Page 106 of Royal
Since he was still recovering, we hadn’t had sex in days, but I didn’t care. All I needed was Royal; his hand in mine. He was like my favorite song, one I put on repeat and sang along to, memorizing every word and each note. His hands were like the verses, drawing me in. And his lips were the melody, caressing my skin and holding everything together. Holdingmetogether.
When I realized Royal had been taken by the killer, my whole world had stopped turning. Just stopped on its axis and sent everything askew.
Entering the King Opera House had been like my worst nightmare come to life. Me, Ruby, and the agents had hurried through the auditorium, our gazes searching everywhere. Searching for any place they could be hiding. Once the top level had been cleared, we’d found the door to the basement. As the light faded and the air turned stuffy, I remembered Aunt Abby’s vision…and I’d also recalled my dream: the fear clawing in my chest and my quickening pulse.
Then, I’d heard the scratching.
Seeing Royal on the table with blood all over his chest and not knowing if he was even alive, it’d taken everything I had not to break down.
I whimpered against Royal’s lips before pulling away and pressing my forehead to his.
“I’m okay,” he said, smoothing a hand up and down my back. He didn’t need to ask where my mind was at. He already knew. “Don’t let your thoughts go to that dark place, Gray. Stay here with me.”
Looking into his pale blue eyes, I glided my fingers along his freshly shaven jaw. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
His face softened, and he pressed his cheek against my hand. “Good. Because I kind of love you, jerk.”
“Oh yeah?” I smirked and slid a hand to his lower back. “I maybe, kinda love you too, douchebag.”
Saying the words to him was much easier than it used to be. Back then, I’d been scared and had tried to bury that fear with a bad attitude and by pushing him away. But I wasn’t pushing him away anymore. Never again.
***
That afternoon, I walked through the police station, passing the officers stuck doing paperwork, and headed toward the room where we’d spent so many hours tossing around theories and stressing the fuck out.
Phoenix stood in front of the victim board, arms across his chest, and stared at the faces. It’d been days, but we hadn’t gotten around to taking the pictures down yet. With the case closed, though, it was time to move on.
I knocked on the open door to let him know I was there.
“Hey,” I said, stepping into the room.
“Hey, Grayson,” he greeted before looking back at the victims.
I walked forward and stopped once I was by his side. His eyes remained on the board, and I couldn’t read his expression. I thought he’d be relieved that we’d caught the killer, but he seemed just as tense as he’d been days before.
Alex had been treated for the gunshot wound in his leg and had then been transferred to the county jail. Since he was wanted in several states, it’d be a battle as to which court got to prosecute him. But that was above my pay grade. I just caught the bad guys and let the justice system take care of them after that.
“We caught him,” I said.
Phoenix nodded. “And there are so many more out there. Other killers who will take innocent lives. As they say, there’s no rest for the wicked.”
“That’s a battle for another day.” I clapped him on the back and squeezed his shoulder. “Celebrate today’s victory.”
“You’re right.” Finally, he smiled. “How’s Royal?”
“Good,” I answered. “He keeps accidentally re-opening some of the cuts, but he’s feeling a lot better. Mentally and physically, I think. I dropped him off at his mom’s before coming to the station.”
Kate, Royal’s mom, had met a man one night at the bar and wanted to gush to Royal about him, so Royal had gone over to spend time with her.
“Royal was fortunate it wasn’t worse,” Phoenix said. “I’m not exactly a believer in the supernatural, either, but your aunt’s help was pivotal in this case.”
Too many coincidences had added up with Aunt Abby. A person having abilities like that was still hard for me to wrap my head around, but there had to be some truth to it. All the psychic shops, fortune tellers, and stories of people coming into contact with the paranormal had to have derived from some inkling of fact, right?
And what about my dream? I’d distinctly heard scratching in my nightmares, a detail Aunt Abby hadn’t shared with me. And that’s exactly what I’d heard before finding Royal. Perhapsthatwas a coincidence.
Or maybe…there was more to the world than I thought.
“What do you think will happen to Alex?” I asked.
