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Wyatt found himself speechless, stumbling for words as his brain caught up to process the question Theo asked him.
“I, uh, yes, of course. I don’t lie about that. But Theo… things changed. I still loved you as a person, but I wasn’t in love with you. And with the directions our lives were going, I knew I had to—”
“It’s fine. I’m not asking for an explanation.” Theo stood up, a smile on his face. That was it. Wyatt had done it—he could feel the energy shift, the positivity re-entering the room. Theo was about to offer his help. All of this would have been worth it. Roman would be back in his arms by the end of the week, and all would be right in the world again. “I am going to ask you to leave, though.”
And just like that, all the positivity whooshed out of the room, as if sucked away by an atomic bomb, as Theo walked over to the door and opened it, motioning for Wyatt to leave.
That was it. Wyatt had failed. Roman and Bang Bang were screwed, their sunset job done, their chance at a happy-ever-after blown to bits.
Fuuuuuck.
Chapter 7
Roman Ashford
Roman and Bang Bang were back in their cell, adrenaline still coursing through Roman’s veins. They had lost some of their privileges from the fight but at least came out in one piece. A prison brawl could easily turn into a life-or-death situation in the blink of an eye.
“That went well,” Bang Bang said, scratching the back of his neck and smiling.
“Could have done without the homophobic assault, but yeah, overall, it went well. At least you got some sun.” Roman nudged his best friend with an elbow, his skin already looking tanner than before. “There are a few weak points in the fence I spotted, but nothing that guarantees us an escape.”
“Just stand on my shoulders, broki. I’ll toss you over.”
“And how are you going to get out?”
“I’ll just jump. Did you forget I’m about six feet taller than you are?”
Roman cocked his head, brow arched. “I’d say about six inches, at most.”
“Six inches where it counts,” Bang Bang said with a wink, causing Roman to roll his eyes before a chuckle carried up his chest.
“I’ve missed you, buddy. Shit was looking bleak for a second.”
“It isn’t looking bleak anymore?” Bang Bang asked. His grin told Roman he was being sarcastic, but the truth still stung. Just because they were reunited and Wyatt was working on their escape didn’t mean things had turned around just yet. They still found themselves in a near impossible position, their freedom and their futures hanging on a thin thread.
“We’re going to get out of here,” Roman assured his friend, even though doubt gnawed at his insides. “Salt and the rest are coming for us. Even if we can’t scale the fence, I have to believe that they’ve figured a way to get us out.”
“He’s a good guy, Salt. You two make a really good match. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile so much since he came back into your life.” Bang Bang leaned against the white brick wall, his beard having grown in and adding to his bearlike persona. He’d been friends with Roman for years now, so if anyone could call Roman out on his newfound happiness, it would be Bang Bang.
“I almost fucked it up with him, back in college, but his heart’s just too big to hold on to grudges, thank God. He really does make me happy. It’s hard to even explain.” Roman sucked in a breath, letting the warm emotions sink into his bones. “I just want to be around him twenty-four seven. I want to be holding him, kissing him, joking with him, laughing with him. Being apart for this long is killing me, more than the toxic mush they serve us for food.”
“I know what you mean, Roman. I feel the same with Doc. It’s like I was walking around in a dark room my entire life, fumbling and falling, and then Doc walks in and flips on the light. Everything started to make sense after that.”
Roman huffed his agreement. Both of them were missing half of their hearts, the emptiness almost as real as the iron bars that locked them in.
“It’s scary, too, broki. What if someone else comes along? What if we stay in here so long that they move on?”
That thought hadn’t really occurred to Roman, but the second it was brought up, the roots of it took hold, sinking down into his chest. “We aren’t going to be in here much longer.”
“You can’t know that for sure. I believe in you now as much as I did when we first met, working an impossible job in Vegas. Pero, Roman, I don’t know if we’ve got as big a shot of getting out of here as you think.”
