“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.”

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.”

Sayer smiled a little sadly. “I understand. I guess as long as there is an option for you to get your head around it at some point, I can wait—and I will.”

He cleared his throat again and got to his feet. He walked over to the desk and stuck his hand out to her so that she could shake it. Seeing the two of them next to each other like that . . . there was no denying they were related. They looked so strikingly similar, except for the classic elegance that Sayer possessed and the delicate femininity of her features, there was no missing the fact they were brother and sister.

“I’m sorry I acted like such an ass**le when you told me who you were. I don’t do so great with surprises.”

I saw her squeeze his hand. “Don’t worry about it. I took a swing at my dad’s lawyer and called him a liar when he broke the news to me. I understand it’s a lot to take in.”

He nodded and took a step back toward me. “You seem like a really nice person, Sayer. Half sister or not, you didn’t deserve to have that bomb dropped on you like that any more than I did. It was a shitty thing to do to both of us.”

Sayer snorted and got to her feet behind the fancy desk and took a few steps around the side. “Dad was a pretty shitty guy.” She lifted her chin a little and changed the subject as she told us, “They never moved Asa out of the lockup at the city precinct. He’s probably still there until his sister posts his bond. You can probably catch up with them if you head that way now.”

Rowdy nodded and thanked her again. I scooted around him and wrapped my arms around her. “Thank you.”

She hugged me back. “Of course.” She looked over my head where I was sure Rowdy was watching our exchange.

“I told you he would get there.”

“I think your friend with the shady past might’ve sped the process up.”

I laughed a little and let her go. “Well, they do say everything happens for a reason.”

“I guess so. Good luck. Call me if you need any more help. Quaid is the best in the business but I’m always available if you need me.”

“You’re amazing.” Rowdy’s voice was soft and there was a wealth of emotion coloring it. He took my hand as we left the law building and made our way back up toward Capitol Hill, where the downtown police station was located. It actually wasn’t too far away from the Marked, and the closer we got, the tenser and more agitated Rowdy seemed to get.