred and eighty pounds. Trim and well-balanced on his feet, suggesting he did workouts on regular occasions.

“Can I help you with something?” Theo took a sip of his coffee then set it down on the bench beside him, in case he needed both his hands.

The man smiled, but Theo didn’t drop his guard. “You’re Theo Lindstrom, right? The Linear Tactical guy. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Theo kept his posture neutral but shifted his weight onto the balls of his feet as the man took a step closer, smile still on his face. “Is that right?”

“Yeah. I took a tour of your property earlier today. Pretty impressive.”

Now Theo relaxed slightly. “Right. With Tucker. I hope he was able to answer all your questions.Sorry I wasn’t there as scheduled. There was a search and rescue non-emergency emergency I got called in for.”

The man gave a friendly shrug. “No worries. Like I said, your outfit is impressive. Outside of a questionable employee, I found everything to be top-notch.”

Tucker didn’t often get called a non-top-notch employee, but Theo let it slide. “Are there any other questions I can answer for you? I’m in a little bit of a hurry, but we could make an appointment if you wanted to come back, and I could discuss anything you needed.”

The man’s smile got a little bigger. “No, I think I saw everything I needed to see. By the way, I’m Gareth Metter.”

Theo froze.Gareth. He wasn’t sure of Eva’s ex’s last name, but Gareth was unusual enough that he went on high alert. He took a step toward the other man. “You don’t happen to know Eva Dempsey, do you?”

Gareth’s smile grew even bigger. “It just so happens that I do. Why, do you know her?”

Theo moved until he was right in front of Gareth, then stepped forward, backing him up against the wall without actually touching him. “Yes, I do. But I think you already knew that, didn’t you? You knew that when you made the appointment to tour Linear Tactical, and you knew it when you followed me out of the bakery.”

Gareth held out his hands in front of him. “Listen, I wasn’t trying to offend you in any way. I’ll admit when I heard my ex was working at Linear Tactical, I was a little curious. Was surprised she got a job working with animals.”

“Oh yeah? Why would you be surprised about that?”

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