Page 70 of Devil's Hour
“So, what’s the deal with Levi?” Sawyer asked after he mowed through half of his chicken salad sandwich. Royce had to admit it was the best he’d ever had.
“I owed the man an apology, so I gave him one,” Royce replied.
Sawyer narrowed his eyes. “It’s never that easy with you.”
“The day started with simple goals: have a key made for you and apologize to Levi and grab us some lunch.”
“Wait. What was the first part again?”
“I went to Sal’s to make a copy of my house key for you,” Royce said, hoping he sound nonchalant. “I know we don’t spend a lot of time there, but I wanted you to have one.” When Sawyer didn’t respond, Royce glanced up. Sawyer closed the distance and planted a kiss on him, lingering for a few seconds before he pulled back. “While I was there, I thought I’d buy my boy Bones a new toy.”
“He loathes toys. They’re beneath him.”
“We’ll just see about that.” Royce shrugged. “Anyway, things went downhill from there.” He told Sawyer about his encounter with Eddie and watched how Sawyer’s eyes darkened in anger on his behalf. Royce kissed Sawyer to assure him he was okay. “Then I stumbled across this joker after I finished playing matchmaker to Diego and Levi.”
“What?” Sawyer asked.
Royce repeated the conversations, making Sawyer laugh when he got to the part where he interrogated Diego about owning a cat or planning to own a cat. “I don’t think this guy is going to talk, and I’m not going to waste my day off. I’m going to arrest him for attempted assault, print him so we can see if anything comes back, and let him stew on it overnight. I think the kid was running scared from somebody. As much as I hate the idea, I bet he’d lead us to that person if we cut him loose and watch him closely enough.”
“Want me to take a crack at him to see if we can avoid that?” Sawyer asked.
“Go in there, all nice and shit?”
“Doesn’t hurt to try.”
Royce shrugged. Sawyer kissed him again, lingering much longer this time. “Then we’re going home to fuck,” Royce said fiercely.
“Yes, sir, Sarge.”
Sawyer strode into the interview room a minute later. He’d stopped to get a soda and set it on the table. “Are you hungry or thirsty?” No response. “Look, I know things got off on the wrong foot with my partner. Locke can be a real dickhead, but he’s fair. Tell us what’s going on, Avery. If you’re in trouble, we might be able to help.”
Avery lifted his head and locked gazes with Sawyer, and for a minute, Royce thought he saw a crack in the kid’s resolve. Then the punk snorted, flipped Sawyer off, and lowered his gaze to the table where he’d kept it fixed since entering the room.
“Okay, then,” Sawyer said casually. “Enjoy your overnight stay.”
Royce watched Avery when Sawyer left the room. Either the kid wasn’t aware he was being observed, or his bravado had just run out on him because he slumped forward and rested his forehead against the table. Royce thought he heard a garbled sob slip out before Avery could contain it. Sawyer returned to Royce a minute later.
“Officer Dickerson is coming to process him in a few minutes,” he said softly. “He looks like a person who’s carrying around a pretty big secret.”
“You know that gut feeling you had the night you staked out the Hanovers’ house and caught Carl disposing of the bloody clothes?”
“Yeah.”
“I have that same feeling right now. This kid knows something, or he’s protecting someone. I’m going to find out which it is.”
“We’re,” Sawyer corrected. “The meager hours we were able to spend together in the last week weren’t enough for me to get my fix.”
“Insatiable,” Royce whispered, reaching for him.
Sawyer slid his arms around Royce’s waist, holding him close and resting their foreheads together. “You know it’s more than sex.”
Royce nodded. “I know it is.”
“So, let’s set a trap to catch this particular mouse.”
Sawyer oversaw Bradford’s processing while Royce went to speak to Rigby. Her assistant Delores looked dead on her feet.
“Long day?” he asked sympathetically.