Page 57 of Zero Divergence
Royce nodded. “Rocky said there’s more to the story than meets the eye. I told him we’d give him one chance to explain why he kept this information from us.”
“I think I lost my appetite,” Sawyer said. The cupcake suddenly felt like a brick in his stomach. They’d trusted the PI even when common sense dictated they shouldn’t. No one liked to be made a fool of, but especially not veteran police officers who should know better.
“You need to keep up your strength,” Royce said, nudging Sawyer’s arm with his elbow. “I don’t want you fainting at the first sight of a pretty boy in an aviator costume.”
Sawyer’s lips curved into a slow smile. “You’re such a dickhead.”
Royce’s playful wink said, “True, but I’m your dickhead.”
Standing in their kitchen and surveying the food choices, Holly said, “This is a letdown.”
Sawyer chuckled and shrugged. “Pizza and garlic knots were the best I could do on short notice.”
Royce elbowed him playfully. “I told you not to go overboard for our first meeting because they’d come to expect it every time.”
“Damn right we do,” Blue said, his forlorn tone matching his hangdog expression.
“You couldn’t have added a few chicken wings into the mix?” Chen asked.
“We had those for lunch,” Royce said. “No one eats wings twice in one day.”
“Speak for yourself, little bro,” Jace said as he helped himself to the pizza and garlic knots.
“Oh, hey,” Holly said, “I wasn’t bitching because I expected lobster rolls, but you could’ve at least bought us bread dicks again, Sawyer.”
Jonah had just taken a bite of a garlic knot, and it got lodged in his throat. Felix patted the big man’s back during the coughing fit that followed. “Breaddicks?” Jonah asked once he could breathe without coughing. “Did I hear her right?” He looked to Sawyer for confirmation.
Sawyer shrugged. “We ordered garlic knots once and got bread dicks instead.”
Holly and Royce jumped in, embellishing the hell out of the story and making everyone laugh. It was a good stress breaker. By the time their Operation Venus Flytrap meeting commenced at six thirty, everyone had heard about Vivian Gross’s murder, and the speculations were all over the place. Sawyer embraced the humor because he didn’t know when he’d get another chance to laugh at something simple.
The doorbell rang, and Sawyer set his plate down on the kitchen island. “That must be Rocky.”It better be him.
“I’ll come with you,” Royce said, setting his plate down too. He pointed his finger at Jace. “Don’t spit on my food.”
“What the fuck?” Jace asked. “We’re not children. And why does it take both of you to answer the door? Oh, wait. Do I need to pinky-swear that I’ll keep my mouth shut before you answer the question?” Jace looked at Holly. “What’s the cone thingy called again?”
“Silence,” she replied dryly. “You should practice it sometime.”
“Ouch,” Royce said as he followed Sawyer out of the kitchen. “It better be Jacobs.” Their visitor hit the doorbell three more times in rapid succession before they reached the front door. “Yep, it’s definitely that fucker.”
Sawyer opened the door and glared at the PI. “It’s about time you got here. Tardiness only makes me angrier.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Rocky said, pushing past Sawyer and coming to a halt when Royce stepped into his path.
The home had an open-floor concept, so the rest of the group could plainly see the confrontation taking place in the foyer. Sawyer glanced over, and sure enough, everyone else had their eyes glued to the interaction, wearing various expressions ranging from amusement to concern. Jace was the concerned party, but Sawyer knew he wouldn’t intervene unless Royce was in danger, which was not the case here.
“Look,” the PI said, holding up his hands, “I know you have questions. I don’t blame you.”
“Well, as long as you don’t blameus, then I guess it’s okay.” Royce’s accompanying eyeroll matched his sarcastic tone of voice.
“You’re not the only ones who are obligated to keep parts of your investigations confidential. I wrestled with my conscience on what to do. Uphold my contract to my client, or do the right thing? I had decided to tell you guys about it before I even heard what happened to Vivian Gross.”
“I want to believe you,” Sawyer said.
Rocky grinned wryly. “Be mad all you want, but I think you’ll change your mind when I tell you why I’m late. I assure you it had nothing to do with avoiding a confrontation with you guys. I got a call this afternoon that will possibly break Operation Venus Flytrap wide open. I’m pretty sure I know who our Bonnie Parker is.”
“You’ve just bought yourself a stay of execution,” Royce said grimly. “I still don’t trust you.”