The final book in the best-selling Zero Hour series is
here!
Zero Divergence,
noun: no deviation from a course or standard.
After a key piece of evidence goes missing, a suspected serial rapist and
killer evades prosecution. More than Royce Locke’s reputation is on the line
when his investigation into the failed chain of custody suggests Franco
Humphries might’ve had inside help. There’s no one Royce trusts more than
Sawyer Key to help him right a wrong and uncover the traitor in their midst,
but can they do it before the Savannah Strangler strikes again?
Relentless plus fearless equals flawless. Sawyer and Royce have come full
circle—from hostile strangers to best friends and lovers. Neither a sniper’s
bullet nor an arsonist’s fire could keep them apart, but what about a
psychopath hell-bent on revenge? The stakes are high, and there’s no turning
back now because the zero hour is upon them. Tick tock.
Zero Divergence is the conclusion to the best-selling Zero Hour series, which
follows Locke and Key’s investigations and evolving relationship. This is a
series you MUST read in order. It contains mature language and sexual content
intended for adults 18 and older.
Trigger warning: Part of the storyline involves coming to terms with a friend’s
suicide, which may be difficult for some people to read.
http://mybook.to/ZeroDivergence
Zero Hour Between the Books Bonus Scene:
*If you haven't read Devil's Hour, you will want to skip this bonus scene since
it picks up where the book left off. Also, this is an unedited, fun piece for
my subscribers.
Sawyer fought his way through the lingering side effects from the heavy dose of
pain meds the nurses had given him after cleaning his wounds and removing the
dead skin. Just remembering the agony made him sick to his stomach. Or was it
hunger? Had hours passed since he’d eaten lunch or days? Sawyer, a devout
control freak, hated losing vast chunks of time in a drug-induced sleep, but he
understood how necessary it was for his healing process. The quicker he got
better, the faster he would go home. He repeated the mantra to himself on an
endless loop.
His hospital door opened slowly, and he imagined Royce or his mother ducking
their head inside to check on him. The nurses didn’t hesitate to enter his room
because they had a job to do, but his mom and Royce might leave to avoid waking
him. Sawyer didn’t want to be alone with his thoughts; he didn’t want to spend
all his waking moments remembering what it was like in the inferno.
“I’m awake,” he said, even though his eyelids felt too heavy to fully open.
He recognized his visitor’s tread before his favorite scents tingled his nose.
The combination of Royce’s body wash and preferred laundry detergent combined
to paint an image of clothes hanging on a line to dry at the beach. God, he
couldn’t wait to feel the warmth of the sun on his face again.
“You don’t look like your awake,” Royce whispered. “How’s my favorite asshole?”
The tenderness in Royce’s voice made tears pool behind Sawyer’s closed eyelids,
but they made it easier for him to open his eyes and look up at Royce. “I bet
you say that to all the assholes.” Sawyer hated the dry, scratchy sound of his
voice. The smoke inhalation had ravaged his throat, but the doctors and nurses
assured him it was temporary.
“You know damn well I don’t,” Royce countered. “Rough afternoon?”
He hated seeing the worry in Royce’s gray eyes, so he lied. “Nah. It’s getting
easier.”
Royce rolled his eyes but dropped down in the seat next to Sawyer’s bed instead
of calling him out on his bullshit. “You know what I realized last night when I
was lying awake missing you?”
Sawyer swallowed hard. God, he missed sleeping beside Royce too. It had only
taken weeks for him to become addicted to reaching out and touching Royce’s
bare skin while he slept, assuring himself he hadn’t dreamed Royce’s appearance
in his life. This man who rushed into a burning building to save him. Sawyer
closed his eyes again to prevent the tears from spilling down his face. A
snarky comeback eluded him, so Sawyer reopened his eyes and asked, “What did
you realize, dickhead?”
“We’ve never gone out on a real date,” Royce replied. “Work keeps getting in
the way.”
“Not to mention the bullet you took to the shoulder and my attempt to play the
human torch,” Sawyer quipped.
“Yes, that too.”
“We’ll make it a priority to go on our first date once I recover,” Sawyer said,
looking forward to it already.
Royce nodded. “That’s what I thought too, but then I had an epiphany on the way
over. We both know how precious and unpredictable life is, and we shouldn’t
postpone doing important things.”
“Oh good,” Sawyer said. “I’m so relieved you feel that way. I’m going to need
you to reach under this blanket and jerk me off since my hands are bandaged. My
balls must weigh five pounds each right now.”
Royce chuckled and shook his head. “No way. Too many bandages on your abdomen
and chest. I won’t risk you getting an infection.”
“Put a condom on me then,” Sawyer said.
“I no longer
carry around condoms since we don’t use them, GB.”
“Use your
mouth,” he countered. “Yeah, it’s even better than your hand.”
Royce
doubled over laughing. “Here I am trying to be romantic, and all you can think
about is your dick. Would it help you feel better if I told I’ve abstained
too?”
Sawyer’s
body tensed all over. “You fucking better be abstaining from sex.”
“I was
talking about masturbation, asshole.”
“Oh,” Sawyer
said, relaxing against the uncomfortable hospital bed. “Yeah, it helps a
little.”
“Good.”
“If you
aren’t going to jerk me off, what’s your big idea?” Sawyer asked.
Royce lifted
a bag off the floor. “The nurses gave me a list of things I could bring in so
we could have a date night here in your hospital room. They said I could even
spend the night just this once. I can’t climb into the bed with you, but I’ll
still be by your side.”
“That’s so
sweet,” Sawyer said.
“I have my
moments,” Royce said. “You’re very limited to what you can eat since your hands
are bandaged, so I brought in finger foods.”
Sawyer
smiled. “You’re going to feed me?”
Royce
nodded. “I am.” He reached inside the bag and pulled out a can of squirty
cheese followed by a pack of crackers.”
Sawyer
groaned. “Really, dickhead?”
“Hey, I’m
classing it up with these,” Royce said, pulling out a bag of pepperonis.
Sawyer’s
lips twitched. “You should try out for Iron Chef America.”
“I have no
idea what that is,” Royce said, “but I don’t appreciate the sarcasm I hear in
your voice.”
“Sorry,”
Sawyer replied. He wasn’t. “What else is in the bag?”
Royce pulled
out a package of shrimp cocktail, lime gelatin, a container of mixed fruit and
berries, and a can of whipped cream for a nice finishing touch. “A veritable
feast,” he said proudly.
“It’s the
most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me.” Sawyer wished he could
touch Royce’s face, trace his finger over his lips, and kiss him until there
wasn’t breath left in his body. “I love it, and I love you.”
“I love you
too, baby,” Royce said tenderly. A wicked grin spread across his face. “I saved
the best surprise for last.” He pulled out Sawyer’s tablet. “Did you know
there’s such a thing as bird TV on YouTube?”
Sawyer just
blinked at him. “You think I want to watch bird TV on my iPad?”
“No,” Royce
said, dragging the word. “I thought you might want to watch the videos I made
of Bones watching bird TV.”
“I miss my
boy so much,” Sawyer said. “How is he?”
“Missing you
like crazy, but the birds seem to help him with his separation anxiety.”
“I can’t
wait to watch the videos. Thank you for taking such good care of my boy and
me,” Sawyer told him.
“You’re both
mine now,” Royce said tenderly. “Feeling hungry?”
“Starving,”
he replied. “Don’t you dare make airplane noises like you’re feeding a toddler
either.”
Royce gasped
and covered his heart. “I would never…” He absolutely would.
Sawyer was
so hungry, even the squirty cheese and pepperonis on crackers tasted terrific.
It didn’t take him long to feel full, so Royce packed everything away before
turning on the tablet for Sawyer.
Sawyer felt
the sharpest pang when he saw Royce’s long legs stretched out in their bed and
Bones sitting by his feet. He’d give anything to be home with them already. In
the video, a fat yellow bird came into view on the television when it landed on
the rim of a birdbath. Bones went on high alert, his body tensing as he watched
the bird hop along the edge before jumping into the water. He remained as still
as a statue as the chunky bird flapped its wings and splashed around. A second
and third bird joined the first and began frolicking around the water too.
Bones stood up and took a few steps until he perched on the edge of the bed and
looked like he was prepared to leap on the birds. On the screen, the three
birds merged into a cluster of flapping wings and singing.
“Oh my god,”
Sawyer said, narrowing his eyes. “Are two of those birds mating?”
“Um, I don’t
know,” Royce said. “I thought they were just bathing together.”
“Those birds
are mating,” Sawyer said.
Royce
started laughing as the chirping and singing got louder on the screen. “Is that
why they’re making so much racket? Look how indignant the third bird looks.
Three’s a crowd, pal.”
The
commotion was too much for Bones to resist. He leaped on to the dressed and
started pawing at the television. Both Royce’s, the one in the video and the
one beside Sawyer, laughed their asses off at the confused look on Bones’s face
when he couldn’t reach through the screen and nab a bird.
“You got my cat addicted to bird porn!” Sawyer accused.
Royce only laughed harder. “There are more videos besides the bird frolicking
in the birdbath.” He picked up the tablet and went to the next video he’d
recorded. “Oh,” he said when it looked like the four birds hopping along the
fallen tree began to engage in an orgy. “I’m sure it’s not all bird porn. See,”
he said, pointing to the single Blue Jay bouncing between branches in a tree.
“Nothing indecent here.”
Sawyer laughed hard enough to shake his entire body, which hurt like hell but
also made him feel alive for the first time in days. “This is the best date
ever.”
“Until we can do it properly once we spring you from this place,” Royce
countered.
“No way it will mean as much as the effort you put into this one.”
Royce snorted. “God, I hope I can do better than processed foods and bird
porn.”
“I love you, dickhead,” Sawyer said, feeling sleeping again.
“I love you
too, asshole.” Royce turned off the video and tucked the blankets around
Sawyer’s chest. “Dream about me, GB. I’ll be right here beside you.”
“Always.”
And he did.
For once, his dreams weren’t filled with fear, smoke, and panic. He dreamt of
cuddling in bed with Royce while Bones watched his beloved bird porn. That was
the real gift Royce had given him. It wasn’t the food or entertainment; it was
peace of mind. He had a long way to go in his recovery, but he would get there
with Royce and Bones kitty by his side.
Audiobook News:
The
Zero Hour series will be available in audio soon thanks to Tantor Audio. The
first two books will release in April, and I'll announce the third book as soon
as they release the date.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for taking this wild and
wonderful ride with me.
#RoyceAndSawyer4ever
xoxo
Aimee
