Cut and Run 7 - Touch and Geaux

on the table, resting his head on them. Liam was sitting with his lips pursed, and when Nick made eye contact, Liam grinned and winked. Zane was still leaning back in his chair, but his body wasn’t relaxed. He was resting his mouth against his hand, elbow propped on the arm of the chair. His hard eyes followed Ty’s movements.
    “Okay,” Nick said. “Nothing good is going to come of us sitting here sniping at each other. We’ll call it a night, come back with clearer heads at dawn. Keep watch in shifts of two. Bell doesn’t take a turn.”
    “You’re putting a guard on me?” Liam asked.
    “Yes. Would you like to tell me why I shouldn’t?”
    “I’d like to tell you where to go , do I have permission to do that?” He stood, muttering under his breath as he walked away. He said something to Ty as he mounted the stairs, then ducked and covered when Ty chucked a heavy glass at him. It shattered against the wall and rained shards over Liam’s shoulders.
    “Excellent idea, Grady!” Liam shouted. He stood from his crouch. “Lace the steps with glass so we can hear them coming, good thinking.”
    “Keep running your mouth, you bastard, you’ll wake up bloody!” Ty shouted.
    “Yeah, in my sleep, that’s the only way you’ll ever get the upper hand.”
    Liam hustled up the steps before Ty could reply, taking them two at a time and narrowly avoiding the second glass Ty threw at him.
    Nick chewed on his lip for a few seconds, then turned to glance at the others. “Who wants to volunteer for first watch with Ty?”

    The bar felt heavy when it was deserted, as if the music and smoke and drink had all risen to the top and begun pressing down on everyone below. That had always been Ty’s favorite time of day. The memories weren’t so sweet now, though.
    “Drew the short straw, huh?” Ty said as Zane came up behind him. Ty couldn’t look him in the eye now, not even through the mirror that hung over the back of the bar. The last time he’d been called a coward, Zane had been the one defending him. It was dizzying to see how all they’d built could unravel so quickly.
    Zane slid onto the stool beside him. Ty doggedly stared at the bar top. He didn’t want to look at Zane right now, didn’t want to feel the pain that came with those dark eyes.
    “I was out of line, saying that in front of everyone,” Zane said. His voice was soft, but still cold.
    “You wanted to take me down a peg or two in front of the boys. You did it. Congratulations.”
    Zane sighed, and Ty felt the gust of his breath against his cheek. “This is where you’re supposed to apologize too, and we start trying to make sense of what we have left to us.”
    Ty glanced up sharply. “What we have left to us? Why are you so ready to walk, Zane? I was doing my job. You of all people should understand what that means.”
    Zane grunted. “Don’t you dare throw that in my face. You know as well as I do that whatever you’ve been doing the past two years was anything but your job.”
    “Please,” Ty sneered.
    “How about apologizing for lying to me? For spying on me? Using me?”
    Ty slammed his hand on the bar. “I never lied to you, Garrett, not about us! Never once did I tell you anything that wasn’t true, not when it came to you and me. And I sure as hell didn’t use you for anything.”
    “Well forgive me if I don’t believe a goddamn word you say. The only way I hear the truth from you is when someone has a gun to your fucking head. Or mine!”
    “Someone did have a gun to your head!” Zane started to get up, but Ty reached out to grab him. He didn’t dare let him turn away, afraid Zane wouldn’t ever turn back again. “After everything we’ve been through, why the hell can’t you believe me?”
    “Because you lie.”
    The words hit him in the gut, and he gasped for air.
    The curtain rustled and Ava came through carrying three reservoir glasses. She set them on the bar, looking between Ty and Zane with a raised eyebrow.
    “You two going to sit there glaring at each other all night?” she asked before ducking below the bar to retrieve a wooden box from underneath.
    Zane didn’t flinch. He continued to glower at Ty, the anger and betrayal roiling in the air between them. They were both frightened, and the only thing they knew to do when they were scared was lash out.
    Ty leaned closer. “You can be angry for as long as you want, Zane. It doesn’t change what’s happened, and it doesn’t change the way I