SafetyInNumbers-Final (18 page)

“You with me?” Billy asked in concern.

“Yes, of course.” Liam hadn’t meant to tune out, but focusing on family and their future had helped him block out their dismal surroundings. It made him feel a lot better, but it wasn’t going to help Billy if he kept it all to himself. “I think it’s a good sign that he agreed to see you.”

Billy glanced over, his smile as tense as Liam felt. “I hope you’re right.”

The hollow words weren’t very encouraging. This might not be some picture postcard reunion, but the fact remained that Tim had agreed to meet with him. And, attitude aside, Robbie had reached out to Billy for help. Whatever issues the family had, those were both important first steps.

“Even if you yell and scream, it’s still a good sign,” Liam insisted. “Sometimes that’s the only way to get to the good part.”

“We’re not gonna get to that point, right?” Billy asked as they paused outside the room where he assumed they’d be meeting Tim. There was sweat on Billy’s brow and he kept tugging at the neck of his t-shirt nervously. “Yelling and screaming, I mean.”

Liam leaned against the wall, putting himself as close to Billy as possible without actually touching him, and tried to distract him. “Only in the bedroom, Billy Bear.”

All nervous movement stopped and Billy seared him with a look so heated it threatened to burn his clothes right off. “When we get out of here, we’re gonna put that to the test.”

“I thought that was a given.” Right after they showered. Being here made him feel filthy and it was a feeling he had hoped never to experience again. Just thinking about it reminded Liam of the leering looks and derisive comments they got from the other inmates. Anyone who assumed Chris had become such a powerhouse just because of David’s abuse had never tried to fend off a group of inmate’s intent on ‘breaking in the fresh young meat.’

“You shouldn’t be here,” Billy said, cutting those memories off before they could take over. “It’s getting in your head. I’m gonna ask one of the guards to take you back.”

“No!” His loud whisper sounded like a shot echoing up and down the hallway, drawing all eyes their way. He knew Billy was worried, but Liam was stronger than his memories and he intended to prove it. “Absolutely not. I’m safer with you, wherever you are, than with either of them.”

Billy looked at the guards talking to Kieran and back at him questioningly. Liam was quick to shake his head. He hadn’t meant to give the impression that he’d been abused by a guard, he just didn’t trust them. The guard who alerted Jared to their situation had only been assigned to their block a week. If he could figure it out that fast, Liam had to believe everyone working in that prison knew and did nothing about it.

Chris said knowing why wouldn’t change anything and he was right. It wasn’t going to give them those two years back, but not knowing why was wearing thin. The more Liam thought about it, the harder it was to believe that Chris was content to let that piece of the puzzle go unresolved and he wouldn’t put it past his overprotective brother to go digging behind his back so he could assess the information before sharing it.

“Ready?” Kieran looked between them in concern as they entered the room. He was the reason they were both free to walk out of this place after their meeting with Tim and was also the most logical person to find out what happened to them. If Chris was digging, Kieran would know, and before they left this place, Liam would too.

As the door behind them closed, another opened on the far side of the room. If he didn’t know who they were meeting, Liam never would have assumed the shackled prisoner being led inside was Billy’s brother. There was not a single shred of family resemblance between them. Where his bear was tall and brawny, the approaching man was shockingly thin and at least a half a foot shorter. Where Billy was covered in fur, this man-child didn’t look old enough to have had his first shave. The only thing even remotely similar about the brothers was the angry glare they were treating each other to, but Tim’s eyes were blue, not hazel.

“Everyone needs to sit.” Kieran spoke softly as he pulled out chairs on one side of the table. The guard pushed Tim into the chair across from them and Liam winced when the shackles were secured to the table. There was one tense minute when Liam wondered if that shackle was going to stop Tim from lunging at his brother, then Kieran glanced down the table, his gaze demanding that Billy say something to defuse the situation.

Billy glared back, cleared his throat, and demanded, “What the fuck were you thinking?”

That probably wasn’t what Kieran had in mind and Liam wondered if he was the only one listening when Kieran coached them on what not to say. Tim’s chair scraped harshly on the concrete floor as he leaned in as far as the guard would allow and sneered, “Why the fuck do you care?”

“Who the fuck said I cared?” Billy shouted back, nearly coming up out of his chair.

“Okay, okay, before this gets out of control and the guards end it, let’s all take a deep breath.” Kieran reached around him and put a hand on Billy’s shoulder. “This isn’t the place for it, Billy.”

Billy took another deep breath and Liam could see the effort it took for him to ease back. Finally, he looked at Kieran and nodded. “I’m good.”

Tim’s eyebrows rose to his hairline and he croaked out, “You’re good? Good? Well, bully for you, you fucktard! How about me, huh? I’m not good!”

Liam didn’t mean to laugh, he really didn’t, but the kid looked like one of those yappy ankle biters who were always going after the big dogs because it didn’t know it was little. Tim looked at him like he was crazy and he was sure Billy and Kieran thought the same. “Sorry, ignore me.”

Kieran slapped a file on the tabletop, conveying his displeasure with both of them, and gave his attention to Tim. “The clock’s ticking, so I’m just going to cut to the chase here. I’m Kieran Flynn. Your family has asked me to look into your case to see if I can help. You’re twenty-four, so it’s not their decision, but I appreciate you agreeing to meet with us.”

“Yeah, well, the public defender they assigned me didn’t exactly graduate at the top of his class.” Tim complained as if he expected to get a top notch attorney for free.

“Actually, Alton Lane has a really impressive track record. If you chose to keep him on, you’d be in great hands.” Kieran paused just long enough for the rebuke to sink in before saying, “Why don’t we go over the case first? Once you’ve heard my recommendation, you can decide which lawyer you want in court. Sound good?”

“It’s not like I got anything better to do.” Tim tried to fold his arms and got jammed up by the shackles, totally ruining the nonchalant effect. The situation was so not funny, but it was all Liam could do not to laugh again.

“I’ve seen the video and read the police reports. You’re in a lot of trouble, Tim, and your choices are limited. Either lose the attitude or I’ll be one less decision you have to make.” Kieran didn’t raise his voice or lose his professional smile, but his words had the desired effect.

Tim slumped back, the posture making him look even younger, and whispered, “My life’s over.”

“No, it’s not. They’ve got a lot of footage from inside and outside the bank. They know you weren’t inside, so they’re only charging you as an accessory. It might not seem like it now, but it could be a lot worse.” Kieran looked down at his notes as that information registered with all of them.

Up until that point, they’d been holding out hope that the video would be grainy and inconclusive, or it would turn out to be a case of mistaken identity. Now there were no illusions about the crime or the man sitting across from them. Billy had subscribed to the belief that he was the bad one while his brothers were the angels, and while Liam didn’t wish prison on anyone, he wasn’t overly upset that Billy was getting a ringside seat to this fall from grace.

“So I’m going to jail?” Tim asked like he wasn’t presently sitting in handcuffs.

“You’re
in
jail. You’re
going
to prison and that’s a whole other world,” Liam clarified before Kieran could. He was there to support Billy, but he never promised to keep his mouth shut. “I’ve been where you are and where you’re going, so I know what I’m talking about. That’s about all I know, because the rest of this just doesn’t add up. Billy said that you’re in your last year of an engineering degree up at UF.”

“That’s true.” Tim glanced between him and Billy curiously. “Or it was before the cops dragged me out of class.”

“Why would you throw it all away?” Liam remembered having a career goal and would never have just willingly thrown it away on something so avoidable. Tim hadn’t been fighting for his life or the safety of his family. He couldn’t even claim he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. According to Robbie, Tim was supposed to be in Gainesville at the time of the robbery. That meant Tim willfully and knowingly drove five hours back to Miami specifically to take part in this crime.

“I’m sorry, who are you again? Do you work with this guy or are you here with my brother?” Tim asked, looking first at Kieran before sneering at his brother again. It was an appropriate question, but Liam didn’t think Tim really cared who he was. He just didn’t want to answer the question. “Though what you’d see in this asshole is…”

“Don’t say something else you’re just gonna regret.” Getting in the middle of the brothers probably wasn’t the safest place and there were definitely bigger problems on the table, but Liam couldn’t sit by while this ankle biter tossed out more insults. “Whatever you think you know about Billy is outdated and entirely irrelevant. He’s here and he brought help. Would someone who didn’t care do that?”

“I guess that answers the question of who you’re with, so I’ll answer your question.” Tim shrugged like it didn’t matter if Billy cared or not, but Liam found it hard to believe that Tim had agreed to this meeting just to trade insults. “There’s no college fund, no scholarships, just student loans out the ass. Have you seen the job market? Even with a degree, there’s no guarantee that I’ll get a good job. I’ve got friends with all sorts of degrees that are still flipping burgers. All I’m guaranteed is years of debt that I may not be able to pay off.”

Billy came to life then and asked, “So you thought robbing a bank would solve your problems?”

“No, wise ass, it wasn’t like that. See, my buddies took me to a casino for my twenty-first and I did pretty well. Like good enough to pay my living expenses for the rest of the year. So I kept going back and for a while I was on a real streak.” Suddenly, all Tim’s bravado fled and he started to sob. “It was stupid! I knew it was, but I couldn’t stop. The money is like a drug, you know? When I was up, I was invincible and when I was down, I would do anything to get that feeling back.”

“Tim, I know this situation is bad, but you have to get your emotions under control. You can’t go back into gen pop looking like you’ve been crying.” Billy started to reach across the table when the guard snapped at him to keep his hands to himself. “Look, Boss, I know you’re just doing your job and all that shit, but my brother’s gonna get eaten alive if he goes back in there like this. At least get him some water or something.”

“You really do care?” Tim’s whispered in surprise.

“Yeah, and there were easier ways to figure that out.” That blustery response was obviously a front. Billy had enough experience in the system to know what challenges a totally green kid like Tim was going to face, and he looked more afraid than Liam had ever seen him. By the time the second guard dropped a cup of water and some napkins on the table, Billy had it under control and urged his brother to do the same. “All right, clean yourself up while Kieran here tells us what we gotta do.”

Kieran waited to let Tim compose himself and didn’t immediately pick up the conversation. Liam remembered when they first met Kieran—he had been calm and professional the whole time, but he obviously cared about his clients. Watching Kieran in action again and feeling Tim’s helplessness made Liam realize this type of law wasn’t for him. He wouldn’t be able to maintain the necessary objectivity to help anyone and he definitely wouldn’t want to be the one putting them away.

“Okay,” Kieran said when Tim finally looked at them. “We’re talking a third degree felony, which carries a sentence of up to five years. If you agree to testify against the others and plea out, we can ask for a reduced sentence. You made a mistake and that’s how you fix it. Do the time, keep your nose clean, and don’t give them any reason to look at you again. If you do that, you’ll be out in two to three.”

“Wait,” Billy interjected before Tim could respond. “Robbie said he was riding with my old crew. Won’t that put a target on his back?”

“It’s a formality, a show of cooperation. There is so much video in this case, it’s like whoever organized it wanted to get caught.” Kieran hesitated and narrowed his eyes on Tim. “How did you get hooked up with these guys?”

“I wasn’t riding with your crew. Louis and I went to high school together, and we usually hang out when I’m home on break. We were out drinking one night and I guess I started bitching about money and the job market and shit. Next day he tells me he’s got a solution to my money problems. A stupid solution that I stupidly followed and we were too stupid to carry out.” Tim grimaced. “Anyway, what you’re implying is wrong. Louis got arrested too.”

“Why would Robbie tell me that you were? Or did I misunderstand that part?” Billy asked.

“Robbie said we had to make it sound worse than it was or you wouldn’t help me,” Tim admitted.