Chapter Thirteen

Ty satwith one foot pulled up on the hard berth, his elbowresting on hiskneeashestaredatthesterilewhitewallsoftheholdingcells. Therewerethreeofthem,eachseparated by thickwirefencing. Ty leaned his shoulder against the wire of his cell andexhaled slowly.

"At leastwe're not being shot at anymore," he drawled toZane, maintaining theBritish accent justbecause itannoyedtheItalianagents and the ship's security,who were stilltrying tofigure outwho the hell they really were. And because he fucking could.

"True,"Zaneagreed,shiftingtiredlyonthesmallbenchinthe next cell. He stilllooked tense. "They'll clear it up soon enough and let us out of here."

Once the ship's security had gotten their shit together, the situation had settled down fast. Mostly because everyone was locked up somewhere oranother,according to the variousand sundry visitors they'd received to fill them in or taunt them.

DolceandGabbanahadcomeby toberatethemforstickingtheir American(maybe)noseswherethey didn'tbelong.Thetwogoons turnedouttoreally beItalianGuardiadiFinanza,presumably assigned toshutdowntheBianchis.Ty andZanecouldonly assumeVartan Armenreallyhadbeentryingforacoup;he'd suppliedtheGuardia withtheinformationtheyneededtobusttheItaliancouple.Tywas fairly surethesetwowouldn'tbelongfortheirjobsafterallthereports got filed.

ItwaspossibleArmenactually hadn'tresortedtoattempted murder,buttheywouldneverknowforsure,sincehewasnowinthe ship's morgue and couldn't tell anyone what had happened. While Armenmayormaynothavebeentheguiltypartywheretheattempts onTy'slifewereconcerned,theperpetratorsofthescuba-divingand rock-climbing incidentsmight not be found, according to the captain.

Tysuspectedthesamemenwho'dbeendoingtheshootingand chasing;itwasprobablethey hadplannedtocheattheentiresmuggling ringandkillthemall.Theyweren'ttalkingeither,whichleftawhole lotupto conjectureaboutwhothehellthey really wereandwhathad truly happened.They'dbeenlockedupinthejailonTortola,andthey werebeing heldon charges ofattemptedmurder.They mightevenface chargesfor attempting to hijack the cruise ship,if prosecutors were feelingparticularly vindictive.Ty thoughtforsuretherewouldbeother chargescomingalong aswell,includingsmuggling,money laundering, and weaponscharges pending extradition.

Thecaptainhadpolitely informedthemthattheBianchiswereon house arrest in their cabin until Dolce andGabbanacould claim jurisdiction.

Ty wonderedhowthehellheandZanegotstuckinthedamn holding cellinsteadof intheir luxuriousstateroom with aguardat the door.When Ty hadvoicedthatobjection,thecaptainhadpolitely informedthemthattheywouldremainrightwheretheywere... until they made port in Maryland.

They might as well get comfortable.

TyturnedhisheadtopeerthroughthewireatZane,hismouth twitching intoa smirk. "McCoy specifically toldme ifI ended upin the brig nottocallhim,"he saidwithwry amusement."I'mnotsurewhat annoysmemore,thefactthatheassumedI'denduphere,orthathe was right."

Zanegrimaced,buthestilllaughed."Butwemetthechallenge," he said. "He owes us—you—for that one."

"Us," Ty corrected. He nodded, looking at Zane closely. He shifted and turned, putting his fingers through thewire as he pressed his nose against it. "I know this wasn't all fun and games foryou."

Zane huffedouta painedlaugh."Youcouldsay that." Heglanced atTy,disbeliefclearonthisface."I stillcan'tbelieveyousaidthatto me."

Ty tappedhisfingeragainstthethickwire,theweddingband makingasmallclinkingsoundnexttohisear.Hesmiledweakly.He hadtoagree,butprobably notforthesamereasonsZanecouldn't believe it. He didn't say anything in response, hoping the smile would suffice. Zane just shook his head and looked away.

Ty releasedthewirepartitionandsatback,loungingbackonthe hard bed with his arm propped on his knee again.His shoulder hurt where he'd rammed the door and then hit the bottom of the pool a little harderthanexpected.Butitwasnothingcomparedtothetightnessin hischest.Hisfingerhurttoo,buthewasloathtoasksomeonetocut theringoff.Hewouldmissitwhenitwasgone.Andhe'd probably never wear another one that meant anything to him.

He watched the light play off the scuffed silver band.

Therewasnowheretogo,andtheyhadallthetimeintheworld to get there. It was an oddly freeing thought, one that made that tightness in hischestease a little. He licked his lips as his thumbgrazed thering.I loveyouwasnotsomethinghehadeverreally plannedon tellingZane,especiallynotinasituationwhenneitherofthemcould hidefromtheother.Butithadcomeoutsonaturally upthereonthat railinghehadn't beenabletostophimself.Now,hecouldeitherlie righttoZane'sfaceandletZanebelieveithadbeenamereploy toget him to jump, or he could tell him the truth. Again.

Ty was tired of hiding it.

"I have a problem, Zane," he admitted, sounding slightly surprised thathe wassayingitoutloud,especially now, when everything seemed to be going well for their odd relationship.

Zane raisedone brow. "Besidessitting soaking wetin a jailcellin the middle of the Caribbean?"

"I havetosay, it'snota firstfor me," Ty muttered.He smiledand looked up at the ceiling,almosttalking himself out of saying it. He waitedamomenttomakesurehetrulywantedtosayit,andwhenhe spokehehadfinallydroppedthefakeaccent."No,thisisadifferent kind of problem."

Despite the expressed surprise from a momentago, this time Zane's voice wasmore serious, with a shade of audible concern. "What is it?"

Tybittheinsideofhislipashelookeddownathishandsand turned them over. They had begun to shake slightly.Hecouldfeelthe nervescoursing throughhisbody.If he toldZane,nothing wouldbe the same. Their entire partnership would change,for better or for worse. And he knew hewouldget nothing out ofit exceptthe reliefof coming clean.

HetookadeepbreathandlookedupatZane,meetinghiseyes throughthepaintedwire.Zanefrownedslightlyandmovedcloserto thefence,flatteningonepalmagainstitasthoughtryingtogetto Ty to help him.

Ty didn'treachoutto touchhim, knowing itwouldmake ittoo hardforhimtogetthewordsout.HeknewwhatZane's response would be. He hadn'treally thoughtthisthrough—the repercussions,the rippleeffects—butherarelythoughtanythingthroughbeforedoingit. Itwassortoflikethefirstjumpoutofaplane.Closeyoureyesand takeastepandhopethegrounddoesn'thityoutoofast.Eitherway, you knew wind wasgoing upyour nose at two hundred miles per hour.

Fallinginloveorjustplainfalling:theywerebothterrifyingat any speed.

He sighedheavily and lifted hischinstubbornly,meetingZane's eyeswithoutflinching."Ididn'tsay itjusttogetyoutojump.I'min love withyou,Zane," headmitted in acalm, clear voice."I have been for a while."

Zane's eyeswidened,and the shockwasclear inthem. He didn't try tohideit.That,at least,wastellingofthetrustthey'dbuiltbetween them.Hedidn't hidehisemotionsfromTymuchanymore.Nomore thanTy didfromhim.Zane'slipspartedlikehewasabouttosay something,butnothing cameoutashetippedhisheadslightly toone side.

"Youdon'thavetosay anything," Ty saidquickly.He'dknown howZanewouldrespond,andhe'd cometotermswithit.Hestill didn'twanttohearthewords,though.Hecouldn'tmeetZane'seyes any longer,andhecouldfeelhisfacewarming.Helookeddownathis handandturneditover."I knowyoudon't..."He shookhisheadand glanced upat the stark white wallacross the way from his cell, starting over."I knowyoucareaboutme.That'sallI need.I justfigured... we have enough secretsbetween us," hecontinued as he looked back up at Zane and smiled nervously. "Now it's just one less."

The cascade ofemotionsacrossZane's face surprised him; Ty didn't think he'dever seenZane look so startled.Zane's fingers curled into the fencing, andhenodded justslightly."One less,"heechoed softly,thoughhislipsmovedlikehewasstartingtosay somethingelse and stopped. Then he restarted. "Why tell me that way?"

Ty shruggedonesoreshoulder."Seemedlikeagoodideaatthe time," he answered,embarrassed.

"I waspretty muchblind,deaf,andscaredoutof my mind."Zane admitted. "ButI... heard you."

Ty nodded uncomfortably. It was harder than he thought, knowinganadmissionofloveinreturnwouldn'tbecoming.Hewas glad to have told Zane, but he sort of wanted to change the subject now.

"I guess thatexplains why you've notminded me being so possessive," Zane added abruptly a minute later.

Ty raised one eyebrow and shook his head. He was almost relievedthatZane hadn'ttried todeny any ofitandseemedto begoing foralighter,lessmeaningfulresponse.Hesmiledgratefully."Try that shit on land, and we'll see how I react."

Zanerolledhiseyes."IwonderedhowmuchofitwasDeland howmuchofitwasyou.AfterawhileI wasn'tsureIcouldtell anymore."

Ty wasn'tcertainwhattosay tothat,andanythingelsecomingto mindjusttookthembackintothatterritory thatmightendupbeing painfulifthey weren'tcareful.Hefoundhewasdisappointedthat Zane's mostnaturalresponsetolearningTylovedhimwastotalk abouttheircase.HewatchedZaneforamomentlongerbeforeturning toresthisshouldersagainstthewallbehindhimandlookingdownat his fingers again.In hisperipheral vision, he saw Zane do the same. They sat in a somewhat tense silence untilZane spoke.

"I'm thinking I'll take my chances."

"On what?" Ty asked ashe looked over atZane with a frown.

A smile slowly pulled atZane's lips. "Trying thatshit on land."

Tyleanedawayfromhimandturnedhisheadtobeabletosee himbetter. He hadn'texpectedtohear anI loveyoufromZane.Ifhe had gottenone,he probably wouldn'thave believedit. Buthe supposed trying that shiton land—and the implicationbehind it that Zane wanted Ty tohimself—wasaboutascloseashe'dget.Therealization made him smile slowly.

"You're soeasy," he told Zane in satisfaction ashe lookedat the plain white wall again.

"Only foryou, doll," Zane drawled in his Corbin voice.

Ty sighedand rana handthrough hisblondhair."Don'tevercall me that again," he warned in a tired voice. "Asshole."

Zanechuckled,visibly releasingthetensionhe'dbeencarryingin his shoulders, and he laid his head back againstthe wall. He didn't look at all worried. Ty watched him from the corner of his eye. All Ty had to do was keep that look on Zane's face, that one right there, relaxed and content and slightly amused. Then they'd be just fine.

"Oh, by the way," Ty murmured. "Merry Christmas, Zane."

Zane looked at him in some surprise, then glanced to the plastic clock on the opposite wall.It was just past midnight. He snorted softly. "Merry Christmas, Ty."

Ty had anticipatedabarrageofquestionswhentheyreacheddry land,buthehadalsoexpectedatriphome,aniceshower,andsome new clothing first. But there hadn't been any detours from the waterfront to the Bureau office. They were to be debriefed ASAP.

Ty satatoneoftheinterrogationtables—onthewrong side.They werebringinginsomeonetocuttheringoffhisfingerwhilehewrote uphisreport,butthey alsowantedanagenttospeaktohim,whichwas unusual. He was a little nervous that he and Zane had missed something orfuckedupsomewhere,especially sinceZanehadbeenconductedto another room for a separate debriefing.

He tried to tamp downthe nerves as he finished up his brief synopsis of what had happened on the ship. He signed the bottom ofthe report and pushed it away, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

The door opened, andhe exhaled slowly as three menentered. SAICDanMcCoy smiledathimandheldthedooropenforoneofthe lab techs and Special Agent Scott Alston, who trailed behind him.

"Grady.Goodtohaveyouback,"McCoygreetedasheseated himself across from Ty.

Thelabtechrolledoutapieceofgauzeandextractedapairof sharp utensils that looked like a cross betweenscissors and a propfrom Hellraiser.Tyswallowedonanuncomfortablesenseofdéjàvu.The lastsetofutensilshe'd seenrolledoutinaninterrogationhadn't been usedtocutmetal. Heclearedhisthroat andlookedawayquickly, giving the tech his left hand so theman couldcutthe silverring offhis swollen finger.

HemetMcCoy'seyesasthetechbegantryingtoworkoneside of the wicked scissors under the ring.

"Turned into a real shitstorm, huh?" McCoy said with a sympathetic smile.

Ty snorted. "You could say that. What the hell happened, anyway?There were people trying to kill us left and right!"

"Yes," McCoy replied slowly, nodding. "We stepped in it. Sorry."

Ty stared at him incredulously. "Sorry?"

McCoy shrugged."Itlookslikeyoutwoneverreallygotintothe eyeofthestorm.Youweremorelike... thecowswhogottossed around on the outskirts."

Alston snorted and triedto cover it witha coughand a hand to his mouth.

Tyglancedbetweenthemwithafrown,unamused."I'm feeling more like a goat on this one, Mac," he growled.

McCoy helduphishandsinsurrender.Hehadasmalldossierin one."Wehadnowayofknowingallthiswasgoingon."Heslidthe fileacrossthedesktoTy."Therewerefourdifferentgroupsatplay. Thefeds,theGuardiadiFinanza,VartanArmen's hiredthugs,anda fourthgroup thatappears to be antiquities dealers fromDubai. Where they camefrom,wehavenoclue,butthey'retheoneswhoweretrying to killyou. I mean Del."

"Why?" Ty asked dubiously as he opened up the folder.

"There is a tenuousconnection betweenthem andArmen's end of the business, and also between them and Del Porter, whose real name is notDelPorter,"Alstontoldhim."Apparentlythethievesplannedto takeoverthesmugglingring by force.Havingallthreemembersofthe ring—Vartan Armen, Corbin Porter, and Lorenzo Bianchi—in one place made staging a coup pretty easy."

"Fromwhatwe'regetting ininterrogations, itappears their intention was to put each of the menout of commission somehow and then take their placesat the final meeting on Tortola. Targeting Del—I meanyou—wasintended tokeep Corbin on board the cruise shipwith his injured husband. They were going to let the Guardia di Finanza take careoftheBianchis.Andit's anyone's guesswhattheiroriginalplan was for Armen.

"Whentheyrealizedtheyweren'tgoingtomaimyousoeasily, they went for hardcore and tried to kill all of you."

"Awesome,"Ty saidsarcastically ashelookeddownatthe typed documents.EverythingAlstonandMcCoy hadjusttoldhimwasin there, and there was more.

Those men would be locked up for a long time asauthorities kept adding to their laundry list of crimes.

VartanArmen's body hadbeenclaimed by Turkishnationals,and they haddepartedonaflighttoIstanbul.TheBureauwasworking with theTurkishgovernmenttoinvestigateArmen'sbusiness,butitwas slow going.

The day afterthe finalchase, a maintenance man had found the FBI backup teamlockedup ina grocery storage roominthe hold.They were tired, supremely annoyed,and seriously wiredon pastriesand sodas, but otherwise unharmed. Thatexplained where those fuckers had been the entire time. They'd been ferreted out by Dolce and Gabbana, whohadthoughttheywereafterCorbinandDelwhenthey'd spotted the members of the teamsticking too close toTy and Zane.How they'd expectedtokeeptheirjobs,stay outofjail,andavoidaninternational incident by abductingandillegallydetainingAmericanfederalagents, Ty didn'tknow.

Cruises in international waters did weird shit to people.

TheBianchishadreturnedtoItalywiththeGuardiadiFinanza. Bianchiwasreportedly cooperating withtheGuardiatorecover antiquitiesinexchangeforleniency andimmunity forNorina,who really hadn'tbeen involved in the business except on the periphery.

Ty didregrethowthathadended.He'dlikedtheItalianwoman and had felt almostguilty for lying to her.

Forherpart,Norinahadn't forgivenTyfordestroyinghershoes andherhandbag,butshehadrequestedamessagebesenttoTyand Zane,onethatthankedthemforsavingherandherhusband'slives. Thenotewasinthedossier,writteninEnglishsoTycouldactually read it.

He snorted and smiled slightly.

"So,"Alstonsaid,interruptinghislineofthought.Tylookedup at him. "Was it a king-size bed?"

"Itwasround,"Tyanswereddrolly."Andifthecatjokesare goingtobereplacedwithgayjokes,justletitbeknownthatIdon't find those funny," he added seriously.

Alston's smirkfaded,andhenodded,recognizingthatTywasn't messing around.

The soundof metalgrating on metalhadaccompanied hiswords, andTyglancedovertoseethesilverbandfinallybeingpulledoffhis aching finger. The sightof the slicedring and theimpression itlefton his skin was more painful than he'danticipated.

"Thank you," he muttered to the tech. The man nodded and handedhimtheweddingband. Ty palmeditandsliditintohispocket, glad McCoy didn'tdemand he give it back.

The interview went onfor another hour or so, the questions mundane andsteeringfarclear ofanything thatcouldhave been embarrassingordamaging.Ty's attentionwasonlyhalfthere,though. TheotherhalfwasonZaneandtheringburningaholethroughTy's pocket.

Zaneforcedhimself topay attentiontothecongested holidaytraffic. He was behind schedule,but at this point all he could do was drive. He drummed histhumb on the steering wheelandglanced intherearview mirror.

He looked like himself again. His trimmed brown hair lay naturally without gel, and the earring was gone, though Zane had caughthimselflooking fortheruby stoneafewtimesduring thepast week.Nothisstyle,though.Heworehisowntailoredgray suit,acrisp white dress shirt, and a red and silver silk tie. All nice, but not pricey likeCorbinPorter'sextravagantwardrobe.Underthesuit,thetattoo wasnowfading.Zanehadconsideredhavingitactually inked,butthen he'dthoughtaboutwhatTywouldsayandabandonedtheidea. It wasn'treally his style either.

Zane had removed the last vestige of his fake persona four days after they returned from the cruise—this afternoon, actually. Hewas so accustomedtowearingaweddingringthathesimplyhadn't thought aboutremovingthesilveroneprovidedforthecaseuntilhe'dbeen washing spaghettisauce off his fingers after lunch and noticed the ring was the wrong color.

He hadstood there at the sink looking at thering for several minutes, the water running, memories of the cruise cascading through hismind.Butitwasn't thecaseworkanddangerZaneremembered.It wasthequiettimeheandTy hadspentsitting together,relaxing.The heady,sultrysexualtensionthrummingbetweenthemthattheyboth notonly allowedbutfed.Thelaughterandthedancingandthebanter and just being together.

With all that on his mind, it had felt odd—wrong, somehow—to remove the ring that connected him to Ty.

After drying hishands,he tookthe ring tothe bedroomand the woodenkeepsakeboxonhisdresser.Heopenedthetopwithasoft snap ofthe magneticclasp and saw hisgoldwedding ring inside, with all its dings and scratches. Zane slowly set the nearly pristine silver ring next to it before sliding his fingertips over the gold ring.

WhenhethoughtaboutBecky,itwasmoredifficulttocallher facetomind,andwhenhedid,itwasdimandfuzzy aroundtheedges, fadedwithtime.Ithadbeenmorethansixyearssincehiswifehad died, and though he still missed her, it didn'thurt like it used to.

Zane had closed the box, leaving both rings inside.

Thenhe'd lookedatthesmallribbon-wrappedboxnexttoitand huffedslightly.He'dboughtthecompassrosependantforTyona whim,andhestillwantedtogiveittohim.Hejustwasn't sure... why. Zane's chestgottightwhenhethoughtaboutTy's declarationoflove, and compared to that?The pendant seemedpedestrian. Plus they'd missed Christmas while stuck in that damn holding cell, andnow just handing the necklace toTy felt silly.

Zanehadleftitbehindaswellwhenhegrabbedhissuitjacket and walked out of the apartment.

So a little over three hours later hewas here, navigating through traffic into a smallparking lot.Zane squeezed the truck into a space meantfor a smaller vehicle,wishing thathecouldhave riddenthe Valkyrie despite the coldbutdry weather that wouldhave nearly frozen himontheridethroughtown.Notonly wasthemotorcyclemore maneuverable,butitwasmucheasiertoparkbetweencarsthathogged a space and a third of stingy parking at full restaurants in Baltimore.

Hehadn't riddenitbecauseitwashardtokeepasuitandtietidy while doing so.

Thepopularprivately ownedsteakhousethatwaslocatedintwo oldrenovatedrowhousesnearFell's Pointwasalwaysjammed;New Year's Evemadeitevenworse.Hewasgladhe'dthoughttocalland get reservations as soon as they'dgotten home.

He gotinthe door fifteenminutes late—notthe bestof ideasfor a dinner reservation on a regular night, much less a holiday, but he was sureTywouldhavebeenontime.ItwasoneofTy's favorite restaurants.Afterallthefishonthecruiseship,Zanefiguredahigh-grade piece of beef would endear him to his carnivorous partner.

In a couple minutes one of the hostesses led him toward the back of the narrowrestaurant;along the side wallran awhole line of booths for two to four, and as he expected, Tywas facing the restaurant proper.Zane had given up the fight over who would sit with their back toafullroom sometimeago. Ty alwaysprofferedtheargumentthat more people wanted to kill him, and he was right.

Ty satdiligently tearing a piece of paper into thinshreds, hisknee bouncing under the tableas he tried to keep himself occupied while he waited.HeglancedupwhenhesawthehostessleadingZanetoward him,andhe straightenedslightly,gathering thepiecesof paper and crumpling them into a ball in his fist.

"Hey,"Zanegreeted, handing the hostesshisheavy, waist-length wool coat, unbuttoning hissuitjacket, and sliding into the booth across from him.

Sitting inthe boothstraightand tall, well-fitted suitactually pressed and his stylishly narrow tie straight, the bleached-blond hair shaved almostcompletely off inwhatwaspractically a scalptrim, Ty lookedmorelikeaJarheadthanZanehadeverseenhim.Damnthe man,heevenmadeashavedheadlookgood.Andhelookedmuch morelikehimself.Zanewaspretty sure Ty hadgonesomewhereand rolled around in the mud for several hours once they hadgotten home from the cruise ship. That would have made him feel better.

NowTyseemednervous,whichwasn't likehim.Whileapartthe past few days,back totheir normal routine of sometimes together, sometimesapart—aswrong asitfelt—Zane hadworried Ty's confessionofloveandhisconspicuouslackofresponsewouldmake thingsawkwardbetweenthemthefirsttimetheygotbacktogether.So ZanedrewasettlingbreathashesatonthebenchandofferedTya smile.

"I'msorry I'mlate," Zane started.

Tynoddedandleanedforward,restinghiselbowsonthetable. "You all right?" he asked with a frown.

"Yeah,"Zanesaid,tryingnottowince."Ididn't thinkI'd bethis late or I would have called."

"It's okay,"Tytoldhimeasilyashiseyestraveledcarefullyover Zane,asifcheckinghimforinjuriesoranyunduewearandtear.Ty didn't trustZane's motorcycleanyfurtherthanhecouldthrowit,and heknewZaneusually rodeit.Withthatlook,Zanefeltalotwarmer, inside and out,thanfrom justwalking intoa heated building from the coldweatheroutside.HetriedtocatchTy's eyes.Itwasalittleweird, this new dynamic to their partnership. Maybe he should call it an actual relationshipnow.Yeah.Weird.ButZanereally likedit,andhesmiled slowly.

"What?"TyaskedhimsuspiciouslyashemetZane's eyesand saw the smile forming. He groaned. "What haveyou done now?"

Zane shook hishead, justlooking athislover acrossthe table. "I didn'tdoanything,"heprotested,amusedbyTy's reaction.NowTy knewhowhefelteverydaywhenhewokeuporcametoworktosee Ty smirking.

Ty narrowedhis eyesandpointedawarningfingeratZane, obviouslynotbelievingthathewasn't uptosomething.Zaneinstantly noticedwhatwasmissingfromTy's hand,andhefoundhimselfoddly disconcerted to see thering gone.The finger was still noticeably swollen,andZanecouldguesswhathadhappened."They hadtocutit off, huh?"

"Cutwhatoff?"Tyasked,shoulderssquaringashesatback, almost offended.

Zane had to laugh. "Your ring."

Tylookeddownathishand."Oh."Henodded."Yeah,noway was it coming off without taking my finger with it."

"You sound disappointed."

Ty shrugged,andZanecouldtellhewasuncomfortable. "I miss it,"headmitted,makingZane's stomachflip-flop."Itgaveme somethingtodowithmyhands,"Tycontinued,holdinghishandup and moving his thumb as if he were playing with a ring on his finger.

Zanesnorted.Yeah,thatsoundedmorelikeTy thanbeing emotionallyattachedtoapieceofjewelry.Nowhewaskindofglad he'dleft the necklace athome.

They glancedupasa server arrivedwithbreadandthe drinksTy had already ordered.

Once the server wasgone with their appetizer and entrée orders, Ty pickeduphisglass,whichwasfullofsodainsteadofbeeror champagne,andraisedittoZanewithasmirk."Here'stobeingus again."

Zanechuckledandliftedhisgobletoficedteatoclinkitagainst Ty's."Hear, hear," he said. "Bon voyage, Corbin and Del Porter."

"Ican'tsayitwasfun,"Tymutteredwrylyashesethisglass down. He glanced upatZane almost carefully."Didyou hear what ended up coming out of the interrogations?"

Zane knew that Corbinand Del Porter were now in New York under long-term investigation by the FBI for Corbin's extended criminalactivities.Hehadn't heardanythingmoreaboutthem,though. "No. Anything interesting?"

Tyshruggeduncomfortably,asifhewasn'tsurethenewswas interestingornot."Well,Deladmittedhe'dbeenhiredbyArmento weaselhisway into Corbin'slife, seduce himandspy on him,and send outinformation.Butintheend,heactually fellforhim.Hesaidhewas toldaboutArmen's plantotakeoverduringthecruise,andheclaims hedeliberatelyorchestratedhavinghimselfandCorbincaughtbefore theshipsailedtosaveCorbin's life."HelookedupatZaneashesaid the last, watching his reaction.

Zaneblinkedinsurprise,raisingbothbrows."That's pretty impressive.Deldidn'tseemtohavemuchofabackbone,andthat would certainly take one."

"Ithinkhefooledalotofpeople.Usincluded,"Tysaidsoftly. "He hadto have known he risked losing Corbin either way. He sacrificed himself." Ty paused, letting that sink in.Whathe left unspoken was clear. Del had sacrificed his freedom and his heart just to keep the man he loved safe.

Zane couldn'tescape the meaning in Ty'swords. "Takes a special person to do that," he said quietly.

Tynoddedandlookedaway.TheknowledgeputDelandCorbin inadifferentlightthanZanehadoriginally perceived.Itremindedhim thatheshouldn'tmakeassumptions,especially whenitcametomatters of the heart.

"Ididfinishandsubmitmyreport,"Zanefinallysaid."Tooka while to figure out what to include and what to... edit."

"Ihopeyoudidn't editoutthecopiousamountsofsex,"Tysaid dryly. He lifted hisglass to hislips as he spoke, trying tohide hissmirk. "Because I took detailed notes."

Zanechuckledashepickeduphiswaterglass."Wouldn'tthat give McCoy a thrill," he said deadpan.

Ty was smiling when heset his glass down, his eyes on Zane with that same intensity Zanehad been noticing moreand more often. The kindthatusually came rightbefore clothing startedbeing rippedoff.It made Zane shiver even though he flushed with warmth. He tried to hold back thegrin, propping one elbow onthe tableashe rubbedhisfingers over his chin in a bid to hide some of the giddinessthat threatened.

TylookedupatZanecritically."You're toopleasedwith yourself," he observed, still suspicious. "I don'tlike it. Stop it."

Zaneblinked.Hedidn't thinkhewasprojectinganything.Butit wasgetting more difficulttohide thingsfromTy,evenifhe wantedto. Asfornow... damn it.Zaneclearedhisthroat.Leaveitto Ty toferret out something before he was ready to share it.

Ty reached across the table and took his hand suddenly, squeezingitgently.Insteadoflettinggoimmediatelylikeheusually did, though, he held on, not seeming to care who saw them in the crowdedrestaurant.HeslidhishanduptoZane'swristandgaveit another squeeze before he let go and reached for his glass again. "It's okay," he assuredZane as he lifted the glass tohis lips. "You'rekindof cute whenyou'rescheming."

Zane's stomachflipped,andhewethisbottomlip,nerves fluttering.Itwasn't thegesture,oreventhevenue.Itwasthetrust."I, ah,madeaNewYear's resolution,"hesaid,embarrassedthatitcame out a little shaky.

"Ohyeah?"Tyaskedinamusement."Mylastonewasnotto shootanyoneforayear,"hetoldZaneruefullyashelookeddownat hisglassandswirledtheicearound."I'm notverygoodatthem,"he observed with a faint frown. He looked back upat Zane."What didyou resolve?"

ZanehuffedoutalittlelaughatTy's self-deprecatingcomment, butitdidn'tdispelthenerves.Hewasannoyedwithhimselffora momentanddrummedhisfingers onthe tablecloth."I resolvedtotake better care of myself."

Ty'seyebrowsclimbedslowly."Good.Lessworkforme,"he said, winking atZane toease the truth in the words.

IthelpedZanerelaxalittle,knowingTywasinagoodenough moodtotease.Heremindedhimselfthat Ty hadreally takenahellofa plungewithannouncingthatI loveyouwithnowarning;surely a smalleradmissionlikethiswasn'tthatdifficult.Heswallowedhard. "That's whyIwaslate,"hesaidbeforeaddinginalittlebitofarush, "The AA meeting ran over."

Ty lookedathimintruesurprise,hishazeleyeswide,struck speechless for a long moment. Finally, he nodded slowly, his expressionentirelyserious."That's good,Zane,"hewhispered.He nodded again, smiling slowly. "That'sreally good."

Relief flushed through Zane, and he wondered when Ty's approval hadcome tomean so much. He relaxed and let out a slow breath.HewantedTy toknowthathecouldtrusthispartnerandthat Zanecaredenoughabouthimtomakeanefforthehadn't madebefore toearnthattrust.IfTywasgoingtolovehim,Zanewantedtoatleast beworthyofit."Good,"herepeatedquietly,drumminghisfingers againtoloosensomeoftheremainingtension,inexplicablyhappyto have made Ty smile.

Ty lookeddownatZane'srighthandbriefly beforetakingitback up withbothhandsandpulling ittoward him.He leaned forwardand kissedZane's fingers,asifthankinghimfortheeffort.Thenhelooked backupatZaneandsmiledwidely.ForperhapsthefirsttimeZane couldremember, Ty wasn'tblushingaftersuchadisplay ofaffection in public, and his eyes weren't seeking out anyone who might be watching them. All his attention was focused on Zane.

The smile wascatching.They probably lookedlike idiots,sitting there grinning at each other, but Zane couldn'thave cared less.

Ty didn'tsay anything, justtookhisnapkinand putit inhis lap as he continued towatchZane affectionately.Zane reflected upon thefact thatifTy lookedathimlikethatmoreoften,he'd beputty intheman's hands.Thatwasmorethanalittlescary,especially becauseithintedat emotionswithinhimself Zanehadn't yetfoundthecouragetoconsider. HeclearedhisthroatandthoughtthatwithTy athisside,hemightfind that strength sooner rather than later.

"Happy New Year," Zane offered, lifting his glass for a toast.

Ty touched his glass to Zane's."Happy New Year."

Looking athispartner sitting across fromhim,Zane thoughtit might just be his best year yet.He was looking forward to it.