Cut and Run 7 - Touch and Geaux

behind her ear, and on closer inspection, several more feathers of various colors appeared to be part of her hair too.
    Her dark eyes were lined in kohl, masking their real color, and it was hard to tell in the dim light but she seemed exotic in a way, like there may have been Native American blood in her. She was athletic and curvy, certainly Ty’s type, wearing black pants that hugged her hips and a laced corset for a top. Her body was tense as she stared at them.
    Zane glanced from Ty to her and back. She was surprised, that was clear, which told Zane she wasn’t behind the hex Ty was sure had been put on him.
    “Tyler Beaumont,” she said.
    “Hello, Ava,” Ty responded. Zane knew he was nowhere near as calm as he sounded.
    She moved suddenly, vaulting over the bar and running toward him. Zane almost moved to block her, but Ty didn’t flinch as she launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He grunted in pain, stumbling beneath her weight as she hugged him.
    She let him go and slid her feet to the floor, then smacked Ty with an oath that sounded like mangled French. When she pulled back for another smack, Zane reached out and caught her wrist midair. Ty’s guilty conscience may have been willing to stand there and take it, but there was a limit to how much Zane would allow, even if he did want to do the same right now.
    She yanked her hand out of Zane’s grasp and drew a deep breath. “What are you doing here?” she hissed.
    “I heard about Murdoch,” Ty told her, remarkably calm in the face of her temper.
    She glared at Zane, her eyes raking him up and down.
    “This is my partner, Zane Garrett.”
    “You’re a Fed too?” she spat at Zane.
    It was sort of a bullshit question, but she was obviously rattled by Ty showing up out of thin air. Zane tipped his head and raised one eyebrow in silent confirmation, if not a subtle dare to comment about it, before looking her over in return, checking for obvious weapons.
    “Zane, this is Ava Gaudet. Ava, we need your help.”
    “Right,” she said with obvious disdain. She turned her dark eyes back to Ty. “You need my help. Like you needed my help before?”
    Ty narrowed his eyes before letting them stray to meet Zane’s. He shook his head. “This was a waste of time,” he said to Zane. He jerked his head toward the door. “Let’s go.”
    Zane was perfectly willing to let any of Ty’s old flames carry on without them, so he nodded and took a slow step back. He didn’t see any knives on Ava, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t one. Or more.
    Ty turned to go, showing no compunctions about exposing his back to the woman.
    She sighed loudly and held up her hand. “Wait. What do you want from me?”
    Ty studied her briefly before digging into his pocket and pulling out the small red bag he’d been carrying. Zane didn’t know how he’d retrieved it from the police station, but he’d obviously thought it a priority as he and Liam had escaped. He held it up and let it drop, holding it between two fingers by its cord.
    Ava gasped and took an involuntary step back, running into Zane. He steadied her with a hand on each arm. “Well, I guess that answers that.”
    “Is that like the one the cops said they found on Murdoch? Where did you get that?” Ava asked Ty, sounding as if she’d forgotten how angry she was.
    “It was under my mattress,” Ty answered through gritted teeth.
    She glanced between them. “Well, I didn’t do it! I didn’t even know you were in town.”
    “We need a place to lay low. There are seven of us. People are after us, and so are the police.”
    “ Feet pue tan !” she shouted.
    Ty cleared his throat, looking at Zane wryly. “She just called me a goddamned son of a bitch.”
    “I like her,” Zane responded.
    “You need my help? You don’t need my help, you need an army!” She shooed Ty toward the door. “I want no part in whatever you’re doing.”
    “A girl was murdered last night,” Ty hissed.
    “That is not my problem!” Ava shoved him toward the door, both hands on his chest. He didn’t budge, and she couldn’t make him.
    “She looked like you,” Ty said loudly. He held up the bag. “She had one of these.”
    Ava was breathing hard, but she stepped back and stared at the bag, then glanced over her shoulder at Zane. She looked genuinely frightened. “You think they meant to kill me?”
    “Yes. The police think I killed her and Murdoch. My name was in these bags.”
    “You’re