Roman's Vow (Riley's Pride #4) - Sandra R Neeley Page 0,15

the thought of having to go back to jail. She thought of the thing that always calmed her when she felt she was going to lose it — Darcie. “Kiss Darcie for me,” she said, then she stepped through the door and was gone.

Roman sat down hard in the chair behind him as he watched his wife being led away from him again.

Riley went to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s going to be okay. We knew we weren’t bringing her home this time. We didn’t expect to see her, and hell, you married her!” Riley said on a chuckle. “You’re her next of kin now. All your info will be added to her records and you’ll have access to her that you didn’t before. And Darcie is yours now, too. Talie’ll be able to have access to both of you. There’s a lot of progress going on here today,” Riley said.

“Yes, there is. We’re also on the glove thing. The stolen items are still in the evidence room down at the police station. We’ll request the forensic tests be run, and have our own specialist present for that, and for the testing with Talie when she wears the gloves to provide prints. At the very least it’ll create a reasonable doubt, and that will give us an edge. If nothing else, we are no longer facing the minimum thirty-five year sentence in a maximum security facility we were looking at before,” Mr. Schexnaydre said.

“It’s a good day,” Raymond said.

“Yes, it is. And you gave her the chance to not only speak to, but to see her daughter, and for her daughter to see her,” Ms. Autry said. “And did you hear how excited she was to hear you two are married?” Ms. Autry asked.

Roman smiled thinking about Darcie. Then his smile fell and he looked up at Ms. Autry. “Do they let the women have rings in jail? She doesn’t have a wedding ring. I didn’t give her a ring!” Roman said.

“They would have taken it from her anyway the minute she got back. It’s better if you wait until later to give her her ring,” Ms. Autry said.

“Okay,” Roman said, defeated.

“Is there anymore for us to do here today?” Riley asked.

“No. We have some things to take care of from a presentation point of view, but other than being at the hearing, there’s nothing else at the moment,” Raymond answered. “If you want to come to the hearing that is.”

“Yes! I’ll be at every one of them until they let her out,” Roman insisted.

“Okay, then. Nine in the morning. Ms. Laramie will give you the address of the courthouse,” Raymond said.

“Thank you,” Roman answered, getting to his feet and standing beside Riley.

“We’ll be going then,” Riley said, holding out his hand to shake as they approached the door and the two attorneys did the same. “We’ll get a bite to eat and see what else we can fill the day with.”

As they stepped into the hallway, Patrick was coming back toward them. Roman reached out and grabbed the man, pulling him into a hug. After a moment of being flustered, Patrick laughed, patting Roman on the back. “Thank you so much, Mr. Rooney. I will never be able to thank you enough,” Roman said, stepping back.

“While I knew it was the right move for legal reasons, I wasn’t sure if you would be willing to go along with it. I’m pleased that you were. Even more so now that I see how much Ms. Davis means to you. I’ll do everything in my power, our power,” he said, indicating his brother and partner, “to get her home to you and your daughter.”

“Thank you, Mr. Rooney. Anything you need you tell me, and it’s done,” Roman promised.

“Would be nice to find a witness of some sort,” Patrick said, sharing a look with Riley who just gave him a ghost of a smile. “In the meantime, we’ll see you at the hearing?” he asked.

“Yes, sir. I’ll be there,” Roman answered.

“Excellent. We have some plans to put in motion, and I have another idea concerning another test we can have performed, and we’ll see you at the hearing,” Patrick answered. “Good day, Mr. Lyakhov, Mr. Colter. It has been a pleasure,” Patrick said, shaking their hands.

~~~

Riley and Roman walked out of the mirrored office building and Roman came to a stop, raising his face to the sky as the sun shone down on him on the cold, yet