ROMAN (Lane Brothers Book 5) (6 page)

The man shot at a deputy a few months back for daring to even step foot in a club bar. The only reason he didn’t see the inside of a cell was because Mel made me talk to the chief about it and the man buried the incident under red tape.

In other words, the case file got “lost.”

Did I enjoy saving that idiot from prison after the way he’s been trying to steal my girl right out from under me? No, but an angry Mel is not a Mel I want to ever meet. Ever.

So I towed the line.

“You still with me, Roman?” Dyson asks and I snap out of it to see him staring at me curiously.

“Yeah, man, sorry. I just didn’t sleep too well last night is all. Cleo isn’t paying me and my creditors are chewing my ass for the money I owe them.”

“Man, I told you to stop gambling, dude. That shit’s a black hole.”

“Yeah, yeah. You pay for sex, I like poker. We all got our weaknesses, man,” I gripe, pushing down my distaste for the man.

What he’s into with women is nasty, and I hate even hearing half the shit he does when he hires one of his “birdies,” as he likes to call them.

In reality, I have more money than I can realistically spend in a lifetime, and I wouldn’t gamble with anyone but my brothers, if that. But among these people, I’m a gambler who’s split from his family, so letting him think my woes are all financial related is the only way to avoid suspicion.

Plus, I needed to turn the focus away from Mel before I did something stupid like beat him to death and rile Cleo more than she already is.

“Dude, at least I get something out of my vice. All you got is debt and misery.”

Yeah, but at least I don’t walk away from a woman leaving her crying and shamed
, I think, wishing not for the first time that I could let Miah loose on this animal.

“Shut up and get us back to the warehouse already, Dyson. I’m sure Cleo is just dying to see if I came through or not, and I’d like to see her wrinkled old trout pout collapse when I prove her wrong.”

“Hell yeah, man! I hate that bitch so much sometimes. I can’t believe Jerry lets her run the show.”

Maybe Mel was right. Maybe I should get out with what I have, but whether I end up dead or not, I need to see this through and find the last player.

Melissa

The bar is smoke filled and crammed to the gills the next day, thanks to Lon and his big fat mouth. I’ve had so many people up my ass about the baby that I finally lost it and took old Bertha out just to let them know how I feel about unnecessary physical displays of affection and people touching my still flat stomach.

And freaking Will, you’d swear the guy suddenly became the big brother I never had (or wanted) with the way he keeps forcing healthy foods on me and telling me to take it easy.

I swear I almost miss his lascivious looks and inappropriate comments because at least none of it was as stifling as having the men around me trying to lift everything from a bottle to a freaking teaspoon for me.

You’d swear being pregnant suddenly turned me into a weak, mewling idiot. Where before they’d all watch me carry a case of beer, stumbling under its weight, now they all jump when I so much as breathe near the storage room.

I appreciate all the concern, but after getting “home” last night and having poor Judith almost expire with happiness and stick to me like bubble gum under my shoe, I’m a tad crankier about their gestures than I probably should be.

Add Roman’s stubbornness to the mix and I’m about ready to start unloading old Bertha with an eye on the box of shells.

“Hey, darlin’, that lemon ain’t done nothing to deserve its fate,” Will says, making me jump when he pops up beside me with a grin.

I look down and see the remains of a lemon beneath my knife and grimace at the pulp that’s left of the poor thing.

“You bugging me for a reason, Sparrow, or is it just my lucky day?”

“Well, darlin’, I’d say it’s your lucky day with my attention being the golden ticket and all, but I just wanted to come on over and let you know that Lonnie spotted another of those assholes outside the bar. This one’s packing, so I called Miah and he’s coming over to get you home.”

Oh for the love of God.

“I can’t…please don’t make me go back there this early. She’ll make me try on freaking wedding dresses and shoes,” I whine pathetically. “You don’t understand.”

“Darlin’, why’s it that women always bitch and gripe about not having all the fancy shit they always want, but when they get it they moan about it being too much?”

I frown. My old Converse and even rattier Levi’s are my idea of designer, and I dare anyone to tell me and Bertha something different.

But I get what he’s saying. I have a whole family that wants me and wants me to let them love me. I just don’t know how. My dad was gruff and ornery and most of the time we only saw each other at breakfast or suppertime.

That’s what I’m used to, besides the quiet, intimate dinners I’d had with Roman.

“Will, have you ever been a wine-and-flowers type of guy? You know, the man who wants fancy candlelit dinners with the perfect wife and three kids at home?”

That has him turning green and I laugh when he swallows and immediately shakes his head.

“Nah. You know me, I like beer and women who are easy to please. Like you, I guess,” he says sheepishly, taking another regretful look at my belly.

“Well, that’s me. I like simple and relaxed, and with Roman that’s what I had. The man is not at all like his family, and I love that about him. He understands that I don’t do PDA, and that if I wanted something hanging on me twenty-four seven, I’d buy a scarf. The others don’t quite get that. They’re just so…”

“Loving?” He laughs and I grimace and flip him the bird.

“
Too
loving. Judith keeps kissing my cheeks and looking at me with stars in her eyes. You know Clari had to bribe her little brother Josh last night to keep the woman off me, and even that only worked for an hour. And Josh is the most adorable thing I ever saw. He should have kept her entertained for a good hour more. But no…”

I spent an hour listening to wedding plans I have no intention of making until my errant boyfriend gets his ass back to me alive and whole.

“You want me to shoot straight with you, darlin’? You’re not giving them a chance because you think that man of yours ain’t coming back. You don’t want to love them if he’s not gonna make you theirs. I’ve known you for a long time, Mel, and I know how your messed-up mind works. My advice is, give them a chance and have faith. That’s all we got, after all, and it makes life more bearable in the end.”

“You been watching Dr. Phil now that Dr. Oz isn’t on TV anymore? That was downright inspirational,” I say with a smile.

That gets me the bird and an unimpressed laugh as Miah strolls through the door, followed by Jared and a very mean-looking Wyatt Lane. The man looks ready to kill and I thank the sweet baby Jesus that he isn’t looking at me that way.

“I still think we should send that fool back, bloody and broken. Cleo needs a message she can’t ignore.”

“Quit it, Wyatt. We don’t want to antagonize her again. Lord knows what she’ll do to Roman. Oh hey, Mellie, you ready?”

I watch Wyatt’s eyes narrow.

“Uh, sure, if you keep Jack the Ripper up front with you,” I joke, liking that Wyatt chuckles and lets go of the anger long enough to smile and try to give me a noogie.

“Hey! Watch the hair. I actually brushed it this morning, you know.”

“I’ll behave as long as they stay as far back from us as is safe. Come on, little sister. Let’s go home so Ma can torture you with all her girlie shit.”

“Dammit, Miah, I thought you said there was no sound on the surveillance systems,” I groan, grabbing my bag and getting into the human cage as all three Lanes and a grinning Will surround me on all sides.

“I lied. Now stop being so ornery and smile for the stalkers, babe. We don’t want Cleo thinking you’re not happy with the amazing Lane clan.”

Have I mentioned that sarcasm and wit are only great when
I’m
directing it at others?

“You think it’s possible for them to see little ole me through all the testosterone you apes have going?” I ask sweetly.

“Sure they will. Your head’s big enough to see from space, so why not?” Miah laughs and I roll my eyes at my own stupidity.

Why I even still try when he only comes back with a worse insult just goes to show that I’m a glutton for punishment.

Or a little sister who’s starting to enjoy having four big brothers who love teasing.

***

I don’t have to spend the rest of my day with Judith or Ellie, thank you Jesus, because as soon as the guys got us all home and into the house, they shuffled me upstairs and started interrogating me like a prisoner of war.

“What exactly did he say when he called you?”

“For the hundredth time, Miah, he wanted to yell at me for leaving the cabin. Then he told me to go home with y’all. That was basically it. He said he didn’t want Will involved and he wasn’t too happy about me coming out of hiding.
That was it
. Someone came in and he had to end the call.”

All I get from the man is a stony glare.

“He called you for a reason. I know Roman. He would not risk calling without a specific purpose, Melissa.”

“I know that,
Jeremiah
. We just never got to that part of things so chill the hell out already. I didn’t even get to tell him about the freaking baby!”

Do not cry, Dobson, do not cry. Crying is for women who were raised by their mothers or aunts. You’re a cop’s daughter and another cop’s woman.

The mantra works and I feel myself stiffen when he only comes back and repeats himself.

“You ask me the very same question again and your kids will be fatherless, Miah Lane.”

Jared starts laughing. Jace and Wyatt share a look that sets my teeth on edge. And Miah finally straightens and backs off to start that pacing shit men do when they want to hit something.

“That can’t be all. It just can’t. We need something, anything to go on here. Jared tried tracking the phone after Roman called, but he must have turned it off because we got nothing, and that damned…”

I feel his frustration, since I have the same urgency roiling inside me, but I can’t give him answers I don’t freaking have.

“Tracy says you called Uncle Jim.”

Every one of them stiffens and I hang my head with a sigh.

“He’s either involved or an asshole, as I’ve come to see it. So tell me.”

Jared stops clicking at his keyboard and turns to me with what I can only guess is his attempt at commiseration.

“Why didn’t the chief call his brother when they first started roping him into this? If what you told us last night is true, and I do believe you wouldn’t lie to cover your dad’s ass, then there was a reason he wouldn’t want to use the senator’s influence to get out of it. What did the chief say?”

“He said Uncle Dobs, Jim, wouldn’t be much help and that I was barking up the wrong tree. Now that I think about it, he stopped calling me a few months before Dad finally fessed up to me about this mess. Then Roman approached me, and well, you know the rest.”

Like me, I suspect that the Lane brothers are connecting the dots. If I have to think about it all, it sort of makes sense. My uncle Jim is a powerhouse who’s had his eye on the oval office for years. With the way things have been going the last few years, all America would need is another attack to start a frenzy.

Just think, who would the public vote for? A candidate who’s more interested in policy and economic turnaround, or one who’s been spouting xenophobic bullshit for years?

I love Dobs, and as my only surviving relative, I have always and
will
always be in his corner, but the man is an idiot when it comes to his personal views.

If he’s looking to boost his campaign when elections come round soon after the violence caused by bombings and unrest, then he’s going about it the right way.

It also makes sense that he’d be involved, because it tells me why my dad was targeted in the first place. Who better to control than someone you know?

“We have no proof, and honestly, we could just be making a few heavy assumptions here because we’re flying blind till Roman comes back with something,”Jace says kindly, making me think of Will’s words from earlier today.

They really are a loving bunch. Just the thought of Jace trying to play this all down to spare my feelings makes me almost squishy deep inside.

Not enough for a PDA moment, but close enough that I squeeze his hand with a shake of my head.

“You’re a terrible liar, Jace, you know that? If Dobs isn’t willing to help then we all know why. And I also know that my uncle is about as willing to go to Homeland Security as he is to break bread with a foreigner. He’s involved, or at least
knew
about this situation long before this. He just doesn’t want to do anything about it, I guess. How do we find out for sure?”

That gets me a smile from Miah and I forgive him for his bullying tactics and listen as he starts outlining a plan that should work, as long as
Dobs is still my uncle and just lazy as opposed to part of the Patriots organization.

“I’ll call him and ask him to come down and help with Daddy’s house. I just hope it works. We need this done so I can stop stewing my kid in stress.”

“Good girl. Now lie own and take a nap. Miah’s going to keep Ma busy for the next hour, and I’ll make sure my sweet Ellie is occupied,” Wyatt says, blowing me a kiss. “I see why he fell for you, Mel.”

That’s about the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me, besides that time Will told me my ass was incomparable. I think I could really love the Lanes. It would just be easier if Roman were here.

“I don’t want to sleep. I want to call Roman and get the idiot out of harm’s way,” I gripe, standing with a yawn that makes them all laugh before shuffling for the door.

“Mel?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m real sorry about your daddy, sweetheart. He wasn’t my favorite guy, and a lot of the time I thought he was guilty and wanted to kill him with my bare hands, but he didn’t deserve to die the way he did. If you need to talk about it, I’m always here for you,” Jared says slowly, causing my stupid eyes to tear up again. “At least it will be better than having Ma cry all over you again.”

I laugh just as he wants me to and shake my head at the memory of Judith crying for Daddy, despite the fact that they never knew each other.

“I’m fine. Just get me my guy back.”

“Even if it kills me.”

***

Roman

I wake when the phone beneath my pillow keeps vibrating and it takes me a moment to realize it’s the burner I’ve been ignoring since I turned it back on a couple hours ago.

The caller ID shows nothing, and I know immediately that it’s not Mel trying to call me again, but one of my brothers. I shouldn’t answer, not with all my emotions still swimming all over the place, but I can’t help the need that courses through me when thinking I’ll hear one of their voices and be reconnected with them.

I miss them a lot, or more than a man of my age has a right to miss people I saw almost every day for over twenty years. The truth is that after being accepted into the fold by Cleo yesterday, I feel so dirty that I’m not sure I’ll ever be fit to see them all again.