Fish & Chips (Cut & Run 3)

His partner had just reached new levels of manipulative evil, damn him.

When he pulled back, Ty allowed just enough room to pull Zane"s hand up and look at it. “You waiting "til morning to switch them out?”

he asked softly, the accent and assumed seductive identity gone just as suddenly as they had come.

Zane"s gaze flickered to their entwined fingers, and he stared at the rings for a long moment. Then he closed his eyes. Of all the details this case entailed, this was the one thing Zane truly resented. Yes, it was for a job, and a lot of time—years—had passed since Becky died, and it didn"t hurt like it used to, but it still… ached and felt very unfair.

He drew in a painful breath and let it out slowly before reopening his eyes. “Remind me?”

Ty looked down at the ring expressionlessly. Then he met Zane"s eyes and nodded without a word. They both knew there was nothing he could say to make it better, and it was impossible to decipher what Ty was thinking. Ty always avoided the subject of Zane"s wedding ring just as devotedly as Zane did. He gave Zane"s hand one last squeeze and then let go and rolled away, groaning softly as he got to the edge of the bed and sat up.

Zane watched him, silently grateful for how Ty handled his request. The rings were a bigger deal to him than he wanted to admit, and Ty knew that. In fact, Zane was surprised to see that Ty was still wearing his after putting it on this morning after McCoy"s order. “Are you trying to get used to wearing it?” he asked carefully. Ty would know what he was referring to.

Ty turned his head so he was looking at Zane out of the corner of his eye, still sitting on the edge of the bed. “Guess you could say that,”

he answered in a low, gruff voice that made Zane shiver. He looked down at his hand. “I put it on, and I guess my finger"s swollen. Haven"t been able to get it off.”

“Not even with the massage oil?” Zane asked with a frown. Ty just shook his head. Zane grinned slowly. “Try the lube.”

Ty snorted. “If it starts hurting or I get desperate. May as well leave it on "til then.” He was nearly mumbling as he spun the ring around his finger.

Zane wondered, not for the first time, what was going through Ty"s mind as he looked at it.

“Mind if I use your shower?” Ty asked sedately.

“You don"t have to ask,” Zane murmured, watching his back.

Ty stood, groaning again as he stretched. He glanced back at Zane and gave him a slight smile. “Got a little carried away, huh?” he said as he walked toward the door. “You"re so easy,” he added in a pleased voice as he disappeared into the hallway.

Zane snorted as he rolled onto his back and smiled at the ceiling.

Ty Grady was such an egotistical bastard, yet somehow he turned Zane on like no one else ever had. He mused over that, rubbing his ring idly, until he heard the water start in the shower. With a soft grunt, he pushed himself up and out of bed. That egotistical bastard was naked and wet. No way was he letting that pass without taking advantage of it.

Chapter 3

TY LED the way out of the elevator, walking into the tech lab with a shift of his eyes toward his partner. Zane didn"t look much different outwardly. New haircut, new earring, manicure, but he was still himself under the pricey tailored clothes. Ty couldn"t help but feel slightly self-conscious about the changes he had undergone, but he was too good at his job to show that outwardly. He hoped. Luckily, there wasn"t much of anyone at the office at seven in the morning on a Saturday. They planned to board the ship by eleven.

“Good morning, gentlemen,” Stacy Knight greeted as he came over to them, trailed by a lackey whose name Ty couldn"t remember carrying a plastic storage box. Knight held two files in his hand, one of which he handed to Ty.

“Good morning, Q,” Ty drawled, smirking as he took the file.

Knight handled most of the briefing and debriefing of agents when new or unusual technology was being used in a job. Ty didn"t know why he needed to see them before they left for the cruise ship, but he sort of dreaded what Knight was going to show them.

“I don"t have time for you to think you"re clever this morning, Grady,” Knight returned drily. “Both of you give Terry your guns, knives, garrotes, crossbows, and any other unusual weapons you might be carrying, please.”

“What? Why?” Ty demanded.

“You and your baggage will go through security just like at the airports for X-ray and random search. We have to figure out how to hide the weapons and other equipment in your luggage, and we"ll have to be creative, since the bags will go with a valet. So fork it all over.”

Ty and Zane both grudgingly pulled out their service weapons, followed by their backups and any other weaponry they had hidden on them. They placed each piece into the plastic box. When Ty was done, he smoothed a hand over his jacket and nodded to Knight, but Knight merely sighed impatiently as he watched them. Ty shook his head and watched with a hint of amusement as Zane continued piling hidden knives into the bucket.

There was a moment of silence after the last thin throwing knife was placed inside. “Is that all?” Knight drawled, unimpressed.

Zane rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. He always carried those knives when he was working out of the office; it was an odd quirk Ty hadn"t seen in any other civilian agents. The skill and habit came courtesy of some extra training Zane had lucked into at the academy to make up for his lack of police or military experience. Ty approved, though he wouldn"t tell Zane that.

“Well. Now that we"ve established dominance, follow me,”

Knight said with a roll of his eyes.

“I feel naked now,” Zane muttered.

Ty glanced at Zane and winked at him. Zane hadn"t really had a chance to meet many of the support staff in the Baltimore office yet, and Ty probably wasn"t the best person to introduce him around, not with the reputation Ty had garnered.

“You look like you had a rough night,” Knight commented over his shoulder as they trailed along behind him.

“Just doing some research for the case,” Ty responded with a shrug of one shoulder.

“Sure you were,” Knight muttered with a smile.

They followed Knight to a small conference room, where Special Agent in Charge Dan McCoy sat waiting for them. McCoy stood when they walked in, looking them both over critically.

“I almost didn"t you recognize you myself,” he finally said with an approving nod. “Let me see the arm,” he said as he held his hand out to Ty.