Cut and Run 4 - Divide and Conquer

hurried
    toward the wooden tower near the dugout.
    Zane watched silently as Ty quickly gave information over the
    phone while the players on the field came in to the dugouts to wait.
    Word hadn‟t gotten around yet. Zane glanced over his shoulder at the
    stands. Lots of families and kids were here. His eyes fell on Elaina. She
    looked incredibly small and innocent sitting there.
    The chain-link rattling near his head drew his attention back to
    Ty. Ty‟s fingers gripped the fence, and he looked through it to the
    bleachers.
    “Do me a favor, Zane?” he whispered.
    Ty looked really worried, which didn‟t do much for Zane‟s peace
    of mind. “Yeah.”
    68 | Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux

    “Grab the kid and don‟t let her out of your sight, okay?” Ty
    requested as he looked at Zane finally. “As soon as people hear „bomb‟,
    they‟re gonna panic and scatter.”
    Zane nodded slowly. There was a story there somewhere related
    to the “he and Mommy used to date” comment. But it didn‟t matter.
    “Yeah, I‟ll do it. Be careful.”
    Ty merely nodded and reached up to touch Zane‟s fingers through
    the fence before turning away. He picked up his helmet, then jogged
    toward the home dugout as the speakers blared on.
    “Ladies and gentlemen, at this time we ask you to please move in
    an orderly fashion toward the south field.”
    Zane took a couple of careful steps backward, still watching Ty,
    before he turned to the stands to find Elaina. With just a few strides, he
    was next to her. “C‟mon, Elaina,” he said, holding out his hand.
    “What about Mommy?” Elaina asked as she climbed down the
    bleachers.
    “Ty will get her and the rest of the team,” Zane said as she slid
    her hand into his, and he started walking, almost immediately hitching
    his steps shorter because his legs were so long compared to hers.
    They were almost across the parking lot when the cute brunette
    from second base caught up to them and took Elaina‟s other hand. “Are
    you Garrett?” she asked Zane breathlessly.
    “Yes, ma‟am,” Zane responded automatically. He looked at
    Elaina and noted the strong resemblance. Dark-brown hair, large eyes
    so brown they were nearly black. “You must be Mommy.”
    She laughed slightly and nodded. “I‟m Shannon.” She didn‟t offer
    her hand, though, instead reaching down and picking Elaina up so they
    could move faster. “Is this for real, or is Ty going off the deep end?”
    Zane glanced at her, surprised. “I‟d say it‟s for real.” He pointed
    at the dugout on the far side of the next field. The lower part of it was
    made of wooden planks, the upper part more chain-link. “That ought to
    be a good place to hunker down. We‟re far enough away.”
    Divide & Conquer | 69

    “God, I was hoping he‟d just had too many painkillers,” the
    woman said under her breath. She pulled her daughter higher on her hip
    and quickened her pace. Zane heard sirens in the distance as they
    reached the other field.
    Zane stopped at the steps to let Shannon get into the dugout first,
    and then he waited as several other people passed by, distractedly
    offering an arm to help them clamber down the concrete steps,
    watching for Ty as fire trucks pulled up at the field. He hated being
    back here doing nothing.
    He finally spotted Ty, standing next to the blue bomb squad truck
    and speaking with one of the techs. He was gesticulating erratically,
    obviously worked up, and the tech seemed to be trying to reason with
    him. Finally, two firemen came up to join the conversation, and one
    began leading Ty away, toward the dugouts. The fireman was larger
    than Ty by quite a bit, a true hulk, and though Ty didn‟t appear happy
    with the arrangement, he went along without fussing until they reached
    the dugout where Zane stood.
    “Does this belong to you?” the fireman asked Zane in a deep,
    booming voice, scruffing Ty by his jersey collar like a stray dog.
    Zane raised a brow at the phrasing but nodded anyway. “Should
    have made sure he was wearing his tags, I guess,” he answered as he
    tried to judge Ty‟s condition.
    Ty rolled his eyes and shifted his jaw in annoyance. “They don‟t
    believe me,” he told Zane under his breath. “This is Tank, by the way.
    He runs people over.”
    The big fireman laughed heartily and shook his head. His teeth
    gleamed bright against his black skin. “Gotta lead with the shoulder
    when a big dawg is blocking the plate. You know