Cut and Run 2 - Sticks and Stones

Grady. You are a wise-cracking, stubborn, annoying pain in the ass who lives to cause trouble. You’re also a brave, courageous, and valiant Marine who puts his life on the line for what he believes and for those he loves. There is no way you have ever been or ever will be a coward. It simply isn’t in you.”
    Ty stared at him in shock. It was the nicest thing Zane had ever said to him. Possibly the nicest thing anyone had ever said to him. He had no idea how to respond, and he realized his mouth was hanging open slightly as he tried to think of something to say. The corner of Zane’s mouth curled up into a half-smile, and he moved one hand to slide his fingers lightly over Ty’s lips. Ty blinked rapidly at him. “Thanks, Zane,” he finally managed to say. It felt silly to say it. But it was the only thing coming to mind. At least he was no longer afraid of making a fool of himself in front of Zane. He wouldn’t be able to function at this point if he worried about that .
    Zane hummed slightly, and his eyes remained trained on Ty. When he spoke, it came out a little deeper. “Well, don’t get used to it. I expect a lot more fighting in our future. That’s how we get along best, remember?”
    Ty gave him a weak smile and nodded.
    Zane shook his head and poked Ty in the ribs. “Quit thinking so hard,” he said as he tried to muffle a yawn. He curled his arm around Ty’s waist and dragged him close enough that their bodies bumped gently from chest to knee. “Sleep,” he murmured, his lips close to Ty’s temple.
    Ty swallowed hard and closed his eyes, turning his face into Zane’s and inhaling his scent deeply. Just as it always did, it sent a thrill through him and caused a dull ache to start in his chest.
    What he was afraid of, he’d come to realize, was not dark spaces or falling from great heights or being buried alive. His greatest fears, in the end, were letting down those he loved and saying the words “I love you” without any hope of hearing them in return.
    He knew, deep down somewhere, that if he fell for Zane Garrett, he’d be falling alone.

    R ICHARD B URNS sat back in his chair with a long sigh. He waited a few moments to ponder what Earl Grady had related to him on the phone. It had been a week since Earl and the boys had made it off the mountain, but he was just now getting the full story. At first blush, it was hard to tell whether the debacle would fall under FBI jurisdiction. It might be handled by the Parks Department or the local law enforcement. Hell, treasure hunters and a booby-trapped mountain could even fall to the National Guard. Burns really hoped the Bureau wouldn’t need to deal with it.
    A team of rangers had located two of the dead men, although they’d had to comb several miles down a ravine for one of them. The shooting was being half-heartedly investigated, but Burns had no doubt Zane would be cleared. He had three good men vouching that he’d saved Ty’s life and that deadly force had been required. There was no trace of the third hunter. And so far four bodies of missing hikers had been found in the area of the main camp.
    The only thing that concerned Burns was how Earl and the boys were handling themselves since they’d come off the mountain. Burns knew there was going to be some fallout over the events Earl Grady had described. Earl had sounded close to tears as he’d told Burns about what he’d said to his son. Burns had been dumbfounded as he listened, unable to do anything but call his old friend an idiot and tell him to fix it.
    Whether Ty or Earl would ever get around to fixing it was the real question. And knowing Ty like he did, it might just roll off him like water off a duck. It was hard to predict what would hit that boy hard and what would glance off. Ty had been through a lot of things like they were a walk in the park, things that would have mentally destroyed a lot of people. But when his cat had died of old age a few years ago, Ty had been inconsolable for a week.
    Burns told himself not to worry. Things would be resolved, or they wouldn’t. It was one family affair he would stay out of if at all possible.
    They were all home safe now, anyway, which was sort of a miracle considering Ty had stayed in West Virginia for a third week of vacation along with Deuce. Burns kept expecting to hear about a mushroom cloud appearing over the West Virginia mountains.
    Zane Garrett had returned to DC earlier than his partner, but as Burns had