Page 14 of Royal

Chapter 5

Royal

After my hookup with the dude at Raw, I’d gone home and crashed until almost noon. I never slept so late, but I didn’t beat myself up over it. It was my day off, and I was allowed to be lazy.

I started a pot of coffee before hopping in the shower. My body ached, but instead of feeling satisfied, I was a little restless. No matter how many men I slept with, the hole inside my chest remained the same.

Grayson had created a lot of issues for me, trust being the main one. I rarely dated because I was afraid of getting hurt again. So, I fucked. A lot. There’d been a few boyfriends over the years who’d been fun for a while, but I hadn’t loved any of them.

Maybe Icouldn’tlove anymore.

After my shower, I changed into jeans and a shirt and returned to the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee. I had a morning ritual where I’d drink coffee and read news stories on my phone. Keeping up to date with everything going on in the world was important to me as an anchor. Knowledge was my weapon.

As I was taking my first sip, I finally looked at my phone.

And froze.

I had countless missed calls and texts from people I worked with. Beth had been found dead that morning.

The sudden knock on my front door nearly made me spill my coffee. I placed the cup down before going to answer it.

It didn’t feel real. Things like that didn’t happen in Addersfield. Beth wasn’t someone I liked, but that didn’t mean I wanted her to be killed. However she’d been killed. The texts hadn’t given any details. Not that I wanted them.

With shaking hands, I opened the door to see the one person I never expected to see again.

The years had been kind to Grayson. He’d always been tall, but he was a beast as he stood on my doorstep, having the muscles to match. His dark hair stuck up a bit in the front, and the close-shaven beard gave him a gruff but oh-so-fucking-sexy look.

“Royal Henderson?” the woman with him asked. Petite, with a pixie hairdo, she didn’t look like the typical officer. Imagining her apprehending a criminal was difficult. “I’m Detective Shaw and this is—”

“Detective Riley,” I interjected, looking at Grayson.

His brown eyes narrowed, and he swallowed.

“You two know each other?” Detective Shaw asked, glancing between us.

“Doesn’t matter,” Grayson said. He was trying to keep an indifferent expression, but the tic in his jaw was telling. Just like it had always been. “Can we come inside and speak for a moment, Mr. Henderson?”

How very formal of him.

Asshole.

“Sure.” I opened the door wider and let them inside. The living room was clean, thankfully. I hated having a messy house when people came over. Even if one of my guests was one I’d rather throw into the road. “Have a seat.”

“We’re here about Beth Monroe,” Detective Shaw said, exchanging a glance with Grayson before sitting on the couch.

“I just got the news she’s dead,” I responded, still in shock. “What happened to her?”

“Where were you last night?” the little pixie asked, avoiding my question.

I looked at Grayson. He averted his gaze to the floor and sat beside his partner. He was way too quiet. The other detective seemed to think the same, because she kept giving him odd looks.

I suppressed a smile. Gray had never been good at keeping his mouth shut. It was a nice change.

“I got off work and went out.” Man. It’d be awkward to talk about a hookup in front of Grayson, so hopefully they didn’t press me on it.

“Where did you go?” she asked.

I was about to answer when it hit me.