Fish & Chips (Cut & Run 3)

“Something that Del couldn"t steal,” Zane said as he nodded.

“With dirty businessmen, who knows? It could be names, account numbers, passwords. Hell, it could be a voice print or retinal scan, for all we know. So Armen would have to have Corbin in person, under his thumb.” He leaned his head back against the wall. “If he thinks they"re in love,” he mused, “why not just take Del hostage?”

Ty"s intent eyes focused on Zane for a long moment, his face unreadable. “Maybe he knows you"re not in love,” he posed evenly.

Zane tried to hold Ty"s eyes, but he was quickly forced to look away. The intensity of the gaze made him more uncomfortable than he would have expected, because he felt something behind it. Something to do with Ty not being Del and Zane not being Corbin. Something about what would happen to either of them if the other were gone and how that made Zane"s chest hurt even without throwing the word

“love” around, which truly scared the shit out of him.

That was what bugged Zane about Ty"s claim that Armen had come to a conclusion while looking at the Porters. He hadn"t been looking at Del and Corbin. He"d been looking at Ty and Zane. And Ty had looked like he was in love….

Zane shook his head and drew a settling breath, because he was on edge now, and he wasn"t quite sure how to fix it. “So Del has outlived his usefulness.”

Ty thumped down heavily beside him with his shoulders slumped and a dejected feel about him. “I"m not worried about Del. He"s safely in jail,” he murmured. He glanced at Zane, one eyebrow raised. “But the Bianchis?”

Zane lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “He doesn"t seem too hardcore. More like a European high roller who dabbles in crime on the side.”

Ty sat forward and turned so he could look at Zane more closely.

“Zane,” he said impatiently. “I meant what if they"ve outlived their usefulness too? They"re mixed up with bad people, but they don"t deserve to die for it.”

“No, they don"t.” It was obvious, seeing Lorenzo and Norina together, how very much in love they were. Either that or they both deserved Oscars—or whatever the Italian equivalent was. “So you think Armen wants the entire ring,” Zane posed. “And he"s orchestrated this trip tomorrow to clean out his partners and meet the buyers at the same time.”

“I do.” Ty was silent, continuing to peer at Zane with a thoughtful frown. “Where"s your head right now?” he finally asked. It wasn"t the caustic tone he would usually have used when he suspected Zane"s mind wasn"t where he wanted it to be. It was a gentle inquiry, which in itself was odd enough to make Zane answer honestly.

“I was… thinking about what Armen must have seen,” Zane said somewhat reluctantly, plucking at the belt of his robe.

“Seen where?” Ty asked in earnest confusion.

“Watching us.”

Ty snorted. Neither his face nor his normally expressive eyes betrayed a thing before he looked away and stood up. “Well, clearly, he saw that I"m a better actor than you are,” he said haughtily as he stepped away.

Zane didn"t know how to interpret that response. It wasn"t often that Ty stonewalled him anymore, which meant his partner was hiding something. “I thought you said you didn"t think you were acting anymore.”

“That was in reference to being flamingly g*y,” Ty answered wryly. His back was still turned to Zane. His hands were on his hips, and his head was cocked just a bit as he looked out the balcony doors.

Zane pushed himself off the couch to his feet and walked up behind Ty. He knew Ty could hear him moving, so he didn"t worry about getting smacked. He also knew that Ty was deflecting like crazy.

And Zane thought he might know why. He slid his arms around Ty"s waist and loosely clasped his hands. “No, it wasn"t.”

Ty tensed ever so slightly, and he turned his head toward Zane.

He seemed surprised that, for once, Zane had called him on his smoke and mirrors act. “What was it, then?” he asked evenly.

“You want me,” Zane murmured, feeling remarkably secure about it. That was the reason Ty had looked so convincing to Armen. This wasn"t “want” as in wanting to f**k explosively every half hour, although that was certainly part of it. And it wasn"t quite “want” as in being lonely in the evenings. It was more. Zane smiled slightly as he pressed a tiny kiss to Ty"s ear.

Ty snorted loudly and turned his head away, and Zane knew instinctively that Ty was rolling his eyes and probably trying not to smile. “And what is that, a crime now?” Ty asked in a low voice.

Zane chuckled. “I couldn"t care less if it is.” He tightened his arms, not wanting Ty to move away. “It"s more than just f**king around now,” he said. “Isn"t it?” He made sure the tone of his voice emphasized that it wasn"t really a question.

Ty was motionless in response. He didn"t even seem to be breathing. The silence stretched on, edging toward tension. Finally, he let out his breath quietly and lowered his head. “No,” he lied blithely, just as he"d done in a hotel in New York City over a year ago.

Zane chuckled. A classic Grady response, and definitely the one he preferred to hear. A “yes” just might have given him a heart attack.

He held Ty close. “You owe me.”

“Owe you?” Ty repeated in a rough, questioning voice as Zane felt his heartbeat begin to speed up.

“Mm hmm. How I"ve wanted you,” Zane breathed. “It scares the hell out of me.”

“I know,” Ty murmured as he turned in place and nuzzled against Zane"s neck.

Zane"s hands trembled as he cupped Ty"s face and kissed him softly, over and over. He didn"t know where he"d found the guts to say what he just did. But it had been worth it. Ty wrapped his arms around Zane and pulled him closer. Zane could feel the desire starting to build, quivering like a live wire between them, and he moaned hungrily, fingers clenching at the waistband of the worn jeans hanging on Ty"s hips. He was torn between this scary tender side to their relationship that he was seeing more and more and the long-standing desire to tackle Ty to the carpet and f**k him senseless. “Ty,” he breathed.

“Come on,” Ty urged softly. He tugged at him and started pulling him toward the bed.

Zane"s gaze focused on Ty"s, which made his heart pound even harder. It was almost too much, letting himself think about what more this could mean: he wanted Ty, Ty wanted him, and… and to avoid thinking about it anymore, Zane took two long strides to catch Ty around the waist and claim another kiss.