lot or house I find him in,” Roman said.
“I know that, and you know that, but this gentleman doesn’t. He doesn’t know us, all we’re giving him is words.”
Roman nodded in resignation.
“Come on, we got other doors to knock on. Maybe we’ll get lucky,” Riley said.
Chapter 6
Having been unsuccessful in asking Frederick’s neighbors if they’d witnessed anything that could help Talie, or incriminate Frederick in anyway, Riley and Roman finally gave up and went back to the hotel.
Roman paced slowly back and forth, coming to a pause every few laps of the room to gaze out of the windows looking out over the city.
Riley flipped channels and watched his friend hurting. “Anything I can do to make it easier for you?”
Roman shook his head and kept staring out of the window. “Somewhere out there is the answer on how to get Talie free. I just have no idea where to find it,” he said.
“But, we will. It may take a little time, but we’ll find it,” Riley said.
Roman didn’t answer.
“You know what? Why don’t you call Darcie? She’ll make you smile,” Riley suggested.
“She’s going to ask about her mom,” Roman said.
“Yeah, she will. And you tell her about how Talie laughed and smiled at all the photos you showed her. And you tell her about the ring you bought her mom, and you tell her about how much you like the lawyers and how hard we’re working to get her mom home soon. Then you tell her how much you love her and how happy you are that she’s yours. It’ll make you both feel better,” Riley said.
“You’re right,” Roman said, turning slowly to look at him. “I’ll call her.”
Roman reclined on his bed and called Maia on Face Time again.
The moment Maia answered, Roman grinned. “Ya’ll built a fort?” he asked.
“We did,” Maia answered with lots of little girl chatter and laughter in the background.
“Let me see,” Riley said, getting off his own bed and leaning over Roman’s shoulder. “Aw, you don’t ever build a fort when I’m home,” he teased.
“We’ll build one when you get back!” Cristie yelled from somewhere behind Maia.
“Deal!” Riley answered. “I’ll call you a little later. Love you,” he said to Maia.
“I’ll be waiting, love you, too,” Maia said. “You want to talk to your little girl, Roman?” she asked.
“Please, ma’am,” Roman said.
“Here you go,” Maia said, handing her phone to Darcie.
“It’s on the face thing like before?” Darcie asked.
“It is,” Maia answered.
“Hey, Daddy!” Darcie said, smiling into the phone.
“Hey, baby! That looks like a cool fort!”
“It is! And we’re having popcorn with M&M’s in it, and hot chocolate, and watching movies!” Darcie said.
“That sounds awesome,” Roman answered.
“Is Mama there?” she asked.
“No, baby, she’s not. But she was really happy to see all the pictures I showed her today. And she smiled a lot while we were getting married. I got her a pretty wedding ring today, wanna see?” he asked.
Sitting on the next bed, Riley knew he couldn’t call home at the moment since Roman was talking with Darcie on Maia’s phone, so instead, he decided to try to call Lazarus and see if he’d made any headway. Riley dialed the number and waited for several rings before his call was finally answered.
“’Sup?” Lazarus said.
“What is all that noise?” Riley asked.
“Live band,” Lazarus said.
“You having fun?” Riley asked sarcastically.
“Nope. Working,” Lazarus answered.
“Working?!”
“Yep. Got me a job at a bar here in town. Pay’s not all that great, but I get a room upstairs, too, so, it works out,” Lazarus said.
“That was quick,” Riley commented.
“Yep,” Laz answered, while talking to somebody in front of him. “$2.50, my man.”
“You bar tending?” Riley asked.
“And bouncing,” Laz answered.
Riley heard the noise in the background rise to a dull roar.
“Gotta go bust some heads. I’ll hit you up later,” Lazarus said before the line went dead.
Riley looked at the phone in his hands with a wrinkled brow. Apparently Lazarus took ‘immerse yourself into the local seedier side to see what you can find out’ literally. So much so in fact, that he’d gotten a damn job at a bar.
Roman ended the call with Darcie and looked over at Riley. “You were talking to Lazarus?”
“Yeah. He’s at work,” Riley answered, still trying to wrap his head around it.
“At work?!” Roman asked.
“Yeah. Heard a band in the background, Laz selling somebody a drink for $2.50, and a fight break out. He said he had to go bust some heads and would call me later,” Riley said.
Roman grinned. “You have to