Chapter Fourteen

Zanesatinthebackoftheambulance withablanket overhisshoulders and lap as the EMT worked him over. He stayed put, cowed by atiny woman who barkedathimwhenhe'dtriedtoleavewithout medical treatment. Allhe'd allowed wasanIVofclearfluids, andhe'd checked thebags.What shewas doing hurt like hell (he'd also insisted on no painkillers after a very few words with her about the past addiction record) so he was focusing hard on what was going on away from the ambulance.

Ty stood talking with some of the cops. Luckily, they'd not given him anytrouble, nonethatZanesawanyway. TheEMTfoundanother broken rib and Zane hissed, jerking away instinctively.

"Doing okay, Special Agent Garrett?" the EMT asked.

"Still here,"heansweredhoarselyafterpullingawaytheoxygen mask. His eyes were still glassy and glazed with pain.

"Feeling light-headedagain?" she asked, pausing in her examination.

"Just get it over with, huh?" he said weakly, leaning his head sideways against the wall.

"Itoldyoualready,Ican'tdoanythingmoreforyouhere.You're going to have to go to the hospital and—"

"Justdowhateveryouhavetodo,"Zaneinterrupted."Ihavetobe abletousethatarm."Itwouldbehisrightarm.Heswallowedhard."Setit and do whatever."

TheEMT stared athim silently. When shespoke, hervoice wasthin. "You know how much you're going to hurt?"

Zaneturned hischinsohecouldlookathismangled arm andthenat her. "Yeah, I know. Just do it."

Frowning deeply,shegottoherfeetandclimbedintotheambulance withpracticed ease.Zanejustclosed hiseyes.Hewasgoingtopassout;he knew it. When he opened his eyes again, he found that Ty had finally managed tobreakawayfrom thecopswho'dbeenaskinghimquestions and was making his way hastily toward the ambulance.

Heglaredhiswaypastamanwhotriedtostophim,andhecameup to Zane with a twisting sensation in his gut. He could take pain himself, but he couldn't take watching otherpeople gothrough it.Especially notpeople he cared for.

"Why haven't they drugged you yet?" he asked Zane in outrage.

Zanepulledthemaskawaytoanswer,buttheEMTbeathimtoit. "He declined pain treatment," she said, voice clearly disapproving.

"Well,fuckthat,giveittohimanyway," Tydemanded withan impressivescowl.

"No,"Zanesaidsharply. "Youpumpmefullofsomething strong enough tohelp, andI'llbeoutofcommission fortwodays andthensuffering another week of cravings."

"A local won't cause drug cravings, moron!"Ty shouted angrily. Zane merely shook his head stubbornly.

TheEMTlookedbetween them,scowling heavily. "Special Agent Garrett,pleasereconsider," sheasked,voicesoft."Thepainfromthebroken bonesisjustgoingtogrowworse;you'realreadywellinshock.Andyour partnerisright.Icangiveyoualocalforyourarmandithasnothingtodo with—"

Zanelooked upatTyandshook hishead, cutting heroff."Gomake arrangements foracar,"heraspedtohispartner."Youdidn'tlistenbefore. Listen now. Go and come back."

"Fuck you," Ty huffed. "Give him the drugs," he told the EMT.

"Ican'tgivehimthedrugsifhedoesn'tconsent,"thewomansaid helplessly.

The corner of Zane's mouth turned up triumphantly,although his eyes drilled into Ty. But he was still shaking slightly.

"He'sseverelyinjured," Tyarguedcalmly,looking atthewoman intently. "He's not mentally capable of making the decision," he said pointedly.

Her eyes narrowed and she looked from him to Zane and back.

"What?ThehellI'mnot,"Zanesaidhoarsely."Whatareyoutrying to do to me?" he demanded of Ty.

"I'mtryingtokeepyououtofthefuckinghospital,"Tysnarled. "Give him the shot," he told the woman. "You know if he goes catatonic from thepainyou'll justhavetodoitthen,andtakehimtothehospital, andshoot me because I'll have to kill someone."

"Ty,goddamn it, wehavethingswehavetodo.Ican'tbestonedout of my mind for an hour, much less a day—"

"A local wouldn't do that!" Ty interruptedin frustration.

"What ifthatson ofabitch comes back after... Whatthehell?"Zane stoodupinarushandhisheadsnappedaroundastheEMTsteppedback, pulling an empty syringe from the IV feed line.

Ty pointed at her and gave a triumphant little "Ha!"

"Now, SpecialAgentGarrett,you'reexhibiting strongsymptoms of shock,"shesaidsoothingly,layingherhandovertheIVshuntinhisarm, making surehedidn't yankitout.Her eyesshifted from Zane's badlybroken arm again over toTy. "You need tositdown right now. I've given you a sedative and something to help with the pain."

Zanetooktwostepsright upintoTy's face."You can't dothistoa partnerandexpecttheretobeanylev...leveloftr—trus..."Hisknees started to give out as he blinked slowly.

Tytookhim byhisgood arm andeasedhim toward thestretcher he had refused to use before. "We'll talk about trust later, Special Agent Garrett," he cooed as he forced Zane down.

Wobbling ashesatbackdown,Zane'seyesglazed."Ty,"hesaid pleadinglyashesaggedagainstthestretcher,lyingoutflatasTyandthe paramedic moved his nearly limp body. "Don't."

TyheldhimdownuntilhewascertainZanewouldn't thrasharound whenreleased. "I'msorry,"hemurmured ashishandsslippedawayonce Zane'seyesclosed.HelookedupattheEMTandsigheddejectedly. "Thank you."

Thewomansmiled,butlookednonplussed. "Ican'tbelievehe'snot out cold. We should take him to the hospital."

"Can't do the hospital," Ty told her softly. "Not safe there."

Shenoddedasifsheunderstood, thenlookedbetweenthem thoughtfully."So he's your partner?" she asked carefully.

Tynodded ashelooked backdownatZane,notevencatching that there was more than one meaning to the question. "We're working acase," he answereddistractedlyashepulledouthisbadgeandshowedittoher.The action was completely habitual. "Been a bad one," he murmuredquietly.

TheEMT glanced atthebadge. "Sohe's your partner atwork," she clarified.

Tylooked overatherandblinked stupidly. "What?"heaskedin confusion.

Thewomansmiled alittle."Iasked ifhe'syour partner atwork. You'relooking alittlewobblyyourself. Whydon'tyousitdown,Special Agent..."

"Grady," Tysupplied ashefrowned. "Yes,he'smypartner atwork," heechoed, stillconfused byherinterest. "Idon'tneedtositdown," headded stubbornly.

"Okay," shesaid."Ijustthought youmightwanttostickaround. He should beout forabout thirtyminutes. He's stillgoing tohurt when hewakes up, though. He told me about why he didn't want the drugs." She gave him an even look. "Who are you to him to countermandhis decision?"

"I'mhispartner,"Tyanswereddefensively,beginningtobristlea littleunderthescrutiny."YouknewaswellasIdidthathewouldn'tbeable to take it.Common sense trumps alcoholismevery day of the week, Sunshine. He'll thank us later."

"Butyouknowit'smorethanalcoholism,right?"sheaskedasshe instructed another EMTtosetZane's armandwrapitupwhilehewasout. "That'swhyyou'resoprotective," shecontinued asshetookTy'sarmand pulled him gently away, "of your partner."

Tywasgettingannoyedandbeginningtosuspectthatshecouldtell hehadn't exactlymade itoutofthecarwithout injuries either. Hecould feel theurgetobarkatthewomanandhestampeditdown,justhopingtoget away without being doctored. "What's your point, Princess?"he asked.

Thewoman'seyesflashed."Honestly?I'mtryingtodecideifyou careenough abouthim totakecareofhim afterthis.He'sgoing tobeamess for a coupledays, at least. Broken bones all over, the sedativeand his reactions toit.Seemed tome you were worried enough that hemight bemore than just apartner. Maybe afriend?" She stood and straightened, not bothered atallthatshewasmorethanafootshorterthanTy."Now.TellmewhatI wanttohear,orI'mshipping himofftoLenox Hill.Andunbutton yourshirt; I see bruising,"she demanded as she pointed at his neck.

"What do you want to hear?" Ty asked as he pulled the top of his shirt together tohidethebruising fromhisseatbelt,hisfrustrated voicegoing slightly higher than it normally did.

"Grady?" a soft voice called from amidst the crowd of police, firemen,andEMTs.Tyturneddistractedly toseeHenninger makinghisway precariouslythrough the crowd.

"Holdon,"hesaidtothemanwithadismissivewaveofhishand, looking back at the woman.

"Are you going to take care of him?" she asked bluntly. "Or do I need to find someone else?"

"How about afucking doctor? That's what he needs, right?" Ty asked in exasperation.

"What thehellhappened?" Henninger asked ashejogged uptothem. "Jesus. Is he dead?" he asked as he looked down at Zane.

Thewomanshookherhead,facehardening."Gotakecareofyour business, SpecialAgentGrady."Sheturnedawayandjoinedtheother paramedicintendingtoZane'smoreseverewounds.Theyworkedonthe arm, one holding a preformed brace as the other wrapped his now-set arm into it.

Tyfought back theurge toreach outandthrottle theinfuriating woman.HelookeddownatZaneandhisfeaturessoftenedunconsciouslyas hewatched them lifthimcarefully towraphisribstightly. "How longishe goingtohurt?"heaskedasHenningersteppedcloserandpeereddownat Zane as well.

Zanewasjostledasthestretcherwasmovedaround,wheelinghim toward thebackofthewaiting ambulance. Theagentdidn'tevenprotest as they moved him, just sluggishly stared into nothing when he should have been unconscious. "He'sgoingtohurtforawhile.Aweek,atleast.Twoismore likely. I wouldn't be surprised if it's three or four. He's dislocated his shoulder, broken twobonesinhisforearm, crackedfourribs,hadhisbrain rattled around inhisskull,andhishipisbadlybruised," shesaidgrimly. "Lookslikehiskneemaybeouttoo.He'samess.Idon'tknowhowhe expects to operate without painkillers."

"Sohe'soutofcommission,"Tymutteredwithadefeatedlookat Zane as they moved him.

She shrugged in answer.

"Buthow..."Henningerstarted,butglaresfrombothTyandthe EMT shut him up.

Tywastorn.He'dalready stepped overthelinebyforcing the anesthesia onZane, though whytheEMT hadn't justdone alocalhecouldn't guess. She obviously knew more about it all than he did.

Should hecallBurns andlethim knowZanewasoutofservice? He certainlywouldn'tbemuchgoodtothecasenow.PerhapsTyshouldhave Burnssendsomeone newin.OrhecouldkeepgoingonhisownuntilZane recovered, although heknewhecouldn't dothisalone.Hewasn'tassmartas the killer. He didn't know what todo, andthe indecisiveness wasasannoying to him as it was uncharacteristic.

"Garrett can't work like that. You're going to have to callin and have him taken off the case," Henningeradvised as he watched Ty think it over.

"Acaseisthelastthing Special Agent Garrett should beworrying about," the EMT offered.

"Hmm?"Tyaskedthembothdistractedly."Howdidyougethere, anyway?" he asked the young agent with sudden annoyance.

"Iwaswaiting tomeetyou,heard about thismessovertheradio, and got a bad feeling about it since you were late. When you got later, I decided to driveupherejustincaseandIsawyoustandingbythewreck,"Henninger answered defensively. HeglancedtotheEMTuncertainly, andsherolledher eyes andwalked thefewsteps toclimbupintothe truck with herpatient. "Look,Grady,"Henninger continued. "Catchingthisserialismoreimportant than keeping Zane Garrett on the job."

Tywasshocked thathealmost found himself agreeing withthe sentiment. Heblinked atthemanandthenlooked overatZane,whowas obviously struggling withtheeffectsofthedrugs."Youeverbeenaskedthe question ‘Whowould youchoose tosave?Ahundred strangers oronefamily member?'"he asked softly.

Henninger drewbackinsurprise andahintofconcern. "No,"hesaid cautiously."But I'd answer a hundred strangers. That's our job."

"Thatisthenobleanswer,isn'tit?"Tymurmuredashelookedback at Zane.

"We have a responsibility. If that's noble, then..." Henninger shrugged, frowning as he noticed Ty's attention wavering. "You know it's the right thing to do," he insisted.

"What doyoucare,anyway?" Tyaskedhim inslightly desperate whisper.

"I care about catching the guy who's going around cutting people into such small chunks you could make Hamburger Helper with them!" Henninger retorted."I'dcareaboutthatmorethanI'dcareaboutonemanwhoIcan barely stand to work with."

Tywasstillawareenough ofhissurroundings nottoargue thatpoint. "Do you have your car?" he asked Henningerhoarsely without answering.

Henninger blinked at the sudden change in topic. "Yeah," he answered warily.

"Can he ride?" Ty called out to the EMT inside the vehicle.

"Ifyoucanmakehimsignthisrelease,he'sallyours,"thewoman yelled back.

Tycringed andlookedbackatHenninger. "Gogetyourcar,"hetold thekidsoftly."We'regettinghimthehelloutofhere,"hemutteredashe headed for the ambulance.

BeforeTy couldget there,Zanesteppeddownout of the truck, holdingtightlytothegrabbarastheparamedicheldtheclipboardandthe signedreleaseformupbehindhimforTytosee.Zane'sglazedeyeswere blazingwithanger,andhewastremblingfromthepainandthedrugs."You goddamnpieceofshit,"hesaidthickly,obviouslytryingtothrowoffthe effects of the sedative.

"Iknow,"Tyagreedunapologeticallyashereachedouttosupport Zane. How the man was walking, he didn't know.

Zane was wobbly and weak, and hehated that hefeltlike hewas moving through water andseeing through ahaze. Aredhaze, butstillahaze. He had to lean heavily on Tywhen theother man slipped under his good arm. He thought about cussing some more, but allthat came out was ahiss of pain, and his knees tried to give out on him. "Bitch gave me a shot, goddamn it," he muttered mostly to himself. "I am so fucked."

"Iknow," Tyrepeated ashetriedtosupport him without hurting him orhimself."You'regonnabejustfine,"hepromised."Henninger's got cigarettes for you," he said as if in consolationas he nodded at the kid.

Henninger watched themwithwide,confused eyesbeforenodding quickly and fishing for his keys. "In the car," he told Zane agreeably.

Zanegrimaced."Whydoeseverythinghurtwhenjustonesidegot bangedup?Andwhydidithavetobemygunarm?"hehalf-whinedasTy gothimwalking,albeitunsteadily,tofollowHenninger,whotookoffahead to get his car and move it closer.

"Iusedallyourammoanyway," Tygrumbled. "Andthenthrewyour gun at a car. Have fun filling out that paperwork."

Zanemanaged toclearthrough thehazeenough tolookatTyasthey struggled through the crowd. "Are you hurt?" he asked.

"IfIsayyes, will itmake you not mad atme?" Tyasked almost teasingly,his voice slightly strained under the bigger man's weight.

"No,"Zanebitout.Hewentquietastheywalkedseveralsteps."I asked you to get out of the car."

"Must not have heard you," Ty murmuredin response.

"Ibeggedyou,"Zanesaidweakly,buthishandtightenedonTy's arm. "Bastard."

"Iknow," Tyrepeated softly, looking around atthe various pods of peoplebeingtendedtoandinterviewedastheymadetheirwaypractically unnoticed through them,following Henninger towardtheconcrete barrier. Henninger pulled up nearly in front of them as they broke free of the perimeterofthewrecksiteontheothersideoftheclosed-offhighway,and Ty groaned as he looked at the two-foot-high concrete median wall.

Henninger hopped out and stood on the other side indecisively, unsure of how to help.

Zanefocusedonthewallandsighed."Shit.It'snevereasy,isit?" Taking adeep breath, heblinked hard andlifted his weight offTytostand up straight. Byforceofwillhewalked thetwostepstothebarrier andstepped overit.BothTyandHenninger hadtheirhandsoutaround him,hovering protectively and looking like parents watching their firstborn take a step. Zane couldn't help but chuckle at the two of them as he took the three more steps to thecarandsaggedagainstit."Okay,I'mdone,"hewhisperedasthepain from his whole right side echoed through him.

Tyhopped thebarrier behind him asHenninger opened thebackdoor forhim."Where to?"Henninger askedworriedly asTyhelpedZaneintothe back.

"I don't care," Ty answered in a low growl. "Somewheresafe."

Zanesaggedbackagainsttheseatandclosedhiseyes,holdinghis armclose against hischestprotectively. Hisjacket sleeve hung loose over the sling, sliced in several long pieces.

Nodding,theyoungagentpulledintotrafficandgotthemmoving. "You're going to need help, Grady. Should I call Sears and Ross?"

"No,"Tygruntedinanswer."You'regonnahelpme,"hesaidina low, even voice.

"Me?" Henninger bleated, looking into the mirror again. "I don't have fieldexperience. SearsandRosswouldbealotmorehelpsinceGarrett can't—" Tywasglaring athim intherearview mirror, andhetrailed offand cleared histhroat."AllI'msayingisweneedbackup," hecontinued quietly. "Youdon'tthinkyourpresenceinNewYorkisgoingtobealloverthe Bureau now that this shit has gone down?"

Tyrubbedhiseyesandlookedoutthewindow,thenbackatZane oncemore.Hehadlaidhisheadagainst Ty'sshoulder andwasn't moving at all, and Ty thought he might have passed out. "Call 'em," he grunted softly.

Henningernodded. "What are you going to do with Garrett?"

"Idon'tfuckingknow!"Tyanswered infrustration ashefoughtwith the decisions."Any suggestions?"

Henninger looked athim hesitantly. "Could take him to my place," he offered.

Tyfrownedathim,nodding.ZanetrustedHenninger,andforthe mostpart,sodidTy.TheycouldleaveZaneathisplacewithaguarddetail andthen theywould goafter thefucker. There wasahottrailtofollow, and partofTyresentedthefactthathewasinthiscarwithhisinjuredpartner rather than on that trail right now.

"It's secure," Henninger assured him. "Key card to get in, that kind ofthing."

"Takeusthere,"Tyorderedashepulledhismindoffthemanwho hadgoneslackagainsthimandbackonthemanwhohadonceagainalmost killed them both.

A thirty-minutedrive through thick traffic later, Henninger parked the carinthegarageunderhisbuilding andturned tolookatthem."Howarewe getting him upstairs?"

"How farisit?"Tyinquired ashetook stockofhisown injuries. He hadfailedtomention thepossible cracked riborsprained wristtotheEMT, andhischestwaskillinghimwheretheseatbelthadcutintohim.Buthe could carry Zane if he had to.

"About forty feettotheelevator, thenanother fiftytotheapartment," Henningersaid, looking unsure. "Could be more."

Tygroanedandshookhishead.Hewouldn'tmakeitthatfar,and therewasnowayhe'driskdropping Zaneandcausing further injury. "Garrett,"hemurmuredinZane'sear."Wakeup,man.Weneedyouto walk."

Zane stirred. "I'm awake," he mumbled. "We there?"

"Yes," Tyanswered with aflood ofrelief.He hadn't relished the idea ofdragging Zane'sheavyframethrough thebuilding. "Comeon,"he murmured with apat toZane's head, fighting back theurge tomake agesture more intimate in front of Henninger.

Thebiggermangroanedandsatup."IfeellikeIgothitbyatruck, and it's all your fault," he accused weakly.

"Iknow,it'sallmyfault,"Tymurmured agreeablyasheslidoutthe backofthecarandpulledZanecarefullywithhim."Technically, youshould be feeling really good," he corrected.

"Too much painnegates theeffects ofhappyjuice," Zanecroaked as Tygothimoutofthecar."Toomuchabusenegates thebody's reaction," he added,alltoofamiliarwiththemedicalreasoning. Heleanedonthedoor. "Where to?" he asked tiredly. His face was gray, and his shoulders hunched as he cradled his arm and babied his ribs.

"Elevator," Henninger said. "Come on. When we get upstairs, I'll call Ross and Sears, fill them in."

"What for?" Zane asked, voice sharpeningin surprise.

"Backup,"TyansweredinalmostawhisperasheslidunderZane's good arm and urged him to walk before he fell over.

"What for?" Zane repeated astheymade their way tothe elevator. He wasn't leaning on Ty as much, but he was still dizzy and wobbly.

"They're going to babysit you," Henningeroffered.

Zane stopped dead in his tracks. "What!?" he barked.

Ty winced and tightened his hold. "Thank you, Henninger," he snapped in annoyance."Garrett, come on before you fall over."

"Thisconversationisnotover,"Zanegrowledashegottowalking again.

HenningergottotheelevatorfirstandhittheUpbutton."Comeon, Garrett,berealistic.Youcan'tgooutinthefieldinthiscondition.You're dead weight now," he observed clinically.

Tywinced again atthedelivery ofthelogic, butheknew itwastrue. "I'm sorry," hewhispered toZane. "It's this orthe hospital, either waywith a guard detail. You ain't going back in the field," he declared with finality.

Zanedidn'tanswerastheygotintotheelevator,andhedidn'tsay anything the rest ofthewaytothe apartment. His face wasstrained and white as they went inside.

Henninger pointedthemtowardthebedroom. "Thisisarestored building fromtheturnofthecentury, sothedoorways arewide;thatoughtto help," he said. "I love the architecture."

Ty nodded disinterestedly.

"Theparking garagewasthebestperk,"Henninger rambled on."Not manybuildings likethishavethem.Andtheyevenkepttheoriginaltunnels below thebuilding intactforstorage units. Nobody usesthem,though. They used to be—"

"Fascinating,"TygruntedasheguidedZanetowardthebedroom. Thebedwasmadeneatly,withanalmostmilitaryprecisionthatevena Marine couldappreciate. Theroom,liketherestoftheapartment, was uncluttered, almostSpartaninitssimplicity. Somehow, itdidn'tfittheimage he had of Henninger."Garrett?" he breathed as he helped him to the bed.

Loweringhimselftotheedgeofthebed,Zanelookedupslowly,not atTy,butattheotheragent.Henninger tookastepback."Uh.I'llgocallthe others and get them over here," he said before disappearing.

Leftalone withZane, Tywassilent, waiting foreither theblowup or—whathefearedworse—completesilence.Andthatwaswhathegotas Zanedropped hischinandstared atthefloor. Heraised hishandtorubhis eyes.Helookedlikehewasreadytofallover.Tyswallowed heavilyandput ahand toZane's forehead. "Why don't you layback?" hesaid softly, his tone resigned.

Zane reached uptotake Ty's wrist inafirm grip andpull hishand away, buthedidn't letgo.Tywasstill,holding hisbreath ashewaited. Slowly, Zane looked upathim. His darkeyes watered with pain and emotion. "We can still cut and run," he whispered.

Ty'schesttightened, andhisinsidesseemedtolurchwiththewords. Henodded ashelethisfingers curlover, trying totouch the hand thatstill gripped his wrist. "We will. But I need revenge first," he said softly.

Zane's brow furrowed asheloosened hisfingers. "What for?"he asked quietly.

"You," Ty answered simply.

Zaneexhaled painfully, andhetugged gentlyatTy'shand,tryingto gethimtoleanover.Tymovedwiththetugandlickedhislipsnervously. Zanemerelylookedhimintheeyeashegotcloser."Youcomeback,you understand?"heraspedintently."IfIhavetocomeafteryoutherewillbe absolute hell to pay."

Ty closedhis eyes and buttedhis head against Zane'sforehead. "What couldgowrong, hmm?" heasked softly, asmallsmileplaying athis lips. "I've gotthekidwithme,wedon't know where we're going, who we're after, or what we'll do when we find him...It's foolproof."

Zane's fingers gripped Ty's chin, and he moved to kiss Ty desperately, palmslidingdowntocupthenapeofTy'sneckastheirlips movedagainstoneanother.Tybreathedoutheavilyintothekiss,almost losinghisresolvenottodoexactlywhatZanehadsuggested:cutandrun. Leave thisallbehind andjustgetthetwo ofthem tosafety. Heslidhishand across Zane's cheek and kissed him as if it were the last time.

All the pain and fear and upset and desire balled up in Zane's gut, and his breath stopped as he gripped his lover's shoulder."Come back to me."

"Iwill,"Tyassuredhimsoftly.Fromtheouterroomtheyheardthe obvious crackle ofaradio and Henninger's muffled response. Typulled away andlooked down intoZane's eyes.Heslipped him hisbackup sidearm. "Anyone comestooclose,youblast'em,"hemurmured. "Badgeornot,"he added pointedly,his voice so low it was a whisper.

Lettingoutashakybreath,Zanetooktheguninhislefthand,then slid it with a wince into his sling. "Yeah," he agreed, eyes trained on Ty.

Tystoodupandslidaplasticprescriptionbottleoutofhisback pocket, setting itbyZane's side.

Theotheragentblinked atit."What's this?" he asked suspiciously.

"Pills I took from the EMT," Ty murmured. "Should get you through."

ZanelookedatthebottleandthenatTy.Henoddedslowly.

Ty beganbackingawayfromthebedslowly."Seeyousoon,"hewhispered before turning and exiting the room quickly.

Zane drew abreath tospeak, butTywas gone, and Zane didn't have thestrengthorabilitytochaseafterhim.Heslowlylaydownonhisgood side,headrestingonathinpillow.Thewordshe'dwantedtosaywerestuck inhisthroat, andhesqueezed hiseyesshuttight,tinydropssparkling inhis eyelashes.

***

Inthe front room, Henningerturned as Ty reentered. "Got him settled?"

"Settled ashe'sgonnabe,anyway," Tymumbled asherubbed aspot of tension at the back of his neck.

"IjustgotacallfromafriendintheNYPD,"Henningertoldhim excitedly."They located the cab that was used."

Typerkedupandstaredathimexpectantly.Thebuzzerbesidethe doorrang,andHenningerstartedtowardtheintercomtoanswerit.

"Well?" Ty demanded impatiently."Where'd they find it?"

"Nottwoblocksfromhere,"Henningeransweredwithagrinashe pushed the button that would let Sears and Ross in.

Adrenaline begantopumpthroughTy'sbodyastheprospect of catching themanbecamemoreplausible. Iftheyhadthecab,thentheycould follow thetrail.AndTycouldtrackanything andanyone, whether itwasin backwoods, desert,orthestreetsofNewYorkCity,hewasconfident ofthat fact. They had him.

Itwasonlyaminute orsobefore SearsandRossstepped through the door,butwaitingforthemtoarrivewastorturous.Astheywaited,Tyand Henninger stoodatthelargewindows thatlinedthefarsideoftheapartment, andHenningerexplainedtohimwhatwasaroundtheneighborhood asthey formed a plan of action.

"Grady, Ican't sayit'sgoodtoseeyouagain," Special Agent Sears greeted, brushing herblondehairoverhershoulder. "Howishe?"sheasked with real concern.

"He's hurt bad," Ty answered grimly.

Rossstoodatherside,looking annoyed. "Wetriedcalling you,"he said to Henninger.

"Thisbuilding's gotshittyreception," Henninger muttered uncomfortablyas he looked at his phone that had never rung.

Ty nodded at them both, suddenly very aware of the splatters of blood fromthecrashthatspottedhisrumpledclothingandthefactthathelooked like he'd been tumbled on high spin for an hour. It seemed to him that it spoke ofhisfailuressofar,thathehadn'tevenbeenabletoprotecthispartner, much less catch the killer he'd been set on.

"Thank youforcoming," hesaidtothem bothquietly, notatraceof apology or embarrassmentin his tone. There was impatience, however, and he was practically vibrating in his shoes.

Searslooked overhim,butdidn't comment. "Wecanstayacouple hoursbeforetheystartaskinguswherethehellwe'vedisappearedto,"she said apologetically."So you better get going unless we make this official."

"I left our notes on the case in there with Garrett," Ty told her gruffly. Theunspokenreason—incaseneitherofthemlivedlongenoughtoshare whatthey'dfound—wasn't lostonanyone."Andthere'sastackofpersonnel filesherethathasthenameofourkillerinitsomewhere,"headdedashe pointed to the files Henningerhad put on the coffee table.

Henningernoddedandglancedbetweenthemuncomfortably."You wanttochangeyourshirt,Grady?"heaskedfinally,eyesdriftingoverthe small amount of blood.

Tyglanced athimandthenquietly shook hishead. "There'll bemore on it when we're done," he said in a low, soft voice.

Ross andSears glanced ateachother. "Don't hesitatetocallin backup," Sears reminded disapprovingly.

Henninger nodded, turned to grab a small bag, and led the way out the door and to the elevator.

Neithermanspokeastheyheadedoutoftheapartment.Theyrode downintheelevatorinsilence,HenningerglancingatTyeveryfewseconds asifwishingtosaysomething.Finally,astheelevatorcametoajoltingstop attheparking deckfloor,hecleared histhroatandsaid,"Before westartthis, Ijustwant youtoknow, Special Agent Grady, it'sbeen arealpleasure working with you. Both of you."

Tyglancedathimasthedoorswhooshedquietlyopen."Likewise," he said softly to the kid.

Hesteppedoutoftheelevator asHenninger gavehimanalmostshy smile.Helookedoutintothedarkparking deckandstepped forward, buthis progress washalted asahand suddenly covered thelower partofhisface.He struggled ashebreathed inthesicklysweetscentthatcovered the handkerchief, buthehadalreadyinhaledtoomuchofthechloroform, andhe sank helplessly tohisknees, notabletoreach hisgunoreven strike outathis attacker.

Thelastsound heheard wasashout andstruggle thatseemed tobe miles away and a distant thunk as his limp body hit the concrete floor.