Page 46 of Part & Parcel

Nick swallowed hard, flushing. Secrets and lies. He gave Kelly a quick glance, trying to gauge whether it was a pointed comment or just Kelly being straightforward like usual. His fingers strayed to the ragged scar in his side as he took a sip from his beer.

When he looked up again, Kelly was watching him, sitting sideways on the seat next to him. “No one blames you, you know?”

“I do,” Nick whispered.

“We almost lost you. But hell, I’m starting to feel like we did anyway.”

Nick flinched, closing his eyes.

Kelly’s hand settled on his knee, squeezing gently. “We love you. All of us. Maybe Eli’s giving you a chance to fucking remember that, huh?”

Nick pulled Kelly closer, sighing as he stared at the pile of letters on the table in front of them.

They had read the rest of Eli’s first letter. All the envelopes were numbered, and they were not to be opened until the appropriate moment. At the end of the letter, Eli informed Nick that when he had everyone standing in the graveyard, he was to open the letter numbered 1. Each subsequent letter would tell them what to do or where to go.

“You don’t even want to peek at them?” Kelly wheedled.

“I really do,” Nick said with a smirk. “But I also don’t want Eli haunting my Irish ass, so I’m following the rules and so are you.”

Kelly laughed. “Fair enough.”

Nick pulled him closer, kissing him on the cheek. Kelly was still smiling when he turned his head and met Nick’s lips with his own. Nick wasn’t sure why or how he had managed to procure this type of love and loyalty, but he was going to make sure he did everything in his power to return it.

He slid his hand against Kelly’s cheek, gliding down to grip the side of his neck and hold him there as they kissed. Kelly shifted so he could stretch and put his beer bottle on the table, then grabbed Nick’s shoulder and pulled himself to straddle Nick’s lap.

Nick moaned when Kelly leaned against his shoulders and kissed him again.

“Not even a day into your mission and you got snagged by a honeypot,” Kelly teased between kisses.

“If you’re a honeypot, then this was one hell of a long con,” Nick said, then reached around and slid his hands into Kelly’s back pockets. “Bravo.”

“So . . . I guess we need to pack,” Kelly finally said. He was still trailing kisses along Nick’s neck, and his words tickled the tender skin there.

“Don’t be hasty, now,” Nick murmured, holding Kelly tighter and tilting his head to the side to give Kelly more room.

Kelly just laughed at him, kissing him one last time before sitting up. “Don’t get distracted. We have work to do.”

Nick nodded and took in a deep breath. His eyes strayed to the thin line just under the curve of Kelly’s jaw. It was healing already because the knife Nick had used had been so sharp. It was more of a paper cut than anything, but looking at it made Nick’s stomach tumble, made his throat constrict. He took in a shaky breath, eyes riveted as he slid his thumb under the cut.

“Babe,” Kelly said quietly. The amusement was gone from his voice, the laughter fading along with the light in his eyes. He took Nick’s hand in his and pushed it down. “Hey. Stop it.”

“I’m sorry,” Nick murmured as he forced himself to meet Kelly’s eyes. “I don’t even know where I got the knife.”

“Nick,” Kelly grunted, his shoulders slumping. He leaned his head back, staring over Nick at the bay. Nick had to look away from him. He hated the look in Kelly’s eyes, the one that betrayed his frustration and impatience.

Nick knew his mind was fucked up. He was trying, desperately trying, to get it back on track. His biggest fear right now, aside from worrying that he was going to slit Kelly’s throat in the middle of a dream, was that Kelly would get fed up with him again and not stick around long enough for Nick to be able to get it together.

“I’m sorry.”

“Stop saying that. Stop being sorry. Jesus, be a cocky asshole for a day.”

“Okay,” Nick whispered.

Kelly patted his cheek, still looking annoyed.

Nick fumbled around on the seat beside him, picking up the last page of Eli’s letter. He cleared his throat, glancing up at Kelly again carefully.

Kelly rested his weight on Nick’s thighs and raised one eyebrow at the page. “What?”

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