She followed me to the door, smiling sheepishly. “Good point.”
“I’ll call you later and check in on Max.” I stepped out onto the porch and headed toward my car.
“Don’t you worry about a thing, Royce. I’ve got this. Maxwell is in good hands.” She smiled and gave a little wave before closing the door.
When I arrived at the station, Lucas was there in the lobby. He stood when I entered the station, and my stomach churned. He’d want me to be lenient with River, and I wasn’t mentally there yet. After the horrendous last few days, I was barely able to hang on to my temper at the mention of River.
“Hey, Royce,” he said, looking uneasy.
“Lucas. What brings you here?” I knew exactly what brought him to the station. He was like a lioness unable to abandon its cub, even if it meant perishing.
“I heard Maxwell was found safe and sound.”
I stiffened. “That’s an oversimplification of events.”
“He’s fine though, right?”
“He’s been through a lot, Lucas. He could have died.” I gritted my teeth against the emotions thatwanted to swamp me. “It was close. He’s physically and emotionally beat up.”
He winced. “Of course. I’m sorry. I… I really like Maxwell. I’m just very worried for River.”
Ya don’t say?
“That’s coming through loud and clear. The thing is, Maxwell is the one I’m worried about. He’s the victim here.” I gave a curt nod. “Now, if you’ll excuse me—”
“Wait.” He held out a hand in an almost pleading gesture. “Have you thought about what we talked about the other night?”
“To be honest, not much. I was kind of busy trying to find Maxwell.” My voice was harder than intended, but I couldn’t really find it in my heart to care. I realized River was his priority, but Max was mine.
Lucas hung his head. “I’m not asking you to forget what River did. I get that isn’t possible. All I’m asking is that River gets the appropriate punishment. I… I want him to get better, Royce. I don’t just want him to get thrown in prison where he’ll get worse.”
“You’ve expressed that really well already.”
“It’s just hard to stand on the sidelines, not knowing what you’re gonna do.” His gaze flickered, and he seemed agitated. Very unlike the Lucas I knew. He was obviously suffering horribly.
I exhaled roughly so I didn’t snap at Lucas. I had empathy for him, but he needed to relax and let things take their course. “Pushing me isn’t going to help things, Lucas. If I were you, I’d give me some breathing space. I need to interview River and see what his mental state is like.”
He pressed his lips together as if struggling to hold his tongue. He gave a nod, rubbing the back of his neck. “Message received.”
“Good.” I sighed, feeling sorry for him because he looked like a lost puppy. “I’ll be fair. Even though I’m disgusted with River, I’ll be fair to him. I’m having Deputy Juan interview him while I watch in another room. I’m not out togetRiver. That’s not how I operate, okay?”
He blew out a shaky breath, nodding. “Yes. I hear you. I’ll try to calm down.”
“That would be best for all concerned. I suggest you go get some sleep. You look awful.”
He grimaced. “I can’t sleep.”
“No. I don’t imagine you can,” I murmured. “Well, you’re not going to be able to see River, so you might as well go eat something. Maybe shower?”
He frowned, sniffing at his underarm. “Do I stink?”
I laughed gruffly. “No, I mean it might help you relax.”
“Oh.” He smiled weakly.
“Go home, Lucas. You can’t help River. It’s all up to him now. I need to hear his side of things. Okay?”
“Okay.” He avoided my gaze, which made me think he wasn’t going anywhere.
