Cut and Run 1 - Cut and Run

turned on by a vicious fight with a man who could easily kill him?
    "Stay off my back about the drugs,” he warned in a rasp, shaking off his other thoughts. “You'll kick my ass up and down this alley in the end, but I won't give up without a hell of a fight."
    "It was a legitimate fucking question,” Ty spat out.
    "I'd already given you the fucking answer,” Zane snapped. “I don't lie about it."
    "I don't care if you lie, cheat, steal, and fuck everything that moves!” Ty shouted angrily. “You stay out of the bars while we're working this fucking case! And stay out of my past!” he shouted in a pained voice.
    "What's your fucking problem, Grady? You're jackassing around in my past. You know damn well Burns wouldn't have put me back on the streets if I wasn't clean,” Zane grated. “No wonder your partner was reassigned, if you were this fucking suspicious!"
    "He wasn't reassigned,” Ty ground out as he tried to calm himself. The pain of the memories was taking over the anger, now, and he was deflating fast.
    Zane flinched back, stared at Ty for a long moment, then closed his eyes as the heat drained out of him, leaving him cold. Fuck all. He should have known Serena Scott wouldn't consider the death of a partner sacred ground. It was just like her to poke that kind of wound. Zane would never have intentionally sunk that low. He turned sideways restlessly and ran a hand over his close-cropped hair before leaning back against the wall.
    Ty took a few steps and bent to gingerly pick up his leather jacket and brush it off. “You bury a friend,” he said to Zane as he did so, his voice hoarse and strained, “and then tell his wife and baby girl you got him killed. See how well you work with others after that,” he challenged softly before folding the jacket over his arm and turning to head for the opening of the alleyway.
    "Ty.” Zane's voice was low, no longer throbbing with anger.
    Ty slowed and finally stopped, his head lowered and his shoulders tense as he waited.
    Any arousal had drained away with Ty's clipped explanation, and now Zane just felt hollow and ill. He knew how much it hurt to lose someone and think it was your fault.
    "I apologize,” he said quietly. “I didn't know."
    Ty turned his head slightly as if listening over his shoulder, then he returned his eyes forward, raising his chin and squaring his shoulders, not responding. Zane drew a slow breath and started walking, each step jarring something physically or emotionally painful, passing Ty after several steps. Ty watched him, head down and eyes hard. Finally he closed his eyes, trying to regain his calm. “You still plan to go back to the office?” he asked flatly.
    Zane glanced at his watch and winced. “It's too late tonight. It'll have to wait until morning,” he answered, not turning back to look at him.
    Ty began walking again, gesturing to the alley's entrance. “After you,” he muttered.
    "Better we get some more rest and start early tomorrow,” Zane told him as he moved toward the corner of the building. He wasn't sure what else to say.
    "Sure,” Ty agreed moodily while they finished the length of the city block. “Maybe something'll hit us in the night,” he said pointedly as they rounded the corner of the hotel's building.
    "Not literally, I hope,” Zane said under his breath, wiping away the blood from his nose and lip as they approached the front doors. They got several astonished glances from people inside the lobby. Both men were dirty and bleeding. Ty's back was wet and covered with tiny bits of gravel, and his guns were clearly visible as he held his jacket in his hand. Zane watched him flash his identification to a hotel employee who was hurriedly picking up a phone as they stalked through the lobby, and the woman slowly set down the receiver after seeing his badge. People whispered and watched as he passed, and Zane couldn't help but admire the way Ty could turn on that dreaded “Air of Authority” when he needed it. Zane, absolutely wrung out, kept his head down and followed quietly.
    On the way upstairs, he wondered if Ty would go back to his own room. They weren't exactly getting along famously. In fact, they had basically just tried to kill each other, and Zane had no illusions as to who would have come out on top. He squeezed his eyes shut as they rode in the elevator, trying not to think at all.
    But Ty didn't even seem to hesitate as he led Zane to his room. Odd. Maybe Ty just wanted him in