Page 18 of Zero Divergence

Sawyer chuckled. “Skewers are used for grilling kebobs. Those are cocktail sticks. The meat is called prosciutto. It’s thinly sliced Italian ham. Nothing fancy about it.” He picked up a cocktail stick and held it to Royce’s lips. “Try it. That way, you know I’m not trying to serve weird things to your friends.”

“Ourfriends. I already know they taste fabulous because I stole some while you were plating them. I cannot fault your taste in food, even if I think the company you keep is questionable.” Royce’s devilish grin left no doubt as to whom he meant.

“I’m an excellent judge of character,” Sawyer countered.

Royce parted his lips and pulled the melon, meat, and cheese into his mouth with his teeth.

“You make eating look erotic somehow,” Sawyer said, watching Royce’s mouth move as he chewed.

“It’s not too late for me to call people and tell them poker night is canceled. We can eat these in bed.” Royce looked at the platters of sandwiches and cookies, the bowls of salad—pasta, macaroni, and potato—and the second crockpot containing sweet and sour meatballs. “Crumbs and sauce be damned.”

“We wouldn’t need to buy groceries for at least another week,” Sawyer countered, sounding like he was giving it serious consideration when they both knew the high stakes riding on a successful poker night. “I’d like to lick the sweet and sour sauce off your—” The doorbell rang, cutting off his brilliant suggestion. “Our guests have arrived.”

“Probably not all of them,” Royce countered, following close behind Sawyer. “Let them stand out there until you finish what you were going to say. What was the part about licking some sweet and sour sauce off my body?”

“I don’t recall what I was going to say,” Sawyer said over his shoulder.

Royce made a whiny, needy sound. “I have some suggestions, but only after we let the sauce cool down a bit. Ouch.”

Sawyer opened the door and was surprised to find all their invited guests plus one extra had arrived at the same time. They stood in two different groups, both suspicious of the others’ presence, reminding Sawyer of high school cliques.

“Three of these things aren’t like the other,” Kyomo Chen said, tilting his head toward the other group.

“Technically four,” said Royce’s brother Jace. “I’m neither a cop nor a…” His words trailed off as he tried to figure out who the other three men were. “One of them,” he finally said. “I’m Royce’s brother and Holly’s guy. I just came for the food.”

“I am a cop,” Jonah St. John said, his soft voice a sharp contrast to the severe scar slashing diagonally across his face from his right eyebrow to the left corner of his mouth. “I work for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.”

Ky, Blue, and Holly scowled at Sawyer and Royce.

“I smell a trap,” Holly said.

“What gives?” Ky asked.

“Did you invite the feds too?” Blue questioned.

Sawyer and Royce stepped aside, gesturing for everyone to come in.

“I can explain everything,” Sawyer said. “First, let’s eat.”

“Smells really good,” Blue said, sniffing the air.

“Not sure I trust anything coming out of your kitchen if these are the kinds of people you’re going to invite to poker night,” Holly said as she breezed by, rubbing her hand over Sawyer’s bristles as she went. “That cut actually looks good on you. It shows off your bone structure.”

Royce lifted a brow as if to say “See. I told you.”

“Funny,” Rocky Jacobs said. “I was thinking the same about the lot of you.” The good-natured smile slid from his face when Jace glared at him. “It was a joke, pal.”

“I’m not your pal,” Jace retorted.

“I’m sure my boo has a perfectly good explanation why he invited a reporter, a private investigator, and a GBI agent to a night usually reserved for MCU detectives,” Blue calmly said on the way to the kitchen. “I’m more than willing to test out all the food to make sure it isn’t tainted.”

“Taking one for the team, huh?” Felix asked. He sounded shy and uncertain, which were two words Sawyer never associated with the man. He was the last to enter the house, and instead of heading to the kitchen like the others, he stopped in front of Royce and Sawyer. “Should I have reviewed my will to make sure everything was in order before I came over?”

“Are those lobster rolls?” Blue asked excitedly.

“Yes, Blue,” Royce replied to him before returning his full attention to Felix. “We didn’t invite you here to rough you up, jackass.”

“Then why?” Felix was wise to be skeptical after the stunts he’d pulled in the past—both distant and recent.