Page 110 of Cross & Crown

Nick had no idea what to say. He couldn’t turn away from

the other man. He was drawn to him, to the mystery, to the

distress, to those hypnotic blue eyes. Just like a puppy in a

storm drain.

“I’m sorry,” Nick said evenly as he lowered his head. “But

that’s a very bad idea.”

“Yeah, you’re right, I—I’m sorry, totally inappropriate,”

JD said in a rush. He put his hand over his mouth and took

a step toward the VIP cabin, looking away and then back at

Nick.

They stood staring at each other for a long moment.

110

“He’s incredibly lucky, Detective,” JD finally whispered.

“So am I,” Nick said gently.

JD gave him a small smile before he retreated into his

cabin. Nick stared at the doorway for a long moment before

cursing under his breath and turning away.

Kelly sat in the salon, watching Nick move around the

outside of the boat in the darkness. Reports of gale-force

winds were coming in, and he probably didn’t want to wake

up to a sinking vessel, especially since parts were still riddled with buckshot.

Kelly had Nick’s book in his lap, reading it in the light

coming from beneath the galley cabinets.

When Julian had mentioned the Rosicrucians, Nick

hadn’t even flinched, although he’d obviously felt Kelly’s eyes on him. What the hell was Nick up to? Kelly hated being out

of the loop, and he hated even more feeling suspicious of his

boyfriend.

He flipped through the pages until he came to the one

bookmarked by the slip of paper he’d found the other night,

the one with the pigpen cipher on it.

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