Cut and Run 7 - Touch and Geaux

moved around the table to one of the empty chairs. He sat opposite Ty and crossed his arms. Everyone was silent and tense, glancing at Zane as if they expected him to blow up like he had last night. Ty narrowed his eyes at him. Zane had to avert his gaze, examining the tabletop instead. In the periphery, he could see the remains of the barstool and table he had destroyed, neatly swept into a corner.
    If Zane had to guess, Ty had stayed up all night cleaning up the mess.
    Digger finally grunted to break the silence. “That’s all great, in theory. But how do we contact them?”
    Ty tore his attention away from Zane and gestured at Liam. “Can you get in touch with them?”
    Liam gave a curt nod. “Sure, Grady. I’ll just call them up and explain to them the situation. That I fucked off on their job because I found a pissed off Recon team instead of one easy target. And then I’ll ask them what hotel they’re staying at. Just for shits and giggles. It’s flawless.”
    “All right,” Ty grunted.
    “Flawless, I say.”
    “All right! Do you know how to get in touch with them or not?”
    “You’ll get yourselves killed.”
    “Do you really care if we do?” Nick asked.
    “If you’re going to bugger off and get yourselves killed, it might as well be me doing it so I can collect the bounties.”
    Zane snorted. “Maybe if you’d help us, we wouldn’t be as likely to die.”
    “You’re pretty, Garrett, but my heart ain’t that soft. As soon as you lot are gone, I’m out the door.”
    “Always the hero,” Ty muttered.
    Ty and Liam shared a hateful glance before Ty pushed away from the table and stood.
    “So, let me get this straight,” Liam said, loud enough for his words to be aimed at Ty. “You want to call up the crew who wants you dead, tell them you’re the man they’re looking for, and then lure them into a kill zone?”
    Ty met Liam’s eyes. Then he sought out Zane for his opinion. Zane stared at him, feeling sick. Ty had looked to him still—not his former second-in-command, not one of the men he’d known and worked with for decades. Zane’s mouth was too dry to even swallow.
    “Yeah,” Ty finally said.
    “They think it’s one man they’re after. No way they’d expect six,” Nick added.
    “I have a bunch of ear buds, a few other things,” Digger said. “Sniper rifle, a couple smoke canisters, Kevlar vest.”
    Kelly leaned forward. “A Kevlar vest?”
    Digger nodded.
    “You travel with full assault gear?” Ty asked.
    “You don’t?”
    Everyone stared at him. Ty began to massage the bridge of his nose.
    Liam stood and smoothed his hands over the front of his shirt, then walked away. “You’re all criminally insane.”
    Nick rolled his head from side to side, working out the kinks. Then he rapped his knuckles on the table to draw everyone’s attention. “If we’re going to do this, we need to know how many they have and find a location good for the meet. And we need to do it fast. This place won’t be safe for much longer.”
    Zane finally tore his eyes away from Ty. “Taking care of the cartel won’t get us out of New Orleans any easier. It’s the police we should really be worried about.”
    “What do you suggest?” Kelly asked.
    “Call the local Bureau office. Tell them what’s going on. Get backup. Get the cops off our asses. Make this something official instead of . . .” He waved at Digger. “Criminally insane.”
    “I’ll lose my job,” Ty said. He was pacing, head down and arms crossed.
    Nick craned his head. “What? Why?”
    “I’m not supposed to be here. I could compromise half a dozen cases just by showing my face.”
    “Why the hell didn’t you say something before you came down here?”
    “You told me you were in jail!”
    Nick made a disgusted noise. He leaned his elbows on the table and began to massage his temples.
    “Call Burns, he’ll get you out of it,” Zane said, surprised by the bitter sarcasm that came out.
    Ty stared at him for a long moment, looking wounded, before he began to pace again. Zane forced himself to meet his eyes.
    He was ashamed to admit he still wanted to see Ty burn. He’d hoped Ty would come at him again last night, that they’d go down swinging at each other. But he knew deep down that Ty wasn’t that type of man. He wasn’t going to chase Zane, or beg and plead with him. He wasn’t going to hover over him and swat the drink from his hand every time he grasped it. He would let Zane walk away, he