His signal had popped up just west of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and made its way to Chicago just as Ty had been ordered. Now it was near the state line of Michigan and Indiana, holding steady.
Burns didn’t understand why. Jonas exited the private washroom in Burns’ office, having just showered, and he came to stand over Burns’ shoulder, watching the computer screen in consternation.
“Why are they heading north? Are they evading someone?”
Burns shook his head and clicked a button that moved the grid onto one of two flat-screen televisions on the panel on the far wall. “They would have called in if they’d picked up anyone following them or run into trouble.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Burns glanced at the other television on the wall, displaying a map from Weather Underground. Massive snowstorms were moving across the Great Lakes, the same weather system Burns had warned Ty and Zane about that morning. It was much more massive than he had thought, and Burns narrowed his eyes at the screen again. With the two maps side by side, it was apparent what was going on.
Ty was lost in the snow. Burns found himself smiling fondly, a laugh escaping as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose.
“What?”
“He’s lost. Probably has no idea he’s in Michigan.”
“Lost? Does your man know how important this op is?”
“It doesn’t matter whether I send him to Chicago to retrieve a wet works operative or to Kentucky to get me some goddamned fried chicken, he does his job and he does it well.”
Jonas, of course, knew Ty Grady. He’d known Ty since he was born. But Jonas didn’t know Ty was the one Burns had sent on this mission, and he didn’t plan to tell Jonas that either, not unless he had to.
Burns had also debated over the benefits of telling Ty and Zane what they were getting into, and in the end he had decided it was best to leave them need-to-know. He didn’t know who had followed Jonas’ steps here or who had ears on him, and in the end, the less they knew, the less likely they were to be killed if they were captured.
Burns also knew that if they were aware of the whole story, they would fight and die for a cause that wasn’t theirs simply because Ty would do anything for Jonas, just like he’d do anything for Burns or his father. Burns couldn’t let that happen. Jonas was practically family—a man Ty knew and respected as a dear friend of his father—but Burns wouldn’t risk Ty or Zane for him. Better they be innocent bystanders, blindly following orders, than complicit in what was happening.
Jonas looked at him for a long minute, then nodded and turned away. His hand moved to the pocket where he’d been keeping that burner phone, a nervous gesture Burns had noticed more than once.
“Do you want someone to get in touch with Trish?” Burns asked, recognizing the restless maneuvering of a husband who was beyond late for dinner.
Jonas shook his head. “The less she knows, the better.”
Burns nodded. It was the mantra of every dark operative in history.
He looked back at the screen, a stab of guilt going through him as he stared at the blue dot that was Ty and Zane. Those boys had given up too much for this kind of work. Far too much.
They had stopped moving, and Burns guessed they had bedded down in the blizzard despite the early hour. A blizzard wouldn’t stop the men coming after them once the CIA caught their scent, though. Nor would it stop Julian Cross.
Chapter 8
THEY had the honeymoon suite. Two rooms with the bedroom in the back, no windows, and one door in and out. To escape that bedroom, you had to go through the other half of the suite. It was so perfect that Zane was afraid to find out what the catch was.
As soon as they entered the room, Zane went to the heater and cranked it up. Cameron kept his head down, fleeing for the bathroom. He was upset, but Zane couldn’t blame him.
Ty escorted Julian through the room to the bedroom, Zane trailing behind them to help secure Julian to whatever they could find. Ty had fished a handful of bungee cords out of the trunk with something close to unholy glee.
“Antiques dealer, huh?” Ty asked Julian, voice laced with amusement and contempt as he tossed his jacket onto the bed. He was still irritable and tense from the drive, and the target of his ire appeared to be Julian. Zane wondered what had been said in the car when he was gone to up the level of animosity between them.
“Yes.”
“That’s original.”
“I don’t strive to be original.”
“And the kid?” Ty asked.
“What about him?” Julian asked, shoulders stiff.
Zane looked up at his partner as he flipped through channels on the muted television, trying to find the Weather Channel and wondering what it was about Julian Cross that annoyed Ty so. Ty had told him that parts of Julian reminded him of Zane. Well, parts of Ty and Julian reminded Zane of the way he and Ty had treated each other when they first met. The tension was palpable, but there was an added layer to it that Zane really didn’t want to ponder.
“You know you’re going to get him killed, dragging him all over the place like this.”
“I wouldn’t say I’m dragging him anywhere,” Julian said, utterly calm.
“He has no idea what you do or who you are. You’re doing nothing but putting him in danger,” Ty said. “You really think he’d come willingly if he knew the truth about you?”
“Yes. And sometimes it’s safer that way.”
“Safer, my ass. Ignorance is not bliss, you know.”
Cameron chose that moment to step out of the bathroom, unaware that he was the subject of their conversation.
Julian looked Ty up and down. “Are you telling me you’ve never lied to a loved one?”
Ty raised his eyebrows and shook his head, an entirely insolent look that would have made Zane want to smack him if it had been aimed at him.
“You’ve never kept something from your partner to keep him safe?” Julian asked, voice growing colder.
“No, I haven’t,” Ty answered without a moment’s hesitation.
Julian’s eyes narrowed, and he took a step closer. He and Ty were too close now. Close enough that they couldn’t even look each other up and down without leaning away. Cameron shot Zane a nervous glance, and Zane stood, tensing.
Julian’s voice was low and mocking when he spoke to Ty. “You’ve never lied to someone to keep them safe? Wife? Mother? Boyfriend?”
“No,” Ty said, not reacting to Julian’s last word.