Page 213 of Cross & Crown

“Cam?” he blurted. “Are you okay?”

“Detective O’Flaherty?” Cameron made to stand, but he

winced away from one of his captors when the man made a

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move toward him. He had a few bruises around his face and

arms, and his lip was cracked and bloody. He’d obviously been

kept under control through physical means.

“Hey!” Nick shouted. “Touch him again and you deal

with me.”

“You want to get hard, motherfucker? Come on!” the man

challenged. His accent sounded like home to Nick. It almost

made him laugh. Some Southie thug with a gun coming at

him like he’d last a minute hand-to-hand with Nick.

“Sit the fuck down!” the other kidnapper shouted at Nick.

Nick remained standing, meeting the man’s eyes without

flinching. The guy moved closer, putting the muzzle of his

gun against Nick’s cheek. “I said sit your arse down.”

Nick cocked his head, lips twitching. “Make me.”

Before the man could react, Kelly whistled behind him.

When he turned, Nick grabbed the gun, hitting a pressure

point in the man’s arm that would immediately incapacitate

his fingers. Kelly hit him with a roundhouse punch that threw

him back into Nick, and Nick picked him up and slammed

him to his back. The floor shook beneath him, artifacts

around the room rattled. Nick kicked the heel of his boot

into the man’s head to put him down. The museum curator

screamed, covering her face with her bonnet.

Nick turned his stolen gun on the other man, but he had

grabbed Cameron and was using him as a shield.

“Oh, son,” Nick drawled. “That wasn’t your smartest

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