Cut and Run 7 - Touch and Geaux

restrained, but they said he’d tried to attack a male nurse who came to take his vitals.”
    Zane looked momentarily horrified, but he hid it quickly and gripped Ty’s limp hand tighter.
    “When he saw us, he calmed a little, but not enough. The good news, though,” Kelly added, keeping his voice bright. “He passed the stone.”
    “Great,” Nick huffed. “Now we just have to wait for him to fucking wake up. How long will that take?”
    “Judging by the amount of sedative they gave him and the way Ty reacts to medications?” Kelly looked at the watch on his wrist. He shrugged. “I don’t have a fucking clue.”
    Nick glared at him. “I hate you. We ran here. Sprinted.”
    Kelly looked him up and down appraisingly. “Good job.”
    Digger clucked his tongue and smacked a hand against Nick’s arm. “The only sense we could make out of what he was saying was to get you two the fuck away from the police.”
    Nick nodded, looking from Digger to Ty, who lay peacefully now. Zane sat on the chair beside the bed, holding Ty’s hand in both of his. He was staring at Ty’s face, seemingly oblivious to the rest of them.
    “Well,” Nick said, at a loss. “Why don’t we, uh . . . we’ll go get some breakfast and . . .” He gestured at Zane, and the others filtered toward the door with him. They left Ty to his sedation and Zane to his vigil.

Ty moved gingerly as Zane walked with him to the hotel room. Zane had never passed a kidney stone, but he’d heard the horror stories. All he knew was that Ty had been lucky to be drugged and having a minor meltdown to distract him during the process.
    As they made their way down the hall, Ty reached out to steady himself on Zane’s arm. The medicine he’d been given was still in effect, and he was wobbly and uncertain of his footing.
    “Need help?”
    Ty shook his head. “No, I’m good.” But he didn’t let go of Zane’s arm. He kept his other hand on his side. Zane wasn’t sure if he was hurting there, or it just made him feel better to hold it.
    When they reached their room, Zane wasn’t surprised to see the other men already there. He’d called ahead to let them know Ty was being released, and Nick had a key. They all stood when Ty stepped into the room.
    “You okay, Six?” Digger asked.
    Ty nodded curtly.
    “So,” Kelly said with a smirk. “Psychotic episode is the new prescribed treatment for passing one of these things?”
    Ty cleared his throat, his cheeks coloring. “Hallucinations are a bitch when they talk back.”
    Zane put his hand on Ty’s arm, offering a modicum of support. Ty’s hand trembled as it hung between them. He clenched it to make it stop.
    “I need a cigarette or something,” Ty mumbled.
    “My pack’s in my jeans,” Zane offered.
    Ty headed for the pile of clothing Zane had discarded the night before. Zane recognized it as more of a distraction than the actual need for a cigarette. It was something for Ty to do with himself, with his hands and his mind, so he had a little bit more time to figure out how to explain his behavior to the rest of them.
    He bent gingerly, holding his side as he dug through Zane’s pockets. Everyone else was quiet, waiting, knowing the silence itself would do more to force Ty to talk than any pointed queries. Zane smiled. He kind of liked watching the dynamic of Sidewinder, because even though he still felt like a bit of an outcast, he also knew he was in a room with some of the people who knew Ty best. He was no longer the only one present who would call Ty on his bullshit.
    Ty straightened with a grimace once he found the pack and the lighter. He was frowning, holding the piece of paper Zane had wadded up this morning. It took a moment for Zane to remember what it was. He was pretty sure Ty was too high to be bothered by it. He might even find it funny. Ty tapped one of the cigarettes out of the pack and put it in his mouth, then dropped the pack and idly flattened the paper to read.
    Zane was expecting him to make a joke or a lewd comment about someone slipping Zane a phone number in a bar, so he was shocked by the change that came over Ty’s face. He took the cigarette out of his mouth and dropped it to the floor. His jaw tightened and his hard eyes darted to Zane.
    “What?” Zane asked.
    Ty held up the paper and crumpled it in his fist. “Where’d you get this?”
    “Last night, some guy slipped it into my pocket.”
    “What guy?” Ty demanded. His voice had gone low and