I reached out and grabbed Rowdy’s wildly flailing hand and pulled him over to my side. He was practically vibrating with the intensity of being this close to Sayer and the stress of the situation with Asa. Ayden was already at the precinct trying to bail her brother out and Jet had finally managed to get on a plane, but he was still four hours away from home. Rowdy had offered to go to the police station with Ayden, but she was more worried about getting him represented than she was about getting him out of lockup. She said getting him out eventually was the easy part, getting someone to represent him, someone that could prove he was innocent, was the tricky part, so she had tasked Rowdy with that chore. Personally I thought she wanted her brother to know that she was the one specifically bailing him. There was bad blood there and Ayden needed Asa to know she was standing by him even if she hadn’t always done that.
“I get that, and the fact you can attest to that, as well as the rest of the patrons in the bar during the event, is very helpful to Asa’s case, but it’s still an uphill battle. Asa’s record and the fact he didn’t defend himself, just went quietly with the police and never argued against the arrest makes him look bad—really bad. Innocent people don’t generally surrender to the police that easily. On top of that, the kid that lodged the complaint and pressed the charges is as squeaky-clean as they come. He doesn’t even have a speeding ticket.”
Rowdy growled and sat on the edge of his chair. Sayer’s blue eyes were sympathetic, and deep down I think Rowdy appreciated she wasn’t just throwing sunshine at him because it was what he wanted to hear.
“So what do we do now?”
She cocked her head to the side and considered the two of us thoughtfully. “There is this guy, Quaid Jackson, and I know firsthand that he’s a barracuda. I’ve never had to work with him directly since he’s a criminal attorney, but his reputation is vicious. No one wants to go up against him in court.” She smiled a little bit and reached for her phone. “One of the other partners represented him in his divorce a few months ago. The wife was a real piece of work. The firm saved Quaid from having to pay over three grand a month in maintenance payments to her. Let me give him a call and see if he can help your friend out.”
Rowdy let out a breath he must have been holding for a while and reached out his hand to wrap it around the back of my neck. I leaned into his touch and patted his thigh reassuringly. I was the one that had called Sayer to set up this meeting, but now that we were here I could see some of the reservations and coldness Rowdy had walked in with thawing around him. Sayer hadn’t judged, hadn’t assumed the worst based on what Asa looked like on paper. All she cared about was trying to help her brother’s friend out because he was in some serious trouble and she was in a position to try and fix it.
Her conversation with the other attorney was brief and cut right to the chase. She laid out what the other guy would be facing and then frowned at whatever his response was. They went back and forth for a few more minutes and then Sayer stated flatly, “The cost isn’t an issue, Quaid. Keeping an innocent man out of jail is.” I felt Rowdy’s fingers flex involuntarily around my neck and I looked up at him in concern. He looked back down at me and I was surprised to see a little grin pulling around his mouth.
“She’s tough.”
“And pretty. Just like you.” He rolled his eyes at me but bent so he could brush his lips across the crown of my head.
Sayer hung up the phone and grinned at us in a way that could only be described as victorious. “He’s in. I knew he couldn’t resist the challenge.”
Rowdy cleared his throat. “He sounds expensive.”
I knew everyone would pitch in and help out to cover the cost if need be but Sayer just shook her head. “He’s going to do it as a favor to the firm. All the client will have to cover is the typical retainer he charges, which is five grand.”
Five grand was still a lot of money but it was totally doable.
“Thank you so much, Sayer.” I wanted to hug her.
The blonde nodded at me and her attention shifted to Rowdy. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I know it’s not the reason you’re here but I feel like it would be remiss of me not to mention that you have a substantial inheritance at your fingertips if you need it.”
I felt Rowdy jerk a little next to me and the leg I was holding on to went rock hard under my fingers.
“I . . .” He trailed off and I saw his head sort of drop. “I can’t think about that right now. I appreciate you helping us out and riding to the rescue, but trying to get my head around the money and you . . .” He shrugged. “I don’t know that I’m ready for that just yet.”