elly sat in the backseat with Julian, watching him like a hawk. Nick could see them in his rearview mirror as he guided the car toward the marina. Any other collar, and he’d have taken him right back inside to the precinct, but Nick had dealt with Julian Cross before. He wasn’t the type you paraded into a police department without expecting trouble—and probably the CIA—to follow close behind.
“I thought you were some sort of camp counselor,” Julian finally said to Kelly. “Work with troubled kids and all that.”
Kelly pursed his lips. “Yeah. It’s called Camp Asskicker. I’ll give you a ‘you tried’ badge next time I see you.”
Julian snorted and actually smiled before meeting Nick’s eyes in the mirror. “The handcuffs aren’t really necessary, Detective.”
“Humor me,” Nick said. “You’re lucky you’re not in a cell. Why are you in Boston? Who’s your mark?”
“I don’t have a mark. I’m retired, didn’t Grady tell you?”
“Seeing is believing, babe. And I’ve seen you at not one but two crime scenes in the past two days. So I’ll ask you again, why are you in Boston?”
Julian sighed, and his eyes darted to JD. “I’d rather speak in private, if it’s all the same to you.”
“Fine,” Nick growled.
They pulled into the marina parking lot and Nick swiped his security card to open the gates. He could feel the tension pouring off everyone in the car, including himself. It was days like this he sort of wished he’d pulled anchor on his yacht and just sailed into the Atlantic when he’d gotten home.
They got several double takes and glares from Nick’s neighbors as he led Julian, still handcuffed, toward his boat slip. The Fiddler’s Green was the largest vessel in the marina, and it sat on the very end of the very last dock. They had to walk past basically every other boat in the marina. Nick didn’t care, though. Whenever any of these fuckers had a problem, they came to Detective O’Flaherty to fix it. They could deal with dangerous international criminals being led by in handcuffs every couple of years.
They boarded the yacht, and Nick shoved Julian toward one of the sofas in the salon. “You here to talk?”
Julian nodded. “I still owe you for your previous assistance, Detective. I intend to keep this civil.”
“Attacking them in an alleyway, that’s civil?” Kelly asked.
“I believe I was the one who was attacked,” Julian corrected. “You’ll notice I didn’t take a single swing at you. I was waiting until the detective was away from his partner to approach him.”
Nick stared at him for several more seconds, then handed Kelly the keys to the handcuffs. “Let him loose. I’ll be right back.”
Kelly nodded silently, and Julian stood up to give him access to the handcuffs. Nick gestured for JD to follow him toward the lower deck. They both had to duck going down the steps. It was second nature for Nick, but JD bumped his head and cursed quietly, rubbing the spot as he followed Nick to the VIP cabin.
Nick gestured toward the bed and the bathroom. “Make yourself at home, okay? But stay here until one of us comes to get you.”
“Right,” JD said with a nervous nod. “Is he the one trying to kill me? Are you sure it’s okay to let him go?”
“No,” Nick answered. “And no. But we’ll trust him until he proves me wrong.”
JD met his eyes, and it was obvious from the look on his face that he caught Nick’s meaning. “Just like you’re trusting me. Right?”
“Exactly,” Nick said. “Stay here.”
He left JD, closing the door behind him, and headed back up to join Julian and Kelly in the salon. They were sitting opposite each other, both of them unblinking, both of them smirking slightly.
Nick put his hands on his hips and took a deep breath to get control of his temper. “Okay,” he said finally. “Julian Cross, this is Kelly Abbott. He kicked your ass once and he’ll do it again.”
“Again. I wasn’t fighting back,” Julian reminded. He looked Kelly up and down. “Although he does seem quite formidable for his stature.”
“Whatever,” Nick said, knowing that nothing Julian could say would ruffle Kelly’s feathers. He sat in the chair beside Kelly and leaned both elbows on his knees, waiting for Julian to begin talking.
“Do you know who you have in that cabin downstairs?” Julian finally asked.
“No. Do you?”
“No, unfortunately.”
Disappointment spiked hard before Nick could get control of it. He had been resting a lot of hope on Julian being able to shed some light on this. “Okay,” he said through gritted teeth. “So what do you know?”
Julian clucked his tongue. “I know what they’re after.”
Nick and Kelly waited, staring at Julian as he grinned at them.
“Well, what are you waiting for here, dude, dramatic music?” Kelly finally blurted. “What the hell are they after?”
Julian looked a little annoyed that they hadn’t enjoyed the theatrics. He sat back and pulled his coat away, showing the inside to Nick before he reached in and extracted a folded piece of paper. He unfolded it carefully, then turned it so they could see the photocopied object. “The crown jewels of Ireland.”
“Crown jewels of Ireland?” Kelly said. “Is that real? That doesn’t sound real.”
Nick lowered his head, rubbing his face with both hands. “The crown jewels of Ireland disappeared in the early 1900s. Why are they stealing documents from the Revolutionary War if that’s what they’re after?”
“Wait, is this real?” Kelly asked again.
Nick nodded. “They were pieces made for the Order of St. Patrick in seventeen… something. I don’t remember. They disappeared in 1908. After they were stolen, the papers started calling them the Irish Crown Jewels.”
“Jesus.” Kelly gaped at Nick. “Is there any obscure piece of history that you don’t know off the top of your head? Seriously!”
“Actually, it was 1907,” Julian said. “But I had to look up the information, so I’m impressed with your knowledge, Detective.”
Nick rolled his fingers through the air. “Get to the important part.”
“The order was created in 1783. You’ll notice the proximity to the end of your country’s Revolution.”
Nick closed his eyes and nodded impatiently. He was still waiting for any of this to connect to anything they’d found.
“The jewels, however, were not made until 1831 to replace the original rather plain ones worn by the Order.”
“How about you skip to the end, huh?” Nick demanded.
Julian glared for a moment, then he shook himself and nodded. “Fine. There is a theory that the payroll supposedly stolen from the Continentals at the beginning of the American Revolution was actually not a payroll at all, but rather a small trove of Masonic belongings, including one golden cross.”
“Masons,” Nick said, gritting his teeth. “You’re coming at us with Masons?”
“No.”
“Wait, what does this cross have to do with the Irish family jewels?” Kelly asked.
“Crown jewels,” Nick grunted.
“If you would let me finish before you get your knickers in a twist, this would be easier.”
Nick held up both hands and sat with a huff, gesturing for Julian to go on.
“The Masons were actually an offshoot of a much older society called the Rosicrucians,” Julian continued. Nick felt Kelly’s eyes on him, and he glanced at his lover questioningly. Julian continued, oblivious to their silent communication. “They inspired the Masonic Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross. It’s part of the Scottish Rites, extremely secretive stuff. Many believe there was an actual golden and rosy cross created by the Rosicrucians in the early part of the seventeenth century that was handed down into Masonic hands.”
“And people believe it was part of the Continental treasure?” Nick asked.
“Some, yes.”
“What’s so important about this cross?” Kelly asked. “Besides being really old?”
“It was quite large, purported to have been wrapped in hundreds of layers of gold foil, and encrusted in rare pink diamonds. It would literally be priceless.”
Nick found himself nodding. He could understand even the rumor of a treasure like that inspiring a certain type of individual. “Okay. I follow. But what does that have to do with the Irish Crown Jewels? Why are they after those instead of this cross?”
“The main piece in the Irish collection was the Diamond Star of the Grand Master,” Julian said. He laid his paper out and pointed to one of the pieces. “Four square inches of pure white diamond, with a ruby cross and an emerald trefoil in the forefront. Itself worth millions in today’s market, but nothing compared to the value of the golden and rosy cross, if it exists.”
“Right. But the Irish Crown Jewels were stolen a hundred years ago, and the Continental treasure and this pink cross disappeared over a hundred years before that. So I say again, where’s the connection?” Nick asked.
Julian tapped the photo of the Irish Crown Jewels. “This is a map.”
“The brooch?” Kelly asked.
“Star. Technically.”
“Yeah, well I say ‘star’ and it gets all confusing.”
Julian scoffed. “Are you trying to say you’re not confused already?”
“This is a map to the missing Continental treasure?” Nick asked, tapping the grainy picture.
“I mean are we talking about the Big Dipper or are we talking about jewelry?” Kelly asked. “It’s a fucking brooch.”
“Your entire Recon team must be insufferable,” Julian muttered to Nick.
Nick just nodded. “Okay, so the star thingy is a map.”
“A star map!” Kelly said, grinning widely at Nick. “You were right, interstellar librarians.”
“What in the bloody hell… no,” Julian growled. “No interstellar… what? No. Whatever you want to call this piece of jewelry, people think it can lead to the Continental treasure, and with it, the actual golden and rosy cross.”
“That’s great, but the star is gone too,” Nick pointed out.
“Not entirely,” Julian countered. “By all accounts, it’s here. In Boston.”
“What accounts?” Nick demanded.
“I don’t know, I’m only being fed information I can use to track it.”
“By?”
“I don’t know,” Julian snarled.
“So you’re hunting this treasure for someone else?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Julian merely stared at Nick with black eyes that gave away nothing. His jaw was tight. Nick didn’t know him well enough to read him.
“Fine, you’re retired, you need a payday, whatever,” Kelly said with a wave of his hand. “Who hired you?”
“I keep telling you, I don’t know. And if I did, they’d be dead.”
“These are people willing to track down and fuck with an ex-CIA hit man for a rumor about a treasure. I’m going to need more than ‘I don’t know’ from you,” Nick snapped.
“That’s all I have!” Julian practically shouted.
“Okay, okay. Where is the star thing?” Kelly asked.
“I don’t know. The records that led us here have been lost or stolen. That’s why I was following the men at the bookstore. I had hoped they’d gleaned some information I had yet to come across. And when I heard someone had witnessed the robbery, that’s when I decided to contact you.”
“Next time, how about just… saying hi,” Nick huffed. “Maybe a nice text message. I’ll give you my number.”
“I’ll remember that, Detective,” Julian said between gritted teeth. He put both hands out like he was trying to keep everyone calm. “I am telling you all I have. I am here, in your city, asking for your help.”
Nick narrowed his eyes.
Julian inhaled shakily. “Begging. I’m begging for it.”
That brought Nick up short, his next question forgotten as he stared into Julian’s black eyes.
“Why the fuck are you doing all this?” Kelly asked him again.
Julian lowered his gaze, struggling with his reply. “Let’s just say I had no choice in the matter.”
A sudden dread came over Nick and he leaned closer. “Cameron?”
Julian didn’t move.
“Who is Cameron?” Kelly asked.
“My…” Julian shook his head, pursing his lips.
“His boyfriend,” Nick provided. “Civilian. Very civilian.”
“He’s not…” Julian nearly choked on the words he couldn’t get out.
“Oh shit,” Kelly whispered.
Julian took a deep breath and raised his head. “We weren’t careful enough with our location. Cameron made… he made a phone call that… Anyway. If I don’t find this fucking treasure before someone else does, they’ll kill him.”
Nick offered to cook for them, but they insisted he order out so he wouldn’t have to bother with it. Kelly wanted to tell Julian and JD that cooking sometimes eased Nick’s nerves, but he kept his mouth shut.
Hagan joined them just as the food was getting there, and Nick spent five minutes bitching about how Hagan had a citywide radar set out for free food but couldn’t remember to get him a damn Gatorade instead of coffee in the morning.
They sat up on the flybridge, eating Thai food and watching the sun set, filling JD and Hagan in as they ate. Kelly kept close enough to Nick to maintain contact surreptitiously. He could feel Nick winding up, and Nick’s peace of mind often fed off contact. Now and then Nick would seek out Kelly’s hand and merely squeeze it, then go back to eating.
“Masons, Revolutionary treasure, Irish royalty,” Hagan said through a mouthful of food. “I think you’re all insane.”
“I bet we get a shrink in here, he’d say you’re right,” Nick said. He stretched out, throwing his arm over the back of the bench seat behind Kelly. Kelly put his plate down and leaned into him, resting his feet on a stool off to the side.
“So, let me see if I have the timelines correct,” JD said. He was looking down at his food, pushing it around his plate. He hadn’t eaten much. “The Rosicrucians pop up in Germany in 1600. They’re… esoteric, to say the least. They concentrate on learning, secrets of nature, and healing. But they gain enough steam to inspire the Masons two hundred years later, who become a far more prevailing organization. Based more in wealth and power.”
“So far I’m following,” Hagan commented.
“The Masons stretch across the sea to the Americas, they build themselves a country, and they amass a treasure,” JD continued, wincing a little. “And then some dumb shit loses it to a British lieutenant and shrugs and says whoops?”
“We’ve all heard the theories about how the Masons inspired the American forefathers,” Nick said, taking up the timeline. “Whether they’re true or not… eh.” He shrugged, wobbling his hand in the air. “But there are enough proven connections to make me believe in a Colonial treasure trove of Masonic origin. I buy that. But why in God’s name would they pile all that treasure into a wagon, and then cart it into the middle of a war?”
“They had to have some purpose for it,” Julian mused. “A hiding place. Hell, perhaps they really were using it to pay soldiers.”
Nick shrugged.
“Maybe it was a payment for something else,” Kelly suggested. “Something besides the soldiers.”
Nick pursed his lips, humming thoughtfully. “They were looking for help from the French. They could have been taking it north as oil to grease the wheels of a treaty.”
Kelly put a hand on Nick’s thigh and let it rest there. “Okay, so the treasure is taken, the British soldiers hide it, intending to come back for it. But if the legends are true, they never do. A few years later, King Whoever the Something creates this Order of St. Patrick in Ireland.” Kelly stopped, raising his hand. “See, that’s where it loses me. Where’s the connection between Colonial treasure, the British getting their asses handed to them, and Ireland?”
“Ireland is part of Britain?” Hagan tried.
“The lieutenant who took the treasure was Irish,” JD reminded them. “He was a member of the Order of St. Patrick. And he fought in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Oh God, that’s so obscure.”
Nick wrinkled his nose. “Let’s… make some assumptions for the sake of argument, here. Dude goes home to Ireland, becomes a knight, and realizes he doesn’t need to deal with the sea crossing again to get to that shit he left back there. He’d want to leave a mark, though. He’d want people to know he took it away from the Americans, right? He’d want to somehow let someone know where to find it. Leave clues.”
“Perhaps that’s where the theft comes in,” Julian offered. He’d barely eaten any of his dinner.
Kelly couldn’t imagine what the man was suffering through, knowing the love of his life was in the hands of ruthless men and still trying to figure out a centuries-old mystery.
Nick shrugged. “Makes as much sense as anything else.”
Julian gave a distracted wave.
“You know what don’t make sense to me?” Nick continued, his voice still casual but his body tensing against Kelly’s. “Why they’d tap you for this shit.”
Julian put his utensils down with care and met Nick’s eyes.
Nick cocked his head. “Hey bud, you don’t have to prep for a fight every time I ask a question. I get it, okay? But I told you I’d help you. I’m not attacking you, you feel me? Just trying to understand.”
Julian glanced around at them all, then met Nick’s eyes once more and nodded.
“You’re not alone in this,” Nick assured him.
Kelly found himself leaning closer to Nick the more gentle his voice went. Nick squeezed him close, probably not even aware that he was doing it.
“I don’t trust anyone,” Julian finally said. “Do understand it’s not personal.”
“Fair enough. Your cover was as an antiques dealer, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Nazi Germany was notorious for archaeological digs in search of religious relics. Do you have anything in your background that would ping you for a job like this? Hunting… myths? CIA? IRA?”
“I’ve been assured by a close contact within the Company that the CIA has nothing to do with this, nor do any of the other alphabets I’ve ever crossed. It’s… a private matter. That was as much as he was able to glean without putting himself in an awkward position.”
Nick smiled, laughing silently. “That wasn’t what I asked.”
Julian snorted. “Fine. I was schooled in the art of relieving artworks of their cages.”
“You were an art thief,” Kelly summed up.
“Very briefly. And very badly, might I add. It was one of the few things I was caught doing. It would be on a record… somewhere.”
“What concerns me is that it wasn’t your shitty art theft abilities that caught someone’s attention,” Kelly said. “I think your purpose is to… kill things, pretty much.”
“Deftly put,” Julian said with a hint of a smile.
“Well, someone had the contacts and the information to sniff you out, and to hand you these leads you’ve been following,” Hagan said. His mouth was half-full and he was hurrying through his food. “What the hell kind of private citizen has those resources?”
Nick and Kelly shared a glanced, and Kelly raised an eyebrow. “What about Johns? He’s back with that security company, he might have some feelers to put out.”
“He’s worth a call,” Nick said with a curt nod. “I’ll do it after dinner.”
“You know,” Hagan said. “If they’re following clues, or hunting for them like they were at the bookstore, they’d have left a trail.”
“What do you mean?” Nick asked.
“If they’re looking for contemporaneous papers that tell where this treasure is, this isn’t their first robbery. You don’t get from Dublin Castle in Ireland to a bookstore in Boston without a little hint about where to go, know what I mean?”
“That’s where we’ll start tomorrow,” Nick declared, nodding at his partner.
“Start that search in Dublin,” Julian suggested.
“Oh, and I got the printout of the sketch from the artist JD talked to,” Hagan said, and he stood and patted his pockets down to extract a folded-up piece of paper. He handed it to Nick.
Nick unfolded it and smoothed it out. Kelly felt Nick’s body tense as soon as he saw the drawing.
“What?” Kelly whispered.
“This might complicate things a bit.” Nick turned to JD. “You sure this man shot at you?”
“No, no. It’s just… I remembered him when the gunfire started. I have no idea who he is.”
Nick nodded, eyes on the drawing again. “I do.”
There was a general outburst of questions from the others, but Nick’s mouth was set in a grim line. He met Julian’s eyes as he turned the drawing around. “It’s Cam.”
Julian blanched and snatched the paper from Nick’s hand. He stood, staring at it for several beats before turning to JD, his black eyes ablaze.
“Whoa, whoa!” Kelly shouted, and he and Nick both hopped up to intercept before a fight could break out.
Nick wrapped Julian up and dragged him toward the edge of the flybridge, his arms around Julian’s massive shoulders, his bare feet digging in to fight the weight of Julian’s struggles. Julian might have been one of the few men Kelly’d seen who made Nick look small. Kelly positioned himself in front of JD, who was watching with wide eyes, confusion written in every line of his face.
“He’s seen Cam!” Julian shouted as he struggled against Nick’s hold. “He’s been with him, he knows more than he’s saying!”
Nick finally got him turned around facing the sea, and he was speaking to Julian in a low, urgent voice. His arms went from restraining to comforting, and his voice got loud enough that they could make out his words. “I swear to God, Cross, we’ll find him. I’ll help you find him. But you got to stay calm for me, you got to keep your head.”
“I… I don’t understand. What did I do?” JD asked desperately.
“You described the face of his boyfriend,” Kelly explained. “Who’s been kidnapped by the people who are looking for this treasure. Which means you… are involved a little more heavily than we were hoping.”
“Oh Jesus,” JD gasped. He put a hand on Kelly’s shoulder, trying to get past him to get closer to Julian and Nick. Kelly didn’t let him. “I don’t… I don’t know what to say. I don’t remember. I’m truly sorry, but I don’t remember!”
Julian was hanging his head, his knuckles turning white as he grasped the railing. Nick was still murmuring to him, an arm draped over his shoulder.
Julian finally raised his head and took a deep breath. “Of course,” he managed. He turned around, and Nick carefully stepped away from him, giving him space. “I apologize for my outburst. If you’ll all excuse me, I’m going to bed.”
“Cross,” Nick said before Julian could retreat down the stairwell. Julian stopped. “I’ll hunt them down like he was mine. I promise.”
Julian locked eyes with Nick, his expression unreadable. He descended the steps without another word, leaving the rest of them in an awkward silence.
The sun had set on them, the flickering of several citronella lanterns and the soft glow of the quaint café bulbs Nick always strung along the flybridge in the summer the only remaining light.
It was incredibly romantic, bobbing out in the harbor, the city of Boston twinkling in the distance. Kelly just wished they were alone instead of sharing the yacht with three other men and breaking up fights and hunting treasure and this was bullshit. Hell, they might as well have called Sidewinder in and slept in puppy piles on pool floats like they used to.
JD seemed to be trying to catch his breath as Julian disappeared down the steps and closed the hatch behind him. “Oh God,” he whispered. “Is it possible I’m the one who…”
Nick trudged back over to his seat and flopped down. “It’s best not to linger on that just yet.”
JD had a hand over his mouth, and he looked positively ill. He finally cleared his throat and asked, “How do you not linger on that? How?”
“I have some Valium,” Nick offered.
Kelly winced. “Bad idea, very bad with the amnesia thing. Nope.”
“I think I need to… try to sleep,” JD practically croaked. “Good night.”
Kelly let him pass by as they all murmured good-nights to him. Then he joined Nick on the seat and leaned back into Nick’s arm, sighing heavily.
“What a fucking mess,” he said quietly. Nick nodded beside him.
They turned their attention to Hagan, who was stretched out on the chaise across from them, finishing his beer. He grinned mischievously. “Well aren’t we cozy,” he drawled.
Kelly snorted. Nick rubbed his fingers across his eyes.
“You two go on. I can’t take the sexual tension anymore,” Hagan teased. He tapped the cooler next to him. “I’ll keep first watch.”
Nick stood and pulled Kelly to his feet. “You asked for it,” Nick growled to Hagan.
“Be a good neighbor, O’Flaherty,” Hagan called as Kelly and Nick made their way down the steps. “Muffle the screams!”
Nick sat and stared at the file before him. He’d tried going to bed, but after only a few minutes Kelly had told him to get out because he kept tossing and turning. So he’d headed back up to the salon and gotten into his notes. He’d promised JD he would find out who he was, he’d promised Julian he would find Cameron, and both pledges haunted him. His fingers trembled as he leafed through his papers, and he gritted his teeth. He’d mostly gotten the hand tremor under control, but when it returned, it meant he was wearing himself too thin. He’d been going over every little detail he’d managed to glean in the past two days, trying to piece them together, trying to make sense of them. It seemed like the more he tried to force his brain to work, the less he managed to come up with, and the more frustrated he got.
His cell phone began to sing, a raucous fiddle tune that belonged to only one person in his contacts. Definitely the only one who would call him this late at night. Nick glanced at the phone, Ty Grady’s picture on the display. He let it go to voice mail, though the song grated on his mind because he’d always reached to answer that call before. He still hadn’t forgiven Ty for the last two debacles they’d gotten themselves into, for the lies his friend had told him, and frankly he didn’t really feel like talking to the man much lately. He almost immediately felt guilty for not answering, though, and he picked up the phone to check the message.
It was curt and to the point, just like Ty. “Hey, Irish. Haven’t heard from you in a while. I’m starting to get worried, so give me a call.”
Nick shook his head and hit the button to call back. He kept in touch with his Recon boys, usually sending at least a text or something every few days. But he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been compelled to send Ty anything. The feeling of having lost something precious made his chest ache, but it was tempered with so much anger he tried not to touch it at all.
“You better be shacked up with something spectacular,” Ty said in greeting.
Nick huffed before he could stop himself. He put the phone on speaker and set it on the table. “I am, actually. Doc is in town.”
“Oh. I take the spectacular comment back, then. Gross,” Ty nearly whined. “What have y’all been up to? Zane said you called him today.”
“I did, needed some info.”
“I know things too, Irish. You couldn’t call me? Say a fucking hello or something?”
“I’m sorry, Ty, I’m working a case. It’s a little off. Haven’t had much time for small talk.”
Ty cleared his throat, wordlessly acknowledging the dig. Nick had always had time for Ty before. “Fair enough. What kind of off ?”
“Nothing like the crap you get up to, but weird enough for me.”
“You want to tell me about it?”
“It’s late, Ty.”
“I got time.”
Nick stared at the phone, wishing with all his heart that talking to his oldest and dearest friend didn’t feel so hard. He took a deep breath and nodded. He told Ty about JD, about finding him at the scene and his memory loss. He told him about trying to decipher the bits and pieces of information he’d gathered and make sense of whether JD was friend or foe. He didn’t mention Julian at all. Julian had asked him to keep it quiet, and Nick was nothing if not good on his word. Finally, he told him about the suspicions that the basis of the case came down to missing treasure. Ty perked up at that.
“Treasure sounds fun,” he said, tone hopeful. Since Ty had resigned from his job at the Bureau, he was going a little stir-crazy. He’d probably love it if Nick asked him to come to Boston to hunt for missing treasure.
Nick stared at the phone, trying to find the urge to invite him, trying to find the genuine desire to want Ty here to help them. “Yeah,” he finally said, voice a little choked. “You’d think, but it’s not. Not when my only witness is a fucking John Doe.”
Ty was silent, mulling it over. “You should get a shrink in to question him,” he finally suggested, his voice losing a little of its buoyancy. “Try to trip him up if he’s faking.”
“Yeah, he’s got an appointment with one in the morning. Guy I’ve been going to, I trust his judgment.”
“You been seeing a shrink?” Ty asked.
“My hands don’t shake as much anymore. Worth the hour a week,” Nick said, voice going colder.
Ty was silent for a long, tense moment. “That’s good,” he finally said in a rush, sounding like he was trying to catch up to the conversation. “That’s good, it’s good. So your amnesia guy, what’s your take on him?”
“I don’t think he’s faking. I mean, could you pull that off 24/7 and never once slip?”
“Never tried,” Ty said in all seriousness. “And you have nothing on him? Is he at least local? Does he have an accent?”
“Yeah, about that. I never heard this accent before.”
“Really.”
“It’s like… Southern with a curlicue.”
“What?” Ty was laughing, but Nick didn’t find his frustration all that amusing.
“I’m serious. It’s like yours, but not. Like he came over from England and put the two accents together. I…”
“Can you mimic him?”
“No! I’ve tried, and my tongue does not make that sound with an R.”
“Your tongue can’t make any kind of an R!”
“Whatever, hillbilly.”
“Well, if you want, send me a recording tomorrow or let me talk to him. Maybe I can pump my FBI contact for info.”
“Jesus, Ty, we’ve talked about Garrett and the sex jokes.”
Ty snickered. “I’m serious. If I don’t recognize it, maybe Zane can get it to the linguistics people at the Bureau. They owe me a few favors.”
“Can you listen to him now?”
“What, like right now? You have a recording of him sitting around?”
“No, but I have him.”
Ty was silent for a few breaths. When he spoke again, all teasing was put aside. “You have your suspect on your boat with you?”
“He might be a suspect, there’s a difference.”
“Might and suspect are synonymous, Irish! They mean the same thing!”
“Ty—”
“The ‘might’ is implied in the ‘suspect’!”
“He’s also a witness and could possibly be a victim himself,” Nick said calmly, trying to head off what he recognized would be a pretty impressive Grady rant. “We don’t know. Someone took a shot at him today. Right outside a cop bar, Ty. We had to move him from his safe house, and my boat is the safest place in the fucking city. He’s either a witness in need of protecting, or he’s a doer in need of—”
“Being in jail.”
“Shut up. We’re trying to get his memory back, and he needs the right environment for it. Not to be sitting in some cell, alone, thinking he’s a bad guy. He just needs to remember.”
“Okay, so when he remembers that he kills people—”
“Ty, I had this conversation with my superiors today; shut up and be helpful.”
“Fine. Go get him, I’ll talk to him.”
“Be right back.” Nick got up and turned to head for the stairs. He stopped short and his hand immediately went to the gun in the holster on his hip when he found JD standing in the stairwell, his eyes just showing over the railing. Nick had been so caught up with his conversation, he’d allowed JD to get the drop on him. Goddamn.
“I… I couldn’t sleep and I was feeling claustrophobic,” JD explained as quickly as he could. “Hagan told me earlier he’d be keeping watch upstairs, that it’d be okay for me to… I heard you talking so I came to see who was with you, but I didn’t… I didn’t want to intrude.” He seemed to be trying not to look at the gun Nick was still gripping, but his eyes strayed to Nick’s hip anyway.
Nick breathed out a long, slow breath and nodded, letting his hand leave his weapon. “It’s okay. Next time give me a little more noise, huh? Come here.”
JD took the last few steps, looking worried. Nick knew the man must have heard the last part of his and Ty’s conversation, but it wasn’t anything he hadn’t already been told or even said himself.
“This is my buddy Ty; Kelly and I were telling you about him earlier,” Nick said as he pointed at the phone sitting on the table. “He’s good with linguistics, he thinks maybe he can help us with your accent.”
“What accent?” JD asked with a frown.
Nick laughed and put a hand on his shoulder, knowing the contact would calm him.
“JD, is it?” Ty’s voice was small on the speaker, and they both sat and bent their heads toward it.
Ty asked JD to repeat a few sentences for him, ending with “The Boston Red Sox suck pavement, and the designated hitter was a sham.”
JD was laughing as he said it, and he looked at Nick apologetically when he finished.
“Okay,” Ty said, sounding pleased with himself. “I think I got what I needed.”
Nick picked up the phone and switched the speaker off. He glanced at JD. “I’ve got a few more things to talk over with him.”
JD nodded, getting up to head back down without saying a word.
Nick watched until his head disappeared below, then put the phone to his ear. “So?”
“That’s Tidewater.”
“What?”
“His accent. It’s Tidewater.”
“That’s Virginia, right?”
“Yeah, near the coast. Maybe as far west as Richmond, but not by much.”
“That’s a pretty narrow field to put it down to. Thanks, babe, that’s solid.”
Ty hummed into the phone. “This getting us closer to even?”
“Don’t start with this shit, Ty, not right now,” Nick grunted.
“If not now, then when?”
“I got to go,” Nick said. He pulled the phone away, but Ty’s voice stopped him.
“Hey Nick?”
Nick took a steadying breath and closed his eyes, putting the phone to his ear again. “What?”
“I just… be careful, okay?”
Nick nodded, rolling his eyes. “Got it.”
Nick hung up the phone before Ty could say more. He was tired of dealing with that heartache for tonight. He slid the phone into his pocket and glanced down the stairs with a frown. JD had obviously come up here for something, and Nick wasn’t buying the “I need air” excuse. He looked over the railing into the lower deck of his boat. He knew Julian was in one of the bunks, with Hagan keeping an eye on things from up top until it was Nick’s watch.
He headed down the steps, listening intently, expecting JD to have returned to the VIP cabin to sleep. He came up short when he reached the bottom of the stairs and almost bowled JD over.
“Sorry!” he whispered as he grabbed the man’s arm to steady him. “What are you doing? Are you okay?”
JD nodded. “Yeah, I… I was just looking at your pictures.”
Nick glanced at the frames that lined the wall.
“How long were you a Marine?”
“Ten years,” Nick answered. JD was staring at the pictures, his sharp eyes taking them in, studying them. Nick knew every photo on the wall, but he rarely slowed to look at them anymore. Most were of him in uniform, and almost every one had Ty Grady in it. They had been best friends for so long, it was almost impossible to find a shot of Nick without him. Kelly was in many of them as well, and he and Nick had always gravitated toward each other. Nick often wondered if they’d just been completely blind to the attraction all those years, or if the connection they shared went beyond romance or attraction.
Nick stared at Kelly’s smiling face for a long time before turning his attention back to JD, wondering at his intent interest. “Are you… remembering something? You think you were in service somehow? We could run your prints again, expand the search.”
A blush crept over JD’s face. “No. Me? God no. I mean, you saw how I reacted when the gunfire started.”
“Well, ducking and covering is the smart move, so no judgment on my part.”
They both laughed, albeit uncomfortably, and Nick ran a hand over his chin as he scanned the photos again. “Your accent is Tidewater,” he told JD. “Means you spent at least most of your youth in Virginia, near the coast. That area is naval base central. These pictures might be attracting you because you were a Navy brat.”
JD shook his head. He hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Nick and gave him an embarrassed smile. “I was just looking at you.”
Nick’s eyebrows jumped, and he grinned crookedly. “Well, we were all young and handsome at some point.”
When Nick glanced at the array of pictures, he could feel JD’s eyes still on him. Nick met his gaze with a growing sense of dread.
“I prefer you now,” JD whispered.
Nick had no idea what to say. He couldn’t turn away from the other man. He was drawn to him, to the mystery, to the distress, to those hypnotic blue eyes. Just like a puppy in a storm drain.
“I’m sorry,” Nick said evenly as he lowered his head. “But that’s a very bad idea.”
“Yeah, you’re right, I—I’m sorry, totally inappropriate,” JD said in a rush. He put his hand over his mouth and took a step toward the VIP cabin, looking away and then back at Nick.
They stood staring at each other for a long moment.
“He’s incredibly lucky, Detective,” JD finally whispered.
“So am I,” Nick said gently.
JD gave him a small smile before he retreated into his cabin. Nick stared at the doorway for a long moment before cursing under his breath and turning away.
Kelly sat in the salon, watching Nick move around the outside of the boat in the darkness. Reports of gale-force winds were coming in, and he probably didn’t want to wake up to a sinking vessel, especially since parts were still riddled with buckshot.
Kelly had Nick’s book in his lap, reading it in the light coming from beneath the galley cabinets.
When Julian had mentioned the Rosicrucians, Nick hadn’t even flinched, although he’d obviously felt Kelly’s eyes on him. What the hell was Nick up to? Kelly hated being out of the loop, and he hated even more feeling suspicious of his boyfriend.
He flipped through the pages until he came to the one bookmarked by the slip of paper he’d found the other night, the one with the pigpen cipher on it.
He still had it in his hand when Nick stepped into the salon and shuttered the doors and windows. Kelly watched him silently, waiting until Nick became aware of his presence. Nick finished the last lock and turned, taking a sip of water from a plastic Red Sox cup that was half-faded from so many washings. He stopped short when he found Kelly sitting on the love seat.
“Hey,” he whispered. “What are you doing up, are you okay?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” Kelly admitted.
“Makes two of us.” Nick came around the coffee table and thumped down beside Kelly on the sofa. He handed Kelly his water, and Kelly took a sip before giving it back.
“Are you reading in the dark?” Nick asked with a quiet laugh.
Kelly held the book up. “Why are you playing this so close to the vest?”
Nick frowned, the shadows casting lines across his face. “What are you talking about? What is that?” He tilted the book toward the light, trying to read the title.
“It’s a book about secret societies.” Kelly leaned across Nick and turned the lamp on. He set the book in Nick’s lap. “You knew what Cross was talking about earlier. What are you up to?”
Nick picked it up, glancing at the paper in Kelly’s hand. “Nothing,” he said, sounding hurt.
“Nick.”
“Kels. The department puts on a summer camp every year.” Nick tossed Kelly a wounded look. “I was on desk duty for weeks until I was cleared by the liver docs, so they put me on it. I’m making up a scavenger hunt for them. I’m running out of ideas, so I was trying to think up new clues.”
Kelly pointed at the cipher. “This is a clue for a kid?”
“Yeah. I got the book out because the example they have of that symbol there is kind of ornate,” Nick said. He flipped to the right page and tapped the drawing in the book. “I traced it, then added symbols from the other clues in the scavenger hunt. It looks like gibberish to us, but the kids will know what the symbols mean by the time they find that one.”
Kelly bit his bottom lip, trying to smile. He just nodded instead. Of course Nick wasn’t up to anything nefarious. He was making a game for kids. Kids he claimed to not be fond of. Kelly finally huffed.
“What’d you think I was doing?” Nick asked with a teasing smirk.
Kelly shook his head, embarrassed to have brought it up. “I don’t even know. I’m sorry.”
Nick set his cup down, then leaned back, sinking into the soft couch. He put his feet up on the table and raised his arm for Kelly to lean against him. Kelly did so gladly, resting his feet next to Nick’s and his head against Nick’s shoulder. He covered them both with the blanket Nick kept on the sofa. Nick squeezed him, then buried his nose in Kelly’s hair.
“I promise the next time I’m doing anything wicked, you’ll be my partner in crime,” he whispered.
Kelly snorted. “It’s sad how true that is, dude.”
They stayed that way for a long while, with Nick’s arm wrapped around Kelly and Kelly’s head on his chest. “I’m sorry about this,” Nick finally said.
“What for?”
“This case. It’s ruining our time together. I should have taken vacation days.”
Kelly turned so he could see Nick. He rested his chin on Nick’s chest, peering up at him. “I think we needed this,” Kelly admitted.
“What?”
“I think we’re based off murder and mayhem.” Kelly pushed up, sitting cross-legged and facing Nick. “We’ve never known each other in times of peace.”
“Sure we have,” Nick argued. He tried to sit up, but Kelly put a hand on his chest and shoved him back down. For some reason it was easier to talk to Nick when he was lounging, wearing a pair of Red Sox pajama bottoms and little else.
“No we haven’t,” Kelly countered. “Even after being discharged, every time we got together, we got in trouble. Or we made trouble. It’s in our nature, babe. And then New Orleans happened. It took me taking a bullet in the chest and almost dying to realize I was attracted to you. I just… I think our foundations are built on gunpowder and I’m just afraid they’re going to…”
“Kels,” Nick whispered. “Jesus Christ, are you breaking up with me right now? Because that’s kind of what this feels like.”
Kelly smiled gently. “Do you want me to?”
“Well, no!” Nick sat up again, and this time Kelly didn’t stop him. “I swear to God, we’ll go somewhere soon where it’s not fucking possible for us to be shot at. Vacation in… Amish country or something. I’ll prove we don’t need it.”
Kelly laughed and shook his head. Nick gripped the back of his neck, pulling their faces closer. “If our foundations are built on gunpowder, then so be it. They’re foundations all the same.”
Then his fingers loosened, and he dragged his thumb over Kelly’s cheekbone, letting the backs of his fingers drift along Kelly’s jaw and then trailing the tips down his neck.
“I love you,” Nick whispered. “Has nothing to do with the circumstances, or our history, or how close to death we’ve come together. I would love you in any incarnation of yourself.”
Kelly hadn’t been expecting such a heartfelt declaration from his lover, who usually erred on the side of humor when something needed to be said. He found it hard to swallow, and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Nick’s.
The longer Kelly’s brain chugged for a response, the softer and more amused Nick’s expression became. He finally ran his thumb across Kelly’s lower lip, then pulled it down like he was making Kelly talk. “Love you too,” he said in a poor imitation of Kelly’s voice.
They both burst out laughing, quieting quickly so they wouldn’t wake the others. Kelly wiped his lips and reached for Nick, pulling him in for a kiss. “You’re fucking insane,” he murmured.
Nick nodded, and he wound his arms around Kelly’s waist and dragged him closer. He leaned back again, stretching out on the couch. Kelly lay out on top of him, kissing him for all he was worth. He had the presence of mind, though, to remember that he hadn’t finished making his point yet. He’d been awake when Nick and JD had been outside the cabin door talking. He’d heard their conversation. He pushed up, frowning down at Nick.
“What?” Nick asked, voice full of dread. “Are you seriously going to try to break up with me twice in five minutes?”
Kelly chuckled and shook his head. “I just want… I want you to know if you wanted to try something else—”
“Kelly!” Nick sat up again, taking Kelly with him despite Kelly trying to shove him back down. He had his arm wrapped around Kelly’s waist, and he rolled him into the back of the couch, pinning him against the cushions. Kelly didn’t try to fight it, and soon enough Nick had him under him. Nick’s face was shadowed, but Kelly could still see his almost desperate frown. “I’m not here with you because I don’t have other options. You understand? This is not something I’m taking lightly, it’s not a jaunt through the park for me.”
Kelly licked his lips, trying to swallow. His mouth was too dry.
“Doc. There is no ‘something else’ for me. There’s no second option. It’s you. It’s just you.”
Nick rested on his elbow so he could glide a finger across Kelly’s cheek. It brought their faces closer together. Kelly lifted his head and kissed him, almost exploratory, tentative and gentle. Nick returned it with the same tender attention, holding Kelly’s chin between his thumb and forefinger.
“Okay,” Kelly whispered after several long moments of the lingering kiss. “Okay. So let’s go downstairs and you can prove it to me.”
Nick hummed contentedly. “As you wish.”
They had the presence of mind to finish battening down the hatches and for Nick to wake Hagan for the last shift before they headed down to their cabin, and they also had the presence of mind to be quiet when they reached the cabin. Barely. Nick pressed Kelly against the wall, holding him tightly with one arm, meeting his lips over and over as he closed the door with a quiet snick.
Kelly wrapped both arms around his neck and lifted one leg to hitch it over Nick’s hip. He was still exploring all the ways that sex with a guy was new. Some things he loved, other things he missed. But one thing he would never get enough of was the size difference between him and Nick. He loved the fact that he had to reach up to kiss him, that Nick’s muscles were bulkier than his own. He especially enjoyed that Nick could pick him up, and did so with great frequency during their foreplay. He’d once briefly fucked Kelly that way, holding him against a wall and entering him over and over until he’d wanted harder and faster and tossed Kelly onto a nearby couch instead.
Needless to say, Kelly had learned the little cues that Nick responded to, and he abused the hell out of them.
Nick grabbed the back of Kelly’s thigh as soon as he raised his leg, and then he bent and hefted Kelly up, sliding his back against the wall and holding him there with his own weight. Kelly wrapped both legs around him, still kissing him.
He could feel Nick growing harder through his pajama pants, feel the tension in every muscle as he worked to support Kelly’s weight.
“Babe,” Kelly gasped. “What do I have to do to get you to fuck me like this?”
Nick chuckled darkly. “I’d be way too fucking loud doing that,” he admitted, then bit at Kelly’s lip and kissed him hungrily. He put his lips to Kelly’s ear and hissed, “Come ride me.”
Kelly groaned. “Yes, Staff Sergeant.”
Nick released the viselike grip he’d had on Kelly and let him slide to the ground. As soon as his feet were on the floor, Kelly ran his hands under Nick’s shirt. He’d probably seen Nick shirtless a thousand times before, but this never failed to be his favorite part of getting Nick undressed. The play of muscles on his shoulders and his back, the way the dark ink of his tattoos contrasted with his skin. It was fucking glorious.
Nick pulled the shirt off and tossed it aside, backing toward the bed with a smirk. He knew what he did to Kelly, but he wasn’t afraid to return the favor and show Kelly he was turned on. He shoved his pants past his hard cock, leaving them when they hit his thighs.
“Goddamn it,” Kelly hissed, and he yanked his own shirt over his head. He shoved his sweatpants down and kicked out of them.
Nick was watching him, his eyes predatory, licking his lips as he looked Kelly up and down. Kelly elbowed him to the bed, then climbed on top of him and pinned his hands.
Nick grinned evilly, lifting his hips so the head of his cock brushed against Kelly’s balls.
Kelly shook his head. “You’re going to have to work harder for it than that.”
When Nick smiled, Kelly could see that he was biting his tongue. “You sure about that?” Nick asked slyly. “Last time you rode me, you came so hard I licked it off my lips.”
Kelly groaned and hung his head. It was true, damn him. He released Nick’s hands and reached for the pillows where they’d been stashing their lube. The drawer was just so far when they got to the stage where they needed it.
As he was reaching, Nick grabbed his hips, holding him in place. He licked at the tip of Kelly’s cock, his fingers digging into Kelly’s ass.
“Oh God, babe,” Kelly grunted. He hung his head, gasping as his entire body pulsed with need.
Nick tugged at his hips, urging Kelly to crawl just a little closer to the headboard. He licked Kelly’s balls, then went lower, lapping at Kelly’s asshole. Kelly almost shouted. He brought his fist up and bit it to keep from making any noise. Nick licked all the way up to Kelly’s balls again and sucked one into his mouth.
Kelly arched his back, reaching down to grab a handful of Nick’s hair. His thighs were beginning to burn, but goddamn if he was going to worry about that when Nick was about to do what Kelly thought he was.
Nick’s hands squeezed at Kelly’s ass, pulling his cheeks apart before his tongue was there again, licking and massaging muscles that kept fighting back as Kelly tensed.
“Jesus Christ, you do tongue exercises when I’m not around, don’t you?” Kelly said, the last word coming out a moan as Nick’s tongue shoved past those muscles and inside him.
Nick hummed in response, and licked his way up to Kelly’s balls again. His teeth scraped tender skin, and a small whimper escaped Kelly’s lips before he could stop himself.
He squirted a liberal amount of lube into his palm, then reached blindly behind him. He grasped Nick’s hard cock and squeezed, coating it with lubricant. Nick moaned loudly, but this time he had a mouthful of Kelly’s balls and Kelly almost came right then and there. His cock was dripping as he contorted his body, trying to jack Nick while still giving Nick’s tongue access. Nick licked at his asshole again, then dragged his tongue all the way up the shaft of Kelly’s cock.
He sucked him between his lips, licking the pre-cum off the head before releasing him.
As soon as he was free, Kelly backed his ass into Nick, kissing him as he rubbed himself all over Nick’s slick cock.
Nick’s hand tangled in Kelly’s hair and he shoved his hips toward Kelly with a groan. “Come on,” he urged. His voice was as strained as his body was beneath Kelly.
Kelly grinned and lowered himself, rubbing his ass against the head of Nick’s cock. “Like this?”
“Kels,” Nick practically begged. He raised his hips, and the head of his cock slid along Kelly’s ass with ease. Kelly pushed back, letting Nick almost enter him without even needing to guide him. Nick gasped and dug his fingers into the muscle of Kelly’s ass. “Fuck, babe.”
Kelly kissed him again, licking at his tongue, sucking on it, biting it. Nick whimpered into his mouth and shoved his hips up again when Kelly wouldn’t release his tongue. He entered Kelly this time, and they both groaned wantonly. The head of his cock pushed at Kelly, spreading him apart. It inched into him, and the friction was enough to make anyone scream for more. Kelly sat down hard, and Nick shoved deep inside him.
Neither of them could cry out since they were still fighting over who got to keep Nick’s tongue. Kelly kissed him one more time and sat up, shifting his hips as Nick sank balls deep inside him.
“Fuck, I remember why this was so fun now,” Kelly moaned as he let his head fall back. Nick’s hands were all over him, gliding up his ribs, smoothing across his chest, pulling him down by his shoulders as he tried to push deeper into him.
Kelly began a slow, rhythmic roll of his hips, and both of them writhed with pleasure. Nick brought his knees up, shoving into him as Kelly moved. It gave just one more dimension to the friction that was setting them both on fire.
Kelly dragged his nails down Nick’s chest. “Don’t stop,” he ordered breathlessly.
Nick bit his lip and nodded. “Fuck!” he hissed. He gripped Kelly’s hips tight. “Fuck, I knew we wouldn’t be able to do this quiet.”
“Fuck quiet,” Kelly grunted. He fought against Nick’s hold, moving his hips anyway. Nick grunted, sucking air through his teeth as he started the slow thrusts again.
There was nothing to cover the sound of their lovemaking. No white noise, no rough ocean, no music or city sounds in the distance. It was just Nick, Kelly, and the gasps and grunts each of them made as they drew closer and closer to release. There was no way the others wouldn’t hear them if they were awake. And Kelly didn’t care. In fact, he almost saw it as a chance to mark his territory.
Nick’s nails dragged across Kelly’s ribs, grasping at him desperately, blindly seeking out a handhold.
“You coming?” Kelly asked, barely able to say the words over the struggle against his own orgasm.
“Kelly,” Nick gasped. The name sounded like a curse on his lips. He bucked his hips, pushing Kelly almost off the bed. Kelly laid a hand in the middle of Nick’s chest, where he could feel the wild beating of Nick’s heart as he came. He squeezed every muscle he could still control and Nick cried out, a hoarse, desperate plea of Kelly’s name.
“That’s right, babe,” Kelly hissed.
Nick had his eyes closed, his head thrown back. He gritted his teeth so he wouldn’t shout again. God, he was fucking beautiful when they fucked. Kelly could feel every straining muscle in Nick’s powerful body, the possessiveness in his grasp, see the love and pleasure in his eyes when he met Kelly’s, could feel his cock pulsing inside him. He gripped himself with his free hand, and all it took were a few strokes before he found his own release.
He knelt over Nick with his head hanging for long minutes, each of them trying to catch his breath, each of them slowly recommencing their gentle strokes and touches as their bodies calmed. Kelly finally managed to move, lifting himself off Nick and then collapsing beside him in bed.
Nick didn’t move other than to rest his hand on Kelly’s thigh and squeeze. Kelly took in his profile in the glaring light. He placed his hand over Nick’s heart again, feeling it slow.
“I’m sorry I questioned this,” Kelly said as he tapped Nick’s chest.
Nick opened one eye, then turned his head to meet Kelly’s eyes. “It’s okay to question, Kels. But I promise I’ll never give you a reason to.”
Kelly kissed him gently, then rolled to his back again. “Who gets the light and the towel?” he asked after a few seconds. “I have spunk dripping out of my ass and it’s your fault.”
“Yeah, it is,” Nick said, sounding pretty pleased with himself.
“Pretty sure you should have to get the towel.”
“Roshambo,” Nick said, and he held his fist up, waiting. Kelly made a fist and they counted off. Kelly threw scissors, and Nick chuckled. He’d thrown rock. He knocked his fist against Kelly’s fingers. “Boom.”
Kelly grunted as he rolled out of bed. “Fucker.”