Page 15 of The Sinner’s Son (Sawyer and Royce: Felonies and Fatherhood #2)

R oyce held a drink carrier in one hand and a fast-food bag in the other as he navigated the Suttons’ uneven porch steps.

In daylight, the exterior of the home looked a little scruffy, but it hadn’t fallen in complete disrepair.

The structure and roof were in solid shape, giving him good bones to work with.

But that begged the question: Who was he doing this for?

He didn’t have a full understanding of Nina’s prognosis and wasn’t sure how long Cayden would even live in the house.

Did Nina have medical debts that would exceed any profit that came from selling the home?

Royce could help Cayden fix it up to turn a bigger profit, but…

he was getting ahead of himself again. He breathed deeply and took several mental steps back.

Shoving the paper bag in the crook of his left elbow, Royce knocked on the door.

Cayden answered with a mop in his hand and a wary expression in his icy blue gaze.

His skin was so pale it was nearly translucent, and exhaustion had turned the smudges under his eyes to a deep purple.

All he needed was a little glitter, and they could cast him as an extra in a Twilight reboot.

The smell of strong chemicals wafted out of the house and made Royce’s eyes water.

He didn’t know what Cayden had been cleaning with, but he looked like he’d been at it since Royce left.

“I think we better open some windows, buddy. I don’t think those fumes are very healthy for you or your mom to inhale. ”

Cayden moved to let Royce enter, but he swayed on his feet and grabbed onto the doorjamb for support. Royce hoisted him back up to his feet with his free hand and kept it there until he was sure Cayden wouldn’t fall over. “The house is moving, sir.”

Royce assisted him to a plaid couch. “Have a seat while I open some windows. Where’s your mom? I don’t want to startle her or disrupt her rest.”

“She’s in her bedroom sleeping.” He pointed to the hallway leading off the living room. “First room on the left, but I shut her door last night and haven’t cleaned in there. She should be fine.”

Royce set the drinks and bag of food on the coffee table. Squatting down in front of Cayden, he said, “Did you mix cleaning chemicals by chance?”

When the boy only shook his head, Royce stood back up and started opening windows in every room except Nina’s.

He’d isolated the source of most of the chemical smog in the bathroom.

It smelled like Cayden had dumped five gallons of undiluted bleach in the small room.

Royce flipped on the overhead exhaust fan and opened the small window in the shower.

Once he finished the task, he backtracked to the living room and found that Cayden hadn’t moved an inch in his absence.

The kid stared unblinkingly into space like he’d fallen asleep with his eyes open.

A disheveled swoop of black hair had fallen diagonally across one eye, but he hadn’t attempted to move it.

Sometimes teens went through a phase where they tried to hide their eyes under their bangs, but Cayden had always worn his hair tidy and swept back from his face during their previous encounters.

Royce sat down on the coffee table. Cayden blinked but didn’t focus his eyes on him. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Cayden immediately sprang to attention as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over his head. “Hospital? Did something happen to my mom?”

“Hey,” Royce said, laying a gentle hand on Cayden’s shoulder. “I’m asking if you need to go to the hospital. You’ve breathed in a lot of fumes and seemed dazed until now.”

Cayden took a deep breath and coughed. “I’m fine. Just exhausted. I don’t think I’ve slept more than an hour at a time since Dane disappeared.”

Royce couldn’t just take the kid’s word for it.

He searched the symptoms for chlorine poisoning on his phone and asked Cay a series of questions until he felt better about his condition.

The fresh air had already helped move the noxious fumes from the house.

“Okay. We can skip a trip to the hospital. Let’s eat some breakfast and strategize on how we’re going to find Dane. ”

Cayden blinked a few times, and his gaze sharpened like knives. “You still believe me?”

“I do.”

“And you’re going to help me find him?”

“Yes I am,” Royce said.

“Okay.” Cayden slumped back against the couch. “Do I smell biscuits?”

It was such a teenage boy thing to ask, and it would’ve made Royce smile under better circumstances.

“I wasn’t sure what you and your mom liked to eat, so I ordered a variety of breakfast sandwiches and sides.

Then I added a few orders of sausage gravy and biscuits.

I also bought oatmeal and yogurt parfaits in case your mom needs to eat things that are easier on her stomach.

” Royce pushed the drink carrier toward him too.

“I have Cokes, coffee, and an OJ to drink.” When he looked back up, Cayden was staring at him like he’d suddenly grown a second head. “What?”

“Are you for real, sir?”

“I am,” Royce replied. “And you don’t have to address me formally right now. We’re not at school, and I’m not here as your instructor. You’re a family friend who needs my help.”

“That doesn’t feel right. I might slip up once school starts.”

“Suit yourself,” Royce conceded. “But let’s eat some breakfast and get started.”

Cayden reached for the bag and sorted through the sandwiches to find the cartons of biscuits and gravy at the bottom. “I think my mom will really appreciate this. I’m going to see if she’s awake and—”

Royce stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “You need to eat first if you’re going to be any help to her. I’ll need you at your best too.”

Cayden took a deep breath as he set the container aside. He picked out a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel and stuck a straw through one of the Cokes. He took a sip of the drink first and sighed before he tore into the sandwich like the starved kid he was.

“I have hash browns in here too.” Royce pulled one out of the bag and extended it to Cayden, who snatched it up and tore a chunk out of it.

“I got apple slices too.” Cayden’s lips curled into a snarl as he chewed.

“Or not.” Royce helped himself to a sausage-and-cheese biscuit but chewed at a more leisurely pace.

“Here’s my plan,” he said after a few minutes.

“I need to meet with your mom this morning to talk about everything that’s going on.

Afterward, I’m going to swing by the hardware store to pick up the parts for your dishwasher.

And then I’m going to the precinct to light a fire under someone’s ass until they take Dane’s disappearance seriously. ”

“And what if they don’t?”

The question came from the hallway. Royce turned to find Nina Sutton standing there.

She was so slight she hadn’t made a single shuffling sound as she’d approached them.

Dark, lank hair framed a gaunt face, but her icy blue eyes assessed him with razor-sharp focus.

Nina wore pink-and-white striped pajamas, a plush pink robe, and matching fuzzy slippers.

The loungewear looked brand-new, and he imagined her sons picking the ensemble out for her because it looked comfortable.

“Mom!” Cayden said, leaping to his feet. “You should be in bed.”

“That’s all I do. I needed a change of scenery.” Nina looked at Royce and smiled weakly. “You’ll do.”

Royce snorted, set his food aside, and stood up. He crossed the room and offered his hand, which she took. Her bones were as delicate as fine china, and he was careful not to grip her hand too hard. “I’m Sergeant Royce Locke.”

“Jason’s married uncle?” Nina asked with a sigh.

“Mom,” Cayden moaned. “You’re in no condition to flirt.”

“Ha! I’m still breathing and on the sunny side of the grave. Just let me bat my eyelashes at the pretty man.”

Cayden flinched at her casual way of addressing her terminal illness, but he didn’t say anything.

“Yes, ma’am,” Royce said. “I’m Jason’s married uncle and Cayden’s instructor at the Explorer Academy.”

“Don’t forget handsome,” Nina said.

Royce chuckled. “I think that’s a matter of opinion.”

She put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. “Are you seriously arguing with a dying woman right now?”

Her brutal honesty took him by surprise, even though he’d already witnessed it.

Royce’s next breath lodged in his throat, and his words got stuck in an emotional traffic jam.

Maybe it was for the best. His knee-jerk reaction was to offer platitudes that wouldn’t save her life or bring Dane back.

They wouldn’t provide comfort as she fought a ruthless enemy that would ultimately win.

Nina needed honesty, respect, and action. Royce cleared his throat. “No, ma’am.”

Nina searched his eyes, possibly sizing him up to see if he was truly tough enough to take on the job. Royce must’ve passed muster because she nodded slowly a few times and dropped her hands to her sides. “Good. I’m going to eat breakfast while you explain how you’re going to help my Dane.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I’d suggest we go eat at the kitchen table, but the room was a disaster the last time I was in there.

” Nina ran a trembling hand over her thin hair and looked around the room.

“In fact, the entire house…” Her words trailed off as she took in her surroundings.

“Is clean.” She looked at Cayden with wide blue eyes. “Did you do this?”

“Yeah,” he said sheepishly. “Sergeant Locke and Jason tackled the kitchen last night. I couldn’t sleep after they left, so I kept going.” Cayden’s cheeks turned pink, and he grimaced. “I got a little carried away with the bleach. I’m lucky I didn’t kill us both with the fumes.”