Page 89 of Hero Unbound

“Don’t tempt me,” Callum muttered.

They made the drive into town in silence. Callum parked his car around back and let Theo out since the back seat didn’t have door handles. Theo hadn’t taken more than a few steps before he noticed that two of the streetlights that should have been shining down into the small parking lot were out, casting where they were walking into almost total darkness.

And then he felt it. There was somebody else out there with them.

Before he could warn Callum, he heard a soft whistle that would’ve been mistaken as another night critter if someone didn’t know better. And it could only have come from one person.

“Mom?” Theo said, looking around in the dark.

Callum cursed under his breath and put his hand on his holstered gun, but he didn’t pull it out. He knew better.“So help me God, Ray, if you shoot me with that crossbow of yours, we’re going to have words.”

A soft chuckle filled the air, and Ray stepped out from where she’d been hidden in the darkness. Sure enough, she had her crossbow in her hands. “Reminds us of old times, eh, Callum?”

Theo had heard the story of how Ray had held Callum and another federal agent at arrow-point in the Eagle’s Nest years ago. His mother was nothing short of a master with her crossbow—it wasdefinitelyher weapon of choice.

“I’m bringing your boy in for an official statement, that’s all. So there’s no need to make this into something it’s not.”

“Yeah, we heard about Gareth Metter.” Dorian stepped into the light from behind them.

“Listen.” Callum held out his hands in front of him—careful to keep them away from his weapon—which was better all the way around. Ray and Dorian weren’t criminals and wouldn’t shoot Callum, but they also were willing to do whatever it took to keep their family safe. If that meant gettingTheoout of this alley, they would do it. “This asshole Metter strikes me as a lawsuit sort of guy. I’m bringing Theo in for official questioning, so we’re doing everything by the book. I know Theo didn’t do this.This is just to cover our asses.”

“We can’t let you run him in the system, Callum,” Ray said. “Not for something stupid like this. We’ve spent too long covering our tracks to lose our home for a shove and a rock through a window.”

Callum let out a huff of breath. “How many years have we known each other? I’m not going to bring the dead back to life. I won’t run him in the system.”

They’d built an identity for Theo years ago that should hold up to multiple levels of scrutiny, but there was always the chance someone could get lucky and find out that Theo Lindstrom didn’t officially exist. That would bring attention Dorian and Ray couldn’t afford.

“Good,” Dorian said. “Let’s keep it that way.”

“Should I even ask how you guys know about this?”

“No,” Ray and Dorian both responded at the same time.

Callum rolled his eyes. “Fine. Just let me get his official statement, and then you guys can take your precious baby boy home.”

* * *

Callum wastrue to his word, and Theo was finished giving his statement an hour later. As soon as he walked outside, he heard the brief whistle again as he knew he would, and he turned toward it. A few seconds later, he saw a car parked in complete darkness.

He walked to it and, without a word, got in the back seat.

“How’s our precious baby boy?” Ray said with a laugh as Dorian started the car.

“Great. That nickname is going to stick, isn’t it?”

They both chuckled as Dorian pulled out of the parking lot.

“How did you guys know that Callum had brought me in?”

He saw his parents glance at each other. “Let’s just say that we might have some strategically placed microphones in the sheriff’s office. You know, just in case,” Ray replied.

Theo wasn’t surprised. Long before he and Savannah had arrived on the scene, Ray and Dorian had fought bloody battles for their happiness. There were people, even now decades later, who would take them down, especially Ray, if they knew she was alive. So making sure their family stayed under the radar was the most important thing to his parents.

“Did you get everything settled?” Dorian asked. They were going around in a large circle—common practice for Dorian to make sure no one was following them, even this late at night.

“Yeah, at least on my part for what Callum needed.”

Questioning was slow and repetitive and had given Theo a lot more time tothink about everything that hadhappenedboth with Gareth and then with Eva. And the more times he reiterated that he hadn’t attacked Gareth, the more he wondered what the hell was going on.

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