Page 134 of Cross & Crown

She laughed. “Fair enough. He’s arguably one of those. His

books are full of . . . treasure hunts and gunfights. Entertaining reading, but not the way it’s done. Not really.”

Nick’s stomach turned with this new piece of information.

“What’s his name?”

“Hunt. Casey Hunt.”

Kelly could see the parking lot from the flybridge, so he

knew Nick had left the Range Rover. After going through all

the drawers in the house, though, he couldn’t find a spare set

of keys.

“We’ll either call a cab or hot-wire it,” Julian finally told

him when he reached the end of his patience. He swept out of

the yacht and onto the dock without giving Kelly a chance to

argue. Kelly had to jog to catch up with him.

“You know, you lose something without the long black

coat. Little air of mystery is gone,” Kelly told him as they

headed for the parking lot. Julian gave his khakis and borrowed T-shirt an offended grunt. Kelly shrugged. “It’s true.”

Kelly’s steps slowed when they came to the car and he saw

a white note beneath the windshield wiper, fluttering in the

breeze. He plucked it off and unfolded it.

Keys are in the wheel well. Please don’t hot-wire her. O.

Julian read it over Kelly’s shoulder. “He knows you well,”

he commented before making his way to the passenger door.

Kelly grinned and knelt to search for the keys. Of course

Nick knew him well. That was part of the attraction. “Where

135

are we headed?” he asked as soon as he had the Range Rover

running.

“The bookstore.” Julian held up Nick’s badge, the one

he clipped on his belt when he wore a suit. “I want to look

around.”

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