Cut and Run 4 - Divide and Conquer

heard voices outside the door and
    then fumbling at the lock.
    When the door swung open, Ty stood just off to the side of the
    door, his gun drawn as he greeted whoever was coming in.
    “Jesus!” Special Agent Fred Perrimore swore as he dropped to
    one knee, one hand going for his gun, his other raised behind him to
    stop whoever was behind him from crossing the threshold.
    “What is it?”
    Zane.
    “Give me one good reason not to shoot you,” Ty growled
    dangerously to Perrimore.
    Perrimore‟s eyes went big, wide, and white, standing out against
    his black skin, and he looked over his shoulder and up at Zane, who
    was frowning. Perrimore returned his eyes to Ty, hands out in front of
    him in a conciliatory gesture. “Because I run interference with BPD?”
    he tried.
    Ty narrowed his eyes and lowered his gun, holstering it slowly.
    “Good answer,” he offered with a nod. His eyes moved to Zane.
    “Where the fuck have you been?”
    Zane raised an eyebrow, uncannily looking right at him even
    though his eyes were unfocused. He plucked at the sweaty T-shirt
    visible under his casual winter jacket. “Freddy took me to the gym.”
    “What‟s wrong, Perrimore? You can‟t leave a damn note?” Ty
    growled.
    Perrimore stood up and edged back out the door. “Garrett didn‟t
    mention anything about needing to leave a note,” he ventured, looking
    between the two partners.
    “I was only gone two hours, and you‟re supposed to be at work,”
    Zane pointed out.
    “Yeah, well, I‟m not.”
    “It‟s not like I could have gotten anywhere on my own.”
    Divide & Conquer | 237

    “Has it escaped your attention that there may be someone trying
    to kill you?” Ty asked through gritted teeth.
    Zane‟s eyes narrowed in what would have been a glare if he could
    have aimed it. He reached out and touched Perrimore‟s arm. “Thanks
    for the ride.”
    Perrimore shifted his weight nervously. “Yeah, Garrett, sure
    thing.” He glanced at Ty, who snarled at him wordlessly. “Yeah, I‟ll
    just be going, then,” Perrimore muttered as he turned and made his
    retreat.
    Zane reached out to touch the door jamb and walked inside,
    shifting to close the door behind him. He tipped his head, listening for
    something. Ty stood glaring at him, knowing he should get control of
    his temper but truly not willing to do it. He‟d reached the end of his
    rope.
    “Are you going to say something or just glower at me?” Zane
    asked. “I went out for a couple hours. I was with a friend, a trained
    agent who carries a gun. The only way I‟d have been safer would have
    been to be with you.”
    Ty pressed his lips tightly together and closed his eyes, but it
    wasn‟t helping. “I don‟t care where you go or who you‟re with. I‟m not
    your goddamned babysitter,” he said tightly. “But you‟ve got to take
    this situation seriously! You‟ve got to be where you say you‟re going to
    be when you say you‟re going to be there! Just because you can‟t
    fucking see doesn‟t mean the rest of the world has come to a halt too!”
    “Take the situation seriously,” Zane repeated flatly.
    “We only caught one of them today, did you know that?”
    “Take it fucking seriously ?”
    “There‟s no telling where the others are or who they‟re after!”
    Ty kept ranting over him, both of them talking at each other and
    not actually hearing what the other was saying. Finally Zane shouted
    above Ty‟s voice.
    “Did you actually hear what bullshit just came out of your
    mouth? Believe me, I know really damn well how the world is going on
    without me!”
    238 | Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux

    “And it doesn‟t matter that I‟ve been bending over backward
    trying to help you,” Ty said angrily. “Doesn‟t matter that you
    disappearing would scare the shit out of me?”
    Zane grimaced and rubbed at his temple. “Yes, of course it
    matters, but—”
    “But what you want is more important,” Ty finished in disgust.
    Zane shook his head, and Ty glared at him as he felt the weight of the
    week crashing down on him. “You know what, Zane? I‟m done,” he
    said with a wave of his hand. “You want to reconnect with the fucking
    world, strike out on your own for independence, go do it. But you‟re
    gonna do it without me,” he grunted as he grabbed up his jacket from
    the back of the couch and stalked toward the door.
    “What the hell crawled up your ass and died? You are totally
    overreacting!” Zane protested as he