Page 101 of Zero Divergence
“What? Why?”
“I thought we could find a place that’s just ours,” Sawyer replied. “We haven’t talked about making it official, but it’s the next logical step.”
“I’ve been giving our living situation some thought too,” Royce admitted. He told Sawyer what he’d decided to do with Aunt Tipsy’s house. “Home is wherever you are, so there’s no need for us to drastically uproot our lives. Your house has always felt right to me.”
“You sure you’re not just saying that to make me feel better?” Sawyer asked.
“Have I ever said anything just to appease you?” Royce countered.
Sawyer laughed and shook his head. “No.”
“Then I won’t start now, asshole.” Glancing at the clock, Royce said, “We better head to your parents’ before life blows up in our faces again.”
“Oh, yes,” Sawyer said dryly. “We don’t want to keep my mother waiting. I’m sure she’s ready to fawn all over you.”
Chuckling, Royce said, “I’m fawn-worthy.”
“That and so much more.” Sawyer’s dark gaze promised more than his words ever could.
Royce’s phone rang on the drive out to the Keys’ house on Isle of Hope. He laughed when he saw who was calling. “That sure didn’t take him long,” Royce said to Sawyer before answering. “Agent Duffy, my best buddy, best pal.”
“What can you possibly know that will make my career at the Bureau?” the man asked dryly.
Royce gave him the Cliff’s Notes edition.
“Why do you sound so smug?” Duffy asked. “You can’t avoid turning that evidence over for too long.”
“Who says I want to hold on to it?” Royce asked. “I want to make sure it gets in the right hands. This is the kind of case that has documentaries made about it every few years. It’s also the kind that paves the way for lucrative careers.”
“And whose hands would that be?” Duffy asked.
Royce smiled at Sawyer. “Whoever will tell me why Amber Neilson was working undercover in Savannah.”
Duffy heaved a frustrated sigh. “Who else knows about the evidence?”
“No one outside my department. You’re the first fed I called. So, what do you say?”
“Ever heard of Ed Menske?” Duffy asked.
The name had come up when discussing clients who might want Vivian Gross dead, so Royce was familiar with the name. “Yeah, you guys wanted to send him to prison for racketeering, human trafficking, and money laundering but had to settle for a tax evasion conviction instead.”
“We wouldn’t have nailed him on that much if not for Neilson,” Duffy said. “She’d worked the McGraw connection for two years and stuck with it for another year after we sent Menske to prison since her cover wasn’t blown. She was preparing to leave her assignment for good when she was killed.”
“Oh man,” Royce said. “Did she find what she was looking for?”
Duffy didn’t answer right away, and Royce figured he would roll out the tried and true need-to-know dialogue. Instead, Duffy sighed and said, “Yes. That’s all I am going to say. You can read about it in the paper someday like everyone else.”
“Fair enough. Expect an email from me soon, Duffy,” Royce said. “You might want to get camera-ready by investing in a nicer suit, a new haircut, and whiter teeth.” Royce disconnected the call. “I’d hoped to feel better once I knew why she was in town.”
“Do you?” Sawyer asked, reaching for his hand.
“No. It’s still just fucking sad.” Maybe there is an afterlife and she’s with Marcus again.
Royce didn’t have much time to dwell on it because they arrived at the Keys’ house. Evangeline fawned and fussed over him just as Sawyer predicted, but she was joined by Bree and Grace, while Baron, Killian, and Nick took good-natured jabs at him. Sawyer gave him a tour of the stunning home, and Royce nearly told Sawyer he’d changed his mind and wanted a place just like his parents. Royce loved the wall of photographs and seeing Sawyer grow up before his very eyes from an adorable baby to an awkward teen, to the beautiful man he loved. He paused at the image of Vic and Sawyer sitting on the dock and listened as Sawyer shared the significance of the spot. He felt a pang in his heart but not from jealousy or even heartache. It was gratitude because Vic had adored Sawyer so wholly and selflessly that Sawyer was willing to love again.
The kids warmed up to him just as Royce expected, and he placed a wager with Sawyer that he’d become the favorite uncle within six months. Evangeline prepared all the same dishes she’d made when he was recovering from the gunshot wound. Royce ate until there wasn’t even room for the beer he and Sawyer carried out to the boat dock an hour before sunset.
They sat in Sawyer’s favorite spot on the dock, and Royce understood why he loved it so much. Just as the sun kissed the earth, Sawyer looked up at the sky, and said, “You were right, Vic.”