Cut and Run 4 - Divide and Conquer
Under Armour shirt. He was getting twitchier as they
moved, though that didn‟t strike Zane as particularly unusual. He was
about to respond to Ty‟s gentle dig when someone else spoke up to get
Ty‟s attention.
“We were starting to wonder if you were gonna make it, Grady.
You missed the national anthem,” Scott Alston said as he walked up to
them. He was wearing the same uniform as Ty, but his jersey was
tucked in and buttoned and his belt wasn‟t unbuckled. Zane had heard
that all of the teams had given their players nicknames, like Ty‟s
“Bulldog.” Some were more interesting than others. From the side,
Zane could see Alston‟s was “Tinman.” There had to be a story there.
Alston looked at Zane and held out his hand, clearly surprised to
see him there. “Not a big deal unless you‟re slated to fucking sing it,
right? Garrett, good to see you.”
“Thanks,” Zane said as he shook Alston‟s hand. “Thought I‟d
cheer for the team. He was supposed to sing?”
“Right.” Alston nodded slowly and looked between them
knowingly. “He‟s too drugged to drive, isn‟t he?”
“Grady? Drugged? Would never happen,” Zane answered,
meeting Alston‟s eyes straight on without blinking.
“Sure it wouldn‟t,” Alston said with a laugh. He reached out and
took Ty‟s hand in his, lifting it to look at the tape Ty had wrapped
around his fingers. “I see you have a lefty glove today. Broken or just
bent?”
Ty took a step closer and yanked his hand away. “Sit on it and
spin, Scott,” he muttered as he walked past him toward the larger group
of players.
Alston laughed heartily and looked back at Zane with a raised
eyebrow.
Zane shrugged helplessly. “He said he wanted to play.”
“He always wants to play,” Alston assured him. “That‟s what he
was saying last night when we peeled him out of the dirt.”
60 | Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
“Been there, done that,” Zane said drily. “Ty can sing?”
Alston just laughed like Zane was joking, and Zane let it go,
feeling stupid for not knowing something like that about his partner.
His lover. He glanced around, recognizing some other team members
and spectators.
“I‟m just going to hang out and relax.” He paused, peering after
Ty. “I should probably ask where the EMTs are. Just in case.”
“Don‟t worry. One of them has the hots for Grady. She‟ll be all
over it if he‟s hurt,” Alston told him as he turned, waving over his
shoulder. “Thanks for bringing him!”
Zane waved him off and turned to survey the bleachers now that
the team had cleared out. Close to full, but he‟d have room to stretch
out his legs if he was careful. He had just started toward them when he
heard the clacking of cleats behind him.
Ty grabbed his elbow to stop him; Zane turned in place to look at
his partner. Ty‟s hazel eyes were shining in the sunlight, and he smiled
crookedly as he let his hand slide away from Zane‟s arm. “Thanks for
bringing me, Zane,” he said with an affectionate pat to Zane‟s belly,
and then he turned away and jogged back toward the dugout on the
other side of the field without waiting for Zane to respond.
Zane stared after him, rooted to the spot, and it wasn‟t even Ty‟s
fine ass in those pants that had his attention. No, it was that flash of
light in Ty‟s eyes that struck Zane right in the gut and made his breath
catch. He had to try twice to swallow, and his face felt hot in the brisk
air. He blinked hard before he realized he was gaping and made himself
turn toward the bleachers and sit down about four rows up.
Occasional actions like that totally convinced Zane that Ty was
telling the truth about loving him. It bowled Zane over, and he felt a
rush of giddiness. Zane closed his eyes tight and opened them again,
and Ty came into focus on the other side of the fence—Zane had
zeroed in on him without consciously looking.
A young girl, elementary school age probably, abruptly skipped
into his line of sight, climbed up the bleachers deftly, and sat down
right beside him as if she belonged there. She gave him a cheerful
smile. “Hi!”
Divide & Conquer | 61
Zane did a double take between her and Ty before settling his
gaze on her. “Hi,” he said, a little surprised. He wasn‟t the type of guy
kids just waltzed up to. Quite tall, broad in the shoulders, muscled, dark
hair and eyes, heavy leather jacket and boots, sort of imposing. But
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