Rowdy(79)

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I wish I was. All I know is my wife is there and I’m here and it’s a bunch of bullshit. I need you to make sure she’s okay.”

“Of course. We’ll be back in the city in just a few. She’ll be my first stop.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course. For what it’s worth, I think Asa is a good dude. I really think he’s turned it around.”

Jet swore again. “I thought so, too, but I’m not surprised by anything that guy does anymore. I gotta go. I gotta figure out a way home. Thanks, man.”

I hung up and just stared at my phone for a second. I looked at Salem and shook my head. “Royal arrested Asa last night.”

She bit her lip. “For what?”

“Jet didn’t know. He’s worried Ayden is freaking out over it.”

She nodded. “I bet. Hold on a sec. I’m gonna text Saint. She and Royal are attached at the hip. She probably has the insider info.”

I lifted an eyebrow at her. “You don’t think Ayden would have tried that already.”

She shrugged. “Maybe.”

I pulled back into traffic after sending Ayden a text saying I was headed her way. It was a solid ten minutes before Salem’s phone pinged and then pinged again.

“Assault. Some kids came into the police station and lodged a complaint against him. She says one was pretty busted up and claimed that he went back to the bar to apologize for some ruckus he and his buddies caused and Asa jumped him in the parking lot.” She frowned and looked up at me. “Aren’t there cameras at the Bar?”

“Not outside. Shit. I bet I know exactly who those kids are.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. There was this group of punks in the bar the other day while I was there and they were giving Asa a really hard time. He let it go but kicked them out and the one kid told him he would regret it. It wouldn’t be hard to find out Asa has a record and claiming something like assault means the cops would have to pick him up.” I tightened my hands on the steering wheel. “Son of a bitch.”

“You need to tell Royal.”

“We need to get him a lawyer.” I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. “His history is pretty nasty. It won’t look good in front of any judge.”

“Well, you were a witness and if there are cameras inside the bar you can prove this kid has some kind of vendetta and . . .” She paused and reached out to put her hand on my thigh. “If you need to get him a lawyer, I know someone we can ask to help with that.”

She was talking about Sayer. Good God, could the rest of this day get any more out of hand.

“She does family law. We need a criminal lawyer.”

“She’s smart and she cares about you. If you ask her for help I have no doubt she will find you the best criminal attorney in the state. You have to give her a chance, Rowdy. Just like you did for me. We both came here for you, you’re the one that has to open the door to let us in.”

I didn’t want to because once that door was open I would never be able to slam it closed again and the sexy brunette in the passenger seat was living proof of that. The more people that I let in, the more people I had to risk losing later on down the road, but for Ayden and for Jet I would just have to suck it up.

“Call her.” I gritted the words out between my teeth and raced toward D-town to try and pull Asa’s ass out of the fire.





CHAPTER 16

Salem

IT WAS HARD TO tell who was more anxious as we sat in Sayer’s office as brother and sister stared at each other across her fancy desk. Rowdy couldn’t sit still and Sayer kept clearing her throat and twisting her fingers together nervously.

“He didn’t do it. That punk kid set him up.” Rowdy was adamant and his tone was hard.

Sayer was trying to be impartial in a very lawyerly way, but I could see she wanted to fight this battle for him. “That may be, but Asa has an extensive record with some pretty nasty stuff on it, and with a corroborating witness the charges against him will be hard to refute.”

Rowdy raked his hands through his hair and cast pleading eyes in her direction.

“What about the surveillance tapes inside of the bar?” I asked the question hoping it would help calm him down.

“The owner, Rome, pulled them and is sending them over. I really think the best bet is to post Asa’s bond and hire him an attorney. The police report from the patrol unit that took him down to the station stated that it looked like he had indeed been in a fight. His hands were busted up and he had blood and scratches on his face.”

“Those little shits probably jumped him and set him up. I’m telling you I was there. This kid was a nightmare and just looking to start something. He was pissed right the hell off that Asa kicked him out of the bar.”