Chapter Thirty-Three
“Aeren?” Lamar called softly, listening intently in late night silence. “Come on out. It’s just me, baby.”
Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted.
Closer, a leaf rustled.
Then another.
Then Lamar caught a hint of the scent that was absolutely, completely Aeren as a slender body began to climb down the trunk of the old oak tree.
“There you are,” Lamar sighed, wrapping his arms around the boy the instant his feet touched the ground. He held Aeren so tightly that he wasn’t sure he could breathe, but Aeren struggled against him, trying to get closer still. “Are you hurt?”
“No, sir,” Aeren mumbled into Lamar’s chest, making him smile.
“Good.” Releasing him from the hug, Lamar kept a tight grip on his right hand and led him into the house. Flipping on the fireplace, he nudged Aeren toward the recliner. “Sit down. I just need to send a quick text so the department knows you’ve been found.”
A frown creased his face, but Aeren sat as instructed and stared into the roaring fire.
“What’s wrong?”
Aeren’s gaze shot back to where Lamar stood. “Nothing, sir.”
Lamar rolled his eyes, holding back a laugh when Aeren’s jaw dropped. “You’re frowning. Are you still mad at me?”
“What? No!” Aeren’s cheeks flushed. “I was never mad at you.”
“Really?” Lamar quirked a brow.
Aeren nodded, his bottom lip caught in his teeth.
“Oh.” Lamar felt the air swirl out of the room. “Okay. I thought maybe…” He trailed off and forced a smile. “Anyway, I’m sure you’re tired, but you are going to have to answer a few questions before you can go home. Okay?”
“Yes, sir.”
Aeren’s sad eyes twisted in Lamar’s heart like a knife, but he nodded briskly and reached for his phone. Hanging up, he stood. “A team of detectives will be here to question you in a few minutes.” He paused. “Unless you’d rather go to the police station to do it? Unfortunately,After Nineis a crime scene again, so that isn’t an option.”
“I’d rather stay here, sir.”
Lamar nodded and turned to the kitchen. “I’ll be right back.” When he returned, he set a bottle of water and a sandwich on the table next to the recliner. When Aeren gave him a questioning look, he shrugged uncomfortably. “I thought you might be hungry.”
The small smile that brushed over Aeren’s lips twisted the knife again, making Lamar avert his eyes. Reaching for the television remote, he clicked the power button. “Might as well see what’s on.”
~*~
“Nice to see you again, Ren,” the Chief greeted as he took a seat on the couch. “Ms. Clauneot asked me to tell you that she’ll call you as soon as she can. She’s with the crew that is processing the crime scene at the club. We’ll keep this brief, okay?”
Aeren nodded, twisting his fingers together in his lap, the remains of his half-eaten sandwich forgotten.
“Great.” The Chief opened his notepad and clicked his pen, scribbling once at the top of the page to get the ink flowing. “Now, can you tell me what happened at the safe house?”
Aeren drew in a deep breath. “I was watching TV in the bedroom when I heard a crashing noise from the living room. One of the police officers shouted for me to get out, so I dialed 911 from my cell phone, left it on the bed, and threw the television out the window so whoever was there would think I left.” A small shudder ran through Aeren’s slender body. “Then I hid on the shelf in the closet behind a stack of blankets.” He shrugged self-consciously. “Sometimes it’s handy to be small.”
Lamar chuckled. “Must be. God knows I couldn’t do that.”
The Chief grunted. “What happened next?”
“The intruder forced the bedroom door open,” his eyes darted to Lamar as he explained, “I locked it before I hid. I couldn’t see who it was when they yanked the closet door open, but there was a lot of yelling and then everything went quiet.”
