Cut and Run 6 - Stars and Stripes

Lejeune?”
    At that, Ty grew even more tense and quiet. It was unlike Ty in so many ways. What was this undercurrent between them about? And it was astonishing that Zane’s brother-in-law had heard of Ty before. What kind of badass Marine had Ty been to have his name known by people he’d never met?
    Ty nodded. “That’s right.”
    “I knew that name sounded familiar. I remember hearing it quite a bit.”
    “I’m sure you did,” Ty said with a small, mirthless laugh.
    “You were Second Recon, right?”
    “I was.”
    Mark nodded sharply, then glanced sideways at Zane. “Recon squads at Lejeune when I was there were a crazy bunch.”
    “We had our moments,” Ty said, voice low and careful. It sent a chill up Zane’s spine, the type that often preceded wanting to be pinned to the ground and fucked to within an inch of his life. Somewhere along the line, he’d come to terms with the fact that the more dangerous Ty seemed, the hotter he was. Zane had no regrets.
    Mark nodded. “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Will y’all be staying awhile?”
    “Until we get something settled with Dad’s attackers. We’ll be around. We were waiting for you to show before we gathered on it.”
    “All right, then. Hey, a couple of us are heading to the roadhouse later tonight. You two game?”
    Zane cast a glance at Ty, who nodded. “Yeah, sounds fun.”
    “Just, uh . . . fair warning. Word’s already got around the C and G about you two. Won’t be long before it gets out. Hope you’re ready for that.”
    Zane fought against the butterflies. “Really? That was faster than I expected.”
    “Yeah, well. The last remaining Garrett starts doing a guy, it makes the rounds.”
    Zane laughed despite himself. He hadn’t thought of it that way, but he supposed it would cause a stir, considering he had no kids and was therefore the last Garrett in a long line of them.
    Mark turned to go. “We’re ready when you are.”
    Zane nodded, but he was watching Ty.
    “Ty?” he said after a few seconds.
    Ty tore his eyes away from Mark and met Zane’s eyes. “Hmm?”
    “You okay?”
    Ty nodded curtly. “Just wasn’t expecting to be recognized.”
    Zane wanted to ask why it bothered Ty, but he’d save it for later. “You ready to head inside?”
    Ty pushed off the gate and landed light as a cat in the dirt. “Was that true, what he said? Are you the last Garrett?”
    “Yeah, why?”
    “He’s right, that’s going to cause a stir.”
    “I don’t care. Do you?”
    Ty shook his head. Then he gave the horse one last mistrustful glance. “Let’s do this,” he said with a huff. He turned toward the barn doors. “It’s about damn time I hear what’s been going on.”
    They walked side by side toward the house. Zane slid his hand into Ty’s back pocket. “Yeah, I’m sorry for keeping you in the dark, but I figured the less I told you, the better you’d be able to look at it through new eyes. I want to see if you can find an angle all of us are missing.”
    Ty rolled his eyes. “No pressure.”

    They gathered in the drawing room to brainstorm and fill Ty in on the details. Ty and Zane sat on the edge of Beverly’s desk, their shoulders brushing.
    “Have you had any land grabs in the area? Redistricting? Minerals, oil? Any reason to try to run you off your ranch?”
    “No, nothing like that,” Harrison answered.
    “The land is the only thing I can think of that makes sense,” Ty said, casting a troubled look at Zane.
    “You want to take a look at it?” Zane asked.
    Ty nodded, so Zane retrieved a map of the area from a bookcase along the wall and laid it out on the desk, smoothing it as they all gathered around it. The family knew it by heart, but Ty bent over the map and studied it closely. He pointed at a square in the middle. “This is the big house, right?”
    “We don’t call it that,” Beverly snapped. She’d made it abundantly clear that she thought this was all a waste of time.
    “The large structure in which you live, then?” Ty said, one eyebrow raised. Zane had to look away so Beverly wouldn’t see him smile, and Annie and Mark both coughed as they examined the carpet.
    Zane cleared his throat and picked up a pen. He drew a circle around the house, then several other spots on the map. “This is the main house. The guesthouse where we’re staying is here, and this is the entrance off the main road.”
    “Okay. Where did your dad get shot?”
    “It was out near the old pump