Chapter 28 Roman
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Roman
Roman: I know you’re pissed but please can we just talk about this.
Roman: Mase. I know you’re reading these.
Roman: I’m sorry I punched you.
Roman: Okay I’m not that sorry, you did sort of deserve it.
- Messages to Mase, unanswered
My knuckles turn white against the steering wheel as Rob Carson and his buddies spill out of the bar for another smoke.
I should be in bed with Lola, but it’s been two days since she saw him in town, and I can’t stop thinking about it.
So, I’m parked up in Mount Bush watching Rob drag on a vape like a fucking idiot.
Shit. I shouldn’t be here. I grab my phone from the center console and call the one person I’ve always been able to call except the dialing tone rings, unanswered.
I guess that’s what happens when you sleep with your best friend’s sister and fail to tell him.
The voicemail message sounds, and I rest my forehead against the steering wheel.
“Mase. Fuck man, I don’t know what to say except I’m sitting across the road from Rob Carson and I need you to stop me from doing something stupid.
I know you’re mad at me. I know stuff is fucked up right now.
But before all this shit with the drinking, you were the levelheaded one and I need that Mase right now.
“And fuck, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Lola, but I love her man.
I love her so much I’m one bad decision away from committing murder.
” I sigh, my breath condensing against the wheel.
“I’m meeting my dad for dinner in the city tomorrow but come by the stables any time before six.
If I haven’t been arrested, we can talk then. ”
I hang up and turn the ignition. I know full well I should drive away but I just can’t bring myself to do it. Maybe Mase not answering was a sign.
Rob throws his head back, laughing.
Fists pummel my chest. I grind my teeth to dust as I hold myself back from striding across the street and decking him. I need to at least wait till he’s alone. Then I can scare the motherfucking daylight out of him and make sure he never dares set foot in Pine Rock again.
The prick should still be in prison for dealing, but he’s out early on good behavior because he was never convicted for what he did to Lola. The system is fucked up. Which is why I’m here, stalking Carson like a fucking psychopath.
I tried to let it go, I really did, but all I can see is Lola lying on the burned floor of the old barn, her skirt shoved up to her waist and blood between her thighs. I don’t want the fucker living in the same world as her, let along setting foot in the same fucking town.
Across the street, Carson’s mates playfully shove each other around before heading back into the bar. Carson waves them off, leaning against the brick wall under the glow of the streetlight as he puffs smoke into the air.
No one else is around. I turn the engine off again. My hand reaches for the door but a tap on the passenger window has me drawing up short. I spin around to find Jarred staring at me through the glass.
I curse and unlock the door, letting him climb inside.
“What are you doing here?”
He shrugs in his white linen shirt. His eyes are blood shot, booze on his breath. “Seemed like a good night for a drive.”
“Funny,” I drawl, not taking my eyes off Carson, “that’s what I thought too.”
“You can get up to ten years for assault. Life, if we’re talking first degree murder.”
“I wasn’t going to—”
Jarred cuts me a sharp look, shutting me up.
I sigh. “How d’you find me?”
“I got a message from Mase. Lucky for you I was already here.”
I grunt. Not sure whether I’m happy he’s here to stop me or not.
“You’ve got a girl at home, Roman. You can’t protect her if you’re behind bars. Just ask my brother.”
My eyes shutter and I let my head fall back against the seat. “Fuck.” Jarred’s reminder of what happened to Felix hits far too close to the bone. He’d been protecting his girl too.
I suck on the inside of my cheek and shake my head. “He could hurt her again.”
Jarred twists in his seat, bracing his arm on the dash. “I’m not here to stop you. You do what you’ve got to do to keep your girl safe, but for god’s sake, be smart about it.”
My gaze cuts to him. Understanding flickers between us and as much as I want to cross the street and wrap my hand around Carson’s throat, I know Jarred’s right. I have to play this smart. I did it before and I can do it again.
Jarred sinks back in the passenger seat and now I’m not so caught up in my own crap, I realize he’s in a bad state. His cheeks are gaunt and booze stinks up the car. “You look like shit,” I say.
He tips his head back against the seat. “Archer died last night.”
Shock blows my chest. Archer was like a father to Jarred. They’ve been working together since Jarred’s dad died when he was only seventeen. Jarred took over the company then, passed up a full ride to Michigan State to run the family business with Archer. “Fuck.”
“Yeah. I just needed one night. One night to drink myself stupid away from my family.”
Well shit, now I feel like crap for getting in the way of that. Jarred never takes time for himself. He’s spent the last seven years being responsible for his whole family.
I cut him a look. “Jarred, I’m grateful you came over here but honestly man, you should have ignored Mase’s message. If I kill Carson, that’s on me.”
He rolls his head to face me.
“I’m serious. Stop trying to look after everyone else and take care of yourself.” I meet the pain in his gaze head on. “You need more than one night, Jarred.”
His eyes shine before he turns away, his hand on the door. “Don’t kill anyone,” he grumbles as he climbs out of the car, fading away into the dark street.
My gaze flicks to Carson. He slips his vape in his pocket and heads back inside the bar. I pick up my phone and type out a message to Mase.
Roman: Thank you.
Three dots appear and I hold my breath.
Mase: Yeah, whatever.
I go to turn the engine on, ready to drive out of here, when something in the wingmirror catches my eye.
I grab my phone and call Mase.
“I’m still mad at you,” he grumbles.
I ignore him, my gaze still set on the SUV in the wingmirror. “Did you ever hear back about those plates I sent you?”
Rustling filters down the line. “Give me a sec. I’ll call Santos and get back to you.”
“Thanks, man.”
I wait in the car, not letting the SUV parked a few car widths behind me out of my sight. What with everything happening with Lola I’d forgotten about the out of place vehicle, but I’ve seen it one too many times for it to be a coincidence now.
A minute later my phone buzzes.
Mase: Car is registered to a Simon Merchant. He’s a PI, Rome.
My jaw locks because I know that name. Simon Merchant is the private investigator my father uses.
I shove open the car door, my feet pounding against the sidewalk as I approach the SUV and rap the base of my fist on the window. My attention narrows and I glower at the glass, the window humming as it opens.
Merchant is a weasel of a man with slicked back hair and eyes set too close to his nose. He opens his indignant mouth, but I don’t wait for him to talk.
“I have a message for my father.”
Merchant eyes me, wary.
“Tell him he can dig around in my life all he wants, he won’t find any bones.”
I don’t hang about for a response. I don’t need to, because I know my father’s game all too well. ‘No’ isn’t a word he likes to hear, especially not from his own son. I should have known it was only a matter of time before he tried to blackmail me.