Armed & Dangerous (Cut & Run 5)

Zane stared at him, not exactly shocked but close enough to it to gape. Ty closed his eyes and turned his head away.

“How much?” Zane whispered.

“Enough.”

“Why’d they do it? What’d you guys get into?”

Ty turned to meet his eyes, then gave a curt shake of his head. “That’s enough story time for one night. I’m going to bed.”

“THEY’VE completely dropped off the grid again,” Agent X said as he spoke to his superior.

“How is it possible that they keep evading you with two prisoners to keep under control?”

“I’m beginning to believe that Cross isn’t a prisoner, sir.”

“Excuse me?”

“I hesitate to conjecture, sir, but… I believe he thinks they’re trying to help him.”

“Why in God’s name would he think they’re trying to help him when all they want to do is deliver him to the man who wants him dead?”

“That I can’t say. But why, sir, would they attempt to deliver him at all if they merely want him dead? Why not kill him in Chicago?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is it possible they don’t know what they’re doing?”

“Anything is possible, I suppose. We’ll try to take them alive.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Hunting them down is becoming futile. I haven’t heard anything from the team we sent to Louisiana. But we knew that was a ruse.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Come back to DC, we’ll sit on the Federal building. We know that’s where they’re going. I’ll send a team to Blake Nichols in Chicago. Perhaps we can find some clarity in all this.”

“Yes, sir.”

Agent X hung up the phone, looking at it in frustration. If Randall Jonas got his hands on Julian Cross, the last shred of evidence against him would be gone. Jonas was responsible for too many deaths. They couldn’t let these FBI ass**les deliver Cross to his death too.

HOURS after crawling into bed with Ty, Zane still lay awake, staring at the stars through the windows, listening to the soothing sound of Ty’s breathing. Ty’s body was warm against his, something familiar in the midst of this absolute clusterfuck.

There was something incredibly romantic about where they were. The moon and stars were astounding out on the water, twinkling above them, unfettered by the lights of any city. He could hear the waves slapping against the hull, the creak of the boat as it bobbed at anchor. The gentle rocking under them would have been the perfect backdrop to curling up with his lover and making love all night long.

He shifted in bed, turning his head so he could look at Ty. He was trying not to think too hard about anything, but Ty was always at the forefront of his thoughts. Where the hell had the money come from? Why was Ty so uncomfortable with the subject? Was he telling the truth about the military paying them, or was that another classified cover? And then there was Nick.

When he’d first found Ty in the airport in Chicago, Ty had said he wanted to talk about a lot of things when they got home, to get everything in the open. Ever since, Zane had pondered what Ty could possibly have in mind. Obviously, Nick had been one of those things. He was angry and hurt, even though Ty hadn’t really done anything wrong but react to a kiss and then admit to liking it. He hated the bond Ty had with Nick, but he also hated to ask Ty to give it up.

A glass clinked from above, and Zane raised his head to listen. He heard another small sound, and he slid out from under the covers, trying not to disturb his partner as he clambered out of the oddly shaped bed. Ty usually woke at the drop of a hat unless he was truly exhausted. All the driving and running and fighting had used up everything Ty had in him. He didn’t even toss his head when Zane got out of bed.

Zane stood at the end of the bed and looked down at him, wondering about the panic that Ty had been feeling that night weeks ago when he’d left Zane asleep and bolted. Was there a force in nature that would make Zane walk away right now?

He shook his head, determined to let that stay in the past, and he grabbed his gun and headed up the stairs for the galley.

When he peered over the edge of the stair railing, he could see Nick standing in a weak pool of light coming from the sink. He cleared his throat to let Nick know he was there. Nick turned to look at him, glass in hand.

“Did I wake you?” he asked in a whisper.

Zane shook his head and climbed the rest of the steps, moving toward the little corner booth that was situated in the pilothouse. He set his gun on the tiny table and slid into a seat, turning to rest his elbow on the back so he could look into the galley. Nick had been really quiet, actually. Impressively so. Zane was just too attuned to noises in the night.

“Mind if I get a drink?” Zane asked, his voice hoarse and dry.

“What’s your pleasure?” Nick asked as he turned to the refrigerator behind him.

“Water, tea, coffee, doesn’t matter.”

Nick messed around in the refrigerator and finally pulled out a plastic bottle of water. He set the bottle and a glass of ice on the counter between them with a flourish and smirked. “Caffeine’ll keep you awake.”

“I’ll be awake anyway,” Zane answered, but he pulled the bottle and glass toward him. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” Nick said with a nod. He picked up his own glass again and leaned his elbows on the countertop. “What’s keeping you up? Aside from the people trying to kill you.”

“I don’t sleep much. Even when people aren’t trying to kill me,” Zane said, smiling.

Nick was nodding, watching Zane, though he probably couldn’t make out much since the only light in the room didn’t reach the corner where he sat. Zane wondered what Nick might talk about, if asked, or if he might share something about Ty that Zane didn’t know. Ty was their common ground. It was just talk between new friends, right? Only this friend knew Ty was with Zane, and he’d had his tongue down Ty’s throat a few weeks ago.

Zane shrugged that imagery off. He’d have to deal with it soon, but he wanted to see what he could get out of Nick first.

“I guess none of us sleep much. Ty’s down there muttering in Farsi,” he said as a way to break the ice.

“He does that still?” Nick asked in amusement.

“Only when he’s asleep or really, really pissed off,” Zane admitted, sliding the glass back and forth on the table near his gun. He kind of enjoyed the dig, letting Nick know that Zane was the one who held Ty at night. It might have been beneath him, but he didn’t care. “When he sleeps, he doesn’t sleep quietly.”