Cut and Run 6 - Stars and Stripes

him and slid his hands up Zane’s back.
    “I was so damn worried about you,” Zane said. “I promised myself I’d get a dance when you woke up.”
    Ty smiled and hugged him tighter. “I’ve decided if I can’t get eaten by a tiger or killed by an animal tranquilizer, then I must be invincible.”
    Zane laughed and kissed him again before resting his chin on Ty’s shoulder. “Tytanium.”
    “Hovercraft is full of eels, huh?”
    “That’s what you said.”
    “I think you’re bullshitting.”
    “God’s honest truth.”
    Ty’s smile softened and he buried his nose in Zane’s neck. “You know you can get a dance anytime.”
    “I know,” Zane whispered against his ear. “I wish we could have done this at the bar.”
    Ty nodded, wondering if that was what Zane was thinking so hard over. He’d been told how Beverly had reacted to Zane’s news, but that she’d later softened and helped Zane spend the night with him at the hospital. And though Ty was angry and frustrated over the lack of acceptance, he suspected there were added layers.
    “Next time we will, if you want to.”
    Zane hummed. “I don’t know. I might be embarrassed for everyone to see how bad a dancer you are.”
    Ty grunted and pushed his snickering lover away.
    “Oh, don’t be like that,” Zane crooned as he reached for Ty again.
    Ty turned Zane around in a simple box step to put him in front of the bed, then gave him a push to make him sit.
    Zane huffed as he thumped down on the mattress. “What do you know that I don’t?” he demanded.
    “So much,” Ty said with smirk as he sat beside Zane.
    “Ty, come on. What did you find at the pump house? I know you were hiding something.”
    Ty nodded. “Why would Mark tell you about what happened at LeJeune when he did?”
    “What does that have to do with anything?”
    “Think, Zane. Why would he tell you something meant to make you suspicious of your partner right before we’re riding out to look for evidence? It was a preemptive strike, like he was trying to give you a reason to doubt what I found when we got there.”
    Zane frowned harder. It was obvious that the thought hadn’t crossed his mind.
    “Why would he do that unless he was afraid of what I’d find?”
    Zane shook his head. “What did you find?”
    “The ground was cold.”
    “What?”
    “It was cold. The pebble I picked up, the ground under it. It was cool. There’s something under there.”
    Zane stared at him, then stood up to pace. “You tried to tell me that at the hospital.”
    “In Dari?”
    “Uh-huh. We need to go back out there.”
    Ty waved at himself, looking offended. “Does this look like it’s going on a horse again?”
    Zane stopped pacing and barked a laugh. He stalked closer and climbed into Ty’s lap, brushing his nose against Ty’s. “My apologies.”
    “I know how you can make it up to me.”
    “I’ll bet you do.” Zane pushed Ty onto his back. “Annie says you’re handsome.”
    “Of course she does. Have you seen me?” Ty grinned crookedly, laughed and put his hands behind his head, lounging under Zane.
    “You were sweet tonight, with Sadie.”
    “It’s easy to be sweet with a cute kid in your lap.”
    “Sadie’s way too pretty for my peace of mind. I’m glad I’m not her daddy.”
    “She already knows how to wield the batting eyelashes. Teach her to handle a gun, give her a classic muscle car, she’ll take over the world.”
    Zane chuckled. “At least you’re true to type. If she’s raised like I was, she’ll have at least two guns before she’s a teenager. More likely a truck than a muscle car, though.”
    “Shame.”
    “My uncle taught me to shoot.”
    Ty ran his fingers down Zane’s cheek. “You could teach her, you know.”
    Furrows appeared on Zane’s brow. “If we end up putting her daddy in jail, there might be some strain there.”
    Ty nodded. He didn’t like suspecting Mark any more than Zane did, but there was a lot that wasn’t adding up.
    “Run it through for me, okay?”
    Ty nodded again. He held up his hand and pointed a finger to count. “He knew Stuart’s name in the bar. He tried to throw you off the scent by telling you about LeJeune. He dogged my steps out there, tried to convince you and I to go after the tiger instead of the poachers, and he’d have access to the kind of information and type of tranqs he needed through Annie’s vet practice.”
    Zane looked at Ty’s hand, now displaying all five fingers with the points