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

Pop quiz partner. How many letters in the government alphabet? Biting his tongue, Zane tried to decide what the answer to that would be. It was fifty-fifty that it was a joke. He figured Ty was trying to break him now, to get him to react, maybe even to laugh. As he checked his peripheral vision, he could see Ty watching him, his head lowered just enough to make him look slightly predatory. Zane knew that look too well. Most people who didnt know Ty were intimidated by the glint in his hazel eyes and the slightly malicious curve to his full lips. But Zane had come to learn that Ty only wore that look when he was enjoying himself. And it made his clean-shaven, heart-shaped face that much more handsome, which irked Zane to no end. Irked and aroused.

Just to egg him on, Zane ignored the message, went back to working on the reconciliation, and tried to build up the resolve it would take not to react to Tys next attempt to break his cool.

The phone lit up again, and this time Ty had returned his attention to his computer when Zane surreptitiously glanced at him. Zane wondered how the hell Ty typed so fast on the itty-bitty phone keypad. He would have liked to have seen it, if it wouldnt have spoiled their game.

He made them both wait five minutes through a discussion of assets with Alston before he hit the key to open the latest text message. Answer: 19. ET went home on a UFO and the FBI went after him. Zane blinked several times at the screen as he kept a straight face, though by all rights, that one did deserve a laugh. Whod have known hed be tapping into years of undercover experience to hide that he was playing text games in the office? He tapped his pen thoughtfully on the ledger as he stared at it blankly. He was certainly distracted now. He suspected Ty knew it. But theyd both continue to enjoy it if Zane tried not to admit it. He wouldnt have dreamed of goofing off like this at work a year ago. Hell, six months ago. But Ty Grady had done his damnedest to yank the stick out of Zanes ass….

The little message icon in the corner of his phones display began to blink, indicating he had yet another message. He hadnt even seen Ty move. Was it possible to schedule these texts ahead of time? That would take quite a bit of forethought, but it was just the kind of plot Ty would favor. Zane shifted around his stack of folders, took a drink of coffee, and checked the message.

You know you want to laugh.

Score one for Zane Garrett. He looked up slowly, face composed, raising one eyebrow. Ty was watching him. He winked when Zane met his eyes, but he wasnt fully smiling yet. He still wore that infuriating smirk. Instead of answering in any way, Zane sniffed and turned to his computer. That reaction would surely get another out of his partner. Besides, Zane was intrigued now to see what Ty would come up with that would be enough to get Zane to laugh despite his practiced control.

He didnt have to wait long for Tys next attempt. His phone lit up, and Zane was able to catch a glimpse of Ty reaching out to set his own phone on the desk. Zane deliberately waited a couple of minutes before turning in his chair to change out files and check the message.

Did you hear about the guy downstairs who lost his left arm and left leg in a wreck? Hes all right now. Zane stared at the little screen really hard for a long moment before he was able to shake his head ever so slightly and turn away from the phone.

He slowly looked around at the rest of the team, wondering how none of them had caught on. Did they really pay so little attention? Or was it that they werent at all surprised to see Ty texting someone, and they just didnt connect him with his partner? Zane knew Ty received about half a dozen text messages from various people on a normal day, but Ty rarely checked them or responded when he was working.

Zane deliberately shoved some files into his outbox and did not look in Tys direction. He turned his attention to a conversation between Clancy and Perrimore about calling a judge for a search warrant, but he was hyperaware of his partner.

He heard Tys chair squeak as he moved. Tys chair always squeaked because he was so damn hard on the thing, always moving around and fidgeting. His chair stayed broken and noisy, just like his computer.

Zanes phone lit up again, and he keyed it with his right hand while answering a question from Clancy. When she turned away, he finally glanced down at the phone. What do you call a monkey in a mine field? A baboom.

He had to admit: that one was funny. This time Zane had to close his eyes to keep his reaction under control. When he opened them, he deliberately turned his chin to look right at Ty in an open challenge.

Tys feet were still propped up, and he was leaning one arm against his desk, fingers strategically covering his mouth as he shook silently. He was watching Zane, and his hand couldnt cover the smile lines around his sparking eyes or the slight dimples that formed when he laughed.

Damn, Ty Grady was a fine-looking man. Even more so when he was relaxed and smiling. Zane didnt feel the urge to laugh anymore. Instead, he found his thoughts slightly more erotic, thinking about the man sitting several feet away and just exactly how fine-looking he was, both in and out of that suit. Zane pulled himself toward his desk in the rolling chair, just to get his lap under cover. Then he offered Ty an angelic smile.

Ty shook his head and bit his lip to stop his silent laughter, though the dimples were still there as he grinned. Zane stared after him for a few moments, thinking about just how amazing it was when Ty smiled or laughed and his eyes lit up and the hard shell melted away from him.

Ty waved his hand at Zane in apparent surrender as he turned his chair to face his own desk again, still shaking his head and laughing. Zane doubted that was the end of it and expected another text message within a few minutes, but Special Agent Scott Alston chose that moment to stand up.

“Time to meet with McCoy,” he said to Ty and Perrimore. “Have a good time, guys,” Clancy teased as she sipped at her melting smoothie. Ty stood with a decent amount of grumbling and fanfare, making a show of gathering his files and his suit coat and getting his gun out of its drawer to slide it into his holster. Zane tidied a file, set it aside, and opened another as he watched Ty discreetly. “Say hello for me,” he said smugly. He knew that the only thing worse than paperwork, in Tys opinion, was a multi-departmental meeting where he was expected to sit still.

“Dont break anything playing solitaire,” Ty shot back as the three of them headed toward the elevators.

Zane let the smile pull at his lips as he tapped his fingers on his phone and watched Ty walk away. T Y HAD his eyes closed and massaged the bridge of his nose as he leaned his elbow on the arm of his chair, slumping slightly. He was listening. Quite attentively, to his everlasting chagrin. But he could listen with his eyes closed.