Page 3 of Cross & Crown

When Hagan returned with two steaming cups of coffee,

they climbed back into their unmarked, and Nick dumped

his coffee into the street before closing the door and heading

off for the hospital to check on their witness.

Hagan’s coffee, and apparently his patience along with

it, were reaching the dregs when they finally found the room

their witness had been moved to after his MRI and CT scans

and whatever else they’d put the poor guy through. An officer

was on the door, and a nurse was in the room checking the

man’s vitals.

He was sitting on the edge of his bed, a blanket around

his shoulders. He had his head down. His hair was light and

wavy, and he had a day’s worth of stubble. There was a bandage

on his neck that seemed to stretch up into his hairline. He

was wearing jeans and a blue cardigan, and his shoulder was

covered in blood. He certainly wasn’t dressed for midnight

acrobatics like a robbery, and though his current state spoke

of more than just one bad night in a row, he didn’t ping Nick

as an addict.

Nick slid his suit jacket aside to show his badge before

approaching the witness. “Morning, sir,” he said.

The man looked up. He was haggard, with circles under

his eyes. But he was handsome regardless, with eyes that were

an unnervingly clear blue. And he seemed confused and

scared. Nick couldn’t really blame him.

“I’m Detective O’Flaherty. This is Detective Hagan. Were

you hurt this morning, sir?”

The man stared at Nick for a few seconds, his eyes glazing

over. He blinked and focused his attention back on Nick.

3

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