Fish & Chips (Cut & Run 3)

“Traffic violation,” McCoy said with a pleased smirk.

“And you"re damn sure these men have never met in person?” Ty demanded.

“Sure enough to risk your lives on it,” McCoy assured them.

“Each man has a carefully planned itinerary meant to coincide at intervals with the others". That"s how they plan to do their communicating. Or so we understand.”

“So we have to stick to these like glue,” Ty concluded as he waved the file in his hand.

“Yes. Your objectives are simple. Get pictures of Vartan Armen.

Glean as much information as you can about their operations. And don"t get killed.”

ZANE stood at the foot of the circular California king with its fancy linen and coverlet, hands on his hips, looking down at the three open suitcases: one his, two Ty"s. Correction: One Corbin"s, two Del"s.

There were already clothes hanging in the closet that had arrived in garment bags. He wrinkled his nose and looked down at all the stuff and shook his head.

They"d been greeted by a note from the maid on the foot of their bed, telling them the room had been cleaned by Stella and they could be assured there were no bugs in it. Apparently someone on their team was posing as a maid and had swept the room for electronic listening devices. It gave them a little freedom, anyway, and considering the entire ship was closed-circuit recorded, they"d take what small amount of privacy they could get.

Ty stood not far away, beyond the partitions that divided the lavishly decorated Owner"s Suite into bedroom and living areas, contemplating their surroundings. Their suite was one of only six like it on the entire ship, with over five hundred square feet of space. It had to have cost the Porters a pretty penny.

It was also completely decked out for the holidays. A miniature Christmas tree stood in one corner near the balcony doors, and a fruit basket of festive treats sat on the dresser opposite the bed. The entire ship was decorated in similar fashion. Much of the crew wore red Santa hats and ridiculous smiles. Christmas trees in pots and sprigs of mistletoe and white twinkle lights bedecked every area of the ship.

Zane had been sort of shocked to find that Ty loved the holiday theme. He"d complained all morning about missing Christmas with his family, but he"d been distracted by the luxurious appointments they"d found when they entered the cabin.

“Well, it"s better than the berth on the last cruise I took,” Ty told Zane with a slight smirk as he turned to face him.

Zane chuckled. “Bunks aboard an LST?” he joked.

“We had to share, sleep in shifts,” Ty answered wryly. He waved at the cabin full of ebony wood and Persian rugs on the floor. His eyes were shining as he moved toward Zane. “Now I get an upgrade, and I still have to share a bed. A freaking round one.”

“If you"re uncomfortable, there"s plenty of room on that huge couch to stretch out,” Zane teased, turning to face him with one hand on his hip. Ty looked so strange with that blond hair, but Zane was seeing past it now. He focused on how Ty moved, on the color of his eyes, the timbre of his voice, and how it all still made his pulse speed up a little.

“You"d cry if I really did that,” Ty told him with a laugh. He turned away from Zane again, heading for the light streaming through the balcony doors.

“Well, pout maybe,” Zane drawled, following along behind him through the stateroom. It was almost the same size as his apartment, actually. He shook his head over the extravagance. While certainly entertaining to have one of the largest staterooms on the entire cruise ship, it was a hell of a waste of money when all they"d be doing was sleeping there. But it wasn"t their money, so Zane shrugged it off.

“If you"re over four, you"re not allowed to pout,” Ty claimed absently. He pushed through the double glass doors that led to their private balcony and let in a rush of cold ocean air. It was the middle of December on the eastern seaboard. It was cold. But Ty inhaled deeply, putting his head back and smiling as he did so.

Zane leaned against the door frame and just watched. While the dark ocean was gorgeous in the crisp December air, it was Ty who held his attention. Zane didn"t even want a cigarette, which was a normal craving that hit him courtesy of fresh air and stress. Ty was distracting like that, diverting in thought, word, and deed for better or for worse, and that had made it easier for Zane to altogether quit smoking—

again—a few weeks ago. Zane sighed silently. For better or for worse.

Being “married” again was making him… sappy.

For a couple of months now, he"d been content to have Ty near, but Zane was waiting for Ty to get antsy. Ty wasn"t the type of guy you were supposed to get attached to, because Ty couldn"t, or wouldn"t, settle down. In fact, Zane was in awe of the fact that their fooling around was still holding Ty"s interest at all.

Ty must have sensed his eyes on him, and he turned to look over at Zane as his smile faded. “What?” he asked with a flop of his hand.

“We"re not ten minutes into this, and you"ve already got that look like you left the stove on.”

Zane smiled slightly and shook his head, lifting one hand to absently rub at the new earring. “Just wondering what we"re in for.”

Ty met his eyes for a long moment, his expression telegraphing his desire to perhaps say something with sincerity. The look faded though, and Ty smiled slowly. “We"ll be in for the night,” he quipped suggestively.

Zane wondered what he"d been about to say, but what had come out was interesting enough. “There is room service,” Zane drawled. It was an all-inclusive high-dollar cruise ship program, so they could have literally anything they wanted, as long as it was available. They"d taken the five-cent tour upon their arrival and had a quick-service lunch, but they"d wanted to get to their suite quickly to head off anyone who might try to get there first and bug the place. It was just past one, and their first scheduled event wasn"t for twenty-four hours.

“At least with room service I don"t have to eat with a British accent,” Ty said, tongue-in-cheek as he tried not to smile. He leaned against the doorframe as the wind brushed at his thin cotton shirt.

Zane watched goose bumps rise on Ty"s skin and took the two small steps to stand right before him, their chests practically brushing as Zane ran his hands up Ty"s arms. “Aren"t you cold out here in the wind?”

“That"s the worst come-on line I"ve ever heard, Zane,” Ty admonished blandly. He hooked a finger into one of Zane"s belt loops.