Chapter Twenty-Six
The burn radiating from the center of Elias’ chest left him feeling lightheaded and disoriented. Connor was looking at him a lot like how he found Caleb studying him lately. The last thing he needed was more scrutiny, so he made a point to wrap his hands around his coffee mug and school his expression.
“Dramatics aside, Caleb’s concerns over Adelaide and Aaron are accurate.” Elias shifted his weight and tried to find a more comfortable position in the wooden dining chair. “She spent a long time trying to convince us all it was just a publicity stunt to make her more sympathetic to the public, but she’s not fooling any of us.”
“It pisses me off. The kids haven”t mentioned it, but they barely even mention their mother at all, so I ain”t surprised about that.” Connor kept a keen eye on Elias, even as he pretended to study his own coffee.
“She barely mentions them, either. Honestly, it”s for the best. I hate the burden it”s put on Theo and you, but you guys are the best thing that has ever happened to those kids.”
“It”s all Theo. I”m still tryin’ to find my footing, I reckon.” His attention slipped to the doorway with a faint flicker of a smile. “I do love them kids, though.”
“Trust me, Con. They know it. When they”re over at our place, it”s all ‘Connor this’ and ‘Connor that.’ Especially Tob. Are you okay with becoming a father figure to a troubled teen?” Elias shifted again, reclining in the chair to ease some of the pressure in his chest.
“It took a bit of a shift in thinking. At first, it were a bit terrifying, not gonna lie. But he”s a good kid. And I always wanted kids.” Connor shrugged and wiped a hand over his mouth. “World works in mysterious ways. I always thought babies when I thought about raising a family.”
“There’s always time. You guys are young.” Elias paused to take a sip of coffee before switching the topic. He hadn”t been expecting to bare his soul, but now he couldn”t imagine not sharing his concerns with a willing ear. “Look, I”m going to cut right to the meat of it. I”m almost positive Adelaide is sharing information with Aaron. Information he shouldn”t have.”
Connor froze for a microsecond, just enough for Elias to clock the tension in his shoulders, before slowly shaking his head. “What d’ye mean by that, Eli?”
“A couple weeks back, Aaron asked me about my incarcerated cousin Tristan.” Elias tensed his grip around his mug as he waited for the blowback.
“What the…?” Connor pushed himself from the table and paced around the small kitchen. “Good Lord, no one was supposed to know the details. Shit!”
“Precisely my response. If he knows about that, who”s to say what else he’s found out. And why? I”m struggling to figure out why he wants the information.”
Connor spun back toward the table with a sweep of his hand. “Aaron and Andrew have both been, forgive my language, balls deep in this bullshit since day one. I ain”t surprised at all.”
Elias mulled over Connor’s words and watched his agitation, his own chest aching more with the apprehension. “Even if we eliminate the relationship between Addy and Aaron… he still has access through his brother’s role as the Vice President. So we have to figure out why Aaron wants to be so deeply involved.”
“You reckon he wants to run for office?” Connor settled against the counter again and folded his arms over his chest. Elias tracked his gaze toward the doorway and realized he’d selected that spot because it was in direct sight of the living room beyond.
“God damn, could you imagine it? I doubt Addy will get a second term. If Aaron managed it, and then his brother… we”d be looking at up to twenty years of Evans” influence on the country. Four with Addy, and two terms each for them? Fuck, man.”
Connor made a noncommittal grunting sound. His chin fell to his chest as his fingertips drummed his bicep. Elias pushed his coffee away and gave in to the urge to press the heel of his palm to the center of his chest. His heart was pounding so hard, the heartburn sensation became even more impossible to ignore. His timing couldn”t be worse.
“For fuck’s sake, if you don”t make an appointment with your doctor, I”m hog-tying you and dragging you there myself.” Caleb reappeared with a deeper scowl carving sharp lines into his typically cherubic features.
“I know, I know. I”m fine, Cay. But I”ll make the appointment.” Elias turned to welcome Caleb into his arms. “Did you check on Parker?”
“Yeah. He”s awake but he wants to stick around for a bit until Anna wakes up.” Caleb smoothed his fingers through Elias’ hair. The man had magic fingers and the tender gesture helped ease some of the burning in Elias’ chest.
“Teddy doin’ all right?” Connor’s voice cracked a little as he spoke quieter.
“He is. We spoke a little.”
Elias cocked his head in confusion.
“He were a little… out of it. It”s been a lot lately,” Connor supplied with a shrug.
“Ahh. Gotcha.” Elias was unfortunately familiar with Theo’s panic disorder and the occasional bouts of dissociation he struggled with. Honestly, he was surprised that Theo had made it through the last few months without one. At least without one they were aware of. The young man’s propensity to hide his suffering was not unlike Elias’ current determination to minimize his own issues.
“Were we discussing my two least favorite people in the world?” Caleb shifted his body to the side and perched his weight on Elias’ thigh. “I”m open to suggestions for how to hide the bodies.”
Connor unleashed a dry chuckle and lifted his hand to run it through his short hair. “Shit, we gotta do something. If that’s the only option…”
Elias huffed a laugh of his own. “I think we have a few more options to run through before we discuss assassination attempts. I”m good at politics, not so much planning crimes.”
“But it”s not completely off the table,” Caleb added with a crooked grin. His homicidal humor, despite how off-color it was, definitely helped lift some of the ominous weight from him. He was ninety-nine percent positive Caleb would never, ever commit a heinous crime like murder. There was always that one percent, though.
“What exactly went down tonight to get y’all so worked up?” Connor refilled his cup from the coffee pot and resumed his vigil at the counter.
“Okay, so… SparkNotes version.” Caleb leaned to grab his abandoned mug from the table, gesturing with it as he continued. “Aaron and Adelaide are sickening like high schoolers dating for the first time. I did a little sneaky-sneak during a bathroom break. He”s basically got enough stuff there to stay over. A lot.”
“Cay… you were snooping in the Residence? Really?” Elias angled himself to get a better look at Caleb’s expression. He didn”t look at all guilty.
“Duh. Of course. One must always snoop when given the opportunity.” Caleb jerked his chin toward Connor with a devilish grin. “For example, our friends here have quite a nice collection of toys—”
Elias promptly sealed a palm over Caleb’s mouth as Connor’s face erupted into a vivid red color. The less Elias knew about his surrogate adult sons, the better. At least when it came to their sex life.
“You”re getting off topic, Caleb.” Elias slowly withdrew his hand and hoped the topic was dropped.
“Right, right. Not sorry. Anyway,” Caleb quipped before rapidly switching back to the conversation at hand. “Aaron’s shit is all over Addy’s office, bedroom, bathroom. Everywhere. Like glitter after a drag show. Amongst all his detritus… paperwork and manila envelopes with various levels of security clearance stamps. It”s not good. I”m all for transparency in the government but this level of sun’s out, guns out is horrifying.”
“So what you’re telling me is that we can assume he’s read everything she is privy to?” Connor swept a palm over his stubbled chin with a soft sigh. “I gotta tell Teddy. They have weekly visitation with the kids at the Residence. And weekly family counseling sessions.”
“It would be safe to assume any information gleaned during these visits is in Aaron’s hands. Does the FBI know this? It’s looking like whomever is stalking Theo, Lily… all of us, really, is getting the information from somewhere and this is our strongest lead to date.” Elias tucked his arms around Caleb’s waist and set his chin atop his shoulder.
“Reckon so. I”ll talk to Luke and Bell. I should prolly call Director Moore, too.” Connor sagged against the counter and exhaled another weighty breath. “What a shit show.”
“Welcome to my life,” Theo mumbled with a whispery rasp as he shuffled into the room wrapped in a throw blanket. Elias’ chest ached for a whole different reason as he registered the younger man’s pallid skin and sunken eyes. The tremors in his body were evident, even at a distance.
“How much’d you hear, Teddy?” Connor spread his arms and promptly coiled them around Theo as he stepped into the embrace.
“Enough. I”ve never trusted Aaron. The kids hate him.” Theo nuzzled Connor”s chest before turning his face to the side and resting his cheek against it. “The closeness isn”t new. Toby said he was constantly inserting himself before they moved in with us. Mom tried to get me to let him in on the counseling sessions too.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Caleb grew instantly tense and perked up straight. “God, I”m so stabby right now. The man needs to lose his eyes, I”m so serious.”
Theo exhaled a weak chuckle that was more breath than sound. “I”ll hold him down, you can do the stabbing.”
“Y’all are scary when you’re mad.” Connor pressed a kiss to Theo’s riotous dark curls. “Remind me to change the combination on the gun safe.”
“Nope,” Theo scoffed. “You wouldn”t rob me of the sense of security it provides.”
“Shit, I always forget you got your license. Hmm, this makes things easier,” Caleb mulled aloud. Elias didn”t like the glint in his eyes.
“No. No murder. No guns. Absolutely no plotting.” Elias narrowed his eyes at Caleb’s pouty face. “No. Be good.”
“You are no fair. Ruining all my dreams. What sort of marriage is this, anyway?”
“One in which I save you from yourself, Cay. Remember, you said you don”t look good in orange.”
“Actually, ‘I can make everything look good,’ is what I said. I”m fabulous like that.” Caleb’s cheeks plumped with his lopsided smile.
“Dad? Anna said there”s more cookies. Can I have more?” Parker appeared in the doorway, stifling a yawn.
“Sure, buddy. Come give a hug first?” Elias held out his arm and even more of the pressure in his chest eased as Parker slid in close and sagged into his embrace. His constant worry over his son would forever plague him, but it was easier to deal with when he had Parker in his hold. “You okay?”
“Mmhmm. I was brave like you and Cay-Cay.”
“Yeah, you were.” Theo flicked his gaze from Parker to Elias and back again. “I”m sorry tonight wasn”t as fun as we promised.”
“It’s okay, Teo. I had fun anyway. Plus, cookies make it better.” Parker pulled free of Elias’ hug and readjusted his glasses. “Can I have them now?”
Elias chuckled softly and tousled his son’s hair. “What do we say?”
“Please?” Parker bounced toward the counter where Theo pointed. “And thank you!”
“Sure thing, bud. Take the whole container to share.”
Elias caught a glimpse of the stack of plastic storage containers on the counter and pressed his lips together in a thin line. Theo was notorious for baking when stressed. The number of baked goods on offer was always a reliable barometer for his anxiety levels, so the sizable mountain of packaged food shouldn”t have come as a surprise. Anyone looking in from the outside would assume he was a bakery owner, not a freelance web developer.
“We’ll get out of your hair, guys.” Elias patted Caleb’s hip and helped him slide to his feet before slowly standing beside him. Thankfully, he was steadier on his feet and the burn in his chest had subsided. “Thanks for watching Park tonight.”
“Of course. I”m sorry—”
“Ah, quit. Ain”t your fault.” Connor warned Theo, arresting his apology mid sentence.
“He’s right. Hush, my pasty little friend.” Caleb crossed the kitchen and gifted both Connor and Theo audible cheek kisses. “We love you. Now get some rest.”
Elias approached and did the same. He wasn”t nearly as free with physical affection as his husband was, but the intensity of what had transpired for them all inspired him to break with tradition. Even Parker squeezed in for extra hugs before disappearing to say goodbye to Anna and Toby. He let him go. There was little chance they”d be getting to sleep easily tonight, so he didn”t feel the need to rush.
Even as they moved to the front door, the reluctance was evident. Theo and Connor chose to walk them out, and the hesitation as they eyed the door was palpable in the air. Inside was safe, but even that false sense of security could only do so much. The omnipresent threat had already infiltrated their minds.