Cut and Run 7 - Touch and Geaux

eyes again and met Zane’s, gasping and making sounds like he was trying to form words. A bullet had grazed his neck. Another had grazed his arm. Zane had no idea how bad the rest of his wounds were. There was too much blood.
    Tears blurred Zane’s vision and he looked up, desperate for help. Sidewinder was sweeping in from the swamp like angels of death, clearing weapons from dying hands, putting bullets in the heads of anyone who remained alive.
    Three helicopters thumped in the distance, coming closer.
    “Take his vest off him, Zane,” Liam said in Zane’s ear.
    Zane gasped and began pawing at Ty’s shirt. He ripped it open, then used his knife to cut the straps of the vest away.
    Ty gasped in air, his body arching off the ground as Zane freed him from the restrictive, mangled plates. He gasped again, pulling in air as hard as he could and beginning to shiver all over.
    Zane patted at Ty chest, wiping away the blood. “You’re not hit!” he cried, beginning to laugh hysterically. “Oh thank you, God.” He used his bandana to wipe away the fake blood from Ty’s neck, pressing it to the wound oozing real blood. He pulled Ty up to hug him and Ty groaned, but he wrapped his arms around Zane and dug his fingers into his shirt, hugging him fiercely. One hand came to tangle in Zane’s hair.
    “You’re breaking my ribs, Zane,” Ty managed to wheeze before a coughing fit overtook him.
    Zane released him and helped him lie back down. Ty closed his eyes, taking in deep breaths, one hand pressing to Zane’s against his neck, the other shaking as he rested it on his stomach. Zane used his sleeve to wipe the blood away from his own mouth and nose, and with his face clean of it, he could smell the fake blood on Ty, hints of tomato and chocolate and barbecue sauce. He collapsed beside Ty, relief overwhelming him as he rested his head on Ty’s stomach.
    “You’re an utter asshole,” Zane murmured against Ty’s abs.
    “You’re welcome.”
    “Is he okay?” Nick shouted as he ran toward them.
    Zane didn’t move to answer. He felt Ty raise a hand, probably giving a thumbs-up.
    The sound of the helicopters grew louder, and soon Zane could feel the wind of the rotor wash on his face. He finally realized a dozen men in SWAT gear were clearing the scene and trying to relieve Sidewinder of their weapons. Digger and Owen began to argue with two men who quickly pointed guns at their heads and made them get on their knees.
    Zane sat up, confused by the appearance of another player. But then a familiar figure stepped out of the helicopter and began jogging toward them.
    “Dick?” Ty croaked.
    Richard Burns reached down to help Ty to his feet. He patted him on the shoulder, but then gave up on propriety and hugged him. “I got here as fast as I could.”
    “What are you doing here?” Zane demanded.
    “When Ty called and said there was a mole relaying your movements, I ran a test and found a trace on your phone. I couldn’t tell you I was coming in or the mole would have known.”
    “I . . . I thought you left us in the wind,” Ty said, still breathless and holding his bleeding neck.
    Burns patted his cheek. “I would never do that, Beaumont. You know that.” He took a step back and surreptitiously wiped the disgusting blood concoction off his hand with a handkerchief as soon as Ty’s attention was elsewhere.
    Zane was still glowering at Burns when he realized Ty had stumbled away from them. He shed the remains of the vest and dropped to his knees at Ava’s side. Blood had pooled under her and began to trail toward the center of the causeway. Her eyes stared into the sky.
    Ty reached a shaking hand and set it over her forehead, closing her eyes. Zane could hear him murmuring a prayer in French through the ear bud in his ear.
    Zane ran a hand through his hair, then yanked the ear bud out as he turned away from them. He met Burns’s eyes. “Ty told me everything.”
    Burns stiffened, then nodded.
    “You thought I was a traitor?” Zane asked through gritted teeth.
    “Better safe than sorry, Zane. I knew as long as Ty trusted you, I could too.”
    Zane rushed forward and swung at him, knocking him to the ground with a shout. “You can’t fuck with people’s lives like that!” he barked as two men ran up to them, each grabbed an arm, and began pulling him back. “Can’t you see what he would do for you? You can’t use him like that, Dick! You can’t!”
    Burns sat up, jaw lax and nose bleeding. He