Page 6 of The Sinner’s Son (Sawyer and Royce: Felonies and Fatherhood #2)

The approval for Holly’s tactical support came through late in the afternoon, and planning for the future takedowns started immediately.

This was the biggest operation Sawyer’s department had ever conducted, and it was important that they plan for every contingency to avoid injury or loss of life.

Luckily, Sergeant Reynolds was like-minded, and she recommended thorough surveillance on the suspects to make sure their strategy would work.

They needed to know how and when these men moved and how many people might be in their residences when they served the warrants.

Vehicle registrations, property deed searches, aerial photos, and even Google Earth images only got you so far.

None of those things warned of potentially harmful exposures, unidentified threats, or if children lived at the premises.

It was better to take their time and do it right.

These four men had eluded charges on their crimes for years, and there was no reason for them to think their luck was about to change.

The extended operation required support to set up surveillance on the four suspects, so they expanded their team to include a few of the vice detectives Holly worked with before moving to cold cases.

The reunion was enthusiastic, loud, and a little too long for Sawyer’s liking.

He tried not to check his watch every five minutes as the crew regaled the room with the highlights of their careers.

Sawyer would’ve enjoyed the stories if they were grabbing a drink at Joe’s, but they were in the middle of planning a mission.

And Royce’s open house had started fifteen minutes ago.

He checked his watch and grimaced. Make that twenty.

His phone pinged with an incoming text from Royce asking if he was okay.

Great. His husband probably thought Alec Bishop had abducted him.

Sawyer replied that his strategy meeting had run late, and he’d be there as soon as possible.

Then he pocketed his phone and caught Holly’s gaze.

She must’ve clocked his growing frustration because she gave him a subtle nod.

Detective Shawn Ashcroft kept the reverie going with a robust “Hey, remember that one time—”

“At band camp,” Holly interjected. “Sergeant Reynolds doesn’t care where you’ve put your flute, buddy. We’re interested in your other areas of expertise.”

Instead of getting pissed at her joke, Ashcroft playfully puffed up his chest like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. He even deepened his voice and said, “Which one? I have so many.”

“Surveillance,” Holly said.

Ashcroft deflated like a balloon. “That’s my least favorite.”

Holly patted his shoulder. “I know, but it’s important. Let’s finish up, and I’ll buy you a beer at Joe’s. You can tell me all about your flute stories.”

“I don’t know that reference,” Ashcroft said. When Holly started to tell him about the scene from American Pie , he waved her off. “I don’t need to know.”

Sergeant Reynolds threw her head back and laughed. “Count me in for drinks at Joe’s. Who else is coming?”

“I can’t tonight,” Sawyer said. “I’m going to the open house for Royce’s Explorer cadets.”

Ashcroft stiffened. “Shit. That’s going on right now. Get out of here. We’ve got this.”

Sawyer caught Holly’s gaze, and she nodded. “I’ll bring you up to speed first thing in the morning.”

“Perfect.” Sawyer turned to Sergeant Reynolds. “Thanks for your assist on this one.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” she replied.

He excused himself and made a beeline for the community gathering space on the opposite side of the basement.

The hum of combined voices grew louder as he approached, sounding like another one of Royce’s events had reached full capacity.

The Explorer program provided area high school students with an introduction to the wide spectrum of law enforcement careers while developing leadership skills and encouraging character development through community involvement.

Enthusiasm and enrollment for Royce’s program had exceeded everyone’s wildest imagination, and the school had outgrown its current facility in only a few years.

But Sawyer didn’t see the department making expansion plans soon since the academy was still in its infancy.

He made the last turn in the corridor and saw that a large group of people had gathered outside the community center double doors.

Sawyer recognized one of the faces from work, but he didn’t know the others.

They were too old to be cadets but too young to be their parents.

Older siblings? The group leaned as one to peer into the room before quickly putting their heads together in discussion.

A few of them shimmied, others giggled, and another one snapped her fingers repeatedly.

What the hell was going on? Had Royce invited a guest speaker and forgotten to mention it?

Royce. Were these members of his fan club?

It didn’t matter that at least five of the people were older than Eddie.

No age group was immune to that Locke magnetism.

The idea amused Sawyer and even charmed him.

But his delight turned to dread when he caught bits and pieces of the group’s conversation.

Cory, a sandy-haired forensic science technician for the department, practically vibrated with excitement as he stared into the community room.

“He’s even sexier in person than he is on TV.

I’ve never understood what bedroom eyes meant until now.

” Turning his attention back to the group, Cory closed his eyes and swayed.

“I’ve never seen that shade of green. They look like sea glass. And his dark, tousled hair…”

Sawyer knew damn well who Cory was talking about since the technician had cornered him at the precinct after he’d returned from the crime convention in Denver.

Cory had gushed about Alec’s good looks and intelligence for an uncomfortably long stretch of time before Sawyer could free himself from the conversation.

But Alec couldn’t be the reason for Cory’s current euphoric state, right?

Because Sawyer had specifically told the pain in the ass that he’d see him on Monday morning at eight thirty.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell us Alec was coming to Savannah,” a gray-haired lady said to Cory. “We had to find out about his special project with your police department when he went live on Instagram.”

“I didn’t know anything about it, Dodie,” Cory claimed, his honey-brown eyes flashing with excitement. “What special project? Did he give specifics?”

“You need to introduce yourself to him,” a woman in her early twenties suggested before anyone answered his question.

“No way,” Cory said. “What would I say?”

“Tell him about your specialty and offer to help with his project,” Dodie replied.

Cory shook his head vigorously. “No way.”

Fuck. Me. The urge to turn around and walk the other way grabbed Sawyer by the balls, but he continued to the community room, skirting around Alec’s fan club as he went.

Christ. Sawyer knew Alec had a large following, but he hadn’t expected a portion of his fan base to show up at the precinct.

Shit! Mendoza would be furious and blame Sawyer for all of it.

At least Cory was too occupied with the groupies to notice him.

His relief was short-lived as soon as he stepped inside the crowded community center.

Royce and Mendoza stood at one end of the room, their rigid postures and carefully blank expressions confirming Sawyer’s worst fears.

He followed their gazes and, even knowing what he’d see, still cringed at the sight of the cadets and their families swarmed around Alec, peppering him with questions.

To make matters worse, Commissioner Rigby stood beside him and appeared to be thrilled with the excitement he generated.

Sawyer felt sick to his stomach. The open house was Tara’s and Royce’s time to get to know the cadets and their families, but Alec had swooped in and hijacked their evening.

Where had Tara gone? A hand landed on Sawyer’s shoulder and nearly scared the piss out of him.

He spun around to find Tara standing behind him.

“There you are. How’d it go with the caterer? ”

Tara ignored his question and narrowed her eyes. “Is this your doing?” Her voice was dark and menacing, maybe an octave above a growl.

“Nope. I didn’t invite Alec. I told him to be here on Monday morning.” Sawyer sounded as defensive as he felt. “I’m so damn sorry, Tara.”

She squeezed his shoulder again, but it was softer this time. Probably out of pity. “Mendoza’s been asking for you, so best of luck with that.”

Son of a bitch. “Want to walk over with me?”

Tara snorted. “No freaking way. I’ll check on the food that no one is eating. We might as well have kept the bougie bullshit food.”

Seizing on the delay tactic, Sawyer followed Tara over to a long table and loaded his plate with sliders, ham-and-cheese puff pastry pinwheels, buffalo popcorn chicken, and a fried mozzarella cheese stick.

“Since when do you eat this kind of food?” Tara pointed to the platters of fresh fruits and vegetables on the opposite side of the table. “Isn’t that more your type of thing?”