Cut and Run 4 - Divide and Conquer

immediately. “I can hear
    him bouncing. Go down to Fell‟s Point or something nearby.”
    “You‟ll be bouncing down the stairs, traitor,” Ty snapped.
    “Okay, then!” Nick said with a laugh. He stepped up and put his
    arm over Ty‟s shoulders as if to restrain him. “We‟ll pass on paintball
    and just bum around the city for a few days. In case you need us,” he
    said to Ty. The others nodded and murmured in agreement.
    “Usually end up with paintball welts on my nads anyway,” Owen
    grumbled as he examined his fingernails with a frown.
    “That‟s ‟cause you always bend over and try to kiss your ass
    goodbye,” Kelly told him sensibly. Ty rolled his eyes.
    Nick spoke over them, ignoring the running commentary from the
    couch. “Garrett, why don‟t you come with us to dinner? We wouldn‟t
    mind getting to know Ty‟s partner, especially since he‟s gone this long
    without trading you in or hitting you.”
    Zane smiled for the first time since the guys had come in. “Well,
    you‟re half right.” He shrugged. “I‟m game. We haven‟t eaten yet.”
    “Great!” Nick said as he looked at Ty triumphantly. “We‟ve
    never met one of Ty‟s partners. We were starting to think they were
    just a myth.”

    188 | Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux

    THE Greene Turtle Sports Bar & Grille attracted a busy crowd in the
    evenings. It was a popular hangout in Fell‟s Point, located along the
    cobblestone roads that lined the harbor, its tables inside and outside
    always full and busy with a mix of locals and tourists. It took several
    minutes of waiting before the team plus one could get a table big
    enough for all of them to spread out. Nick knew it wasn‟t Ty‟s favorite
    hangout. He always took them a few streets over, to a hole-in-the-wall
    bar called One-Eyed Mike‟s. He must have brought them here out of
    consideration for Zane‟s blindness.
    Nick watched as Ty walked Zane in, staying close, holding his
    elbow. This Zane Garrett seemed to trust Ty a hell of a lot. He hadn‟t
    questioned Ty‟s instructions even once as they walked the few blocks
    here and wound through the crowd to a table near the TVs in the back.
    Ty got him seated in the corner where people wouldn‟t bump into him
    and thumped down in a chair beside him.
    When Ty finally got settled and glanced toward Nick, Nick gave
    him a questioning look and nodded his head toward Zane. Ty shrugged
    easily, letting the unspoken question slide off his shoulders in a way
    only Ty could. Nick was going to have to get his old friend alone soon
    and interrogate him.
    Until then, he slid into the seat next to Ty, leaning over him to
    look at Zane. “So give us the story,” he told them both. “Zane, we need
    a new supply of embarrassing Grady tales.”
    Zane grinned, though his eyes remained downcast. He set one
    hand on the table in front of him, closing his hand around the edge.
    “Well, there was this time at the Chinese laundry—”
    “No,” Ty broke in urgently. He raised his hand to call the waitress
    over, ordering five drinks by holding up five long fingers and then
    twirling his index finger around the table. Nick‟s eyes followed the
    motion, then moved to look at Ty. He looked worn out, not as apt to go
    spinning toward the ceiling as the Ty Grady Nick knew so well.
    “There‟s six of us, man,” Owen interrupted. “Who‟s not
    drinking?”
    “That would be me,” Zane said.
    Divide & Conquer | 189

    “Forgive me for stating the obvious, but you don‟t appear to be
    the designated-driver type right now,” Kelly said wryly.
    Ty nudged Nick‟s elbow, and when Nick glanced at him, Ty put
    his thumb and index finger out like he was holding a shot glass and
    tipped it toward his mouth. Nick nodded in understanding.
    “A drink is the last thing I need right now,” Zane said as he
    leaned back in his chair.
    Nick clucked his tongue. So Ty‟s partner was an alcoholic. That
    was uncomfortable. He searched for something to say, watching his
    companions closely. Zane seemed okay with the topic, but Ty‟s
    shoulders had tensed, and he was looking at the table devotedly. Nick
    knew the posture well, had seen Ty assume it many times. He was
    preparing to defend a friend.
    “So,” Nick drew out, “Chinese laundry, huh?”
    Zane rapped his knuckles on the table. “Three guys and a dog
    walk into a Chinese laundry—” he started, phrasing it like a joke.
    “Dude,” Ty interrupted again. “I told them before we went