Tate had sent off a text earlier—to Logan, no doubt—but judging by the way he’d been alternating between watching Robbie and the blank screen of his phone, the message had gone unanswered.
“Robbie,” Tate said. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about whatever it is that’s bothering you? It’s obvious you have some idea what’s going—” A loud banging at the back door had both men jumping in their seats, and Tate shoved a hand through his hair. “Fucking hell.”
He got to his feet, and Robbie also slid out of the booth, already knowing who was on the other side of that door. As he and Tate headed to the back entrance, Robbie rubbed his sweaty hands on his pants again and tried to steady them. He didn’t want to worry Priest any more than he likely already was, but Robbie was having difficulty getting his hands to stop shaking.
Tate unlocked the door between the bar and the foyer that led up to the loft, and then he punched in the alarm code. As soon as the alarm was disengaged, Tate pulled it open, and when Priest came into view, relief flooded Robbie’s entire body.
Tate stood aside, and as soon as he did, Priest stormed into the foyer and reached for Robbie. Without a word, Priest hauled him into his arms and wrapped him in a fierce embrace, and Robbie burrowed into his solid strength, holding on to the one person he knew would always keep him safe.
“Are you all right?” Priest asked, his voice rough.
Robbie nodded, and when he looked Priest in the eye, he could see the stress there. “I’m fine, really. I’m just worried.”
Priest gave a clipped nod and ran a hand up Robbie’s spine. “I know. So am I.” He looked over his shoulder. “Hello, Tate.”
“Hi,” Tate replied.
“Thank you for looking after Robert for me. I appreciate it.”
Tate gave a curt nod. “Of course. Is everything okay?”
Robbie looked at Priest’s face, wanting the answer to that himself, and when Priest said, “No, everything is not okay,” Robbie held on to Priest a little tighter. “You’ll be fine. The issue is with me. Do you mind if Robert takes tonight off?”
“I don’t know, should I?” Tate asked, his tone frostier than Robbie had heard in a while. “Is he in some sort of trouble? He’s not telling me anything, and you haven’t told me anything yet either. All I know is you called and told him we needed to lock all the doors. That doesn’t really make me want to let him go anywhere with you.”
“Hey?” Robbie said, and let go of Priest to stand in the middle of the two men. “I am right here, and an adult. I’m not in trouble, okay? But I’d like to go with Priest.”
Tate’s jaw ticked, and Robbie could see the indecision on his face. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Robbie put a hand on Tate’s arm. “I’m fine, but I’ll be better if I can go with him. Will you be able to find someone to cover for me tonight?”
“I’m not worried about that.”
“Tate?” Priest said. “We need to go.”
“If anything happens to him—”
“Nothing will,” Priest said in a voice Robbie hardly recognized. “Not while I’m breathing.”
Robbie flinched at that, and Tate narrowed his eyes.
“But we really have to go.” Priest took hold of Robbie’s elbow. “You ready?”
Robbie nodded, and as they walked out the door, Tate said, “Does Logan know what’s going on here?”
“No,” Priest said, as he led Robbie around to his side of the car. As Robbie slipped inside, he heard Priest say, “If Logan needs me, though, he knows he can call.”
Priest shut the door, and as Robbie stared out the windshield at his friend and boss, he wished he could tell Tate something to ease his worries. The problem was that he didn’t know anything, not really, and what he did know certainly wouldn’t make Tate feel better.
Priest opened the driver’s-side door and got in. He buckled up without saying a word, and when he started the car, Tate turned around and headed back inside out of the cold.
When the door shut behind him, and the two of them were finally left alone, Robbie looked at Priest and asked the one thing he feared the answer to: “It’s Jimmy, isn’t it?”
Priest’s jaw locked tight as he shifted the gear stick into reverse. “Yes. He escaped yesterday morning.”
Escaped? Fuck, Robbie thought, as he brought a hand up to cover his mouth. Even though he’d expected to hear something like that, having it confirmed somehow made it that much worse. So did the unasked question and answer lingering in the air between them.
“Priest…where’s Jules?”
Chapter Twenty-One
CONFESSION
I never wanted any of this to happen.
But I tempted fate, and the devil came my way.
“PLEASE TALK TO me,” Robbie said as Priest backed the car out of its spot and drove them down the narrow road toward the main street.