Page 103 of Cross & Crown

“Oh. I take the spectacular comment back, then. Gross,”

Ty nearly whined. “What have y’all been up to? Zane said you

called him today.”

“I did, needed some info.”

“I know things too, Irish. You couldn’t call me? Say a

fucking hello or something?”

“I’m sorry, Ty, I’m working a case. It’s a little off. Haven’t

had much time for small talk.”

Ty cleared his throat, wordlessly acknowledging the dig.

Nick had always had time for Ty before. “Fair enough. What

kind of off?”

“Nothing like the crap you get up to, but weird enough

for me.”

“You want to tell me about it?”

“It’s late, Ty.”

“I got time.”

Nick stared at the phone, wishing with all his heart that

talking to his oldest and dearest friend didn’t feel so hard. He took a deep breath and nodded. He told Ty about JD, about

finding him at the scene and his memory loss. He told him

about trying to decipher the bits and pieces of information

he’d gathered and make sense of whether JD was friend or

foe. He didn’t mention Julian at al . Julian had asked him to

keep it quiet, and Nick was nothing if not good on his word.

Finally, he told him about the suspicions that the basis of the case came down to missing treasure. Ty perked up at that.

“Treasure sounds fun,” he said, tone hopeful. Since Ty

had resigned from his job at the Bureau, he was going a little

stir-crazy. He’d probably love it if Nick asked him to come to

Boston to hunt for missing treasure.

Nick stared at the phone, trying to find the urge to invite

him, trying to find the genuine desire to want Ty here to help

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