Page 148 of Cross & Crown

rattling it down to its legs.

“Watch it!” JD shouted, and Nick and Hagan both jerked

like they were going for their guns.

The decorative panel on the far right of the case rattled

loose and fell. Julian caught it deftly, as if he’d just pulled it from thin air. He was smirking when he glanced up at them.

“I sell antiques,” he quipped.

JD and Nick both glared at him, but Kelly moved forward

and peered into the hidden compartment.

“What’s in there?” Nick demanded.

Kelly raised one eyebrow. “Guess.”

“What are they doing in there?” Hagan asked. “How’d

they get there? Unless the owner knew he was going to be

robbed, what the fuck?”

“I put them there,” JD said, realization dawning. He

nodded excitedly and placed his hand on the case, where

the outline remained in the dust. He swept across it as if

grabbing up the two items, and his motion followed the

dust trail perfectly. “That’s the only thing that makes sense.

I was subverting them. That’s why I ran. Has to be.” He

glanced around at them all, the hope renewed in his eyes

and his half smile.

149

“It gels,” Hagan said to Nick. “He comes in under duress,

they tell him to find this shit, but he’s able to hide it and claim it’s not here. Other guy starts tearing shit up, JD bolts like

any sane man would, dead guy comes running out of the place

shooting at JD. Then the killing starts.”

Nick was nodding, his eyes unfocused. Then an idea must

have hit him; the color drained from his face. “That’s why

they came after you again, at the pub,” he said to JD. “They

didn’t know you hid this stuff because you went down in the

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