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“But her bail wasn’t set yet. How could someone bail her out?”
“She wasn’t bailed out, sir. All charges have been dropped.”
“What?”
I skidded to a stop at the next intersection and quickly pulled over. “Can you repeat that?”
“Um, which part?”
“Is Laura there?”
“She is being released right now.”
I looked at the clock. I was at least two hours away. I couldn’t ask him to hold her there for me. She probably wanted to get as far away from that place and as quickly as possible.
“Thanks for the phone call. I appreciate it.”
“No problem, sir. Have a good day.”
He hung up the phone and I sat in my car a little longer. Laura was free. All charges dropped. Rossi must have changed his mind. Or did someone else persuade him? Did Luke get to him? I turned the car around and dialed my brother’s number.
“Hey, Ryan, what’s up?”
“Luke, did you go see Giancarlo Rossi? Did you threaten him or something?”
“Not yet. Why? You want to come with me?”
“No. Well, maybe, but not yet. He dropped the charges. Laura’s being released.”
“That’s great news, Ryan. I wish I could tell you I had something to do with it, but it wasn’t me. I still have unfinished business with Rossi.”
“I get you’re upset, Luke, but Rossi isn’t some regular guy you can intimidate. If we’re going to go after him, we have to be smart about it.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“I don’t know yet. First, I need to find out what the hell is going on. I promise we’ll get dad’s baseball back.”
“Fine, Ryan. We’ll do it your way… For now.”
I didn’t like the hard edge to Luke’s voice, but at least I stalled him for a little while. I had to understand why Rossi dropped the charges when he had no intention of doing so earlier. Had he heard that I was looking into Brennon? Did that scare him off, or was it something else?
Laura
Sam drove me home. Despite having her with me, I still couldn’t help feeling like I was seventeen again being released from juvie. I hated walking up the same path as before. Both literally and figuratively. The concrete pavement leading to my house looked the same, but the woman unlocking the front door was different.
I turned around and hugged Sam. “Thank you for picking me up.”
“It’s the least I could do,” she said, and frowned when she looked at my face.
“Don’t you start, too,” I admonished.
“I won’t say anything. You’re a big girl. I know you can take care of yourself. I’m just worried about you, Laura. Are you going to be okay after this?”
Even though I didn’t share much about myself, Sam knew me. She saw right through my walls and worried about me. I had to give her hope. Even if I felt little of it.
“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. I always bounce back.”
She nodded and drew me in for one more squeeze. “I’ll come to check on you after work. Jim says you’re not fired, by the way. I’ve been covering your shifts and getting a few of the other girls to pitch in.”
