Make Me Whole Read Online Free PDF Page B

to talk to his dad. Nick winced at the thought of another painful, awkward conversation with him. His brothers were even worse. He’d have to deal with lectures along with the awkwardness. He did not want to put up with that right now.
    Nick switched his thoughts back to the problem at hand. Galen would want to keep them. Nick couldn’t blame him there, but they belonged to him. No, wait, he should see the statues first, make sure they were the Dexios Collection before he started jumping around all over the place and causing trouble.
    There was a long pause, and then Galen continued in a softer voice that cut through Nick’s thoughts. “I’m sorry for the way things ended between us. I was an ass, and it’s past time I acknowledged it. I just thought you should know, I am sorry.”
    Nick stared at the phone, and his mouth dropped open. The tension that gripped him ever since Galen started to talk business melted away. Nobody could tie him up in knots and turn his emotions inside out like Galen. Damn the man. Nick couldn’t help the small smile that crossed his lips. Wasn’t that what had enthralled him in the first place?
    Nick shoved away the thoughts of a nonexistent relationship and concentrated on the important issue. First things first. He had to establish whether or not the statues were the Dexios Collection. After that he could go from there.
    Nick grabbed his phone, called Galen back, and cursed under his breath when it went to voice mail. “Galen, it’s Nick. Call me back. Look, if those statues are what I think they are, it’s huge. They’ve been lost for decades. Please call me back. I want to take a look at them. How the hell did you manage to get your hands on them? Call me, please, I don’t care what time it is when you get in.”
    He tossed his phone on the counter, willed it to ring, and drummed his fingers while he stared. He glanced at his watch with a curse. The museum would’ve been closed for hours, which meant that Galen was probably off to one of his clubs, trolling for a hookup. Nick couldn’t wait till morning. He had to see those statues. And if they were the Dexios Collection, they were his. Galen would have to come to Nick on his terms for once.
    Last time they’d started with the sex and had somewhat become friends. At least that’s what Nick had thought until they parted ways. But if Galen had felt anything other than lust for him, he surely wouldn’t have waited this long. This time, Nick was determined to keep their relationship focused on purely business. He would not fall for Galen again.
    “I hate to do this to you, guys, but it’s back into the cage you go. I’ll be back as soon as I can, I promise.” He lifted Rory and Amy to his shoulder. Amy screeched when he transferred her to the cage and Rory followed, his crest flattening in distress. “I’m sorry, guys. I’ll make it up to you; I’ll bring out the bath tonight.”
    Nick headed for the door and turned back with another oath to shut off the stove. At this rate, he’d come back to a gutted apartment. Good going, Nick, good going. Get a fucking grip.

CHAPTER THREE
     
     
     
     
    G ALEN shut his laptop with a sigh and rolled his chair over to look out the arched window to the side of the desk. Night had fallen hours ago; the moon had risen above the window so the only light that spilled across the pervasive gloom came from the little lamp on his desk. The Space Needle stood out like a beacon against the bars, clubs, and theaters that sparkled like a field of fireflies across the cityscape. That nightlife had drawn him in once.
    He walked over to the window, leaned his arm against the brick, and looked down. Nick hadn’t called him back, so he’d sent queries out to some other scholars he knew at the university to see if they could track down more information on the myth Suzane had discovered. So far he hadn’t been able to find out any more than she had.
    Nick hadn’t called him back. His thoughts flitted