Page 31 of The Sinner’s Son (Sawyer and Royce: Felonies and Fatherhood #2)

A lec stood at the two-way mirror with rigid posture and his arms crossed over his chest. On the other side of the glass, Cory Sands sat alone in an interrogation room and seemingly returned his stare. “He can’t see or hear us?” Alec asked.

“No,” Sawyer said.

Alec had resisted Sawyer’s suggestions to go home and rest now that Dane was safe.

But his sense of responsibility wouldn’t allow it, no matter what he or Royce said.

Sawyer had assured Alec that Katie would leave Cory on ice for as long as necessary while she searched his house for every piece of evidence she could use to get a confession.

He’d promised to call Alec in time so he could return to the precinct and observe the interrogation, but Alec had insisted on staying, choosing to catnap in the conference room where he worked.

The fatigue had really done a number on Alec if he thought Cory possessed a supernatural skill that allowed him to see or hear through the glass.

But then Alec turned back to the mirror, and Cory’s mouth curved into a deranged smirk. It had to be a coincidence, right? “Don’t suppose you’d let me have a few minutes alone with him before Detective O’Connell gets here?” Alec asked.

“No,” Sawyer repeated.

Royce leaned close and whispered, “He’s growing on me.”

Sawyer elbowed him and bit back a snort. Of course, Royce would like Alec when he wanted to go rogue. “He won’t get away with what he’s done.”

“Should’ve never started this,” Alec said.

“I’ve psychoanalyzed every part of my personality to make sure I was nothing like Andrew.

” He lifted his arms and ran both hands through his hair.

“I told myself a hundred times to forget about those trinkets before they consumed me. And who was I to think I could solve something the FBI couldn’t? ”

“More like wouldn’t,” Royce said.

Alec dropped his hands and shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I never should’ve come here. Dane and his family didn’t deserve to get caught up in my bullshit.”

“Wait a minute,” Sawyer said, deciding it was time for some tough love.

“If not for you, Monica Horton’s family would never have known what really happened to her.

You were the one who found the connection with the photographer and the red Camaro.

You were the one who made the FBI stand up and take notice. That’s no easy feat.”

“It’s hard as hell,” Royce chimed in.

“And now, they’re not only reviewing your evidence in Monica’s case. They’ve invited you to sit at the big kids’ table and have promised to help you match up the rest of the trinkets.” Sawyer looked at Royce. “Has the FBI ever asked you to assist them?”

Royce shook his head adamantly. “Stonewalled me at every turn.”

Alec’s mouth twitched at the corners. “Are you guys playing good cop and better cop to cheer me up?”

“Nah,” Royce said. “This is us being completely honest with you. Maybe you got a little overzealous sometimes in your pursuit of justice, but your heart was in the right place. I can see that now.”

“Thanks,” Alec said. “I appreciate it.”

The door to the interview room opened, and the trio turned their attention to the glass as Katie and a police officer sat down at the table.

The smirk slid off Cory’s face when he gave them his full attention.

Katie noted the date and time and the participants in the room for the recording.

She read Cory his rights again since a few hours had passed since his arrest. “Do you still wish to waive your right to counsel?”

“Yes.” Cory raised a cuffed hand as high as he could and waggled his fingers in the air. “Hi, Alec.”

“Mr. Bishop isn’t in the room,” Katie stated.

“Not in here,” Cory said. “In there. Watching. Listening. Like I did with him and his whore. People who live in houses on a public beach shouldn’t fuck in front of their wall of windows.”

“Mr. Bishop isn’t a member of the SPD, so he’s nowhere near this interview room, Mr. Sands.

” Her tone was a warning to Cory and them.

They’d broken several department rules by allowing Alec to observe, and it had better not bite them in the ass.

“He’s at the hospital enjoying a reunion with Dane Sutton. Looked like quite a love match.”

Alec jerked his gaze to Sawyer, and he gestured for him to wait a minute. Katie had intended the comment to crack through Cory’s placid demeanor, and her payout came immediately.

Cory’s gaze darkened with rage, and his lips formed a cruel sneer. “That wasn’t love. They rutted like filthy animals with no passion or genuine feeling between them. Just two men looking to get off.”

Katie didn’t physically react to her victory, though Sawyer suspected she mentally performed a happy dance. “So you admit to following Alec back home after he and Dane left the bar?”

Cory blinked as he realized his mistake.

Instead of showing anger, he retreated into his cold, detached persona again.

The Jekyll-and-Hyde shift was both fascinating and bone-chilling.

Cory shrugged and said, “Yep. Parked down the street. But you already know this. If you’d gone back in the footage far enough, you probably would’ve seen me get out of the car and creep down to the beach for a front-row seat.

Alec is even more gorgeous than I ever imagined.

” He shook his head slowly. “We could’ve been so good together.

I would’ve shown him what passion really looks like. ”

Alec shuddered, and Sawyer rested a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Thank you for telling me where to find additional evidence against you,” Katie said. “Not that I need it after everything I found in your home and on your computer.”

Cory chuckled. “And what did you find?”

“All the research you’ve done on Alec Bishop for the past fifteen months and the profile you made for him, detailing everything from his favorite foods to his preferred brand of shampoo.” Katie cocked her head to the side. “How did you even find out about half of these things?”

“Interviews he’s given since his book came out and posts he’s made to his social media accounts,” Cory said.

“I found out about the shampoo when he posted a selfie in his bathroom. A portion of his shower was in the background, and I zoomed in.” He cocked his head to the side, and Sawyer could tell he was thinking about saying more.

Katie could sense it, too, and sat in silence instead of pressing on.

“I know what brand of underwear he prefers, the side of the bed he sleeps in, and I know he likes his dildos thick and long.”

Alec swayed but didn’t go down. Royce moved to stand on his other side and also placed a supportive hand on his shoulder.

“How do you know those things?” Katie asked.

Cory sighed as if bored now. “Such an amateur question, Katie. Can I call you that?”

“You may not,” she replied coolly. If Cory hoped to rattle her, he’d have to try harder.

“Detective O’Connell it is, then.” Cory fidgeted slightly in the chair, so maybe he was more nervous than he’d wanted to let on.

“I broke into his home, obviously. His book tour schedule was public, finding his address was a cinch, and his security is a joke.” Cory cocked his head to the side.

“I watched a video on how to pick a lock, bought a kit, and put my new skills into practice.” He snapped his fingers to demonstrate how easy it had been.

“When did you go to his home?” Katie asked.

Cory rattled three dates, shocking everyone. “I had plenty of personal time saved up, and I listened to his audiobook during my road trips.”

“Why did you keep breaking into his house?”

Cory tsked. “Detective, really. Maybe they should bring someone smarter in for this interview.” He looked at the police officer next to Katie.

“Tell the detective why I kept returning to my love’s house.

” When the officer didn’t respond, Cory looked him up and down.

“Big, strong, silent type. Yum.” He didn’t get the reaction he’d hoped for there either, so he gave Katie his attention once more.

“I wanted to feel closer to Alec. I learned something new about him from every visit and added the details to my profile, as you call it.”

“Did you take anything?” Katie asked.

“I’m not a thief.” Anger returned to Cory’s honey-brown eyes, but he blinked it away. “But I left things behind.”

Alec sucked in a sharp breath, and Sawyer worried he’d follow it up with a loud coughing fit and give them away. “Easy, short breaths, buddy.”

“What kind of things?” Katie pressed.

Cory’s sneer made Sawyer want to puke. “You can probably guess.”

“I’d prefer you tell me.”

He made a fist and crudely mimed jerking off. “In his shower, in his bed, while riding his big dildo, and on his couch. Little pieces of me everywhere. I wore his clothes, ate his food, read his books, and imagined what our lives could be like.”

“And you stockpiled his favorite things in your home,” Katie said. “Did you plan on kidnapping Mr. Bishop at some point?”

“No. I was going to make him love me as much as I love him. Knowing so much about him gave me a leg up.” The lack of inflection in his voice made Cory’s words even creepier. “But his whore came along and ruined it.”

“You’re referring to Dane Sutton as his whore?”

Cory’s eyes turned nearly feral as he leaned toward Katie.

“Did you know he sells himself for money? I didn’t know that last week, but I learned it from Dane during our many conversations.

He calls himself an escort, but we know what that really means.

That’s who Alec chose over me. Dane isn’t good enough to share a meal with Alec, let alone his bed. I hate him.”

“Dane?” Katie asked.

“Yes. I just couldn’t find the courage to kill him.”

“According to your browser history, you searched the least painful way to kill someone this morning. Is that why you’d gone home for lunch? Were you going to kill Dane?”

“Whore no more,” he singsonged.

Royce and Sawyer exchanged stunned glances. They’d avoided a tragedy by the skin of their teeth.

Alec covered his mouth and staggered back from the glass. Was he going to be sick? Sawyer stepped into his line of sight to get his attention, and Alec gestured he was okay.

“So, that’s a yes?” Katie pushed. “You had planned to kill Dane Sutton.”

Cory cocked a brow. “Isn’t that what I said?”

“No, you sang a little ditty,” Katie told him. “And it was out of tune. For the record, and I need a simple yes or no here, did you plan to kill Dane Sutton?”

“Yes. Alec apologized for the shitty way he treated me. I needed to get Dane out of my way and clean his messes so I could bring Alec back to my house. I planned to fix him a nice dinner before teaching him what he really needed from a man.”

“Fuck,” Alec hissed. “I can’t be in here.”

Sawyer followed him out into the hallway to make sure he didn’t push inside the interview room and attack Cody.

He couldn’t fault the urge, but he wouldn’t condone the action.

Luckily, Alec kept walking, muttering something under his breath Sawyer couldn’t make out.

They took the stairs down to the basement instead of the elevator, and Alec headed straight for the conference room, where he started to pack equipment.

“I won’t be much longer,” Alec said.

“No rush on my part. I’ll be here a few more hours.”

Alec snapped his head up. “No. I mean, yes, I’m leaving for the day. But I meant my stay in Savannah. I want to shoot some more background footage and wrap up a few things, but it shouldn’t take more than a day. Two max.”

“You don’t need to rush out of here like the village elders are running you out of town,” Sawyer teased, though he’d have led the charge barely forty-eight hours ago.

“The FBI will make a confirmation on Monica’s necklace, and I want you to be there when we call Talia with the news.

The department will hold a press conference.

Stay and be a part of that because it wouldn’t have happened without your help. ”

Alec shook his head. “No, I need to take a different approach. I’m drawing too much attention to myself.”

“Because of Cory Sands?”

“Don’t tell me you wouldn’t feel the same way.

” Alec shivered so hard he dropped a piece of equipment on the table.

“Yeah, building the profiles of my likes and dislikes is creepy enough, but he broke into my house and did unspeakable things there.” Alec trembled all over, then shook his head as if he could banish Cory’s words from his head.

“As awful as that is, I can’t get past knowing he watched me have sex with Dane.

Yeah, I should’ve considered someone could stroll on the beach in the middle of the night, but I was too consumed by Dane to care.

And he was so wrong about the lack of passion and genuine emotion.

I’ve had tons of meaningless hookups, and what I shared with Dane was special.

I will not let Cory take that from me.” He dropped into a chair and put his head in his hands.

“I feel so violated. I can’t possibly stay? ”

“I think that feeling will follow you everywhere unless you tackle it head-on.”

Alec slowly lifted his head. “What do you mean?”

“Have you ever sought treatment for your past trauma?”

Shaking his head, Alec said, “I chose action over reflection. I just don’t see how talking about my problems will fix them. What can a therapist say to help me stop feeling like someone is watching me?”

“You won’t know unless you try,” Sawyer told him. “Don’t let Cory take anything else from you.”

Alec sighed heavily. “I’ll consider it. I do really love it here.

” He met Sawyer’s gaze. “And I want to make sure Dane is really okay before I go. He has a lot going on right now, but I’d like to be his friend if he’d let me.

” He smiled a little and added, “And maybe it could turn into something more later.”

“You never know. I sure as hell never would’ve predicted marriage and fatherhood with Royce Locke.”

Alec perked up. “Fatherhood?”

Oops. “I wasn’t supposed to say anything yet.” He’d given Royce a rough time for blurting out their secret, and there he went and did it with someone he hardly knew.

“I won’t tell anyone,” Alec promised.

Sawyer couldn’t help imagining a role reversal of the punishment he’d given Royce. Oh, how he’d love to get on his knees for his husband. Sawyer believed Alec would keep his secret, so he aimed for a different tactic. “Hey, how do you feel about coming to our house for dinner tonight?”