Leaving the 99

20~Lord protect all of us, including Prince Charming & Cowboy

Rachel threw her arms around Annie and Ty. "I've missed you guys so much!"

"Yeah!" Tanner shouted, dragging out the word and joining the group hug. "Together again! Reunion at the police station!"

Caleb lifted a brow at Tommy. "Guess we don't want to be left out."

"Speak for yourself. If a photo of me group hugging with my sister and her friends ends up on social media, I'll never live it down. They might even take my homecoming crown."

"Whaat?" Caleb drawled with interest. "You hear that Tanner? Lil' Bro here succeeded you as homecoming king."

"C'mon, you know you want to hang with the cool kids," Annie called to them, teasing.

Detective Roberts found the six of them hugging. He cleared his throat. "Well, well, well. Isn't this sweet." Sarcasm dripped from his words.

"Officer!" Tanner grinned.

"Detective," Roberts corrected.

"My bad. Detective Roberts, we are glad to see you! You wouldn't believe what we've been through."

"The Mitchells have filled me in, and I've read your statement," Roberts tapped a file in front of him with a pen. "I'd offer seats but I've only got two. Decide who gets them. The rest can stand."

The girls took the seats and the guys lined up behind them.

"You sure we can trust him?" Caleb whispered.

"Our dad said we could," Tommy answered.

"Your dad hates Ty."

Annie frowned at Caleb.

Rachel punched his arm. "Her dad loves his kids. If Mr. Mitchell says we can trust him, we can."

Detective Roberts' sharp gaze flicked over each of them. "Carry on. Don't mind me."

"Sorry," Ty apologized. "We really appreciate your help, sir."

"Not so fast Prince Charming." Roberts leaned back in his chair, his sharp gaze missing nothing. "So you're the kids from the island."

Caleb elbowed Ty when he started to respond. It was a rhetorical question.

"We don't get celebrities in here often. Guess today's my lucky day." None of them missed Roberts' mockery. "Prince Charming goes first," he ordered, pointing his pen at Ty. "Start talking."

Detective Roberts listened to Ty tell about the men dressed as cops who'd broken into his house. Roberts cocked a brow and whistled when he saw the money.

"You took down two men with guns." Roberts seemed reluctantly impressed.

Ty shifted, uncomfortable with the attention. "God was on my side."

"He's a hero," Caleb said smoothly. "But he doesn't like to talk about it."

"Hmm. Guess you're more than a pretty boy." Detective Roberts's eyes pinned Caleb. "Your turn Cowboy."

Caleb told him about the night they were shot at leaving the carnival. "You saw someone shoot at you?"

"No, but my truck had bullet holes and—"

The Detective turned to Rachel. "Did you see someone shooting at you?"

"No, but—"

Roberts cut her off. "Since you don't have your truck, and you didn't actually see someone shooting there's not much I can do."

"You're saying you can't help us," Ty said grimly.

"I've seen the media posts of you kids." He took a deep swallow from his coffee mug. "I can recommend a few good therapists."