Page 17 of The Sinner’s Son (Sawyer and Royce: Felonies and Fatherhood #2)
“One of my friends is an investigative journalist, one is a private investigator, and the third works for the GBI,” Royce told her.
Those three friends had joined forces to create an award-winning podcast and were always up to their armpits in multiple investigations, but they’d make time for him.
“Social media pressure has worked wonders before.” And caused a lot of chaos in others, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
Nina offered a weak smile. “Okay. I believe you’ll do everything you can to bring Dane back to us, one way or another.
” She released a jaw-cracking yawn and wilted like a flower.
“I don’t think I can finish my breakfast.” She grinned sheepishly at him.
“I talked a big game earlier, but I think I need to rest.”
“I’ll get out of your hair,” Royce said. Nina had only eaten half of the food, and he gestured to her leftovers. “Do you want me to save the rest for later?”
“Please.” She pushed her chair back from the table, then stopped. Nina reached into her robe pocket and removed a cell phone. “Would you mind sharing your number?”
“Of course.” Royce put the leftover food away before programming his contact information into her phone. Nina immediately sent him a text so he’d have her number too. “Do you want help getting settled?”
She stood up, her movements slow but steady. “No. I’ll be fine.”
“After I finish at the precinct, I’m going to run by the hardware store to get the parts I need for your dishwasher. I’m going to get a few wooden boards to replace the rotten ones on the porch and see what I can do about the front door sticking.”
“You’ve done too much already,” Nina protested. “I’m so glad Cayden has someone like you in his life.”
“I’m just glad I can help.”
Royce walked with her down the hallway and said goodbye at her bedroom door.
Cayden had zonked out on the couch instead of going to his room and was lost to the world.
Royce quietly let himself out and headed to his SUV.
He checked his phone for messages and saw a text from Jace.
His brother had sent a breaking news article that featured Holly’s big arrest that morning.
When Royce clicked on the link, it featured a picture of Holly wearing tactical gear as she arrested a suspect.
A new message popped up from Jace, and Royce exited the article to read it.
Jace: My wife is smoking hot
Royce: Your wife is a fearless badass
Jace: I stand corrected. My wife is a smoking hot, fearless badass
Royce’s brain worked as hard as the SUV’s air-conditioning in the August heat.
The drive to the precinct was short, so he hadn’t found the perfect solution by the time he parked in the lot.
Royce had worked in the major crimes unit for nearly a decade before his promotion, and he was ashamed to admit he didn’t know any of the detectives from the missing persons unit very well.
Royce didn’t like to think of the precinct as a cliquey environment, but the units formed tight-knit families that sometimes treated the other divisions like outsiders.
Holly had worked vice for several years, and many of her cases involved the other teams. She could probably recommend a detective from that squad, but she’d be tied up for hours.
He’d have to settle for a referral from one of the remaining vice detectives from his old unit.
The urge to seek Sawyer out hit him hard when he walked into the precinct, but he didn’t give in.
Royce didn’t want his husband to think he didn’t trust him, and Sawyer would reach out if there was an issue.
Then he recalled Nina’s regrets and the questions they stirred.
Making sure Sawyer knew Royce loved him above all else was the easiest thing to fix.
He dropped a single heart in their text thread and hit Send without missing a beat.
Sawyer immediately responded with kissy lips.
Royce smiled and tucked his phone away before entering the MCU’s bullpen.
“Well, well, well,” Sergeant Kyomo Chen said. “Looks like we have an illustrious visitor this morning.” Ky had been promoted to sergeant and had assumed Royce’s leadership role when he moved over to run the academy and instruct the cadets.
Detective Shawn Ashcroft let out a whistle. “To what do we owe this honor?”
Royce rolled his eyes. “Knock it off. You both played poker at my house on Saturday night.”
“Yeah, but you seldom rub elbows with us commoners at work,” Ashcroft quipped.
Throwing his hands in the air, Royce pivoted back toward the door. “Fine. I’ll get someone else to help me.”
“Get back here,” Ky said. “We’re still buzzing from the sugary gifts your husband’s new bestie brought into the precinct this morning.”
Royce turned back around slowly. “Who is my husband’s new bestie?
” He couldn’t have been talking about Alec Bishop.
Anxiety over working with the guy had twisted Sawyer in knots and practically ruined his weekend.
What had changed in a few hours? Not donuts.
Bishop might win over some people with pastries, but not Sawyer.
“That Bishop guy showed up here with enough donuts for everyone in the precinct,” Ashcroft said. “Even Mendoza seemed impressed by the gesture.”
That irritated Royce on a level he didn’t have time to explore. “I’m glad everyone is getting along.” And that much was true. The last thing he wanted was for Sawyer to be miserable at work. But he didn’t want him to be best friends with Alec either. “How did Kelsey react to him?”
“She was polite during their introduction, but she watched him like a hawk,” Ky replied with a wry grin.
Attagirl, Kels.
“We’ve got your back,” Ashcroft said, pointing two fingers to his eyes before turning them to the room.
“Losing my man to Alec Bishop is the least of my concerns.” Once the words left his mouth, Royce realized just how true they were. “I need your help for an entirely different reason.”
Ky waved him over to his desk. “Lay it on us.”
Royce explained the Suttons’ situation, and his friends responded sympathetically. “I need a detective from the missing persons unit who will take this on. Do either of you have a recommendation?”
“Katie O’Connell,” Ashcroft said without hesitation. “She’s young, eager, and recently promoted, so she’s not bogged down by cynicism.”
Ky nodded. “I was about to suggest her too. I’ve only talked to her a few times, but she makes quite an impression.”
“Okay,” Royce said. “Thanks, fellas.”
“There might still be donuts in the break room,” Ashcroft called out.
Royce waved and kept going. He did not veer into the break room to seek the donuts, even though his mouth watered at the thought.
The missing persons unit was at the back of the building, walled off by glass like the major crimes, but only a quarter of the size.
There were only four desks in the space, and a woman with dark hair pulled into a sleek ponytail occupied one of them.
Her face was in profile to him, but that was enough for Royce to know she was a stunner.
Ky’s remark about her making an impression took on a whole new meaning.
The woman glanced up from a report on her desk and locked her dark eyes on Royce. “Sergeant Locke, right?”
“Yes. Are you Detective O’Connell?”
She sat taller in her chair. “I am. What can I do for you?”
“I need help with a missing person, and a few detectives recommended I talk to you.” Royce gestured to the empty chair in front of her desk. “May I?”
“Of course.” She shuffled things on her desk, and that’s when he noticed a napkin with a half-eaten donut and several reports spread across the surface. “You’re married to Sawyer Key, right?”
“I am. Do you know him?”
“We haven’t met, but I’m a big fan of his work,” O’Connell replied.
“He’s the best.” Royce gestured to the stack of reports on her desk. “Is this a bad time?”
O’Connell wrapped the donut in the napkin and threw it in the trash. “Not at all.” She dusted off her hands and gave him her full attention. “How can I help you?”
“One of my Explorer cadets has a missing brother, and his family can’t get the police department to take his case seriously.”
She arched a dark brow. “Let me guess. ‘It’s not a crime for adults to voluntarily disappear.’”
“Yep.”
O’Connell sighed heavily and shook her head. “Statistics don’t support that logic, and I seriously doubt they ever did.”
“‘But our resources and manpower are limited,’” Royce recited robotically.
“Ugh. Manpower.” O’Connell rolled her eyes hard enough to strain something. “More archaic language you think we’d do away with in a department led by a woman.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Royce said.
“Tell me why your cadet’s brother didn’t walk away from his life.”
As with Ky and Ashcroft, Royce told her the unvarnished truth about Dane, and like them, O’Connell reacted sympathetically as each development grew more tragic.
If retelling the Suttons’ story felt like twisting a knife in his heart, what must it be like to live through it?
Royce couldn’t take a chance that O’Connell, who was likely overworked and underpaid, would refuse to take a closer look at Dane’s disappearance. “Detective O’Connell, I—”
“Call me Katie.”
“All right. Katie, I know Dane Sutton didn’t abandon his dying mother and his brother, who’s about to become an orphan. You have no reason to trust my instincts beyond the fact I have excellent taste in men.” That made her chuckle and smile. “I need someone to believe us.”
“It’s your lucky day, Detective Locke.”
“Call me Royce.”
“Okay, Royce. I’m your huckleberry.”
He placed a hand over his heart. “That’s one of my all-time favorite movie quotes.”