Robby clapped a hand over his mouth, collapsing back onto the bed and kicking his feet. Calder smiled. It was a relief to see Robby excited about something. How long had it been since the boy had looked genuinely happy?
“Thank you so much,” Calder said.
“Thank me by paying my bill.”
Then he was gone. As soon as the man disconnected, Robby rocketed to his feet, jumping up and down on the mattress in his blue boxer briefs with the red stars. Calder leaned back, putting himself in danger just to enjoy the view of an elated Robby. He’d missed the laughing, giggling, smiling boy he had seen in news articles and magazine spreads. Suddenly, Robby was standing over him. Calder caught him behind the knees, yanking until he collapsed, straddling Calder’s torso. Robby caught his hands, leaning down to kiss Calder deeply.
“Did you hear that?” Robby asked, knowing full well Calder did. “It’s over. It’s all over. Finally.”
Calder didn’t want to burst his bubble but it wasn’t entirely over. They still had no idea who the man was who broke into Robby’s apartment. They still had no idea why he was there and whether somebody else might come after him later. They still didn’t know if his father was involved. Was Robby safe? Would he ever be truly safe?
Before he could get into it, his own phone began to vibrate on the dresser. He reached back behind him, floundering blindly until he managed to snag it and bring it to his face. Linc. “What’s up, brother? I hear we have you to thank for our early morning call from Robby’s lawyer.”
Linc snorted. “Not me. Wyatt. That boy cannot help but meddle and his grandmother is no better. There’s nothing Violet likes better than throwing her weight around and proving she can still provoke fear in us mere mortals. I’m surprised it honestly took this long for them to drop the charges. But that’s not why I’m calling.”
A trickle of unease crept along Calder’s spine, and he must have frowned because Robby’s smile faded and he caught his bottom lip between his teeth, biting down hard enough to leave indentations in his lip. “So, why are you calling?” Calder forced himself to ask.
“Is Robby there with you?”
“Yeah,” Calder said.
Linc sighed. “Put me on speaker phone.”
Calder could feel his good mood fading by the moment. He did what Linc asked, putting the phone on speaker. “Go ahead.”
“I spoke with my contact at the ATF. They’ve apparently had the farm under surveillance since they fled Kentucky, but they haven’t been able to move on them because they don’t have enough to execute a warrant.”
Calder frowned. “What does this have to do with us?”
“They want Robby’s sister. They need Rebecca to sign an affidavit. They’ll probably need her to testify if this goes to trial.”
“Against Samuel?” Robby asked, voice quivering just slightly at the man’s name. “No. No way. He’ll kill her.”
“It’s not that simple, kid,” Linc said. “Your sister is married to Samuel. She’s on legal documents. The farm property is in her name. If she doesn’t agree to help out and give an affidavit she could be named as a co-conspirator for any crimes committed by the farm. They are throwing her a lifeline.”
Goddammit. He was really done with all this drama. He was getting too old for this shit. “So, she gives a sworn affidavit, they execute a warrant, and then she gets immunity?”
Linc grunted. “I mean, you’ll need an attorney to nail down all those details, but that seems to be the gist of where they were going with this. Again, Rebecca needs a lawyer. She shouldn’t say a word without one. We’ve got time. There’s no rush. They are playing the long game with this. They can’t risk him slipping through their fingers. Talk to your sister. Make sure she knows she has the upper hand.”
“Yeah, okay. Tell Wyatt thanks for us.”
There was a rustling and then Wyatt’s voice appeared against the speaker, mumbling a sleepy, “Welcome.”
Linc disconnected, and once more, it was just Calder and Robby. He hugged Calder close, head dropping to his shoulder. “I’m so tired of all of this. I just want to leave LA and never come back. I don’t want to hear another word about cults or churches or cheese knives or paparazzi. Can we just run away?”
“Sure. Where should we go?” Calder asked.
Robby sighed. “I don’t even know. Somewhere with lots of land for animals…and babies?”
Calder’s pulse skipped, his heart racing. “Babies? You’re so young.”
“I’ve always known what I wanted,” Robby said. “Do you? Want kids, I mean? Is that wrong to ask?”
Calder felt like his brain had stalled. Did he want kids? Some part of him had, yes. Always. But another part of him chilled at the thought of what a baby meant.
Robby leaned back, cupping Calder’s hand. “I’m sorry I asked. It’s way too early for that conversation, especially with all you’re going through with Megan and… I’m…I’m sorry.”
Calder shook his head. “I want to have kids. I want to have kids with you. Our kids. But some part of my brain tells me that we’re just bringing another potential victim into the world. I don’t think I could bear to lose somebody I loved that much ever again. I—fuck—yes. Yes. I do. I’m just scared.”
