Cut and Run 6 - Stars and Stripes

seeking out Harrison. When Zane straightened, it struck him all over again. “I can’t believe you’re here. And I can’t believe how much I missed you.”
    “I missed you too. Not enough to trek my ass to Texas, but you sounded . . . I just figured I needed to be here.”
    Zane hugged him again. He couldn’t help himself. “It’s just a shitty situation,” he said, glancing toward the kitchen as he released Ty. His mother was around here somewhere. Maybe upstairs in her suite, or in her office. He was surprised she hadn’t come out when the doorbell rang. “But I am so glad you’re here.”
    Ty ran his hand down Zane’s arm. Then he shook himself and shrugged his bag off his shoulder, handing it to Zane. “I’ll just make myself at home then.”
    Zane took it and dropped it on the floor next to the door. At Ty’s raised eyebrow, he said, “We won’t be staying here. We—”
    His mother’s voice rang out from upstairs. “Zane? Who was at the door?”
    Zane glanced to Ty and made a rude gesture toward the stairs. “A friend of mine’s here,” he called back, and within a few moments, Beverly Carter-Garrett appeared at the banister halfway around the second floor.
    “A friend?” she asked, looking down at them from on high. She paused for effect, and then made her way down the polished wooden staircase, a polite smile in place.
    She cut a severe figure on the spiral staircase, her graying hair dyed a harsh black, her smile not touching her blue eyes. She hadn’t been expecting company today, but that hadn’t stopped her from donning a designer pantsuit, high heels, and a string of pearls; her entire life was about outward appearances, and always had been.
    “Ma’am,” Ty said with a nod as she came down the stairs.
    Beverly tipped her head to one side as she looked Ty over. He was wearing jeans and a plain white T-shirt, probably to ward off the blazing heat, and every inch of him was dusty. No way would he pass Beverly’s inspection. He wasn’t wearing a tie, after all. She turned her gaze to Zane as she stopped two stairs from the bottom—a tactic with which he was familiar. It put her at about his eye level. He’d gotten his height from his father and grandfather, so she’d come up with a way to compensate.
    “Mother, this is Special Agent Ty Grady. Ty, my mother, Beverly Carter-Garrett.”
    Beverly held out her hand, like royalty. Ty took a single step forward and took the tips of her fingers in his, bowing his head in a formal greeting that, for some reason, Zane was shocked to see his partner knew how to do. By the look on his mother’s face, she was both surprised and pleased.
    “Hello, Mr. Grady,” Beverly said, voice still polite. “How do you know Zane?”
    “I’m his partner, ma’am.”
    The warmth and charm that seemed to exude from Ty at all times were missing. He was being gracious, but almost cool to her. It was obvious to Zane that what he’d said about his mother in the past was coloring Ty’s behavior toward her, whether Ty meant for it to or not. But Beverly treated everyone like that. Zane figured she wouldn’t think anything of it.
    “His partner?”
    “Yes, Mother. And it’s Special Agent Grady, not Mr. Grady.”
    “Oh, I see. I wasn’t aware you had a partner, Zane.”
    Zane just smiled, not willing to give her a chance to start an old argument. She was baiting him, pure and simple. When she didn’t get the response she wanted, she turned to Ty.
    “Please, come in.” Beverly indicated the sitting room to her left. “Tell me what brings you to Texas, Mr. Grady.”
    “Well,” Ty said, glancing back at Zane with a furrow of his brow. He was obviously wondering how much he should say, and probably how nice he had to be. Zane waved permissively— go for it . “Zane told me his father was shot.”
    “And that brought you all the way from Washington?” she asked, sitting primly in the armchair that faced the couch. “Just to see your coworker?”
    “Mother, you know full well it’s Baltimore, and Ty’s not just my coworker, he’s a close friend.”
    Beverly folded her hands in her lap. “I thought perhaps he’d brought some work for you. You do claim to be important to that place.”
    Ty looked between them. He cleared his throat, meeting Zane’s eyes, and he pointed to the bag by the door. He held his hand against his chest, where only Zane could see it, and mimicked holding a gun. “I did bring work.”
    “I see,” Beverly said,