Page 94 of Hero Unbound

Okay, her mind was playing tricks on her again. Probably because she was thinking about leaving town and hopefully never speaking to him again. She didn’t want to hear his voice anymore—in conversation or in her head.

She was climbing back down the rungs when a handwrappedaround her ankle and yanked. Itjerkedher off-balance, and before she could catch herself, she started to fall. She hit the ground hard, her head slamming against the pavement, and everything went black.

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Theo dodged a punch aimed at his head, stepping to the side and ducking at the same time. That blow had been a little too close, and he’d better focus on what he was doing or he was going to end up on the ground.

He was sparring with Bear in the expansive Linear Tactical gym—a common practice for them both.When Bear had shown up a couple of hours ago looking to work off some steam, Theo had been more than happy to meet him in the ring.

Bear’s brother Derek was Theo’s best sparring partner, but Bear was a close second. Theo could, and did, spar with Lincoln, Tucker, and Lilah on a regular basis. All of them could give him a run for his money. But Finn Bollinger had taught his sons—and his daughter—to fight dirty, just like Dorian had taught Theo. So fighting with a Bollinger was always next level.

He barely ducked in time to keep another swing from Bear from catching him in the face, before spinning on his heel and coming around on the offensive with a roundhouse kick.

On occasion, they opened the sparring center to the public. Visitors came from all around to test their mettle against the people linked to Linear Tactical. Bear wasn’t an official Linear team member, but that was by his choice, not because of lack of skill.

Fighters Bear went up against in the ring tended to underestimate him when they heard he was a mechanic. That was their mistake—usually one they figured out after they woke up from a knockout.

Theo dipped down and caught Bear off guard with a low leg sweep, bringing him to the mat. The other man didn’t stay down long. He jumped back up onto his feet before Theo could take advantage of it. They went at it in silence for several minutes, the only sound in the gym their own grunts and labored breathing as both dealt and defended blows.

They were definitely evenly matched as usual, but today, something was off for both of them.

“You’re distracted,” Theo said as he stepped back slightly and they began to circle each other.

“So are you,” Bear countered.

“Why?” they both asked at the same time.

Bear let his guard drop, and Theo did the same.

“Mostly because of my dumbass brother,” Bear said. “Ends up, Derek has been stateside for months and didn’t tell any of us.”

Derek had joined the Air Force right out of high school. He’d gone on to become a Combat Controller and then… Nobody knew quite what had happened. Everybody in Oak Creek had thought Derek would be a lifer in the military—something Theo had been silently envious about. But instead, Derek had gotten out three years ago. Yet he hadn’t come home. He’d stayed working as some sort of contractor over in the Middle East.

Nobody knew exactly what that entailed.But they all knew that the Derek they’d known in high school was not the same Derek who had gotten out of the military.

“Have to do with his PTSD issues?” Theo asked.

Bear shrugged, taking off his headgear. “Evidently, becoming a helitack pilot without telling anyone was the best way for Derek to fight his demons. As if that job isn’t just as dangerous as carrying out Special Forces missions.”

Theo took off his gloves. “He probably should have worried less about fighting his demons and worried more about fighting Becky Mackay. Did you see her face the other night when she realized he was back in town and hadn’t told her?”

Bear rolled his eyes. “Can you blame her after their history? Derek has a lot to answer for to a lot of people. I’m surprised he showed up here at all.”

“Let’s just hope he keeps showing up. He needs to be around people who care about him and can help him.”

“If anybody can talk him into that, it’s Becky. If she doesn’t kill him first.” Bear grabbed a towel and wiped off sweat. “But what about you? What’s your excuse for being distracted?”

“Eva.” As if that one word explained everything. For Theo, it did.

“Why? I like her. She’s sweet.”

“It’s complicated.” Theo took a sip of his own water.

Bear chuckled. “It always is.”

Theo had left her this morning, hoping she’d get more sleep and because his thoughts still weren’t clear enough for them to actually talk. His mom’s words about believing Eva’s truth had been running through his mind since she’d said them, but he still wasn’t sure how to proceed.

For someone known for studying situations and turning them to his tactical advantage, he was frustrated not to know what his next move should be.

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