by London Casey
“Go,” Tyler said. “Walk away again from me. You did it before, man.”
“Fuck you.”
“Fuck me?” Tyler smiled. “Whose gun do you think this is?”
(Willow)
I couldn’t sleep.
I climbed out of the bed and took a sheet with me, wrapping it around my body. I left the bedroom and found the bathroom. It was like its own fucking palace. Dark marble everywhere. Double sinks. A toilet tucked away to make sure the allure of elegance wasn’t altered by its presence. There was a walk-in shower with a clear glass door. A shower head on each wall and a giant shower head on the ceiling.
Like rainfall…
Next to the shower was a massive tub, the largest I had ever seen.
I wasn’t sure what I wanted more - a chance to try the rainfall shower head and then have a relaxing bath or have Roman fuck me in the shower and then the tub.
Maybe both.
I started to think about his training camp stuff. We didn’t have much time. Maybe I could convince him to just hide out with me for like a week.
I left the bathroom and went back to the main part of the apartment and went to Scarlett’s painting. I stood before it, a painting of total randomness that somehow made sense. It was brilliantly ugly. It was Scarlett’s personality. And I had never really taken her seriously before.
All the openness between me and Roman had my head spinning.
I rushed to get my phone and call Scarlett. I knew she would be awake. And even if she wasn’t, I would wake her ass up.
She answered with “I take it you’re not coming home?”
I laughed and said, “I’m at Roman’s.”
“Good for you.”
“Hey, you’re never going to believe this but he has one of your paintings in his apartment.”
“No way,” she said.
“Yeah. I’ll send you a pic.”
I quick snapped a picture and sent it to her.
“Oh wow,” Scarlett said. “I remember that one. I can’t believe he was the one who bought it.”
“Neither can I. And hey, I’m sorry that I never showed more care about your art. I guess I really never thought you were this successful. We’re just in such different careers.”
“Not really.”
“How so?”
Scarlett laughed. “You take money from rich guys to defend their image. I take money from rich guys to build their image. So they look smart and fancy. They don’t know what they’re buying from me. They just see lines and paint and nothing else. Just like you. They hire you to get their ass out of trouble but they don’t understand what goes into it. They just hear legal jargon.”
“Well, when you put it that way,” I said.
“It’s the truth.”
“No matter what, just know this is really cool and you should be proud. I’m proud of you. Congrats on everything.”
“I guess I should say the same for you.”
“Why? Because I’m at Roman’s place standing in nothing but his bed sheet?”
“First, I hate you,” Scarlett said. “Second, I’m completely jealous of you. And third, no, that’s not why I’m congratulating you. I’m saying congrats because I saw the pregnancy test.”
Oh, fuck, she found it…
“Oh, because I took it?”
“What? No. Because…”
Scarlett stopped talking.
“Scarlett?” I asked.
“You never checked the test. That’s why it was just tossed in the drawer like that.”
Oh. Shit.
“It was when Roman showed up. I panicked and just hid it from you and him. I didn’t know he was going to steal me away for the night. I never saw the results, Scarlett.”
“Oh, Willow.”
“What’s… oh, you congratulated me. So that means…”
Holy shit.
“Holy shit,” Scarlett said. “I thought you knew. I thought that’s why you were out with Roman tonight. To tell him.”
“To tell him what?” I asked. “I need to hear it.”
So Scarlett said it.
“Willow, you’re pregnant.”
(Roman)
Tyler stole the gun from my car. When I met him to give him that money. That nurse… that fan… he left to go to my car. He took the money and he took my fucking gun.
“You son of a bitch,” I said.
“You got what you wanted, man,” Tyler said. “Don’t do this to me. Give me one to win, Roman. You can afford anything. I can’t. He’s going to hurt me. I’m fed up with this shit. I’m tired of getting pushed around by the world.”
“Okay, Tyler. This isn’t going to solve a thing.”
The back door to the building opened.
A man came out, a cigarette in his mouth.
I jumped at the guy and grabbed him. I launched him into the air and sent him into a car. A second guy was right there, throwing a punch at me. He landed one square on my jaw. I thought I was done for a split second. I managed to throw an uppercut. I felt his teeth shatter against my fist. Blood sprayed and he went down. Then came a third guy, shoulder first, into my gut. I wrapped my arms around him and threw him.
I then moved between Tyler and the guys, trying to protect the men I was beating up.
“Get out of here!” I yelled. “Everyone out of here!”
I backed up and threw an elbow, hitting Tyler in the face.
The gun fell from his hand. As soon as it hit the ground, it went off.
The three guys outside all started to reach for what could have been guns, knives, or phones.
I jumped forward into all three of them, taking them down to the ground.
It quickly turned into a fury of punches. I tried to hold my own and probably could’ve done it. I could’ve worked them all over if I wanted.
But I needed to get to the gun.
I kicked and yelled, using my legs to break away. When I did, I turned and Tyler was hobbling for the gun. I ran at him, grabbing him, putting him on the hood of the car.
“What are you trying to do?” I growled.
“Help me,” he said.
“I am. We need to go. Right now.”
I reached down and grabbed the gun. I pointed it at the three men. They all put their hands up.
“Stay the fuck down,” I yelled. “Nobody will get hurt.”
I backed up, Tyler next to me. I couldn’t imagine the shit that was going to come from this. But as long as we were safe.
I made it two more steps and then Tyler attacked me.
He got me with a punch to my ribs. It was just enough to steal my breath for a second. He grabbed my wrist and grabbed the gun. We started to wrestle and he started to head butt me in the side of the face.
“He killed my girl,” Tyler yelled. “He fucking killed her because of me.”
I saw the guy in front move to his right. He reached for the guy to his left and pushed him.
I started to pull at Tyler, but then he drove his knee into the side of my leg. He got me in the right spot that it shot a fiery pain through my leg. Tyler had no balance on his bad leg and we both fell forward. My right hand was still touching the gun when it fired.
It all happened so fast.
I saw the guy twist and fall to the ground.
The other two men were quick to tend to the guy.
I was quick to grab at Tyler. I had him by the shirt and then the neck.
Our eyes locked.
Who the fuck pulled the trigger?
He had the gun. He pulled the trigger.
But it was my gun.
I heard a siren and felt my heart drop.
I could have gotten up and ran. Called Ted, Willow, someone.
“I’m sorry,” Tyler whispered. “Help me, Roman. You can help me. Make it right for me. You owe me for what you did.”
I pushed Tyler away and climbed to my feet.
The first police cruiser turned down the alley and stopped right behind my car.
&n
bsp; My mind shoved everything out as two officers came charging at all of us.
Before I could even make sense of what was happening, I was in handcuffs and in the back of the car.
The only thing I could think about?
How bad I was about to let Willow down.
(Willow)
Jay threw his glass against the wall. It shattered with ease against the strength of his throw. Ted had a stack of folders at the end of the table. Even Johnny was standing, which was a rarity for him.
“Stand up,” Jay said, his eyes locked to me.
I stood up.
“Explain this to me again,” he said. “You were with him?”
“In his apartment,” I said.
“He left.”
“To go to the gym.”
“You didn’t go?” Jay asked.
“No. I couldn’t. He asked me to stay. He just got done telling me about his family.”
“I don’t give a fuck what he just got done telling you,” Jay yelled. “You were supposed to save his ass.”
“I know. It was an emotional thing for him. He wanted some time alone so I gave it to him. He was at the gym…”
“And somehow he ended at a shooting,” Ted said. “With his personal firearm being the weapon of goddamn murder.”
I felt my heart twist. My stomach flipped. I begged myself not to throw up. Not here. Not now.
“Why couldn’t you go?” Johnny asked.
“What?”
“Just now. You said you couldn’t go.”
“He asked me to stay,” I said.
“Before that,” Johnny said. He had his eyes and teeth locked into me. “You said you couldn’t go.”
I felt my face flush.
No, Willow. Hold this shit together.
“I, uh…”
“Oh, for the love of Christ,” Jay said. “Show her the goddamn papers, Ted.”
“Papers?” I asked.
Ted took out a tabloid and spun it around. There was a picture of Roman, in a car, giving the finger. The passenger? Me.
“You were in his goddamn car,” Jay said. “At a restaurant he paid to close down for the night. You two sped off, back to his place. Where was your car?”
“At home,” I said.
“Why?” Ted asked.
I rose up, not going to be bullied by three men. “He came to pick me up. He wanted to take me out and talk. I was doing my job. I was keeping him distracted. The reason he got into that street racing thing was because I went out on a date. He got jealous and wanted my attention. So when he showed at my apartment and demanded I go out with him, I did. To give him attention.”
“And that attention continued in his apartment,” Ted said. “Jesus Christ. I knew he’d try anything… but I thought you were tougher, Willow.”
“Tough?” I asked. “Because of my…”
Feelings? Don’t say feelings, Willow.
“So you couldn’t go after him,” Jay said. “Because you weren’t even dressed.”
“That has nothing to do with what happened,” I said. “This shooting should be our focus. Roman would not do that. The man he was with, Tyler, that man…”
Ted looked at me. “That man was Roman’s best friend in college. His best receiver and then things fell apart. Whether Roman pulled that trigger or not, he’s in the mix of this.”
“And you’re not,” Jay said. “You are no longer involved with Roman. And as far as I’m concerned, you are no longer involved with this law firm.”
“You’re firing me?” I asked.
“I don’t know yet,” Jay said. “You had one job.”
“I’m not so sure that job was exactly ethical or legal,” I said.
“You were supposed to take care of your client,” Ted said. “Not fuck him!”
His voice carried through the conference room.
Johnny’s jaw dropped.
“Willow, just leave,” Jay said. “Right now. Go. Take a vacation.”
“I can’t do that,” I said. “I have to see Roman. I have to know what really happened and what’s going to happen to him.”
“Jesus,” Jay said. “You know what? I don’t give a damn about your little crush on him. Or if you fell in love with the bad guy. Tie your emotions up and throw them out. This is what gets you in trouble.”
“I’m pregnant,” I blurted out.
That got all their attention.
“I’m pregnant,” I said again. “By Roman. We had been together a lot. You put me in his way and you wanted me to distract him. So I did.”
Nobody spoke.
I grabbed my stuff and walked out of the conference room.
I tallied it up in my mind.
I had lost my job.
I was going to lose Roman if he went to jail for murder.
And I was pregnant.
Oh, and I had to throw up, again.
I had left the office, went through a drive-thru and gotten everything I shouldn’t have gotten to eat, went home, took a bath, and ate. I then sat on the edge of my bed in my towel, trying to figure it all out.
That killed about two hours of my life.
What the hell had happened with Roman? Had he lied to me?
All I knew was that he ended up outside a very shady club with an old friend, a gun, and a couple gangster type guys who were tied to drugs, gambling, and fights.
Was Roman fighting? Gambling? Using?
Something went down and one of the men ended up shot.
With Roman’s gun.
Roman had a gun?
Why did Roman have a gun? Did he feel threatened? Was he in danger?
I seriously considered tracking down his brothers to talk to them, but I told myself that Roman barely talked to them himself. The only reason they saw each other was because of their father’s illness.
Roman’s father.
That made my heart sink deeper. The story he told me. The depth he went into about it all. His father’s wild abuse and how it came to a sickening climax with the death of his mother. I understood how Roman blamed his father for murder even if his mother was the one who took her own life.
Did that set Roman off? Going back in time like that.
I should have never let him leave. I should have done anything to him, to myself, or let him do anything to me to keep his focus on us. But I had let him go. The way he touched me, smiled, nodded. I trusted him. He wanted to go to the gym and burn off some steam.
But he ended up at a murder scene.
Hell, maybe even part of it.
When my phone buzzed, I gasped and sucked back tears.
It was Ted calling.
I didn’t want to talk to him. Or anybody.
But I wanted to try and save some kind of face for my career.
“Hey Ted.”
“Willow, where are you?”
“I’m home, Ted. Right where I was told to go.”
“Look, that got out of hand back there. I shouldn’t have exploded like I did. It’s been a long road with Roman for me. I’ve thought of him as a son more than a client. I took that frustration out on you. You’re right. I put you in the path of the wrecking ball that he is. He never opened up to me like he did to you. That means he cares about you.”
“Okay,” I said.
“I’ll talk to Jay when the smoke clears.”
“I really don’t care about that right now, Ted. I care about Roman. He left saying he was going to the gym and he ended up in a back alley with a man getting shot and killed with his gun. I need to know what happened.”
“That’s why I’m calling.”
“Oh?”
“Roman posted bail an hour ago. He won’t talk to anyone. He wants you, Willow. And only you.”
(Roman)
Fuck going out the backdoor on this one.
I wasn’t going to run and hide from anything.
I let Tyler slip out the back. He at least deserved that much. I posted bail for him and myself. We both needed to figure out w
hat came next. He was well down from his high and looked like a ghost. He was a goddamn junkie in need of his fix. If that wasn’t the worst part, he cried, wept like a baby, begging me to help. In simple terms - he wanted me to take the fall for everything.
I got a call from Tyler to help. He was high and needed me. I went to go help him get out of a bad situation. My gun was legal, registered, everything. The only reason I had it was because of the back alley atmosphere. I tried to get Tyler out and the three men started pushing at us. A fight broke out and I used the gun as self-defense. I never intended to shoot anyone but I was helping my friend.
The story had so many holes in it if it were a boat I’d sink in a minute. But my high priced legal team could swing anything I needed them to. I’d take my hit and I’d move on. Even if I had to do jail time, it wouldn’t be the kind of jail Tyler would go to.
When I stepped out into the public, it was madness. A crowd as big as the day I showed up to my first training camp as the highest paid rookie in league history. I proved everyone wrong then, becoming worth every fucking penny paid to me.
But right then, with the reporters shouting at me, demanding answers, digging into me, I just walked forward, shoulders wide, working my way to a waiting SUV. I didn’t care what they said about me. The only person in my mind was Willow. I just wanted to talk to her. Apologize to her for not being the man she thought I could eventually become. My life was what it was. I was the outlaw with a strong throwing arm. I was the bad guy who could fuck like a rabbit but eat your heart like a lion. It was just my nature and it wasn’t going to change. Time would always move forward. My brothers were already off doing their thing. My old man would be transferred to a different unit for recovery and treatment. There was never a need to see him again. Or my brothers.
Hell, maybe not even Willow.
Maybe it was time for goodbye. Before she truly ended up hurt.
I opened the door to the SUV and got inside.
And there sat Ted and Mackey.
They were both pissed.
I shut the door.
Ted asked, “Right now, the truth. Did you do it?”
“I need to talk to Willow,” I said. “I need to see her.”
“Willow?” Mackey asked. “You’re going to end up in prison, Roman. Focus on that.”
“I’ll deal with that later.”
“Answer my fucking question,” Ted said.