Page 88 of Hero Unbound

When the lights of a car shone through his window, he felt a momentary flash of hope. Maybe it was Eva, and she was coming to…to what? Tell him more? Tell him she was sorry? Tell him to stop being a pretentious bastard?

Hell, he would take any of those things. He would take just seeing her again, sitting here on his couch until they figured out a way to work through this. But the loud bang on his door told him his visitor wasn’t Eva. He looked out the window at the vehicle.

Shit. Definitely not Eva. He opened the door. “Hi, Sheriff. You’re out late.”

Callum’s face was tense. “I’m here on an official visit.”

Theo opened the door wider so Callum could come inside. “Okay.”

“Where have you been for the past three hours?”

Theo leaned back against the door. “Here.”

“Was anybody with you? Eva, maybe, or Tucker?”

“I was with Eva for a little while after I left you in town. But then, no, I’ve been here by myself. Why?”

Callum took off his hat and rubbed his hair. “Somebody threw a rock through Gareth Metter’s car window andsnuck upbehindhim as he was walking from his hotel and slammed him into the ground. Face is pretty bruised up.”

“And you think I did it?” Theo raised an eyebrow as he pushed away from the door. “You think I attacked someone from his blind side and threw a fucking rock through his window?”

It was the epitome of cowardice or, at best, juvenile behavior.

“No, of course I don’t think you did it.” Callum put his hat back on. “But Metter came into the station all pissed and making a huge deal out of this. Given what happened earlier today and that there were a dozen witnesses who saw you throw him up against a wall, I had to look at you first.”

“Well, it wasn’t me.”

“It makes my life a lot easier if there’s somebody who can offer an alibi for your whereabouts. Honestly, I was expecting to find Eva here with you, as concerned as you were that Metter might be a threat to her.”

That was a little hard to swallow. Theo still wasn’t convinced Metterwasn’ta threat to her. But it seemed more and more likely that she was a bigger threat to herself. “I was with her for a while but then…left and came back here.”

“What time was that?”

“We didn’t even make itthrough dinner.”

“I see.” Callum studied him silently for a moment. “What have you been doing here tonight?”

Sitting around, realizing my life is falling apart?That probably wasn’t the answer Callum wanted to hear.

“Nothing. Thinking. Trying to figure stuff out.”

Callum nodded. “I’m going to need you to come into town with me.”

“Are you kidding me right now, Callum? It’s the middle of the night, and you know I didn’t do this.”

“It’s not about what I think you did or didn’t do. This is about us getting an official statement recorded so that all our i’s are dotted and our t’s are crossed. Metter didn’t accuse you explicitly, but he is making a big stink about this. So, let’s head it off at the pass.”

Great. The perfect ending to the perfect day. “Well, gee, Sheriff, do I need a lawyer? Are you gonna lock me up with the drunk hikers?”

Callum rubbed his eyes. “Don’t be an asshole. Just get in the car. I’m well aware of what time it is and what time we got started this morning.”

Theo grabbed a jacket and slipped on his shoes. They walked outside together. He just raised an eyebrow when he saw that Callum had driven the official Oak Creek Sheriff vehicle rather than his normal Jeep.“You really are keeping things official, huh?”

Callum didn’t answer, just opened the back door for Theo to get in.

The back door, where criminals sat.

Well, shit, maybe Theo really did need a lawyer. “You sure you don’t want to put me in handcuffs?”

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