Chapter Ten

Twenty minutes after Ty had dropped them off and told them he was going to stash the stolen car, Ty still wasn't back. How long did it take to dump a broken-down Bronco in rural Macedonia, Ohio? Zane sighed and looked to Cameron, who was sitting uneasily on the other bed, looking toward the bathroom where Ty had left Julian cuffed to the plumbing again.

"Go on," Zane said gruffly, waving a hand toward the bathroom.

Cameron blinked at him and then smiled gratefully. "Thanks," he said, and he hurried to join Julian.

"Leave the door open," Zane said as Cameron disappeared inside. "Just remember I can shoot him before he can get to the door."

Zane took off his jacket and slung it into the sink of the tiny kitchenette before thumping down on the end of the bed. He was tired. This trip was testing his patience. And what the hell was taking Ty so goddamn long?

It was another ten minutes, maybe more, before there was a scratch at the door and Zane heard the key card swipe. Ty pushed into the room, face flushed from the cold, flecks of snow melting on his shoulders. He was carrying a small paper bag.

He looked around the room as he stepped in. "Where are they?"

Zane gritted his teeth and swallowed the sharp remark that was his gut response. "In the bathroom," he said instead.

Ty nodded curtly. "That won't hold him all night," he said, not even bothering to try explaining why walking a mile or two in the snow had taken him nearly an hour to manage. Zane played the whole prospective explanation and resulting argument through in his head and decided to just not go there. Ty had done a lot of walking in the snow tonight.

"Our options are rather limited."

"What have you come up with?" Ty asked. He shrugged out of his coat, tossing it onto the tiny table between the television and the kitchenette.

"I thought about cuffing him to the underpinning of the bed, but it's junk. He'd probably break it," Zane answered.

Ty stared at him, waiting for him to continue, and Zane resisted the urge to snap at him. Tempers were getting shorter, and it didn't help that they couldn't touch or even speak openly to each other in front of their prisoners. Zane reminded himself to stay calm. "We could attach him to the refrigerator. Even if he did get out, he wouldn't be going anywhere fast."

Ty was nodding slowly as Zane spoke. "How?" he asked in a flat voice.

Zane shrugged, mind churning. "Use his belt and the chill grate? Fasten it behind his back."

"And essentially give him a nice sharp metal weapon when he gets loose," Ty said, sounding disgusted. He picked up the bag he'd been carrying and opened it up to extract a gas station box of Benadryl. He held it up, looking at Zane grimly. "How many of these things would it take to put you down?"

Zane looked at the package, then up at Ty, and it was all too clear how far Ty had been pushed: too far. "Absolutely not. You're not drugging him."

"And he's not smothering one of us in our sleep," Ty said, voice sharp and serious. "I don't know about you, Zane, but I'm tired. I'm too fucking tired, and I'm afraid I'm going to fall asleep tonight, let down my guard, and not wake up."

"That's not going to happen. If you need to sleep, sleep. I can stay awake."

"No, you can't. You are just as exhausted as I am!" Ty tossed the box of Benadryl onto the table and pulled his gun out of its holster to check the clip.

Zane took in a deep breath through his nose, hanging on to his patience with everything he had. "You do need sleep, because you'd never try this in your right mind. Knock him out, tie him up, hell, strip him nude, but you're not drugging him." What if Cross had some crazy reaction to the drugs like Ty often did and died? Burns would forgive them some surface damage to the asset, but dead wouldn't go over well at all.

Ty rammed the clip home, the noise unmistakable in the otherwise quiet hotel room. "You're right. Plan B then," he said in a deceptively calm voice. He pushed away from the table and headed for the bathroom, gun still in his hand.

Zane wasn't sure what was worse. He was certain—all right, almost certain—Ty wouldn't just shoot Julian. Well, kind of certain. Maybe. "Grady... what are you going to do?" he called, hearing the dread in his own voice.

Ty didn't answer him. Zane heard him push the door open and bark at Cameron to get out. Zane rubbed a hand over his eyes and waited, using the time to list possible worst-case scenarios, the fallout, how much paperwork would be involved, and if any said scenarios would afford him and Ty some peace and quiet sooner rather than later. Now that he thought about it, drugging Cross just a little might not be such a bad idea.

Zane rolled his eyes. He was sleep-deprived; just the fact that he had that thought was proof.

Ty grabbed Cameron by the arm and shoved him out into the suite. Zane watched the man stumble into the table, knocking over the box of Benadryl.

"What's going on?" Cameron asked, rubbing his hip.

Zane just shook his head. "Better stay out of the way," he said, jerking a thumb back toward the bed. Cameron nodded, keeping his eyes on the bathroom door.

A moment later Ty dragged Julian out of the bathroom, quite the noisy affair since Julian was threatening Ty with all matter of bodily harm if he touched Cameron again. Zane was pretty sure the only reason Julian didn't fight back was the gun in Ty's hand. Cameron had to hop out of the way as Ty propelled Julian forward and slammed him into the table, shoving at him from behind and pressing his face and chest to the tabletop.

Ty had done that to Zane a few times. Only he'd never pressed a gun barrel to the base of Zane's skull like he did to Julian's right now. It occurred to Zane that he should probably rein Ty in anytime now. He was supposed to be the rules lawyer of the two of them, the one that kept his partner from blithely charging into serious trouble.

"You probably shouldn't cripple him," Zane said in place of further caution.

Julian turned his head just enough to meet Zane's eyes. For the first time since they'd picked him up in Chicago, the man looked worried. He didn't look scared like a normal person would be in that situation, but he did seem to be acknowledging that Ty had reached the end of his rope and just might shoot him.

"He'd already freed himself," Ty told Zane through gritted teeth. He was using his entire body to keep Julian pinned under him.

Zane glanced at Cameron, who gave him big, innocent doe eyes. "You're next," he warned the younger man. Cameron shrank back, guilt written all over him.

Ty gave the room one last scathing glance, obviously looking for something to secure Julian to that would keep him the entire night. But Zane knew there was nothing in the room that would alleviate Ty's concern, or his, enough to let them sleep.

Ty knew it too. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his spare handcuffs, pushing into Julian from behind with the sharp part of his elbow. Julian winced but didn't make a sound as Ty put the handcuffs onto one of his wrists. Ty yanked the arm behind him and Julian did gasp in complaint as his arm was jerked around.

"You're going to enjoy this about as much as I am," Ty snarled at him, then he slapped the other half of the cuffs onto his own wrist with a loud clink.

Zane's eyes widened as he fought down a spate of hysterical laughter. What kind of fickle bitch was Karma that they kept getting these insane cases? He was about to comment when Cameron beat him to it.

"What are you going to do? Sleep with him?"

"No, Cam, we're gonna slow dance!" Ty shouted. He tossed his gun to Zane, where Julian couldn't reach it, and he took a step back and jerked Julian's arm to make him stand as well.

Zane caught the weapon out of pure reflex. Out of all the things Ty could have chosen to do, this hadn't made Zane's top ten. He was about to offer a crass comment when the deep shadows under Ty's eyes arrested him, and Zane just nodded his consent.

The way Ty and Julian fought reminded Zane of him and Ty when they'd first met. What had sparked them to go from hating each other like these two did, to loving each other like they did now? Some random tumble of Fate, a fly-by jumble of chance. Zane didn't know, but he thanked God for it every day.

Ty and Julian stood toe to toe, now locked together for the night. Ty held up the keys to the handcuffs so Julian could see them, then tossed them to Zane as well. Zane was tired of having things thrown at him. He pocketed the keys and shoved Ty's gun in the back of his waistband.

"Unless you smother me in my sleep and gnaw off my arm, I don't really see you getting out of this one," Ty said to Julian.

Julian was breathing heavily, obviously trying to calm himself. Then his shoulders sagged, and he nodded minutely. "A truce for the night," he said, voice soft. "I won't break your arm to get away, and you won't break my neck in the middle of a war flashback."

Ty's eyes narrowed. "Deal."

Zane looked back to Cameron, still standing off to the side like a spectator at a cock fight. "I guess you two are taking that bed," Zane said, hating the thought. He and Ty would barely fit to sleep on the double bed together, and they were friendly, to say the least. There'd be no way two big men like Ty and Julian could do it without contact.

When he looked back, Ty was staring at him. He looked like he hadn't slept in a week, worse than he'd looked before he'd bolted in Baltimore just weeks ago. He hadn't given details, but his trek through the snow to find a car had to have been harrowing.

Julian was messing with the sleeve of his shirt, and when he raised his arm he pulled Ty's hand with it. Julian looked at Ty and flailed his hands in a rare display of frustration. "I finally get to sleep in a bed, and I can't even get out of my shirt now?"

"Shut up," Ty growled, and he pushed Julian toward the bed. He gave Zane one last glance, and Zane met his eyes long enough to nod, hoping it conveyed his tacit acceptance of the situation. He didn't have to like it; he just had to get to tomorrow.

Cameron shot straight up, pulse going into overdrive, when a piercing alarm blared in the darkness now lit by red lights flashing from small boxes on the ceiling. It was so loud he had to cover his ears, and he panted for breath, trying to wake up and remember where he was and why Julian wasn't with him.

There was a shout and a cry of pain from the next bed over, followed by a thump loud enough to be heard over the blaring alarm.

He saw a tall shadow move in front of him and he relaxed. "Julian?" he called out, trying to be heard over the wailing alarm.

But it wasn't Julian who Cameron saw when the shadow stopped at the foot of the sagging bed. Cameron's brain finally kicked in with the details: it was Zane standing in front of him; they were in a scary-ass motel somewhere in Ohio; and Julian was in the next bed, sleeping while cuffed to Ty.

Cameron started trying to push himself out of the hollow in the center of the drooping mattress, but Zane was already flipping on the light. It took some wiggling and a push to get off the creaky bed, and Cameron was finally able to see Ty and Julian. Or at least see where they were supposed to be.

Ty was sprawled sideways across the double bed, lying on his belly, arm stretched over the edge of the bed to the point that his muscles were straining and taut under his thin t-shirt. Cameron could see Julian's hand, sticking up over the edge of the mattress, fingers limp and attached to the handcuffs on Ty's wrist.

Cameron winced and hurried over to crouch next to Julian, who was sprawled on the floor, arm turned back at an awkward angle. "Julian, are you okay?"

Julian groaned and turned his shoulders, trying to get off the floor while still in that position. "I'm okay," he muttered as he reached for Cameron.

Cameron leaned over to slide an arm around Julian's waist and give him some leverage to clamber to his feet. When Cameron looked up, Zane was standing right there, looking at the cuffs.

"Careful," Zane said, grabbing Julian's cuffed wrist and holding it still, stopping the yanking motion. "Ty? You okay?"

"Yeah," Ty said in a strained voice. He pushed to his hands and knees and shook his head. "Tried to go opposite ways."

Julian rubbed his shoulder and winced. The chain between them clanked accusingly. "Apparently I either weigh more than he does or I got out faster," he muttered with a hint of a smirk.

"And then you fell on your ass."

Before anyone could answer the alarm shut off just as suddenly as it had started.

They all stood in the ensuing silence, Ty's harsh breathing really the only sound to be heard.

Julian moved his arm, rotating his shoulder, and Ty allowed his hand to go with the motion.

"I'm fine," Julian grumbled.

"Liar," Cameron said. "Should we check to see if there's a real fire?"

"Call the front desk," Ty suggested. He was still frowning, and he looked oddly haunted by the events of the evening. Julian's words about having flashbacks now seemed like more than mockery between the two men.

Zane moved to the phone and called the front desk. After a moment of listening, he hung up. "There's a short somewhere. They've got people coming to fix it."

"How long will that take?" Cameron asked, reluctantly pulling away from Julian to let him work out the kink in his shoulder. He'd no more than gotten the last word out when the alarm shrieked again for about five seconds and quit.

"Answers that question," Zane muttered.

Ty sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed at his eyes. Julian was forced to take a step closer, hovering over him and looking mutinous.

"Sit down and chill," Zane told Julian. "Or I can breakout out the bungee cords and fasten your wrists to your ankles. It's great for the circulation."

Julian turned his head to look at Zane, and Cameron recognized the look in his eyes. His lover was about to kill something. A glance at Zane revealed the same look, and it made Cameron very nervous. Zane and Julian seemed far too much alike for his comfort.

"Why don't you cuff him to me?" Cameron asked.

"Because you're not a resistant force."

"A what?"

"You're not exactly trying to keep him here," Zane said as he paced over to the window and looked out through the gauzy curtains.

"But he..." Cameron stopped, looked up at the intensity on Julian's face, and then nodded. "Yeah, okay."

Ty still had his head down, rubbing at his eyes. He sniffed but offered nothing to the conversation.

Zane looked over his shoulder at them, his eyes flickering from person to person. "It's 4 a.m. Get some more sleep," he said before walking past the bed to the light switch. "Come on, Cam."

"But Zane—" Cameron started.

Julian's hand reached out to catch at him in the dark. "Cam," he said in a low voice.

Cameron turned back to his lover.

Julian pulled him closer, pressing his lips to Cameron's ear. "It's okay," he whispered. His words were followed by another blast of the malfunctioning fire alarm. Ty gave a jerk.

Cameron winced as he felt Julian's arm jerked. "All right," he said.

Julian nodded and let go of him. "Good night, love."

"Oh God," Ty grunted.

In a fit of frustration, Cameron huffed at Ty. "Don't you have someone who misses you? Someone you miss?" The alarm cut off again.

Ty looked up at him, and there was an odd flash in his eyes that reflected from the light. It instantly made Cameron nervous. Ty stood to tower over him. "You know what? I do," Ty said. "And the longer you two fuck around and draw this out, the longer I'm away, the longer I go without being with the person I love. So how about you take your goddamn simpering advice on romance and stick it up your ass!"

Cameron felt a pang of both shame and pain in the face of Ty's blunt honesty and obvious frustration. He'd never thought about the lives the two agents had been pulled away from to do this. He backed up until he bumped into something, only to turn around and find out he'd run into Zane, who was watching his partner, a slight smile pulling at his lips. Cameron shook his head and detoured around him, unable to say a thing in response.

Zane flicked the light off and the room fell into silence. As soon as Cameron settled on the bed, the alarm cranked to life again. He curled up on his side, pulling a pillow over his head.

Julian waited until Zane had shut out the light again, then he sat gingerly on the edge of the bed next to Ty. He was hesitant to speak at all; the agent's outburst had caught him just as off-guard as it had Cameron. He absolutely loathed the moments where enemies became men with emotions and feelings.

"So," he said awkwardly, wincing in the dark.

Ty sighed loudly. The silence stretched on until Julian was fairly certain that both Cameron and Zane had dozed off once more.

Julian strained for something to say to the man that would border on polite, or even civil. But he was still fighting the almost overwhelming urge to throttle him. He cleared his throat and shifted, taking Ty's arm with him as he turned. "The last time I found myself handcuffed to someone and we had to sleep, we found it was actually more comfortable —"

"To sleep on your sides on the opposite arm, yeah," Ty said with a solemn nod.

Julian found himself staring in the low light, surprised. "You and your partner, you're not really the average field agent, are you?"

"Zane is not an average anything," Ty said, voice soft and hoarse.

Julian frowned, confused by the answer at first, but he realized what Ty was doing. The man was as good at avoiding an answer as Julian was. Only he did it with such good ‘ole boy, backwater sincerity that it probably worked better than Julian's methods.

"I believe I've just discovered why you and I hate each other so much."

Ty snorted.

"I'm serious. You and I were the same person at one juncture. You took one path, I another."

"Are you saying you're my evil twin?" Ty asked. His voice was too tired to have any sarcasm in it.

Julian pursed his lips thoughtfully.

"Fuck it, just... You take this side, I'll take that one, see if we can keep our arms from going to sleep."

Julian laid down obediently, disturbed and distracted by his new realizations. Outwardly he and Zane Garrett were very alike. But perhaps deeper down, Julian and Ty Grady were more alike than either man was comfortable with.

As if to accentuate his thoughts, the fire alarm blared to life again, and he and Ty both shot up in the bed before either could curtail the instinct. They sat in bed together, tense and looking at each other in the darkness until the alarm cut off.

"I hate Ohio," Ty muttered before he flopped back to the bed.

"Amen," Zane and Cameron both said from the other bed.

Zane examined himself in the bathroom mirror as he towel-dried his hair and then tossed the towel onto the counter. Placing both hands on the vanity, he leaned forward, taking in the beard and exhausted eyes. Ty was right, the beard didn't suit him.

He was also convinced that going on short sleep for days on end with his mileage was not conducive to his health or his looks.

"Looking good, Garrett," he mumbled. He picked up and shook out his new Henley before sliding an arm into it. He was putting the same clothes back on, but they weren't a mess. And after a shower he felt much better. He mentally patted himself on the back for picking up some deodorant, toothbrushes, and toothpaste when he was at that drug store in Chicago. It seemed like weeks ago.

They were coming up on four days that they'd been on the road. It had been long days, and even Ty's normally amusing antics were wearing on his nerves. Having to constantly keep his gun pretty much trained on Julian didn't help. Zane was thankful he'd gotten at least a little bit of time alone with Ty and some sleep or he'd really be going nuts.

He smoothed down the shirt before opening the bathroom door. He was surprised to find not only Ty, but also Julian standing right there at the door when it opened. Before he could react, Ty reached out and grabbed his arm, yanking him forward and snapping one half of a pair of handcuffs on his wrist.

He found himself handcuffed to their prisoner, who was looking at him with a sardonic smile.

"There!" Ty said happily.

Zane stared at him, incredulous, before reaching out and popping him upside the back of the head. "What the fuck?"

Ty danced away from him so he wouldn't risk another smack. "I couldn't find anything solid to attach him to and you won't let me drug him," he said as he rubbed at his head. "And you're, you know... solid enough."

"You can cuff him to the damn toilet for all I care, but not to me!" He pulled his wrist up and shook it along with Julian's arm. "Give me the key."

"I must agree," Julian said.

The smile still on Ty's face made Zane want to wipe it away. Whether with a voracious kiss or a serious kick to the teeth, Zane hadn't yet decided.

Ty held up the keys to the cuffs and shook his head as he put them into his jeans pocket. "We'll get you something from Wendy's," he told them in what might have passed for a consoling tone.

Zane swiped out at Ty, but his partner took another step back and Zane was attached to the immovable object that was Julian, so he couldn't grab Ty before he edged around to the door. Cameron waited there already, looking uncertain and almost amused.

"What if they kill each other?" Cameron asked Ty. He sounded serious. Zane glanced at Julian, feeling the annoyance bubble just below a boil. He was probably right to be worried.

Ty idly scratched at his chin, looking at them. He glanced sideways at Cameron. "Should we place bets?"

Zane could hear Julian grinding his teeth.

"You—" Zane cut himself off before delivering a threat that wouldn't come from a partner. A working partner.

Cameron peered at Julian for a long moment before tipping his head to one side and considering Zane as well. "I bet there won't be blood when we come back. And if I win, Julian and I get a night uncuffed in a bed."

"Cameron!" Julian said, sounding shocked.

Ty considered for a moment, then reached out to shake Cameron's hand. "Bet."

Cameron shrugged and looked at Julian apologetically. "Now, don't throw the bet," he said, lips pressing down like he was hiding a laugh.

"You two are real comedians," Zane said, lifting his hand to point at Ty in accusation before remembering it was attached to Julian, and he shook it with a frustrated growl before looking at Ty through narrowed eyes. "You know that threat you make when I really piss you off with the puns? That's coming your way. Big time." Meaning Ty wouldn't be getting fucked for some time to come.

Ty smirked, as if he looked forward to the challenge. "How's the Benadryl option looking now, Nurse Ratched?" he asked, then he jerked his head at the door, and he and Cameron exited before Zane or Julian could threaten them again.

Julian was silent for a long while, eyes narrowed, staring at the door. Zane figured they were having equally homicidal thoughts, not that it made him feel any better. If Ty didn't bring him back a damn Frosty, he was tearing a piece out of his ass, and not in a way Ty would enjoy.

Maybe. Zane wrinkled his nose. He knew damn well he'd be all over Ty as soon as they had at least half an hour uninterrupted time alone. He could fuck Ty twice in that amount of time if he was really motivated, and Zane was really motivated now. Just the fact that sex was his first thought instead of throttling his partner was evidence enough.

Julian finally cleared his throat and moved his hand, making the handcuffs jangle. He looked sideways at Zane, his expression speculative.

Zane raised an eyebrow and waited for what was sure to be a sarcastic remark veiled in icy politeness. It was Julian's style.

"I'm really starting to hate him," Julian said instead.

Zane snorted, thinking of last night and his thoughts about Ty and Julian mirroring himself and Ty when they first met. "Yeah, I know what you mean," he muttered. He raised their cuffed wrists and frowned at them.

"I could pick it if we had something suitable," Julian said as he turned his wrist over, taking Zane's arm with it.

"So could I, but Grady knows that too," Zane said as he looked around the room, casting about for options. "He's very thorough."

"Yes, I was forced to drag along behind him as he rid the room of every single shiny thing," Julian said. He looked around the room anyway, trying to find something Ty might have missed. "Shall we sit?" he finally asked dejectedly.

"I can guarantee he won't be getting takeout," Zane said under his breath as he turned in place and looked at seating options. There were the beds, one chair at the table, and the low dresser in a pinch. And as much as he wanted to be cranky, Zane knew being an asshole wouldn't make the time pass any faster. "Sure. Take your pick."

"Bed," Julian said under his breath as he took a step toward the closest one. Zane followed grudgingly, glad there wasn't anyone else here to see this. Eyes narrowing, Zane looked to the desk, where he'd left his gun. It was gone.

"He took my gun!" Zane said in outrage. That son of a bitch! He knew how Zane felt about being unarmed.

"You could pose that he took my gun," Julian countered with a hint of amusement.

"So he's already got more than his fair share," Zane said as he thumped down next to Julian on the edge of the bed.

Julian sat straight and proper, his back and shoulders rigid. He didn't feel tense, though. Merely sitting there to wait. Zane wondered if he'd looked like that, all stick up his ass, when he'd met Ty. With a sniff, he stretched out his legs toward the dresser and looked at the clock.

Julian's lack of movement was almost a novelty after so many months of being close to Ty. It was like sitting beside a stone statue. When he finally did move, it was to cock his head and look at the door.

"I believe they're back," he said, voice laced with surprise.

Zane frowned as he glanced up. It hadn't even been enough time to get there on foot, much less have food and be back. "He must have forgotten something." But that didn't sit right. Ty wouldn't have forgotten something when he'd planned like this. Zane pulled back his legs to stand, feeling uneasy.

As soon as he'd gained his feet, the flimsy door was kicked in and a burst of cold air flowed into the room as two men charged in. Zane didn't even think; he snatched Cameron's leather Dopp kit up from the dresser and backhanded it as hard as he could at the first man's face. He didn't know who they were or what they wanted, but their method of entry was enough reason to take them out first and ask questions later. Leatherface threw up his hands with a yelp, and it stopped his headlong charge as the Dopp kit busted open, scattering its contents all over.

Zane's actions pulled Julian off-balance, and they stumbled as he fell into Zane. He righted himself just in time to pull a hand up and block a punch from a second man, then he kicked out and sent the attacker sprawling to the floor. That put Julian between Zane and Leatherface, so Zane rammed the heel of his shoes into Rugburn's gut.

Julian turned with his movement, their backs against each other. He was jerked back when the handcuffs and Zane's arm kept him from moving further, but he managed a roundhouse punch at Leatherface before he was pulled the other way and stumbled at Zane's side. Zane grunted as their shoulders collided, and he purposely dropped his left arm so Julian could move it. But the few seconds of distraction gave Rugburn a window of opportunity, and he raised a leg to kick out, his shoe catching Zane's jaw. The recoil sent Zane stumbling back a step, jerking the chain taut between him and Julian, and the backs of Zane's knees hit the other bed.

Rugburn stood to attack again, but Julian pulled Zane's arm, and the chain between them, hard at his neck. They caught him just right and there was a sickening crunch as Rugburn crumpled to the floor.

But Leatherface had gained his feet. He held a gun pointed at Julian's face, his eyes narrowing as he looked at them each in turn.

"Which one of you is Cross?"

Zane stopped, his free hand curled into a fist, and gave Leatherface a once-over. Suit and tie, leather shoes, standard holster under his suit jacket, plain brown trench coat. His appearance screamed government agent, though Zane doubted that. Why would another agent break in on their assignment? Which meant freelancers, especially since they were looking for Cross.

Julian pointed at Zane in answer to the question. Zane smacked his hand. "You're interfering in an FBI investigation. I suggest you stand down," he told Leatherface.

The man shook his head. "This is a national security matter." He turned the gun toward Cross. "You're coming with me."

Julian struck out at him so quickly it was easy to think it was imagined. He grabbed the gun and pulled the slide, his free hand moving in a flash, and the gun fell apart in Leatherface's hand. Julian swung at him with the slide, hitting him in the temple and dropping him in a heap.

"You're standing too close," he said to the unconscious man.

Zane couldn't help but admire Julian's speedy reaction. He'd have to remember that trick with the slide. "That was... impressive," he said as he touched his hurting chin. His fingers came away bloody from his lip.

Julian turned to look at him. He stared for a moment and then sighed. "Cam lost his bet. Let's see if one of these two has a set of handcuff keys, shall we?"

"National security," Zane muttered as he crouched down next to the man they'd hit across the throat and checked for a pulse.

Julian had to bend over and hang his arm so Zane could do it. "Dead?"

"No, but he may wish he was when he wakes up," Zane said, eyeing the vivid bruise already coming up across the man's throat. He started searching the pockets of the man's trench and came up with a wallet. What he saw when he flipped it open made his stomach turn.

Julian hummed. "Told you," he said evenly. "We should go find Cameron and Grady."

Zane studied the Langley entry ID, and from what he could tell, it was legit. He dropped it, pulled the man's gun and set it on the floor next to him, then dug out a set of keys. "You going to tell me what's really going on now?" he asked as he reached over to claim the ammunition cartridge from the other gun. They were both standard-issue Glocks, the same as his own.

"I'd rather wait to see if I can escape from you first," Julian answered candidly.

"You probably could," Zane said as he picked up the gun and stood, keys also in hand. "That doesn't help Cameron. Or the fact that the CIA wants your ass."

"You're right, of course. So unlock us and let's go."

Zane turned and calmly pressed the business end of the gun against Julian's midsection, the pommel brushing his own, they stood so close. "If they came at us here, we can be sure they went after Ty and Cameron too."

Julian didn't seem perturbed by the gun barrel in his belly. He glanced around the room and pursed his lips. "Cameron's bag is still mostly packed. Grab it and we'll go."

Zane nodded but pulled Julian over to the table instead, gathering their things as quickly as possible. "Get his stuff."

Julian did so, and he looked wryly at their joined hands. Zane wasn't about to unlock him now. "Darling, I didn't know you cared," he said to Zane in a voice that was smooth as velvet. The irony was not lost in the tone, though.

"You give new meaning to ball and chain. Come on," Zane said as he looked out the broken doorframe.

The corridor was clear, although Zane could hear the elevator moving with a whirr. He stepped out into the causeway, and Julian followed along, not offering another comment on their linked hands. After a mere moment's thought, Zane turned away from the elevator to walk swiftly to the stairs at the far end of the balcony. It could be Ty and Cameron in the elevator. Or not.

Again, Julian trailed along quietly, cooperating to the point that it was suspicious. At the stairwell door, Zane turned a serious, measuring look on him.

"What?" Julian whispered. "I'm being good."

"That's what bothers me," Zane muttered. With a shake of his head, he led the way through the door into the concrete stairwell.

They couldn't be quiet as they thundered down the stairs, but they were past the need for stealth now. Speed was their friend.

Zane stuck his head out of the stairwell when they got to the ground level, and seeing no one around, he pulled Julian with him and they hurried toward the main office.

They reached the entrance to the hotel, a wild cast to their eyes as they looked around for any more suspicious men in suits.

As they stood there, a sleek black sedan came tearing into the parking lot, taking the hairpin turn and sliding up to a stop right in front of Zane and Julian.

Zane took a step back, wishing he had unlocked the handcuffs in the room. They had a better chance of splitting up and dividing their assailants than they did of fighting them off. He felt Julian coiling beside him, readying himself for their final stand. Zane pulled his gun.

The heavily tinted driver's side window slid down, and it took Zane a moment to realize he was looking at his partner.

"Playtime's over, kids!" Ty called to them, voice urgent and gruff. "I put them down, but I didn't take them out. They'll be after their car."

Zane and Julian shared a look. They rushed for the back door, both of them diving into the car. Ty hit the gas before they could even get the door shut.

Cameron sat in the front seat, looking back at them with wide eyes. "Are you okay?"

Julian nodded. "What happened?"

"Two guys jumped us on the way to get food," Cameron answered. "Ty is like... a ninja on crack. He beat them up pretty spectacularly. Then we stole their car."

Julian let out a pent up breath.

"This CIA issue stuff is really nice," Ty told them as he fiddled with the buttons. "Why the hell can't the Bureau spring for rides like this?"

Zane reached into his pocket and extracted the handcuff keys. "Ty," he said in a low voice.

"I know, I know, you can kick my ass later," Ty muttered. "Two suits get after you too?

"All over us."

"Looks like we're not the only ones after MacGuffin back there."

"Are you seriously going to call me names after you almost got all of us killed?"

"You don't want to be called names, how about telling us a real one?"

"Blow me, Grady."

"That sounds Scottish."

Julian lunged with one hand, fully intending to throttle Ty even if he was driving. Zane reached out and caught his hand, restraining him.

"Let me do it, Garrett, it would make our lives so much easier!" Julian said through gritted teeth as he struggled to free his hand. There was no trace of the calm and controlled Julian Cross they'd met in Chicago.

Ty had that effect on just about everyone.

Zane pushed Julian back against the seat to calm him. He held up his hand and growled. "If anyone is strangling the life out of my partner today, it's going to be me."

Julian huffed, but finally nodded. "As long as I get to watch."