Cut and Run 4 - Divide and Conquer

you.”
    Ty blinked at him, obviously surprised by the real apology. He
    pushed himself up to sit, looking up at Zane grimly. “That was better,”
    he commented with a curt nod. “Did it hurt?”
    “Being hit, hitting you, or apologizing?” Zane asked tentatively.
    Ty snorted and shook his head, looking out the front window. “I
    hope all of it hurt,” he muttered, disgruntled. He reached out and
    gripped Zane‟s shoulder, using him to pull himself to his feet. “How‟d
    you get here? And why are you here, besides the urgent need to deliver
    a knuckle sandwich?” Ty asked as he turned away from him and began
    walking through the long row house toward the kitchen at the back. His
    voice was low and controlled, almost devoid of emotion. That meant he
    was trying to hide that he was angry or hurt.
    Zane just punching him in the face aside, if Ty was still angry at
    him after four days, Zane had no idea what he could do about it. “Came
    from the office,” he answered as he got to his feet. “I heard about what
    happened at the bank.”
    Ty stopped at the kitchen counter, placing his hands flat on the
    countertop, his back still to Zane. He was tense, the muscles in his back
    and shoulders jumping as he gripped the counter top. The towel was
    losing its battle with gravity, though, and that was a distraction Zane
    was determined to ignore. For now.
    He slowly approached, not trying to muffle his footsteps on the
    hardwood, until he stood barely a foot behind Ty. After a moment‟s
    deliberation, he reached out to gently lay a hand on each of Ty‟s
    shoulders. He was taut as a bowstring beneath Zane‟s fingers. Giving
    Ty time to react, Zane slowly took that last step to hold Ty against his
    chest and carefully close his arms around him. He didn‟t have anything
    to say. He knew words wouldn‟t help.
    Ty lowered his head, reaching one hand up to place it over
    Zane‟s. The tension invested in him began to ebb, and he slumped.
    Divide & Conquer | 249

    Zane tightened his hold and pressed a gentle kiss to Ty‟s ear. “I‟ve got
    you,” he whispered.
    “Took you long enough,” Ty answered in a hard voice. He turned
    his head, his cheek brushing Zane‟s lips.
    Pain jabbed Zane‟s chest. “I‟m sorry,” he breathed, arms
    tightening even more. He wanted to ask why Ty hadn‟t said anything,
    why he hadn‟t called, but they were stupid questions and wouldn‟t
    make a difference now. Ty had gone looking for him, and Zane hadn‟t
    been there. That was the bottom line. He needed to be thinking about
    Ty right now, not himself.
    Ty shook his head, either rejecting the apology or telling Zane he
    didn‟t have to apologize again.
    “I‟m here now,” Zane said, drawing courage from the fact Ty
    hadn‟t pushed him away.
    “They keep flashing her picture on the news,” Ty said in a low
    rumble. “I had to unplug the TV. Cut off the phone.”
    For a moment, Zane was lost, but then it clicked. “Was it bad?”
    he asked quietly, setting his chin on Ty‟s shoulder.
    “I took her through the shoulder joint. I was trying to make
    certain her arm went down so she couldn‟t pull the trigger. They told
    me it destroyed the ball and socket—she‟ll never use the arm again.”
    “But she‟s alive,” Zane pointed out gently.
    Ty nodded jerkily. He was looking at the counter devotedly. Zane
    felt him tense again. “What the hell are these fucking kids doing?”
    Zane shook his head, knowing Ty would be able to feel it. “I tried
    calling you.”
    “Turned off my phone. Mac kicked me out, Sidewinder went
    home,” Ty muttered.
    Zane didn‟t ask if there were more reasons, reasons that included
    him. “We got a line on the ringleader. He pretty much matches the
    sketch you had drawn. We spent the last couple of days trying to run
    him down. He‟s not anywhere his records say he could be, so no luck
    250 | Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux

    yet. Mac said the girl was afraid of him, didn‟t know why he wanted to
    hurt people.”
    Zane could feel Ty coiling like a snake about to strike. It was
    painfully obvious that anger and frustration and guilt and probably a
    myriad of other emotions had been building inside him the last few
    days, possibly weeks. He raised his head and breathed out slowly,
    resting his head against Zane‟s shoulder as the tension inexplicably
    ebbed.
    He rubbed a hand over his face and turned in Zane‟s arms.
    “It‟s not like you to bottle up like this,” Zane said,