Page 65 of Devil's Hour
“More like Brimstoner,” Royce said, jotting down the man’s name and church. “Not sure how much more I can take of this.” He released a breath and waited out the rest of Brimstoner’s spiel to see who would follow.
“Good evening, Savannah,” said a man with a dulcet voice Royce immediately recognize as belonging to Father David. “I’m usually prepared for my weekly radio gig, but some unexpected things happened today.” One of his parishioners resigning due to a scandal probably did occupy most of his time and thoughts. “I think my time would be best spent fielding questions. How can I help you tonight? I know the world seems like it’s topsy-turvy right now, but I’m here to promise you a better, kinder future awaits you.”
Father David was the opposite of the screaming preacher who’d hosted a show before him. Younger than most clergymen, he was handsome, charismatic and friendly instead of stodgy and stern. The man blended seamlessly with others when he wasn’t wearing his robes or clergy collar. Royce hadn’t recognized the man at Marc’s first birthday party because he’d worn blue jeans and a Braves T-shirt. Royce had said some embarrassingly crass things about one of Candi’s friends, not realizing that Father David wasn’t interested in checking out the woman’s sexy long legs. The man chuckled and waved off his humiliation, but Royce had felt like a dirty pervert. At least he hadn’t shared his thoughts about Marcus’s hot cousin, Todd.
“Let’s take our first caller. What’s your name and how can I help you tonight?”
“My name is Misty, and I want to know how you could supportthat womanafter what she’s done.”
“Everyone is a sinner, and everyone is worthy of having their sin forgiven, Misty,” Father David replied calmly.
Royce listened as he fielded one call after the other. Some of them were about the mayor, but most of them were people who wanted to talk about the problems they faced. Maybe it was the priest’s connection to Marcus, or maybe it was his soothing demeanor, but Royce found himself relaxing unexpectedly, maybe too much because his eyelids started to feel droopy.
Not wanting to fall asleep, he switched off Father David’s program in search of something livelier. Royce looked at his phone and saw the Audible icon. He’d set up a trial membership but hadn’t listened to the book he’d chosen. He’d started the series about a serial killer terrorizing Las Vegas with Sawyer, but they hadn’t listened to the latest audiobook yet. Royce popped in his earbuds, then started the book. He loved the fast-paced flow and the author’s writing style, as well as the narrator’s sexy voice. Royce turned down the volume and looked around when the story started to heat up, then laughed at his ridiculousness.
By the time he passed Pullman off to Ky, Royce hadn’t learned shit about the suspect except he liked Popeye’s chicken, but he better understood Sawyer’s audiobook addiction.
Instead of going home, he headed to Sawyer’s house. Why? He couldn’t say other than it just felt right. Sawyer had left a note for him on the kitchen island, which he thought was adorable instead of presumptive. Sawyer knew his home was where Royce belonged too.
Spaghetti and meatballs are in the refrigerator. I plugged Marcus’s phone into your charger when I got home. Don’t believe Bones when he acts like he hasn’t eaten in a week. Also, if you overfeed him treats, you’ll be the one who has to take him to his next vet checkup and get lectured. FYI, she’s scarier than Rigby.
Xoxo
Royce looked over at Bones and said, “Yikes.” Bones replied with a pitiful, deep-bellied yowl. “I’m not falling for that, and I’m not getting my ass chewed by your vet either. You get one treat, and that’s it.”
By bedtime, the treat count was up to three, but Royce was proud of himself for only caving in twice. “I’ll work on my resistance tomorrow,” he told Bones, who had curled up on Sawyer’s empty pillow.
The urge to look through Marcus’s phone had taunted him all evening, but he ignored it in favor of listening to the audiobook, watching one of Sawyer’s documentaries, and catching the last few innings of the ballgame. Even fearless ones needed to prepare for battle, and sometimes the heart was a person’s biggest enemy. No matter how fiercely Royce had guarded his heart, Marcus Wilkes had always been his weak spot, and that hadn’t changed with his death.
When sleep eluded him, Royce gave up the pretense of ignoring the phone and punched in Marcus’s passcode—his wedding date—to unlock it. Even though Candi had turned off the service, Royce could still read through old texts and see the videos and photographs saved on Marcus’s phone. He’d saved more than four thousand pictures and a hundred videos—none of them were of his secret life with Amber nor gave away any hint of him being on the take. They were photos of the kids, Candi, his parents, Holly, and Royce. All of them smiling, laughing, and openly showing the joy they’d felt with one another. He relived the boys taking their first steps, cutting their first teeth, and going off to school. There were Cub Scout Den outings, Halloween costumes, birthday parties, soccer, and tee-ball games. They were photos of a man who loved hard and was adored in return. The last picture was the one that broke Royce.
It was the two of them fishing at Lake Mayer a few days before Marcus died. Royce had just caught a largemouth bass, and Marcus had positioned himself with Royce to take a selfie with the fish before Royce released it back in the lake. Royce closed his eyes and summoned the memory from the depth of his soul. They’d been laughing, smiling, and hamming it up for the camera as they argued about who had caught the bigger fish. It was during those quiet hours that Marcus had unburdened himself about his marital problems and his need to step it up. He just hadn’t told Royce the entire truth, and that somehow hurt worse than if Marcus hadn’t told him anything at all.
By the time he finished looking through the photos and videos, it was nearly two in the morning, and Royce was emotionally drained. Marcus wasn’t the perfect man Royce thought him to be, but he loved him anyway. He’d never fully get over his disappointment about the affair, but he would forgive him in time. Royce had to unless he wanted to walk around with a broken heart for the rest of his life.
Wild hearts can’t be broken. It was one of his aunt Tipsy’s favorite sayings, and maybe the mantra Royce had subconsciously adopted as an adult after his childhood had dealt him one blow after the other. Lying in Sawyer’s bed with only Bones to witness his tears, Royce knew it was complete horse shit.
He expected the nightmares to come once he finally fell asleep, but they didn’t. He worried he’d overslept when he heard Sawyer enter the bedroom a few hours later. A glance at the clock told him he still had another hour before he had to be up.
“Scram, Bones,” Sawyer whispered in the dark as he stripped off his clothes. Bones made an indignant sound, then jumped off the bed and darted out the door. The bed dipped beneath Sawyer’s weight as he slid between the sheets.
Royce nearly purred when Sawyer spooned up behind him, nestling his semi-hard cock against his ass. “If you’re home early, it must mean you solved the case while I snoozed. Did you have to tackle an old man again?” Carl Hanover had actually tripped as he fled from Sawyer, but Royce loved to provoke him.
Sawyer bit his shoulder playfully.Yeah, baby.“Nah. I didn’t even chase anyone out into oncoming traffic either.”
“Ouch.”
“The words or the bite?”
“The words,” Royce said. “I liked the bite. Do it again.”
“I didn’t come home early to fuck you.”
“Bummer,” Royce said, pushing his ass firmly against Sawyer’s lengthening dick.
“Okay, maybe I was hoping to get in a quick fuck before you had to relieve Ky, but that wasn’t the sole reason.” Royce knew why Sawyer came home without him having to spell it out. He realized looking through the phone was going to be hard for Royce. “As it turned out, Ashcroft and I worked out a deal. He wanted to be home with his wife and kids for dinner, and I wanted to spend this hour with you, even if it’s only to watch you sleep.” Royce snorted at the last bit, and Sawyer slid his hand over Royce’s hip bone to fist his shaft. “So our shift change is different than everyone else’s.”
“Did you clear the changes with your sergeant?”