Cronin's Key II by N.R. Walker Read Free Book Online Page A

“There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re absolutely perfect.”
    Cronin’s dark eyes swam with doubt and vulnerability. “I have experienced talents which are not my own, Alec. Something is not right with me.”
    “And that is why we shan’t wait,” Jodis said. “Cronin, I know you are loath to leave Alec, but can you take us to this library vault you speak of now?”
    Cronin nodded and stood up. He declared he would only be a minute, that Alec should stay and rest, and he put his hands on his two best friends before the three of them disappeared.
    Alec sat alone in the apartment, surrounded by white walls and silence. The familiar ache of absence exploded in his chest and he waited for Cronin to return. Though this time, absence swirled with dread. “There can’t be anything wrong with you, Cronin.” He swallowed the lump in his throat and spoke to the empty room. “There just can’t be.”
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
     
     
    Pacing wasn’t helping any, so needing to distract himself, Alec grabbed a notepad and started his basic police-work routine. Starting at the beginning, he wrote down exactly what Jorge had said, and no sooner had he jotted down those few lines, than the ache in his chest and the tight hold around his heart loosened its grip. He knew Cronin would be home soon.
    A moment later, Cronin, Jodis, and Eiji reappeared in the living room, and Alec almost laughed with relief. The three of them were holding books, and by the look of them, they were very old books at that.
    “I hope you used your library cards for those,” Alec said, standing up. He threw his notepad on the sofa and walked directly over to Cronin. “I knew you were coming back again this time. I could feel it.”
    Cronin tucked the books under one arm so he could kiss Alec. “And I swear I heard you talking to me.”
    “Really? What did I say?” Alec said with a smirk. “I hope it was dirty.”
    Eiji barked out a laugh. “You said there can’t be anything wrong with him. That’s what he repeated to us when we were there.”
    Alec’s smile died, and he stared at Cronin. “Tell me exactly what you heard.”
    Cronin’s brow furrowed. “You said ‘There can’t be anything wrong with you, Cronin.’”
    Then in complete unison, they both said, “There just can’t be.”
    Now all three vampires stared at Alec. A shiver of fear ran down his spine. “That’s what I said.” He pointed to the sofa. “I sat there, thinking about how Cronin said he felt something wasn’t right, and I said there can’t be anything wrong with him. I said it out loud.”
    “Okay, this is getting more absurd,” Jodis said, taking Cronin’s burden of books as well as her own. “We need to start this now.”
    “It’s not normal, is it?” Alec asked quietly. “For fated couples to hear each other.”
    “When they’re on the other side of the world?” Eiji asked, his eyebrows raised. “Uh, no.”
    Alec took a deep breath and looked right into Cronin’s eyes. “We need to find a doctor. One we can pay enough not to say anything.”
    Cronin shook his head, confused. “What for?”
    “To run tests on my blood,” Alec explained. “Surely they can test trace elements, abnormalities, something. Anything. If it’s my blood that’s doing this, and we all think it is, right?” He didn’t wait for them to answer. “Then it might show something. Or it might show nothing, but at least by process of elimination we’ll know more than we do right now.”
    Jodis smiled and gave a nod of approval. “I agree with Alec. It’s a good idea.”
    “I know all doctors have patient confidentiality, but I can’t see my family doctor. I’ve known him since I was a boy, and he’s friends with my dad. And now that I’m technically a felon wanted by the NYPD, I can’t ask him to not report me.” Alec shrugged. “So how do we go about finding doctors who’ll do tests but won’t ask questions? The only shady doctors I heard about as a cop are in