Divide & Conquer (Cut & Run #4)(51)
Author: Abigail Roux

“Ty, I dont think I could be more grateful. I just dont want you to resent helping me.” “You told me I flutter like my mom!”

“To me, thats a hell of a compliment. It means you care enough to stick around and take care of me even when its driving you crazy,” Zane tried to explain. This wasnt how hed expected Ty to react. Hed figured Ty would have been off like a shot. Not in a bad way, just in a golden-retriever-shut-up-in-the-house-way-too-fucking-long way.

Ty snorted like a bull, and even though Zane couldnt see him, he instinctively knew Tys head was down. “Well, what about you?” Ty countered, his voice obstinate. “You feeling the need to climb out the window too?”

“Absolutely. But the overwhelming fear of free fall is a definite deterrent,” Zane replied, setting both hands on the bar as he shifted his weight. “So Im sticking with iTunes on the couch for now. You can download a new book for me. Thatll keep me amused for hours.”

Ty hummed unhappily. “I dont like the idea of leaving you alone. And not just because you could catch a toe on the carpet and go plummeting down the steps.”

“You dont have carpet on the steps.”

“Not the point.”

“We have to try it sometime,” Zane said quietly. “As much as the idea appeals, you cant be within shouting distance forever.” “You getting tired of me?” Ty posed in the same tone. “No.” Zane also had a more florid answer, but he didnt think making Ty guffaw would really help this discussion. Hed be a happy man if he had Ty within arms reach at all times.

“Okay. So. A couple days apart so we dont kill each other, is that what were talking about?” Ty asked as he started moving around behind the counter.

Zane hadnt really been thinking in terms of days. Hed simply been hoping to get Ty out of the house for a couple of hours. He really had no idea how hed cope by himself for days, but to keep Ty from fraying around the edges, hed get through it. “Sure,” he tried to answer confidently.

“Im not comfortable with you being alone, Zane,” Ty told him with the sort of blunt honesty for which most people disliked him. “So give me an alternative, or killing each other is what weve got.”

Zane turned in place as Ty moved past him, and he kept his hands behind him, gripping the edge of the bar. “I could hire a nurse to sit here and read to me,” he offered, hoping for a laugh.

“Sponge baths are a no. Even I have my limits as to what Ill let you get away with,” Ty muttered irritably. He might or might not have been joking, but it was the second time hed alluded to the concept of jealousy on his part in the last week, and Zane felt a mild wave of surprise. Ty went on talking as if hed never touched the subject. “We could call in reinforcements. Maybe Deacon could come down for a few days, get your head on straight again.”

“I like Deuce, but I dont need a shrink for this. Anyone in their right mind would be scared out of it in this situation,” Zane pointed out, trying to keep his calm. Both of them yelling would end with either slamming doors or a furious f**k, neither of which would resolve the problem for any longer than an hour. He could feel Ty pacing around the small dining area that divided the lower level of the row house. The image of a caged tiger came to mind.

“Then how about this, Zane? Either come up with a viable alternative or f**king stop telling me I need a break!” Ty growled at him dangerously as he moved into the living room. “How about I call Shannon back? She offered to come stay with you, and Elaina—” A sudden pounding on the front door interrupted him and made Zane jump.

“Hold that thought,” Ty grumbled. Zane heard him draw a gun from somewhere and head for the door. I N A solitary moment of optimism, Ty allowed himself to hope it was one of the field agents working the case at the door, standing on the front stoop, having magically found Zanes keys, explaining it had all been a mistake and Zane was safe.

He peered through the peephole and cursed emphatically when he saw who really stood out there. Four men, all with identical duffel bags in various stages of wear and tear, all peering down the street at the inconspicuous FBI sedan that civilians shouldnt have been able to spot parked a block away from Tys door.

Marine Force Recon Team Sidewinder. All four of them. As soon as he laid eyes on them, he knew why they were there. “Shit, shit, shit,” Ty muttered as he flipped the deadbolt and pulled open the door. They all turned to look at him with smiles, but he stood in the doorway with his mouth open, ready to offer an apology. He must have looked more surprised than he thought, though, because Nick OFlaherty rolled his eyes and groaned.

“You forgot,” he said accusingly.

“Yes,” Ty admitted immediately. The other three men groaned as well and began a running commentary worthy of any peanut gallery. Ty looked to Nick and shrugged helplessly. Nick was nearly his height, with dark reddish-blond hair and every earmark of a sturdy Irishman from Boston. His eyes were bright green and usually filled with the same sort of mischief as Tys. He was a kindred spirit in every sense of the word. Theyd shared a seat on the bus to Parris Island and risen through the ranks together. Nick was, for all intents and purposes, Tys best and oldest friend.

“Its been a hell of a week,” Ty tried to explain.

“Who is it?” Zane asked curiously from behind him.

Ty turned sideways to look back at him, giving the four men on the stoop a clear view of his partner. “Uh… guys, this is Zane Garrett, my partner,” he said as he tried to decide how best to handle the sudden overflow of guests, especially when four of them were going to be irritated as hell. He looked back at them. “Stop loitering in my front door and get your asses in here.”

They filed in obediently, and with six big men standing in the living room, the house was suddenly very small. As soon as Ty shut the door, he gestured at Zane again. “He lost his vision in an explosion a few days ago. Hes staying with me until he gets it back or we catch the guy. Zane, this is… my Recon team.”

“What remains of it, anyway. Team Sidewinder, at your service,” Nick provided with more than a hint of pride. Zane stayed in place at the foot of the stairs, hands in his pockets. “A surprise visit from the whole team?” His voice was a little flat, and Ty knew he had to be uncomfortable.

“Not technically a surprise,” Nick answered before Ty could open his mouth. Ty cleared his throat. “I forgot,” he said again, for Zanes benefit and theirs. “Zane, this is Nick OFlaherty. Boston accent. Owen Johns, upstate New York. Kelly Abbott, Colorado. And Digger, deep Bayou.” His name was actually Duruand Garrigou, but since none of them had ever been able to pronounce his name to his satisfaction, hed been Digger since hed joined the team.