Page 2 of Cross & Crown

“Yes, sirs. Thought he was another body at first.”

“Where is he?” Nick asked.

“Hospital.”

Hagan smacked Nick on the arm. “That’s why they gave

us this one. So you could go question him and not fuck up a

crime scene.”

“Hey,” Nick grunted.

“You’re the people person who donated half his liver to his

dad,” Hagan said. “You take the easy part, I’ll go get coffee.”

Nick grunted as his stocky partner trundled off toward

one of the trucks. Hagan and his love affair with coffee were a bane of Nick’s existence.

Nick glanced around the scene again. The front windows

of the store had been busted out, probably shattered by the

gunfire. Two bodies were sprawled on the sidewalk in front.

Shelves of books inside had been toppled, the interior a mess

of old tomes. Dust motes floated in the floodlights. Standing

behind the barricades was a mass of onlookers.

Nick sighed heavily and scanned the crowd. He didn’t

see anyone who looked like they might be trying to offer

information, just a bunch of people with nothing better to do

than gawk as the sun rose. Then his eyes landed on someone

who looked familiar. Tal , broad shoulders, dark hair. He was

wearing sunglasses, and his turned-up coat col ar hid some of

his face.

But Nick thought he recognized him. He started toward

the barriers. “Garrett?”

2

The man ducked his head and disappeared into the crowd.

Nick trailed to a stop. Zane Garrett would not have ignored

Nick’s greeting. Nick had obviously been mistaken.

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