Page 26 of The Sinner’s Son (Sawyer and Royce: Felonies and Fatherhood #2)
“Five minutes,” Royce whispered. It seemed like such a short amount of time, but lives could get destroyed in mere seconds.
He closed his eyes and imagined the scene.
Dane walking down the driveway to wait for his ride, standing at the curb, likely looking down at his phone and not paying attention to his surroundings.
An assailant could’ve ambushed him in the dark before he made it to the curb.
Or a car could’ve pulled up in front of him, and he got in, thinking it was his ride.
Neither scenario boded well for Dane. If they were lucky, a Ring camera in the neighborhood would’ve caught something.
“We need to call Katie and tell her what we know.”
“Who’s Katie?” Alec asked.
“Katie O’Donnell is the detective investigating Dane’s disappearance,” Royce replied.
“She’s going to think I did it, isn’t she?
” Alec folded into himself as if trying to get as small as possible.
“The media outlets are going to find out, and all the good I’ve tried to do will be over.
” He shook his head and sat taller once more.
“But that doesn’t matter. We need to find Dane.
I said I’d do anything to prove my sincerity and innocence, and I stand by that. ”
Royce sympathized with his situation. “I don’t know Katie well, but she seems like a fair person. I’ll talk to her and see if we can keep your involvement quiet for now. You are right that the media will seize on this and not let up. That won’t be good for any of us.”
“Unless it helps us find Dane faster,” Jason suggested.
Royce shook his head. “Trust me, Jaybird. Most media outlets don’t care about reporting the truth anymore, and they certainly don’t care about the lives they destroy with sensationalized journalism.
How long do you think it will take before they figure out Dane was an escort?
How do you think they’ll cover that? What about Nina?
I don’t want her to spend the rest of her life defending her parenting skills and getting harassed by judgy reporters. ”
Jason’s expression fell. “You’re right.”
Royce found the contact he needed in his phone and dialed Katie’s number. She answered on the second ring, and he said, “I have some developments in Dane Sutton’s investigation.”
“That’s some kind of phone etiquette you have there,” she replied, reminding him of past comments Sawyer had made. “But I’ll allow it in this case. What do you have for me?” Royce told her everything he knew up to that point, and she whistled softly.
“Some aspects will need to be handled delicately and discreetly to avoid pure mayhem,” Katie said. “And I need that laptop ASAP.”
“I have it in my possession.”
A rustling came through the phone as Katie moved. “Address? I’ll swing by and pick it up on my way to canvass Mr. Bishop’s neighborhood to see if we can find security footage.”
Royce rattled off his address before they disconnected.
“Now what?” Jason asked.
“Katie will canvass the neighborhood to see if anyone witnessed something or has security footage from early Thursday morning,” Royce told him.
Jason’s expression turned mutinous with outrage. “We’re supposed to just wait?”
“As hard as it is, you need to trust Katie to do her job. If you interfere, you might end up making it harder to find the truth.” Royce paused and added, “Or get arrested.” And what if Jason stumbled across the person who’d taken Dane before Katie did?
The possibilities from that outcome turned Royce’s blood to ice.
Jason stewed in his anger as they waited for Katie, but it didn’t take long for her to redirect his energy to admiration.
Sure, she was gorgeous, but Katie’s unique blend of compassion for Cayden and her no-bullshit interview style with Alec seemed to impress him the most. Katie left their house with the same fierce determination she’d arrived with, and Royce knew they’d made the right call.
Cayden wanted to get home to be with his mom, so he and Jason took off soon after, leaving Royce and Sawyer to deal with Alec Bishop on their own.
He wanted to be pissed, but one look at the man’s thunderstruck expression melted his ire. Alec’s repeated insistence that he wasn’t his father replayed in his head on an endless loop. “Have you eaten, Alec?” Royce asked. It was hard to tell if Sawyer or Alec was more surprised by his question.
Alec squinted hard, as if trying to remember. “I had a donut.”
“That was this morning,” Sawyer said. “You haven’t eaten since?”
“Uh-oh,” Royce said dramatically. “Brace yourself for Sawyer’s TED Talk on the evils of donuts.”
“There’s no nutritional value,” his husband said right on cue.
Royce leaned toward Alec and mock whispered, “Just go along with it, or he’ll turn it into a Masterclass.” He pushed back from the table and announced that he would make a plate for him.
“Why?” Alec asked. “You don’t like me.”
“Eh, the jury is still out on that one,” Royce replied with a wry smile. “But I know what it’s like trying to outrun a father’s shadow.” And he was more grateful than ever that he’d gotten a second chance to build something wonderful with Eddie.
Alec studied him for a few moments before nodding. “I could eat.”
Royce headed into the house and was surprised when Sawyer followed. But then his husband pressed him against the counter, cupped his face, and kissed him fiercely. “And here I was, expecting additional retribution for my bratty donut digs.”
Sawyer waggled his brows. “Oh, baby, that comes later.”