“Who are you, Zane?"
Zane cocked his head. "I'm an artist. I'm a geek." He felt Ty smile. "I am one badass motherfucker on a motorcycle."
Ty began to laugh.
Zane dipped his head until they were staring into each other's eyes. "And I'm yours.”
“You told me one time that . . . I was your compass. I gave you direction when you were lost,” Ty said, nearly choking on the words. He glanced up, eyes reflecting like liquid in the low light. “Well, you were my anchor. You were something solid for me to hold onto. I wanted you to remember that.”
“Zane.” Ty’s voice was harsh in his ear. “Don’t speak geek to me when you’re naked. It shatters the illusion.”
“I would have chosen you over anything," Zane hissed. He pulled back, breaking Ty's hold, bunched the front of Ty's shirt in both hands, and jerked Ty forward until they were nose-to-nose, until Ty's feet weren't solidly on the floor. "My job, my family, my wife. I would have given my life for you! But you! You can't even given me the truth!”
“This is a bad idea. Remember when we were on TV?”
“Yes, Grady got fan mail for a month.”
“I did?”
“We burned it, as you should all evil things”
“Ty laughed, a carefree, boyish sound, and glanced to his side, distracted by what he saw. “You moved the rug.”
“I kitty-cornered it.”
“Why would you do that?” Ty asked, aghast.
“To see you lose your shit when you got home.” Zane leaned closer, grinning evilly. “There are other things out of order too. Books not alphabetized. Coffee mug handles facing different directions.” He lowered his voice to a whisper as Ty’s eyes widened in horror. “The closet isn’t color coded.”
“You’re just watching the world burn, huh?”
Zane laughed.
“God I missed you.” Ty said in a rush of breath.”
“Who are you Ty?"
Ty smiled against his cheek. "I was an assassin," he whispered. "I'm a Marine. I'm the man who doesn't miss. And I'm yours."
Zane bit his lip on a smile.
“Who are you, Zane?"
Zane cocked his head. "I'm an artist. I'm a geek." He felt Ty smile. "I am one badass motherfucker on a motorcycle."
Ty began to laugh.
Zane dipped his head until they were staring into each other's eyes. "And I'm yours.”
“Zane lay where he was, unable to move even if he’d wanted
to. He snaked a hand across the short distance between them
and slid his fingers into Ty’s. Ty’s hand closed around his with
a gentle squeeze.
“I just need to be able to trust you, Ty,” he whispered.
“You can. I swear you can. I’d die for you, Zane.”
Zane’s heart was in his throat as he studied Ty’s profile. “I
know.”
“I swear to you, Zane. I thought what I was doing was right. I searched for you after I left New York. You were out of my reach. When Burns read me in, the only thing I could think of was that it was the only way of getting back to you. Being partnered with you full-time, being able . . . being able to see you every day, to have you in my life. When he said you might need protecting, it was the only thing I heard. I swear to you. All I wanted from the day I left you in that hospital was you. To be back there with you.”
“And you,” Ty continued, his voice breaking. “You’re a
phoenix, Zane. Rising from the ashes. And all I do is make
you burn.”
Zane’s throat was too tight to swallow past, and his next
breath came out a choked sob. He had never imagined that
was how Ty saw him, and hearing it now made him want to
take back every harsh word they’d ever shared, every thrust
and parry of their relationship.”
“You’re . . . you’re going back to the Marines?” Alston stuttered. “I thought SOCOM was defunct.”
“It’s MARSOC now,” Ty mumbled.
”But that’s special operations. You don’t have a choice?”
“No. I don’t.” He studied the orders. “I report in forty-eight hours. Immediate deployment.”
Zane stood. His hands shook as he gripped the edge of the desk. Ty looked up, seeking Zane out. Zane could see it in Ty’s eyes. There was no choice. No way to wriggle out of it. No way for anyone to save him.
“Oh God, Ty,” Zane whispered.
Ty stared at him for a moment longer as the others broke into outraged babbling. Then Ty shook himself. He tossed the packet of orders onto the desk and stalked over to Zane.
He grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him.
The room spun to a halt. The babble ground to a stunned hush.
Ty’s hands moved to the small of his back and he held him tight, bending him just enough for Zane to have to wrap his arms around him to keep from falling. He kissed him again. In front of their coworkers. In front of King and Country and anyone who would watch. It was the first purely honest kiss they’d ever shared.
And it was a kiss good-bye.”
“Zane.” His voice
was hushed and pensive. “Sometimes I’m not capable of
expressing how grateful I am for you.”
“What do you mean?”
Ty put a hand to his own chest, visibly struggling to
find the right words. “For your . . . So few people have ever
understood the way I work. In here.” He tapped his chest.
“Thank you for . . . your insight.”
“Nick pressed a finger onto the table. “Would you bust him out of prison?”
“No,” Zane answered immediately.
Nick sat back, eyebrows climbing high. “No?”
“No,” Zane said again. He poured another glass, gritting his teeth. “I wouldn’t let him make it to a cell.”
“How is that not enough?”
“Feet pue tan!” she shouted.
Ty cleared his throat, looking at Zane wryly. “She just called me a goddamned son of a bitch.”
“I like her,” Zane responded.”
“It’s the cavalry,” Digger said.
“Thank Christ,” Kelly grumbled. He raised his hands, rubbing at one wrist and dropping his handcuffs to the floor.
“What the hell, man?” Nick whispered.
“What? They were too tight.”
Digger dropped his cuffs to the floor with a clank that echoed through the station. “If he’s not wearing his, neither am I.”
“Where would he go?” Liam asked as he led them through the hallways, looking for a back exit.
“You’re asking us to think like Ty?” Owen snorted. “I don’t think that’s possible; my brain isn’t powered by squirrels on treadmills.”
“Not a unicorn’s chance in Hell,” Owen grunted.
“Now, what would a unicorn be doing in Hell?” Liam asked.
“You can ask him when you get there.”
“You were right, you know,” Ty whispered.
“About what?”
Ty swallowed hard. “I sold my soul a long time ago.”
Ty gripped Zane’s shoulder and pressed him down,
laying him out again, then stretched out over Zane, his hand
dragging down Zane’s body to push at his boxers.
“Ty,” Zane gasped.
Ty kissed him. Zane trailed the tips of his fingers down
Ty’s arm, sliding over the tattoo and the scars and the muscles.
“Do you really believe that?” Zane asked.
“I know it. I will never be the man you think I am.”
Zane’s breaths came harder. “We’ve both been trying so
hard to be worthy of each other.”
“I just need to be able to trust you, Ty,” he whispered. “You can. I swear you can. I’d die for you, Zane.” Zane’s heart was in his throat as he studied Ty’s profile. “I know.”
“Ty slapped Owen on the arm. "Close your eyes, man."
"Why?"
"You got a tell."
"I have a tell at Rock, Paper, Scissors?" Ty and Nick both nodded. "And you tell me ten years later? You're both assholes!”
“Forgive him, baby Jesus, he knows not what he does,” Kelly said, then pulled Nick with him.
“I’m going to Hell anyway, I don’t know why I bother anymore.”
“Liam made a low whistling sound through the device in
Zane’s ear. “Little touch and go there, lads. Who do I shoot
first if things go to hell?”
“You’re a phoenix, Zane. Rising from the ashes. And all I do is make you burn.”
“Two days ago, I was trying to decide how to ask him to marry me,” Zane whispered. “Tonight I’m trying to figure out if I can even love someone like him.”
“What’s the reach on these ear buds?” Zane asked. He refused to slow down, and for once Nick was glad for the man’s stubbornness.
“You got to be in a mile range of the hand unit,” Digger answered. “If Ty’s got his unit on him, we should be able to hear him and he should be able to hear us.”
“So we can’t hear him, that means he dropped his radio?” Owen asked.
“Or his ear bud. Or he went into the drink. Or he’s underground. Or he’s behind lots of concrete. Or somewhere the signal’s getting jacked.”
“Digger!”
“What? They ain’t military grade. Damn.”
“Zane ran his thumb over Ty’s cheek, seeing him suddenly with new eyes. Ty had never tried to be something he wasn’t. He’d never tried to hide what he was. Warrior. Weapon. Bad guy. Zane knew what he was. The pain and betrayal faded. The world faded.”
“I know Ty’s not all there.” Nick said, tapping his temple with a finger. “He has always been a step away from the wrong path. One screw comes loose, and he’s gone. The only thing keeps him on the side of the righteous is his loyalty. His sense of purpose. You take that from him? And you’re looking into the eyes of a monster.”
“He was handsome and charismatic, exactly the type Ty would be drawn to. Zane could see that much. That, and he carried a gun.”
“Digger stood and ambled toward the balcony. “This explains so much. I feel like I’ve just finished a crossword puzzle.”
“How do you know what that feels like?” Kelly asked”
“She had reasoned that cooking them would make them safe.”
“Every man always has handy a dozen glib little reasons why he is right not to sacrifice himself.”
“He glares at me as if he already hates it. “What is it?” I consider lying but what’s the point? I clear my throat. “Pooky Bear."
He’s silent for so long I’m beginning to think he didn’t hear me when he finally says, “Pooky. Bear.” “It was just a little joke. I didn’t know.”
“I’ve mentioned that names have power, right? Do you realize that when she fights battles, she’s going to have to announce herself to the opposing sword? She’ll be forced to say something ridiculous like, ‘I am Pooky Bear, from an ancient line of archangel swords.’ Or, ‘Bow down to me, Pooky Bear, who has only two other equals in all the worlds.’ ” He shakes his head. “How is she going to get any respect?”
“She's missing," he said, in that same worried tone. He cast his hands out and looked around the empty practice field, as if he somehow expected to see her appear there. "Nobody's seen her since midmorning yesterday. I've looked everywhere for her, but there's no sign."
Missing?" Will repeated, not quite understanding. "Missing where?"
Horace looked up at him with a sudden flare of asperity. "If we knew that, she wouldn't be missing would she?"
Will put up his hands in a peacmaking gesture.
You're right!" he said. "I didn't realize. I've been a little tied up trying to get these archers organized. Surley somebody must seen her last night. Her room servants for example?”
“The father’s job is to teach his children how to be warriors, to give them the confidence to get on the horse to ride into battle when it’s necessary to do so. If you don’t get that from your father, you have to teach yourself.”
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