Herald the Night

Chapter Twenty-Seven

A heavy brain fog and simmering anxiety kept Theo unsettled and disconnected from the world around him as they all loitered in front of the locked front door of their home. Logically, he knew there was nothing on the other side but a few agents on watch and the darkened quiet of their residential street, but the hair on the back of his neck stood on end regardless. The truth of the matter was that nothing felt safe anymore. He was grateful for Connor’s steady palm on his lower back—an anchor in the miasma of dissociation that he was still trying to shake off.

His tether slowly slid away as Connor moved toward the door and unlatched the deadbolt. Ever the protector, he was going to walk them out and see them off. So many of his protective habits from his time in the Secret Service were cemented into him. Theo was positive they”d remain an integral part of his personality for many years to come. He tugged the throw blanket around his shoulders and stepped into the doorframe to watch from the relative safety of the entrance.

Just as he expected, two agents were on duty outside. He knew a handful more were scattered around the property, but he couldn”t see them through the impenetrable darkness outside the halo of illumination provided by the porch light. Quiet conversation and soft spoken partings filled the air as Elias and Caleb stepped down the stairs with Parker sandwiched between them. Everything was subdued. So much so that it took Theo entirely too long to respond as the quietude erupted into chaos.

A rustling sound to the right caught everyone”s attention before Theo could react. Footsteps. Movement. Shadows. A flash of a lighter, and then there were flames. A grunt. A crash. Glass breaking. More glass breaking and then the flames burned dayglow bright from the sidewalk leading up to the house. Screaming. Shouting. Theo’s body hit the floor as Connor tackled him backward in a move so fast, Theo had no time to prepare as the air rushed from his lungs and refused to return.

Everything became a blur as he tried without success to get his body to react. It was Connor’s strong hands that pulled him to his feet. It was Connor”s footsteps that carried him deeper into the house. It was Connor”s voice calling out to the kids with an edge of panic so raw, his core turned to ice and his chest burned with the lack of oxygen. Chaos, chaos, chaos. A sickly yellow light flickered from inside the living room as Connor all but dragged him through the hall and into the kitchen.

A second, bone-chilling crash cut through the air as more glass broke somewhere in the distance. Theo pulled a small, gasping rush of air into his stubborn lungs and cried out for Anna and Toby with the feeble exhale. They appeared beside him, sobbing and trembling as they clawed at his body. He blinked and when his eyes opened again, he discovered they were all huddled under the kitchen table. Theo watched, helpless, as Connor”s feet ran toward the sink and then disappeared just as quickly with a fire extinguisher in hand. Adrenaline seeped through Theo’s veins in record time as his rocketing pulse helped push it to the ends of his extremities.

The fog was gone from his mind, replaced by a hyper awareness so vivid, he could register every shouted word, heavy footfall, and miniscule sound from outside the protective cave of the kitchen table. The woosh sizzle hiss of the extinguisher being deployed in the living room filled the air with a chemical aroma in addition to the acrid burn of smoke and alcohol. From outside, shouts became a cacophonous white noise that pitched higher and lower as it moved closer and farther and back again. The danger was too close and too unknown for him to stay in stasis.

His knees skated over the linoleum as he crept from the false security of the table. The instinct to flee reigned supreme. He grabbed hold of Anna’s and Toby’s hands, cinching them tight in his grip. They weren”t safe here. They weren”t safe anywhere, but the vulnerability of this enclosed place was too risky to gamble with. In a quick beat, they were all on their feet and moving toward the hallway.

Smoke hung heavy at waist height and above, so he ducked lower and moved faster. The children were rag dolls of shock as he pushed them ahead of himself and toward the bathroom, diving in behind them to slam the door shut and slam the lock in place. Although the house might be burning, the unknown enemies lurking outside of it were a greater risk to their survival. He had to trust that the agents and Connor would eliminate the threats.

“Parker?!” Anna shrieked, shaking Theo’s hand with all the force she could muster.

“I don”t know, Bug. I don”t know!” Theo leaned his back against the door and tried to catch his breath. Every inhale tore through the vice around his chest. Every exhale felt like his last.

“Theo… Theo, what do we do?” Toby looked to him for guidance he couldn”t provide. He needed to formulate a plan, but none became apparent.

“Gimme a sec,” he mumbled, shutting his eyes to concentrate on breathing. If he couldn”t breathe right, they”d all be screwed. In and out. In and out. Such a simple act shouldn”t have been so hard.

Each gasp restored a little more clarity to him. By the time he managed to regain a reliable, albeit quickened rhythm to his panting, the barest scaffolding of a plan began to form. It was a shot in the dark, but without something to work with, the chances of chaos taking over were too high.

“Okay… listen to me. I”m going to open the door on three. As soon as it”s open, you run to my bedroom and you go into my bathroom. We”ll wait there till we know what”s going on, got it?” Theo glanced between the two children”s faces with their too-wide eyes and anxious expressions. “I”ll be right behind you the whole way.”

The world moved in slow motion as the meager plan played out. He tried to keep his panic from taking over by concentrating on executing each step. The door opened. Anna and Toby exited. He followed. The hallway became the bedroom and then the children continued into the bathroom. Every second they were out of his sights, his anxiety crept higher, but he had something to do. Something vital and necessary. His knees connected with the carpeted floor and his hands dove under the bed until he found the object of his search by muscle memory alone.

As the gun safe appeared before him, his fingertips flew over the combination lock without conscious thought. Spin, spin, spin, next. Spin, spin, spin, next. The third iteration resulted in a soft click and he flung the lid open with a sigh of relief. Connor had taught him everything he knew, more than once. As much as he loathed it, the firearm fitting into his palm brought with it a sense of security he’d be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. He checked the chamber, grabbed a clip, and slid it home with a reassuring snick. The cool metal against the warm skin of his lower back as he tucked it into the waistband of his jeans became the armor he would need to get through this newest battle.

“Theo?! Anna! Toby!!” Connor’s panic-drenched voice cried out from beyond the bedroom.

“In here!” Theo bellowed the words as he turned toward the opening. Connor appeared mere moments later, panting and smudged with black ash that stood in stark contrast to the pale of his complexion in the darkened bedroom.

“Thank the Lord,” Connor rushed out with a weighty exhale. “Y’all good?”

“Ha. Yeah. What the hell”s going on?” Theo closed the gun safe, spinning each of the three dials before shoving it back under the bed frame.

“Molotovs. Elias, Caleb, and Parker are okay. Police are here. Fire department too.” Connor sagged against the doorjamb and shut his eyes.

“You okay?” Theo climbed to his feet and closed the distance between them. A palm to Connor’s chest revealed a heart pounding so hard, it was nearly audible in his own eardrums. A thought drifting along the periphery of his mind reminded him that it was his own pulse he was hearing.

“Reckon I”m okay. Where’re the kids?”

Theo nodded toward their en suite bathroom. Connor was in motion before he even completed the act. The impulse was easy to sympathize with—Theo trailed him into the smaller space and felt the familiar relief of seeing the children with his own two eyes. They were terror-stricken and too small huddled on the lip of the tub together, but at least they were there. Safe. Together. Unharmed.

“Connor!” The unisonous exclamation from the children echoed off the tiled walls.

“Lord,” Connor mumbled, rushing forward to wrap them in his arms. “Y’all right?”

“Yeah.” Toby tried for stolid and unfazed, but the waver in his voice betrayed his fear.

Theo let the door frame support his weight. He was overwrought and trembling, the small moment of relative peace threatening his adrenaline-fueled concentration. Outside the square footage of the bathroom, there was danger and uncertainty. Here, they could try to ignore it, if only for a second. His solace was short-lived.

“We’ve got the all-clear from the Director.” A Secret Service agent materialized behind him and had Theo nearly choking on the sharp intake of air his gasp forced through his throat.

“All clear for what?” Connor’s gaze snapped toward the voice.

“We’re moving Theo and the kids to a safe house the FBI secured.”

“Wait…” Theo spun in place and narrowed his eyes at the agent. “Connor too.”

“Sorry, Sir. Orders are just for you and the kids.” The agent’s weight shifted from one foot to the other. “We evacuate in ten.”

“No, absolutely not. He’s coming with us.” Theo bristled from head to toe as his anxiety became anger in the blink of an eye.

“Orders were clear. You and the kids.” The agent”s response time was too slow as Theo stepped forward and planted his palms on the man’s chest with a shove. He pushed again, driving the hapless body further backward.

“No! Call him back and tell him no!” Theo seethed, unleashing the flurry of emotions through clenched teeth.

“Teddy, baby…” Connor’s hand clasped around Theo’s shoulder and prevented him from advancing again. “I”ll be fine. Y’all gotta get somewhere safe.”

Theo pivoted and glared at his boyfriend”s grim expression. “We’re safest with you. Call the Director. Tell him!”

“Baby,” Connor soothed, lowering his voice. “It”s just temporary. You”ll be okay. You go with them, and I”ll come when I can.”

“No,” Theo whispered as the anger dissipated and left him bereft of energy to fight against the injustice of it all. “Please don”t leave us?”

“Listen here,” Connor said with a firmer voice. “I ain”t leaving. I ain”t ever leaving you. I”ll be right here.”

Theo deflated as Connor pressed a palm over his heart. He might not be leaving in the figurative sense of the word, but the fact remained that they were being separated again. It didn”t matter to Theo that it was due to circumstances outside their control. He”d just gotten Connor back. The idea of being apart from him again cut like hot knives at his flayed nerves.

“Please?” Theo’s hands balled into fists around Connor”s shirt. “Please don”t make me do this?”

“Teddy…” Connor”s voice hitched as he pulled Theo into a tight embrace. “I”ll come as soon as I can. I promise.”

“No more broken promises,” Theo whispered the words into Connor”s ear and coiled his arms tighter around his muscular frame. He clung even harder as the agent gathered the kids and walked them around their bodies. He squeezed unrelentingly as Connor tried to push him away. “Promise me!”

“I promise, baby. As soon as I can, I”m there. I promise you.” Connor managed to disentangle Theo from his hold and their eyes met. “I. Love. You.”

Theo crumbled as the tears broke free from his eyes. Everything about this was wrong, wrong, wrong. Choking on a sob, he let his hands fall limp at his sides. “Love you. Please come back to me.”

“I promise.” Connor’s words followed him as he turned around and took the hardest steps of his life. It wasn”t right. It wasn”t fair. But he walked away nevertheless, hating himself more with every inch that separated them from each other.