Roman's Vow (Riley's Pride #4) - Sandra R Neeley Page 0,53
without backup,” Roman snarled.
“Ain't nothing new for me. Been this way most of my life. I got this. Please, just stay there and take care of yours,” Lazarus said.
“I have nobody depending on me,” Lucas said.
“Riley does,” Lazarus answered. “All the family does.”
“He depends on you, too, you stubborn fuck,” Lucas shouted.
Lazarus smiled on his end of the line. “And I’m not going to let him down. This is just an abundance of caution to keep ya’ll out of it. You’re my family now. Let me do this, I got this. I’ll see ya’ll at court,” Lazarus said. Then the call disconnected.
Riley met the gaze of both Lucas and Roman.
“I’m going to be on standby in case he needs me. Might go up and hang out a little closer to where he is so I can be there quicker,” Lucas said.
Riley nodded. “We don’t want to show up and fuck up any of his plans, though. So, send him a message, let him know that you’ll be ready at a moment’s notice. We’ll figure out somewhere near him for you to wait in case he needs you. Tell him you’ll be available for backup, but he’s got to let you know a day before at the very least so we can get you there.”
Lucas nodded and reached for his phone to type out the text Riley told him to send.
“I don’t like this,” Roman grumbled.
“Roman, he’s doing you a solid, man. You have a family to take care of now. He’s right about that. The only way to get your woman out is to get a confession from her ex or from one that was with him. That won’t be easy, but I have no doubt that Lazarus can handle it. If something can be traced back, it can’t be to you. What would happen to Talie and Darcie without you? Talie would be left fighting her ex-mother-in-law for custody from a jail cell most likely and Darcie would be caught in the middle probably never seeing her mother again. Let’s just sit back, trust Lazarus, and see what unfolds,” Riley said. “We’ll try to have Lucas nearby in case Laz needs him.”
Roman stopped pacing to listen to Riley speaking to him. He stood there with his hands on his hips watching Riley as he spoke. He knew Riley was right. He knew he had no choice but to let Lazarus handle this on his behalf. He turned and looked out over the roofs of the homes in the neighborhood they were working in. “Fuck!” he bellowed. Sighing deeply, he finally turned back to Riley. “Alright. I don’t like it, but he’s right. I’ll owe him, happily, for the rest of his fucking life,” Roman said.
Riley grinned. “And he won’t allow you to repay him either. You heard him, we’re his family. This is what you do for family. He won’t allow you to do anything to repay him. Just be his friend, his brother, that’s more than he’s ever had.”
“I’ll find a way. I’ll be his friend, already am, but I’ll make sure he knows how much I appreciate him, too,” Roman said.
“Says he’ll let me know if he thinks he needs back up. Said he’ll be in touch,” Lucas said, reading the text Lazarus had responded with almost immediately.
“Let’s get this roof finished,” Riley said. “Everybody keep their phones at the ready in case he reaches out to one of us. You especially, Lucas,” Riley said.
“Consider it done,” Lucas said, slipping his phone into his back pocket and reaching for a hammer.
~~~
“Talie,” a voice said from outside her cell. It was early in the evening and the inmates were having a little quiet time after dinner. Most of them were in the common areas playing cards or watching T.V., but Talie always kept to herself. It wasn’t only her preference, it was at the urging of Sheryl, the guard she’d struck up a friendship with.
Talie looked up to find Sheryl standing outside her cell with a box in her arms.
“What’s that?” Talie said, walking toward her.
“Your man’s been at it again,” Sheryl said with a grin. “It came in last week actually, but it always takes a while for our slow ass inspection service to open and examine the packages that come in.”
“Oh, my gosh,” Talie said, taking the box from Sheryl. Talie set it on the floor of her cell and sat down beside it, unfolding the flaps of the box and beginning to dig through it.