Page 41 of Devil's Hour
Royce snorted into the phone. “Of course, Holls.” He switched lanes to make a right at the next intersection and double back toward his house instead of driving to Sawyer’s.
“You forgot all about our plans, didn’t you?” she asked wryly.
“Yeah, but not for the reasons you’re thinking. I’m sure you’ve heard about the mayor’s situation, right?” Someone had tipped off the radio station and the news affiliates in the surrounding area. Any attempt to keep her affair quiet while they tracked down The Purists had exploded. Patrol officers were dispatched to her home and her office to disband rowdy crowds that had gathered. The angry mob outside her office left without much of a fuss when they realized they could be arrested for protesting without a permit. They moved over to her house to join the others who had gathered on her neighbor’s property. At first the older woman wanted them gone until she found out why they were there. Royce heard she’d served the protesters lemonade and joined them on her lawn.
It was a big fucking mess.
“Who hasn’t heard about it,” Holly said. “It’s all they’ve talked about on the radio today. I would’ve come in, but Crystal called in sick, and I have to work tonight.”
Just hearing the woman’s name sent rage and heartbreak spiking through him, adding to an already horrific day. Everything about Marcus still felt raw. Less than six months had passed since Royce found Marcus dead inside his running car in the garage, and since then, he’d had a hard time reconciling the boy Royce had known and the man he’d worshipped as the same guy who cheated on his wife for three years and committed suicide to avoid a potential Internal Affairs investigation. As much as he wanted to forget about Crystal, he couldn’t. He’d committed to learning the truth about Marcus, and like it or not, she played a pivotal role.
“I’m on my way home now, Holl. Let me phone in the pizza order. Sawyer was just wrapping up interviews when I last talked to him, so he won’t be far behind us.”
“Are you sure, Ro. Maybe you need a night to—”
“Nah. I need pizza, cold beer, and time with my best guy and best girl.”
“Be there in fifteen.”
“See you then.” He called Sawyer next. “I forgot about Holly coming over to my place for pizza. I’m going to place an order when I get home. How much longer will you be?”
“I didn’t forget about pizza night with Holly and already placed the order. I figured you’d forget her salad.”
“I would’ve remembered.”Probably not.“So, you forgot to invite me to dinner with your family, but you didn’t forget about pizza. I’m not sure what to think about this.”
“Ro, you’re not still stuck on that, are you?”
“No.”Maybe. “I just like giving you a hard time so you’ll give me one in return after Holls leaves. It’s how we work.”
“I’ll show you hard.”
A shiver of want worked its way down Royce’s spine. “Thank fuck.”
Sawyer chuckled. “I’ll pick up our order on my way over. I won’t be far behind you,” Sawyer said, sounding tired. “See you soon.”
“The sooner, the better,” Royce countered.
Holly was waiting for him when he arrived. She greeted him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “You look exhausted, Ro.”
“I feel like I’ve been run over by a train, but a night with my favorite people is what I need.”
They escaped the oppressive heat by going inside his cool house. Royce went straight for the refrigerator to get them cold drinks while Holly headed over to his battered and scarred dining room table. It had come with the house he’d inherited from his aunt Tipsy, and he loved rubbing his hand over the wood, remembering the day she’d bought it and the matching chairs at a flea market. She’d been so excited to have a dining room set that matched. Whenever someone pointed out the burn marks, dents, or grooves, she’d tell them it had character like her.
Holly sat down and opened the file he kept on Marcus. After realizing he’d added nothing new, she closed it and looked up at him as he approached with a can of Minute Maid pink lemonade for her and a cold beer for himself.
“I’d much rather have a beer,” she said, sighing.
“But duty calls,” he said, sitting across from her.
“Speaking of duty,” Holly said, her eyes sparkling with curiosity and mischief. “How’d things go today after your big stunt at the bar last night? That was so fucking hot. I’d smack your ass and yell attaboy, but Sawyer might walk in and get the wrong impression.”
Royce repeated the brief conversation he had with Chief, then mentally kicked himself in the ass for not bringing the photo home to show Sawyer. He skipped over the story with Felix because it felt too tangled up with Sawyer’s past, which was only Holly’s business if Sawyer said it was. Instead, Royce told her about the moment he stepped out of Rigby’s office and found nearly every member of their unit staring at him. He chuckled and shook his head.
“You must feel relieved to have it out in the open now,” she said, reaching across the table and squeezing his hand.
He nodded, even though he still had a huge hurdle to leap.
Holly narrowed her eyes and stared at him. As the friend who’d known him the longest, she could almost read his thoughts. “It doesn’t matter what they think.” Royce knew she was referring to his father, brothers, and sister. “You don’t owe those deadbeats a goddamn thing. You escaped from that life, and they can go fuck themselves.”