“Shut up.” Ty groaned as he flopped onto his side, turning away from Zane, and pulled the covers up over his head.
Chuckling, Zane shifted the pillow back under his chest and lay against it, settling where he could gaze at Ty’s figure under the sheets. As he watched, Ty lifted his head up again and reached for his pillow, then burrowed his head under it. Zane couldn’t help but smile at how innocent and almost childish the action seemed. He recognized it as a habit of someone who was accustomed to sleeping in the daylight hours, and the thought charmed him.
Who would have thought they’d play off each other like this? He’d not wanted a drink or a cigarette all afternoon. Being in pain and keeping up with Ty was absorbing. One minute Zane hated him. The next, he thought he just might be able to like him. Conflicted, he sighed, closed his eyes, and let sleep overtake him.
TY had barely managed to find the state of unawareness that came just before sleep when Zane’s phone began to trill demandingly. He jerked and hopped from the bed, still half-asleep and tangled in his sheets when his feet hit the floor.
Zane lifted his head and squinted at the bedside table where his phone almost bounced around. “Great,” he muttered. He sat up carefully, reached for the phone, picked it up, and looked at the number. He glanced at Ty, who was still standing and blinking blearily at him as he flipped open the phone.
“Hello, Serena.”
Ty opened his eyes wide and shook his head, reaching up to rub at his eyes like a tired toddler as he looked around the room. He had been out of the service for almost seven years, and he still got out of bed before he woke up.
At Zane’s mention of the caller’s name he growled wordlessly and thumped down on the side of the bed with a grunt. They’d forgotten about their dinner appointment with the profiler.
Watching Ty carefully, Zane made agreeable noises as Serena talked.
Then she said something that got his attention. “Yeah?” Zane asked. “You heard that?” Ty merely glared at him as he listened. “I didn’t know that,”
Zane finally answered as the profiler on the phone kept talking. “So, dinner?”
He listened again and nodded. “All right. I’ll be there.” Another pause, and Zane’s eyes flicked to Ty.
Ty practically snarled at him, but gestured to him that he would be included in the meeting.
“Yeah, he’s coming,” Zane said quietly. Then after listening for another few seconds, a soft smile curled his lips.
“Bitch,” Ty muttered under his breath as he pushed to his feet and padded over to his bag to begin rifling through his clothing.
“Yes, Serena. Okay. See you in a bit.” Zane thumbed off the call. He watched Ty silently as the other man moved. He was rummaging through his duffel bag and apparently trying to find something he wasn’t able to get his hands on.
When the silence stretched on, he looked over his shoulder at Zane.
“What’d she have to say?” he asked flatly.
Zane watched him, the mask in place. “She’s glad you’re coming to dinner.”
“Oh, yeah?” Ty asked, feigning interest. “Why, could you hear her loading her gun?” he asked as he pulled free a flat, folded bag and frowned at it.
“Sharpening a knife, actually,” Zane said lowly as he got out of bed.
Ty grumbled disconsolately as he unzipped the bag in his hand and extracted a perfectly pressed black dress shirt. “What did she really have to say?” he questioned as he laid it carefully on the bed and then reached behind him to yank his T-shirt over his head.
Zane blinked at the shirt as he walked over to his own bag. He pressed his lips together, trying to decide how or if to answer. “She said you’re dangerous,” he finally said.
Ty pulled the shirt over his head and peered over at Zane with a raised eyebrow. “What?” he asked incredulously.
Zane looked over his shoulder to see Ty’s reaction. “So? You’re dangerous.” It would be interesting to hear Ty’s reply.
“I am not,” Ty protested in an insulted voice.
“Bullshit,” Zane said, pulling a clean dark red shirt out of his bag.
“What’s your problem with Serena?”
“She’s a raging bitch,” Ty answered as if that should be obvious.
“So?”
“Shut up,” Ty huffed in annoyance as he picked up his shirt and slid into it fluidly. He shrugged his shoulders, flexing unconsciously against the soft, tight material to make certain he didn’t pull at the seams, and then he glanced around for his boots.
Zane studied him closely. “She’s good at her job. One of the best,” he said, slowly and carefully pulling the shirt over his head, but his eyes returned immediately to Ty.
“Doesn’t mean I have to like her,” Ty grumbled as he flopped down on the end of the bed to pull his boots on.
“Apparently, she feels the same.” Zane fell silent as they finished getting dressed. “She said I shouldn’t trust you,” he finally stated. “That you’re trouble. That you only look out for yourself.”
“She’s right,” Ty agreed in a clipped voice as he finished buttoning his shirt and carefully smoothed it down. “Where are we meeting her?”
Zane slid into his holster with a wince and a grimace. “Chinatown.
We should be able to hoof it.”
“Fucking great.”
“ZANE Garrett,” the tall, svelte woman said as she stood from the small table in the Chinese restaurant. “Almost a year is too long.”
He easily accepted her embrace, barely keeping himself from flinching. “Gorgeous as always, Serena,” he greeted before kissing her cheek lightly. She was, too, with the face of an angel and blonde hair to match. Too bad it didn’t fit her innate personality. Because Ty was right; she really was a raging bitch if you didn’t live up to her standards.
Serena smiled brilliantly. “Flatterer.” She turned to sit back down.
“Grady,” she greeted curtly in the barest acknowledgment of Ty’s presence.
“Miss Scott,” Ty responded as he pulled out the chair opposite her and slid into it. His tone was surprisingly more civil than it usually was.
Zane’s eyes flickered between them as he sat down, wondering about the past between them Ty had mentioned. “I wish we could have met under better circumstances, Serena,” he said to the woman.
“Yes, well, if you’d come to New York more often, it wouldn’t be such a problem,” she said, propping her elegant chin on one palm. “It’s been too long without a visit.”