Cut and Run 5 - Armed and Dangerous

dogs to fight, sensing that they were about to lunge and being helpless to stop it. Zane walked in a half circle to put himself in Ty’s line of sight, perhaps six feet away. Until Ty came out of whatever headspace this was, it was better not to get too close.
    Julian sensed him moving, and he gave Ty one last disdainful look and moved to sit beside Cameron on the end of the king-size bed.
    All three of them watched Ty expectantly, and Ty stood glaring at them all. It was time for some kind of explanation. Zane could imagine Julian making something like that up; it would serve the purpose of driving a wedge of suspicion between Ty and Zane if they began fighting over it. It was a classic psychological technique. But Zane’s gut told him that it felt like the truth.
    Ty’s eyes moved to meet his. His jaw tightened and he squared his shoulders, as if expecting Zane to launch his own attack. Instead, Zane slid one hand into a pocket and held out the other, palm up. He didn’t want to fight about it. He just wanted to know; to know if Ty was in danger, to know if they were in danger because of this. As much as being kept in the dark pissed him off, Zane knew better than to demand answers from his lover and partner, especially in front of Julian and Cameron. That was a quick trip to an ass-kicking. Or worse, a stonewalling.
    “Go ahead,” Ty said, his voice grim.
    Zane tried to keep his voice calm. “Do you want to fight? Because I don’t. But there’s a lot of numbers not adding up, and you know me and numbers.”
    “I don’t want to fight,” Ty answered. His eyes shifted to Julian again, a spark of anger in them.
    “Then forget about him and focus on me,” Zane said, letting his hand start to lower.
    Ty looked back and raised his chin. “I swear to you, Zane, I’d never seen him before this case.”
    “You’re a bloody liar,” Julian muttered.
    When Zane met those hazel eyes, he tried to see what Julian must have seen, but he just didn’t. All he saw was the man he knew and loved telling him the truth. Everything in Zane confirmed it. “Then that means he’s seen you. In Paris?”
    “I’ve never been to Paris.”
    “Don’t let him lie to you, Agent Garrett,” Julian said.
    “Shut up,” Zane snapped.
    Ty lowered his head, but his eyes remained on Zane’s. It gave him a predatory look.
    Zane knew that Ty was wound up too tight about this for it to be a simple matter. “This is one of those things you can’t tell me about. That’s crystal clear.”
    Ty exhaled sharply and turned away, running his hand through his hair as he headed for the door. Ty always aimed for open space when he was agitated, windows and doors and balconies. Like he was making certain he had an escape route. Only now it struck Zane as Ty wanting to get away from him.
    Zane took a step to go after him.
    Ty swept his hand out and grabbed the lamp off the dresser, then turned, ripping the cord from the base, and threw it against the nearest wall with a wordless shout of frustration that was lost in the shattering of the ceramic.
    Zane flinched but didn’t move. Julian stood but remained by the bed, where Cameron sat cringing away from the debris. Zane took a step toward them. It registered with him that he was afraid of what Ty was going to do, because Zane couldn’t tell, and he’d gotten pretty adept at that. This was just one of so many unspoken truths between them. Maybe Ty feared them as much as Zane did.
    “Goddammit, Zane!” Ty shouted as he continued to pace like a caged animal. As he ranted he waved one hand in the air, pointing accusingly at Zane and Julian and even Cameron as he did so. “What are the fucking odds of him knowing me? I worked that job for eighteen months without so much as a hint of trouble, and now of all people it’s that fucking Irishman that’s going to get that cover blown. Why couldn’t you have just let me shoot him like I wanted to in the first place?”
    Zane’s brows rose higher the longer Ty ranted, and that rigid ball in his chest relaxed. If Ty could yell, it would be okay. It always was. What he was saying didn’t help Zane feel any better, though. “Nothing’s blown.”
    “Everything is blown! Forget whatever Burns wants with him, Zane! He knows me from Paris, and he just made me as a Fed!”
    “Who is he going to tell? Who’ll believe him?”
    “Hey!” Julian said, affronted.
    “Don’t borrow trouble. We have enough as it is,” Zane continued as he waved a