Page 35 of Cross & Crown

he kept being surprised by how open Nick was about their

relationship. He knew Nick hated secrets, hated having them

especially. He should have known Nick wouldn’t hide him.

Hide them.

Nick had his ear against the bathroom door. He knocked

gently. “Hey, bud, it’s Detective O’Flaherty,” he called, keeping his voice low and soothing. “You okay in there?”

The response was muffled, but from the way Hagan raised

an eyebrow and cocked his head, it was more response than

he’d been receiving.

“Come closer to the door, we can’t hear you,” Nick called.

He waited, holding his breath. There was a thump against the

door and he moved away a little like he hoped the man was

opening it.

“I’m sorry,” the voice said from the other side. “I’m sorry I

freaked out. I just . . .”

Nick leaned his shoulder into the doorjamb. “Hey, it’s

okay. You got every right to be freaking out, we all know that.

If you feel safer in there, you go ahead and stay, okay? That’s all we want is for you to feel safe right now.”

35

Nick paused, and his eyes met Kelly’s. He smiled gently

and winked. Kelly bit his lip to keep from smiling at such an

inappropriate time. He’d seen Nick talk dozens of frightened

young Marines down from panicking. He could be soothing,

if he chose to be.

“I would like to know what scared you, though,” Nick

continued. “Do you feel like telling me?”

“Do you have kids, Detective?” the man in the bathroom

asked.

Nick frowned in confusion. “No.”

“I figured you might have toddlers or something. You’re

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