Cut and Run 4 - Divide and Conquer

the wall. Bare feet touched cold tile,
    194 | Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux

    eliciting a wince, and Zane was about to close the bathroom door when
    he heard Ty‟s voice. He could pick it out anywhere.
    “I can‟t believe you made me do that,” he was saying, his voice a
    low, hoarse groan, the type that came with either too much alcohol or
    when Zane was about to get laid. “I‟ll never be able to go back there
    again.”
    “I can‟t believe you don‟t still sing, man. What a fucking waste.”
    That was the Boston accent. Nick. When Zane had stood near him,
    Nick‟s voice hadn‟t been quite at ear level, so Nick was shorter than six
    five, but Zane had nothing else to work with besides the very few
    details Ty had shared in the course of conversation.
    “Leave him the fuck alone, O. It‟s his God-given talent, he can
    waste it if he wants to,” one of the others said. Kelly, perhaps. Zane
    wasn‟t sure he could tell Owen and Kelly apart. The accents were both
    unremarkable.
    “Cab‟s here,” Digger announced, the words barely discernible.
    He‟d probably been standing by the window, but the deep drawl and
    heavy accent of his voice was unmistakably Cajun.
    Ty‟s answer was lost in the sounds of movement and the front
    door complaining as it was swung open. Zane frowned and stepped out
    of the bathroom, moving closer to the stairs. Yeah, eavesdroppers never
    heard anything good about themselves, but Zane figured he‟d be better
    off knowing which room to go sleep in.
    There was a lot of shuffling and movement, saying goodbye, see
    you later, who‟s got the cab fare, shut the hell up before I duct tape
    your tongue to your nose. Fairly typical for the type of people Zane
    expected to be Ty‟s friends. After it all died down and the door closed,
    there was a stretch of silence.
    Then Ty cleared his throat. “Water? Beer?”
    “Yeah, beer,” Nick answered as they both moved past the base of
    the stairs into the kitchen. So Nick apparently was staying.
    Zane frowned, again trying to decide what to do. Listening to Ty
    talk to an old friend while sitting there with them was one thing.
    Skulking at the top of the stairs was another. He‟d catch certain hell
    Divide & Conquer | 195

    from Ty if he were caught, and that was enough to have Zane moving
    back toward the bathroom, albeit reluctantly.
    “You look like hell, man,” he heard Nick say. His tone of voice
    now, when they were away from the others, was different somehow.
    More serious and sincere, less teasing. Zane hesitated to call it intimate.
    Ty didn‟t respond to the observation with a smart-ass remark or
    try to deflect it. He didn‟t respond verbally at all, not that Zane could
    hear. Zane stood at the bathroom door, gripping the doorjamb,
    wondering if Ty would admit to Nick what he‟d tried to deny to Zane,
    that he was exhausted, scared, stressed, and uncertain.
    Ty finally just laughed softly.
    “Are you sleeping?” Nick asked. It was the same question Ty
    always asked Zane when he knew the answer already.
    “Some. I know I look like warmed-over crap, man. I feel like it
    too,” Ty answered, his voice hoarse but managing to sound flippant
    anyway. “It‟s fine. You didn‟t stay because Owen kicks in his sleep. Or
    to ask me about my sleep.”
    “No,” Nick admitted readily. “You two work well together?”
    “Zane?” Ty asked. He laughed again. “You wouldn‟t think so
    from the outside, would you?”
    “He doesn‟t appear the type you usually get on board with, no. He
    sort of reminds me of that DOD guy—what was his name?”
    “Pike?” Ty responded, uncertainty lacing his voice.
    “Yeah! Ramrod straight, Ray-Bans, always holding a file.”
    “No, man, Pike was an officious dick. Zane‟s a good guy. He‟s
    stellar. I trust him.”
    “Good,” Nick said, so softly Zane almost didn‟t hear it. He was
    silent for almost a minute, then added, “Was Pike the one we hung over
    the railing?”
    Ty burst into laughter, the sound clear as a bell as it reached
    Zane‟s ears. Nick‟s laughter joined it. “Oh God, that was funny,” Ty
    murmured contentedly. “The screams.”
    “Almost got the brig for it.”
    196 | Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux

    “Worth it,” Ty acknowledged.
    There was another long silence, almost enough for Zane to retreat
    to the bathroom again. But Nick‟s next question, seemingly out of
    nowhere, arrested his retreat.
    “You still dreaming?” Nick asked, his voice lowered