Cut & Run (Cut & Run #1)(55)
Author: Abigail Roux

Zane stepped around the corner and watched Ty for a long moment.

When he spoke, his voice was lower and quieter. More serious. “Crunching profiles?”

Ty cocked his head to the side and cracked his neck with a grimace.

“Yeah,” he admitted. “I just need to see why he left them where he did.”

Considering that response, Zane looked up at the photos tacked on the wall. He hadn’t thought about why the bodies were left as they were. “Well, get moving, Marine. We’ve got work to do.” His voice was still quiet, despite the words.

Ty turned around and huffed at him again. “It’s raining,” he informed the man as he picked up the T-shirt he had pulled out to wear. It was a white camp-style T-shirt with a brown teepee on the front, surrounded by the words

“Camp Runamuck.”

Zane cocked his head to one side as Ty pulled it over his head.

“Where do you get these shirts?”

“What do you mean?” Ty asked innocently.

Zane chuckled. “A Marine at Camp Runamuck. Hysterical,” he murmured as he started loading up his pockets.

Ty looked down at his chest and smiled slightly. “My former brothers-in-arms send them to me,” he answered. “I get a new one about every two or three months.”

“Once a Marine, always a Marine,” Zane quoted as he pulled on a light jacket.

“I loved being a Marine,” Ty responded defensively.

Zane looked at him evenly, seeing the bottom of Ty’s tattoo peeking out from under a shirtsleeve. “You still are a Marine,” he said.

Ty stopped his movements and cocked his head at Zane, trying to decide whether he was serious or just humoring him.

“My brother-in-law’s a Marine,” Zane said. “He always said you’re one for life.” He waited for Ty’s response.

Ty’s eyes darted over Zane thoughtfully. “He was right,” he murmured finally before looking away and grabbing his leather jacket.

Zane kept his eyes on him for a few moments longer before turning to pick up his gun, check it, and slide it into its holster. “Ready?”

Ty merely nodded as he slid his wallet into his back pocket and looked up. His oddly colored eyes met Zane’s dark ones. A thousand things to say went through Ty’s mind, and he even opened his mouth to speak. He licked his lips and lowered his head before he could, though, and he gestured to the door to cover his discomfort.

Although Zane was fascinated by Ty’s behavior, he made himself turn and walk. Maybe it was just that Ty had to work himself up to be such a bastard. Since he’d just had a few rounds of stress relief and a night’s sleep, he was calm. Zane sighed and opened the door for the other man, wishing he knew how to build a profile. He’d bet good money Ty’s would resemble a Rorschach.

Ty slid his hands into his pockets and kept his head down as they walked to the elevators. He’d lost control with Zane, and he couldn’t seem to come to terms with what he’d let happen. Not only had they f**ked, but Ty had let Zane f**k him. He’d given up every ounce of control to a man he barely liked. And Ty had enjoyed it immensely.

Zane stabbed the elevator button and waited, Ty silent and nearly brooding alongside him. They both had plenty to think about. At least Zane did, and he resisted the urge to look over at Ty to try to read his face. He watched the elevator numbers change, approaching their floor. “Ty,” he said quietly.

Ty glanced at him and frowned slightly.

“My ass hurts, too,” Zane admitted quietly as the doors opened to other people.

Ty looked from Zane to the several people in the elevator and bit his lip against a smile. Whether they had heard him was hard to tell, but just the fact that Zane had said it lifted a little bit of weight from Ty’s shoulders. He couldn’t f**k someone without a sense of humor. It just didn’t sit right with him. He cleared his throat, trying not to laugh as they entered the elevator.

“Okay,” was all he managed to say in response.

They said nothing more as they rode down to the lobby and went outside to hail a cab. It wasn’t necessarily a comfortable silence. More like a temporary truce.

The taxi dropped them off at the massive Civil War-era gate that marked the main entrance to Green-Wood Cemetery. The rain had lessened some, but it had brought with it a chill that ate through their clothing and nipped at their bare skin. Ty shoved his hands into his pockets and peered up through the falling rain at the stonework with something like reverence. He could already see the appeal of the location as a drop spot.

Zane stood several feet away, looking around. The weather was perfect for the location—cool and dreary, adding to the inherent quiet and sadness in the graveyard. But it didn’t take away from the strange beauty of the place. He studied the huge archway with some interest and appreciation before looking to Ty.

Ty was still looking up when he spoke. “Hooker was found wrapped in her sheet at one of the tombs,” he told Zane quietly. “No teeth, otherwise untouched.”

The other agent’s eyes turned toward the monuments that stood further into the graveyard, past the darkening grass and burnt amber leaves that contrasted sharply with the dirty marble stones. Something inside Zane began to ache a little, and he frowned slightly, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Ty glanced over at him when he didn’t respond. “You okay?” he asked with a frown.

Zane’s eyes flickered, but he nodded right away. “Yeah,” he said quietly. He could feel the weight of the place settling around him. He imagined Ty did, too. The ambiance was too majestic not to feel and feel deeply. “Lead on.”

Ty watched him for a moment and then nodded, bowing his head in the rain as he headed for the gate. Burial grounds had always spoken to Ty in a way not many things did. This one in particular was a beautiful one. It was speaking to him, too, telling him about their killer as he walked over the sodden grass toward the older tombstones.

Zane followed along behind him, eyes down. They walked in silence as the rain continued to patter through the trees above them. The soaked ground was covered with yellow leaves, obscuring grave markers in places, highlighting them in others. Ty stopped under one of the trees and looked around at the aging stone in appreciation. He drew a sheet of paper from his pocket and studied it for a moment, then looked up into the distance, frowning.

When Ty paused, Zane almost ran into him. He was too busy taking in the yard around them; the wide variety of stones, the thoughts behind the monuments. It was very different here … different from what he’d expected.