Divide & Conquer (Cut & Run #4)(25)
Author: Abigail Roux

“Sorry I woke you,” Ty offered pitifully as soon as he was sitting. Zane shrugged and slid back down, pulling his pillow to his chest.

“Got any Tylenol?” Ty asked him with a wince. He rubbed gingerly at his ribs.

“Yeah. Ive not flushed the Vicodin yet, if you want it,” Zane said quietly. Ty turned and looked at Zane in surprise. Zane raised one brow but didnt say anything else. Ty gave him a grunt and gingerly laid himself back down. He reached out wordlessly with his good hand and slid his fingers into Zanes as he closed his eyes.

Zane remained still after curling his hand around Tys, and a quiet minute passed before he took a deep breath and let it out loudly before sitting up. “Im going to get you something. You have to be hurting pretty bad.”

Ty didnt argue. Hed had so much worse than this, but in recent years his motto had become something like “why hurt when you dont have to?” He opened his eyes and watched Zane appreciatively but didnt try to sit up again.

Zane smiled, apparently not surprised by the response. “Ill be back.” He walked out of the bedroom, disappearing down the hall. When he came back, he set the tiny envelope in Tys lap before reaching for a bottle of water from the nightstand and offering it to him.

Ty looked at the packet of Vicodin in distaste as he accepted the bottle. “Think it would hurt me any more to take another one?” he asked uncertainly.

“Are you planning on going anywhere? It is Monday, you know,” Zane said. “You might at least consider going into work, although….” He shook his head as he looked over all the bruises.

“I have to go into work. Ill catch all sorts of shit if I call in.” Zane shrugged. “Your choice. You can man up, go to work, and be miserable all day, or you can stay here, chill out, and deal with peoples shit tomorrow.” He started pulling clothes out of the closet. “Youre probably all over the news anyway. Again.”

Ty sighed and started trying to get out of bed. “When you put it that way,” he muttered as he stood up. Zane picked his duffel up and tossed it on the bed. Then he stopped and looked up at Ty. “Would you at least take the Tylenol? Because you look like shit and it hurts watching you.”

Ty cocked his head and grimaced again. “Do I look too bad to go in?” he asked with real concern. “I mean from the drugs, not the bruises.” He would be damned if word got around that he was hungover or high this morning, not after the scene hed made yesterday.

Zane shook his head. “No, you just look like youre really in significant pain. Of course, other people might not recognize that on you and think youre being your normal grumpy self.”

“I can deal with that,” Ty said with a satisfied nod. He winced once Zane turned away from him and headed for the spare bedroom, where a couple of Zanes suits hung in the closet. “Wear the gray one,” he called out on impulse, hoping Zane would do it just to humor him. He loved Zane in that charcoal suit—it made his dark coloring that much more striking. Zane might argue against being pretty, but he was wrong.

“Yeah, fine,” Zane called back. Ty smiled, then sighed as he looked at the pills in his hand. Opening the flap on the packet, he shook the tablets out into his hand and contemplated them sourly. Zane came back down the hall just as he popped a pill and chased it with a few gulps of water.

“Guess Im driving, then,” Zane observed before he turned into the bathroom. “Thats not funny, Zane,” Ty shot back at him.

“Wasnt meant to be, Ty.”

They got dressed quickly. Ty gave Zane one of his better ties to wear because the one Zane had left there had been ripped off at some point and was mangled beyond repair. Ty preferred the narrower style of ties, and though it looked good on Zane, people might notice it wasnt his. Theyd have to deal with it, though. What with all the PR hype, the Bureau had cracked down on the dress code; ties were a must in the office.

Ty stepped out into the hallway carrying his shoes under one arm and picking at the medical tape on his fingers. He pulled it off carefully to check his finger. The joints were blue and swollen, and it hurt like hell to move it. He was beginning to suspect it actually hadnt been fixed properly.

He sighed and balled up the tape. Hed have to raid the first aid kit when he got to the office. “What do you usually do for breakfast?” he asked Zane in a loud voice. He realized Zane had never actually stayed here for the morning before work. On the weeknights he stayed over, he got up early and went back to his apartment to get ready for work while Ty went for his morning run, and then they met up at the office. It was an odd feeling, having Zane here. Kind of nice.

Zane appeared in his bedroom doorway, working on his tie. “Theres a good bakery and deli on the way to the office from my place. I stop and get coffee, at least.” He fussed with the knot and then pulled the ends to loosen it and start over as he turned back into the room.

Ty moved toward Zane and reached out to grip his shoulder. Zane relaxed as Ty reached around him to take hold of the tie from behind. He had tried before, but the only way he could fix a tie was if he was wearing it. He tied the knot deftly with his arms wrapped around Zane, and the warmth of Zane allowing the simple action sank deep into him.

When he was done, he placed his hands flat on Zanes chest and hugged him, then backed away before the moment could get too saccharine.

“Im going to need food or Ill get all… zingy,” Ty told him with a frown as he turned away.

“That would go over well in the office,” Zane said wryly. “Id kind of like to see it.” Ty nodded and muttered wordlessly and headed for the stairs, thumping down to the living room to put on his shoes. It was going to be a long day.

Z ANE parked his truck on the curb next to a government-issue unmarked SUV. “Why dont you stay here? Theres an extended team in there already; its not like Ill be alone.”

Ty nodded as he looked out at the array of Baltimore PD uniforms and FBI windbreakers already on the street. They had been called in to investigate a suspicious package reported at an upscale shopping area in the Inner Harbor. Patrons and employees clogged sidewalks that were being barricaded off—the building had already been evacuated as a precaution—and reporters elbowed their way through willy-nilly. A lot of reporters.

“Dont have to tell me twice,” he muttered. The mornings brief zing from the Vicodin had worn off quickly, leaving him achy and nauseated and altogether miserable, just as Zane had predicted.

Zane unfastened his seatbelt and offered Ty a half smile. “Take it easy. Ill be back soon, and well get an early lunch and Ill take you home.” He climbed out and shut the door, walking over to a group of agents as he tugged a matching navy-blue FBI windbreaker over his head. Ty belatedly thought he should have told Zane to put his vest on. He never wore the damn thing unless Ty nagged him about it.