Page 30 of The Sinner’s Son (Sawyer and Royce: Felonies and Fatherhood #2)
Dane had been stripped to his underwear, gagged, and left basically unattended.
Scattered empty bottles of water and plates with partially eaten food littered the floor.
Dane reeked of urine and feces, and his condition broke Royce’s heart.
He pulled a pair of latex gloves from his pocket and tugged them on before easing the gag from his mouth.
Royce brushed a hand over Dane’s filthy hair as the young man sobbed.
Careful of where he stepped and touched, he worked Dane free from his bindings and eased him to a clean section of the floor.
The young man immediately curled up into a protective ball.
Royce squatted beside him but didn’t reach for him.
He didn’t know what Dane had endured and didn’t want to make matters worse.
Royce didn’t see blood on Dane, but he’d noticed small burns on his abdomen that looked like Taser prong marks.
The likely scenario played out in his mind like a movie.
He imagined Dane looking up from his phone in the back seat of Cory’s car and noticing they weren’t going in the right direction.
He might’ve spoken up, probably not alarmed yet, and Cory shot him with the Taser gun to disable him.
That was probably the first time Dane soiled himself.
“An ambulance is on the way,” Royce said. “I’ll ride to the hospital with you, and I’ll call your mom and Cayden when we get there. They’ve been so worried about you.”
Dane’s sobs eased, and he looked at Royce. “Thought I was going to die,” he rasped.
“But you didn’t. You’re going to heal physically and emotionally.” Blaring sirens announced the cavalry’s arrival and helped Royce relax a little. “You have amazing people in your corner fighting for you. Remember that, okay?”
Doubt flooded Dane’s expression, but he managed a curt nod.
EMTs arrived on the scene, and Royce got out of their way so they could assess Dane and get him ready for transport.
Royce went outside and discarded his gloves into an evidence bag for the techs and waited in the fresh air until the EMTs brought Dane out.
Royce gestured to Katie that he was riding with him, and she responded with a nod.
Cory wasn’t anywhere in sight, so he was either in the back of a squad car or already on his way to the precinct for booking.
Royce tapped out a quick text to Sawyer and shared the good news about Dane.
He asked him to notify Nina and Cade and bring them to the hospital. Royce received an immediate reply.
Sawyer: Thank God. I’m on it right now.
Dane’s arrival at the hospital brought a rush of activity as the medical staff peppered him with questions as they assessed his condition and provided emergency care.
Royce sat beside him, whispering words of encouragement when it seemed Dane wanted to shut down.
The doctors needed to know what he’d been through to aid his recovery, and Royce wanted to prepare Dane for the next barrage of questions he would receive from Katie once he was stable.
The evaluation seemed to take forever as the medical team moved around the bed, checking his vitals and inspecting his injuries, which were fairly minimal, all things considered.
The burn marks had come from getting hit by a Taser at close range.
Royce learned there was a second set on his lower back, likely from Cory subduing Dane a second time to get him into the house.
He’d sustained bruises from getting dragged and wrestled into the chair.
Dane had defensive wounds on his hands from where he fought back, which was impressive after taking two hits from a Taser in quick succession.
He’d injured his shoulder when he tipped his chair over, but they’d assess the extent of damage after seeing to his urgent needs.
Cory hadn’t sexually assaulted him, thank goodness, and had attempted to feed him and get him to drink water twice a day.
Royce couldn’t work up any gratitude that the little bastard had done the bare minimum to keep Dane alive.
He’d let the guy soil himself for days and hadn’t attempted to clean him.
The indignity of what Dane endured made Royce see red.
Two nurses helped Dane shower in the attached bathroom once the initial assessment ended.
He returned with their support, wearing a hospital gown and bright yellow grippy socks.
He’d combed his wet hair out of his face, and Royce detected a whiff of mint toothpaste or mouthwash.
The short walk back to the bed seemed to take it out of Dane, and he flopped against the raised mattress as if his legs had given up.
Tackling his dehydration was the next task, and a male nurse named Kyle struggled to find a good vein to insert an IV needle.
Dane lay there stoically, with barely a wince through the failed attempts, even though it probably hurt.
Kyle asked the second nurse for assistance, and she retrieved a machine that scanned his arm to find a good vein for the IV.
Royce was relieved enough for all of them once they’d achieved success and started the drip.
And then it was just the two of them. The medical staff moved on to triage the next patient, leaving Dane to rest and allowing time for the IV fluids to do their thing.
Dane closed his eyes and looked peaceful for the first time since Royce rushed into Cory’s house.
“Do you want to eat the graham crackers or drink the apple juice the nurses brought in for you?” Royce asked. They’d explained he needed to eat things that would be gentle on his stomach after doing without for several days, and the juice would help boost his blood sugar.
Dane shook his head, and tears leaked from under his closed eyelids. “I want to go home to my family.”
“I asked my husband to tell your mom and Cayden that we found you. He would’ve brought them straight here.”
Dry, chapped lips trembled. “Can I see them?”
“Let me see if they’re here already.” Royce pulled his phone from his pocket, but he didn’t have any bars, and there was a satellite symbol where his Wi-Fi icon should’ve been. “I can’t get reception in here. I’ll check the waiting room.”
Dane’s hand snaked out and gripped his arm. His eyes snapped open, and wild blue eyes pleaded with him. “Don’t leave.”
“Okay. I’ll just duck my head out and flag down a nurse,” Royce said. “I’ll stay where you can see me.”
Dane released his arm. “Thank you.”
Royce opened the door and poked his head outside just as the nurse named Kyle approached the room. They both jumped and shared an uneasy laugh. “Dane wants to know if his mom and brother are here yet.”
“Yes, that’s what I was coming to tell you,” Kyle said. “They’re in the waiting room and eager to see him. I wanted to double-check with Dane first before I brought them back.”
“Please,” Dane said hoarsely. “I need to see them.”
Kyle nodded and turned around. Royce ducked back inside the room and reclaimed his spot beside the hospital bed. “I’ll head out once they get here, but I’ll be back to check on you.”
“I’m not staying here any longer than I have to. I can rest and hydrate at home,” Dane said.
Royce couldn’t blame the guy, but rushing out of there too soon might set his recovery back. “Only after they’ve checked your shoulder. I don’t think you’ve dislocated it, but you could have a hairline fracture since all your weight came down on your shoulder.”
“Fine,” Dane conceded. “It does hurt like a son of a bitch.”
“Do you want something for pain?” Kyle asked from the doorway.
“No,” Dane replied. “I want a clear head when the police ask questions.”
“Okay. Let me know if you change your mind.” He stepped aside to let Dane’s family enter.
Nina sat in a wheelchair, tears streaming down her face as Cayden pushed her to Dane’s bedside. She rested her forehead on his thigh and sobbed, “My baby.”
“Mama. I’m okay.” Dane cried, too, as he carefully placed his hand on her head.
“You jackass,” Cayden rasped. “You scared us to death.” He came around to the other side of the bed, and Royce moved out of his way. Cay crashed into Dane’s chest hard enough to make the air whoosh from his lungs.
A genuine smile cracked Dane’s face. “Missed you too, Cay.”
Royce caught Dane’s attention and gestured that he was going to step out and give them privacy.
Dane nodded and mouthed, “Thank you.”
Sawyer was still in the ER waiting room, but he wasn’t alone.
Alec saw Royce first and rushed forward with a desperate expression on his face. “How is he?”
“They’re still evaluating Dane’s condition,” Royce said, “but so far, the consensus is that he’s dehydrated and a little banged up. They’ll know more soon.”
Sawyer hugged Royce tight, his relief a palpable thing.
Families rarely got their loved ones back alive after an abduction, so they were incredibly lucky Cory hadn’t killed Dane.
Perhaps Katie’s assumption was correct. Taking Dane was a spur-of-the-moment thing, but then he didn’t know what to do with him.
He trusted Katie would get to the bottom of it soon, and he wanted to be there when she did.