“Winnie convinced me to run a half-marathon with her in a few months, so I’ve been training before breakfast. I was out running and came back in time to see a lady coming out of your window. I almost said something until I realized it was Miss Myers. I, uh, hid to see what she was up to. Then when you came out and got into your truck with her… I got curious.” His smile dropped. “I would have gotten to you sooner, but by the time I got out to the road, I had to guess where you’d gone. I guessed the right direction, and when I heard the first shots, I was close enough to the back-road turn. Sorry.”
Darius wasn’t sure why he was apologizing.
He said as much.
“It sounds like I should be thanking you. I’m guessing the second shooter took off because you showed up. You get us out of that room too?”
Theo looked pleased, even though he shook his head.
“I called Dad and EMTs before going down there to check on you.” He motioned in Eve’s direction. “I tried to get her out first, but she refused to even try until you could come with her. Lucky for all of us that Rose’s husband was close to us. He was the one who helped get you up the ladder we got from the main building.”
James was Seven Roads’s only mechanic. He was also a muscled mountain of a man. If there was anyone who could get Darius as dead weight up a ladder, it was definitely him.
Still, he didn’t overlook what had been Theo’s obvious effort.
“Thank you,” Darius said, “for helping to get us.”
Theo’s cheeks turned a little red. He waved a dismissive hand through the air.
“Just trying to be a good tenant to my landlord is all. It was no biggie.”
They finally got to the part of the conversation that was, indeed, a biggie. Darius knew that Theo felt it too. He cleared his throat but managed to stay as quiet as he had been.
His gaze moved to Eve.
“She wouldn’t tell me—or anyone—why you two were there at the steel mill,” he said. “All she would say is that you were the one who needed to answer the questions. Dad got mad at her, but I think that was more because of Scott Keys.”
Darius felt that anger rise in him again.
Before they had been attacked, he had finally put together that Eve wasn’t interested in Mitchell but rather his brother.
And not in a romantic way.
He hadn’t had time to consider what was actually going on.
“Scott Keys? What was he doing?”
Theo rolled his eyes.
“Kicking up a fuss so loud that Dad and Blake had to pull in some lawyers.”
That didn’t make sense. Why was Scott kicking up a fuss at the sheriff when it seemed like the sheriff was the one also trying to find the bad guy? Theo must have picked up on the question. He answered it without Darius having to ask. Though, there was some hesitation in it.
“Mr. Keys seems to think that Miss Myers has an intimate relationship with you…and that’s causing some issues.”
Darius felt his eyes widen.
“An intimate relationship,” he repeated.
Theo nodded.
“And he doesn’t even know about the whole sneaking-out-of-your-window thing yesterday morning either.”
It was Darius’s turn to roll his eyes.
“I’m not having an affair with Eve,” he started. “And even if I were, us getting attacked at the steel mill while there’s stilla homicide investigation going on doesn’t really fit into a sexy rendezvous scenario, does it?”
“That’s what Dad said too, but Mr. Keys still seemed pretty mad. Winnie pulled me back to the waiting room while they left to go to the department, so I’m not sure how that all resolved. No one has been here to see either one of you except us and Mitchell since visiting hours ended.”
