Chapter Six

Theline for the rock-climbing wallwas a long one, and the waiteven longersincetherewasanecessity towatchandlingerfortheintended victims.Thecoldwasnotaproblem,butimpatiencewas.Hedidnot like doing what he considered such menial tasks as wet work.

Thegood weather andparty-like atmosphere of the ship madehis job somewhat easier, though. People were happy and oblivious, and he wasabletosubtly inserthimselfjustinfrontofthetwomenwhenthey arrived.Itwas a masterpiece of malevolence, making certain he was the one climbing justbeforethem withoutanyone noticing what he'ddone or what he was about to do.

Hecarriedasmallceramicknifeinabagonhiship,onehe'd beenabletocarry pastthelow-techmetaldetectors,anditwas innocuousenough if by somebadluckhewassearched by security.It wasalsoeasy toditchifnecessary;allhehadtodowasthrowithard againstsomethingsolidanditwouldshatterintoamillionpieces.On thecruiseship,though,thatwasn'treallyaproblemwithweapons.If he wasclose enoughto the edge,hecould simply toss it overboardand watch it sink into the dark blue depths.

He didn't foresee needing to do that.

Asheclimbedthefakewall,hecarefully pulledthebelay lineto him,collectingitathisbelly sonoonebeloworabovewouldseewhat he was doing. Whenhecame to the spoton the rope he thoughtwould dothemostdamage,heslidthepalm-sizedknifefromhisfanny pack andquicklymadeacut,almostathirdofthewaythroughthenylon line.Itwasn'tmuch,barelynoticeabletothenakedeyesincetheknife was so sharp. Whengiven acursory examination,it wouldn'tbe seen. Only whenitreachedthe carabineraboveandthe weightofa human body was pulling on it would it become apparent.

Aftertuckingtheknifeaway,hewavedtotheattendantabout threemetersabovehimandslowly beganto makehisdescent.Hetook care with the rope,mindful not to put too much weight on it and to let it playoutatwhatseemedanaturalrate.Whenhisfeettouchedthe paddedground at the base of the wall, he was content in the knowledge that when the rope broke becauseof too much weight onthe compromised line, his quarry would be the one in the harness.

Zaneshook hishead and sighed as he stood in the bright sun and crisp winter air, looking up thegray rock walltowardthe clear blue sky. He wasstarting towishCorbinwasa supergeekweaselor anold,portly man who walked with a cane. These things were hell on his nerves.

Hebroughthisattentiontogroundlevel,whereTy stoodnextto him,tryingtostay stillasashortandratherstoutstaffmembernamed Manny checkedoverhisharness.Theirturnontherockwallhadbeen by appointment,anotherdemandoftheiritineraries.Thelinewas lengthy,and itwound aroundthe platformand down the ramp passengers had to climb to get up to this point. The decklevel made the lofty rock wall, perchednear the stern of the largecruise ship, seem just that much higher.

Zanewasnowdoubtinghisdecisiontoeatahearty breakfast.It wasn't that he was scared, per se. He knew he could climb the damn wallandthathe'dbefine,especially inaharnessstrung onathick, anchored nylonrope.Hewasn'tafraid of heights.It was just thewhole falling thing that sort of scared him shitless.

Jinglingcaughthisattention,andZanewatchedTy shakehis shouldersoutashetriedtobucklethestrapofhishelmetunderhis chin.He hadfallenvictimtoone of the Santahatsandwaswearing it overhishelmet.Zanesnortedandreachedovertopluckitoffandtoss it to the side.

"Ready togo?"Zaneaskedgamely.Hewasgladhe'dlostthe rock-paper-scissorsgame for who would climb first.

"You look a little green," Ty responded wryly, although the teasingof hisvoice lostsomething withthefakeaccent.His chinwas lifted as he messedwiththe strap,and he was looking downhis nose at Zanewithasmile.Withthehelmetcoveringhisplatinum-blondhair, he looked like himself again, even if he didn't sound like it.

Zane wrinkled his noseand stepped closeenough to push Ty's handsaway fromthebuckle,flippingoverthetwistedstrapononeside soitbuckledeasily."We'llbehookeduptosomething.I candeal.I'm sure it's a hell of a view from forty feet up."

"Yeah," Ty saidwitha laugh.Hisvoicewasfullofsadisticglee. "Youdon't getseasick,doyou?Evenonashipthissize,I'm pretty sureyou'll feel the roll up there."

"I have no idea," Zane said honestly, setting his hands on his hips.

"I guess we'll find out."

Eventhoughthey'dbeensettlingintotheirrolesonboardquite comfortably for the last two days,itwasstilla slightsurprisewhen Ty stepped closerandgave him a quick, chaste kiss on the lips before turning toward thegraywallcoveredwithred,yellow,green,andblack handholds, marking the varying degrees of climbing difficulty.

Zane stoodthere smilinglike an idiotasManny made certainthe belay deviceattachedtoZane'sharnesswasoperatingproperly,telling ZanethathewasTy's counterweightandinstructinghimhowtouse thesimpledevicetheropepassedthrough.Itcouldbeeasily securedin case of afall, usingZane's weight to counter Ty's if he slipped.Zane looked up the length of the rope to theanchor at the top of the walland figured he'd needto keep the ropeclose to taut,just in case.Knowing Ty,he'dfallandswing free likeanacrobatjustto make Zane'sharness abuse his fun parts.

"Okay, ExtremeSports Ken,go for it," Zane said after resettling his sunglasses.

Ty looked back at him in exasperation, one hand on a notch in the rock wall. "Here's where I ask, ‘On belay?' and if you're prepared to catch me if and when I fall to my possible doom, you reply, ‘Belay on,'" Ty told him.

"Belay on,"Zanereporteddutifully,afewofhisacademy memoriesfilteringback.He'd hadashortcourseinrappellingway back when, but it hadn'tstuck with him, and it wasn't quite the same as rock climbing. The commands sounded familiar,though.

Ty clearedhisthroatagainstalaughandsaid,"Climbing,"before heftinghimselfupontothewall.Manny leanedoverandmurmuredto Zane,andZane obediently announced,"Climbon," as he watched Ty's every move.

Ty worea pairofgreenathleticshortsanda navy bluesleeveless shirtthismorning,bothrelatively tighttoavoidlooseclothinggetting caughtintheropesorsnaggingonthewall,anditwaseasy toseehis defined musclesflexing ashe deftly moved fromone grip to the next.It was obvious he had done this before, and not just on the odd weekend excursion.ForceReconprobablygotprettyfamiliarwiththiskindof thing.

Tyclimbedwithefficiencyandprecisionofmovement,making decisions about whichhandhold or foothold hewould move to quickly andscalingthewalllikeaspidermonkey.Itwascommonsense:the longer he stayedclinging to one spot, the morefatigued hismuscles would be and the more difficult it would be to continue upward.

Ty didn'tdally.Hewasheadingsteadily toward themiddleofthe wall and the large outcropping there.

"Great," Zane muttered."He would decide to take the toughest route."AstheropegrewtautinZane'shands,hecarefully letloose somelengthsoTycouldkeepmovingdiagonally.ThehigherTygot, themoreZanewishedhe'd beenmoreinsistentaboutstayinginbed thismorning,althoughheknewitwassilly.Tywasahighlytrained Marine,andalittlerockwalllikethiswasamateurhourtohim.The thought really didn't help Zane feel any better, though. Again he thoughtof Ty swingingaroundlikeacircusclown,andhepulledathis harness uncomfortably.

"Yourfriend'sagoodclimber,"Manny saidappreciatively ashe watched Ty'sagile ascent.

Ty slowedtoastop,brieflyfussingwiththelinethathadgotten tangled. "Tension!" he called down.

Zanepulledcarefully onthelinetotightenitup."Yeah,heloves thiskindofstuff,"herepliedabsently,nottakinghiseyesoffhis partner.

Assoonastheslackwastakenup, Ty startedupandoveragain. Hewasdefinitely moving towardtheoutcropping becauseitoffereda moredifficultclimb.Theoutwardinclinemeanttheropewouldtake less of his weight as he went, and it was more taxing on his limbs as he pulledhimselfhigher.Evenfromtwenty-fivetothirty feetbelow,Zane could see themuscles of Ty's shouldersand forearms bulging ashe nearedthetipoftheoutcrop.ItthenoccurredtoZanethathehadn't eventhoughtabout Ty'sfingers.Thesurgery onTy'shandhadn'tbeen allthatlongago,andZanehadn'tasked if Ty hadregainedthestrength and flexibility he was used to.

As if in answer to his question, Ty gave a short shout of frustration fromaboveas he tried togrip one ofthe outermostnotches with that hand. He pulled it back and shook it, looking down at them as heclungtotheundersideoftheoutcropping.Heleanedmuchofhis weight on the harness,more hanging in mid-air as he kept hishand on the wall than relying on the holds. Zane thought he might be grinning.

"Fingers!" Ty called down, shaking them.

Zanesnorted."Try usingthem!"heyelledbackup,justtobe annoying.

"I did! They didn't like it!" Ty called down.

Zanecouldseehimsearchingforadifferenthold,probably one thatwouldn'ttaxthoseweakfingersquitesomuch.Ty lookeddownat his harness suddenly, and at the same time Zane felt the rope lose tension in his hand.Zanepulled down on theropeto take up the slack, figuring Ty was preoccupied enough with his fingers not to call out.

Ty lookeddownattheminconsternation."Tension!"heshouted down, evenas the ropegrew slack once again inZane's hands.If Ty's endwasslack,Zane's shouldhavebeengettingtauter,nottheother way around.

"What'swiththerope?"ZaneaskedManny ashekeptpullingon itwithoutfindingany resistance.Hesaw Ty glancedownathimand thenlookupsharply,hisentirebody jerkinginalarmatsomewarning that Zane couldn't hearor see. Ty's free hand scrabbled at his harness, almost in a panic that was highly uncharacteristicof him.

"Rock!" Ty calledout,hisvoicejustaspanickedashisactions. The warning thatan objectwasfallingconfusedZane justas muchas realizing Ty wastrying to untie the securing knotthat bound the rope to hisharness.TheropeinZane'shandsuddenlythumpedtotheground athisfeet,andtherewasawhippingnoiseasdozensoffeetofthe heavy blue nylon rope fell from the heights of the rock wall.

"Hold on!" Zaneyelledas he realized theanchor rope hadjust snapped. There wasnothing he coulddo butwatch,shocked andsick andscaredas Ty foughttofindpurchaseonthewallmorethanthirty feet above him.

Astheropefell, Ty wasstilltryingtofreehimselffromit.People waiting in line fortheir turnatthe wallbegantoscreamasthey saw the two halves of the rope falling. The shorter endof the broken rope, the one still attachedto Ty,fell past him just as he whipped the knot loose andthrewitaway fromhisbody.Buttheweightoftheheavy,falling ropewasenoughtopullathimevenasheletitgo,andZanewatched in horror as it dragged his body away from the outcropping.

Tygaveawordlessshoutashislegsandonearmswungfree from the wall. Therope landed withan anticlimactic thud severalyards away fromwhereZanestood.Thirty feetabove,Ty dangledfromthe outcropping by onehand,bodytwistingasifbuffeted by theocean breeze.

"Throw downanother rope," Zane demanded of Manny,who was on a two-way radio, waving at someone at the top of the wall. "Inflatable cushion?Anything?" Frustrated beyond belief, Zane moved totry tostay where Tycouldseehim,closeenoughthathemightbe able to do... something.His heart wasin his throat and blood was rushinginhisears.Itwasonethingtobeintroubleandstaycalm.It was another to be stuck watching it, helpless.

Tyhungtheremotionlessforaneternity.Hedidn'tkickhisfeet inapanicoreventry toreachforanextrahandholdwithhisfreehand.

Theonly thingskeepinghimfromfallingtothedoomhe'djokedabout not ten minutes before were five white-knuckled fingers.

He looked down atZane as everyone on the platform scrambled.

"Thatsucked,man," Ty calleddown in a frustratingly calmvoice. There was a jitter of nervous laughter and gaspsfrom the watching crowd.

Zane shaded his eyes as he looked up at his partner and swallowed hard before answering."Willyouquitshowing off!" he yelled, trying to play off the fear buzzing in the air around them.

"Don'tpanic,sir!"Manny calledup,soundingfrantichimself. Losing a wealthy passenger ina freakclimbing wall accident probably wouldn't look good on him or the cruise line. Neither would the blood smear.

Ty twistedandreachedoutslowly forthewall.Hewashanging from the very tip of the outcropping,possibly theworst place for him to havebeenstranded.Hecouldn't gethisfeetunderhimforpurchase untilhe moved.And moving wouldbe hard withonly onehand.On the plus side, if he'd beenanywhereelseon thewall, he probably would have fallenwhen the rope did.

Ty grippedanother hold, and Zane saw themusclesin his shoulders andbackbunch as he triedto pull himself further up.When hishandslippedawayfromthewallagain,Zaneheardaveryun-British curse drift down.

ZaneclampeddownontheurgetoyellatTy,insteadturningto Manny."Is there anyone up top to drop a secure line?"

"They'reworking onit,sir," Manny saidshakily, holding up the two-way.

Zane grabbed it out of his hand and pressed the talk button as he returned hisattention to Ty."Who's up there?" he snapped.But there wasnoanswer.Theattendantswhohadbeenuptherewhen Ty started the climb were gone, hopefully in search of another rope.

Above, Ty hadregainedhisholdon thewallwithbothhandsand wasmerely hanginglimp."It'sthisdamnring,"hecalleddown."My fingers,"hecontinued,notactuallyfinishinganyofthesentenceshe started as he looked upand around him.It was harderto hear what he said when he looked up, but when he looked back down the people below could hear him say, "The pessimist says, ‘It can't get any worse!' And the optimist replies, ‘Oh yes it can!'"

The crowd tittered nervously, not sure whether to laugh.

Ty releasedone handandmadea swipefor ahandholdfurther away,buthemissedandswayedprecariouslybeforesecuringhimself to the original one again.

"Jokes. He's cracking jokes," Zane said under his breath, deciding thatonce Ty hadbothfeetonthegroundhewasgoingtosmackhim. Hard. Rightafter he kissed him unconscious.

Tyhadsenseenoughtoremainquietafterthatashecontinued strugglingtofindawayupordown,leftorright.Hemadeseveral more failed attemptsat swinging himself around the edge of the narrow outcropping, during the last of which he losthis grip withbothhands andvery nearlyplummetedthethirty orsofeettotheplatform.Heslid severalinches,scrabbling atthe wallwithbothhands:a split-secondof honest-to-God freefall.Zane thoughthisheartwasgoing to stoponthe spot before Ty was able to catch another hold andstop himself.

Ty didn'tshoutorscreamorevencurse,whichtoZanemeant eitherTy truly wasbeginningtopanicorhisfatiguedmuscleswere abouttogiveoutandhewasexpendingallhisenergy onholdingon. Either way, they had to get him down.

The fall, however, proved fortuitous. Now farther below the outcroppingwithhisgoodhandinadifferentposition,Tyhadmore options. As two men at the top of the wall finally came to the edge with anewropeandshouteddownfrantically, Ty wasabletopullhimself over, slide his toes onto something solid, and pressclose to the wall. He practically sagged in relief as he rested his arms.

The attendantstossed two new ropes down, bothends landing a fewfeetaway fromwhereZanestood.Mannyrushedtograboneend and attach it to the belaydevice on his ownharness, the otherto another staffer, who shoutedwordlessly up once they were bothhooked up.Oneoftheattendantsaboveswungovertheedge,slowlymaking his way down toward Ty with the other end of thenew rope.

Despitethereliefofthisimminentrescue,themanwasstilla good fifteenfeetabove Ty,and his progress downwas slow. Therewas arippleofgaspsandmurmursas Ty begantoslowly climbuptoward the man who was descending.

"No, sir! Stay whereyou are!" one of the staffers called out.

"Calmdown,kid,"Tycalledbackinannoyanceashecontinued toclimbslowly.ItwasobvioustoZane'seyesthatTywastiredand being far morecareful than he had beenwhenattached to the ropes. He wasgoing slowly butmaking thesamepaceasthemanattemptingthe difficult descent.

"Hey,Lone Star!" Ty called down again.

Zanesnorted and rubbed his hand over his face. "What?"he yelled back.

"Aropewalksintoabar,"Ty announced.Hepauseddramatically as he struggled with finding a foothold. Then he went on, hisvoice strainedwiththephysicaleffort."Ordersabeer.Bartendertellshim, ‘We don't serve ropes in here.' So the rope leaves the bar and goes outside,asksaguypassingtofrayhimatbothendsandtiehimina knot.Theguy doeswhattherope asks,andthentheropegoesback inside and orders a beer.The bartender looks at him and asks, ‘Aren't youthatropethatwasjustinhere?'Andtheropesays,‘I'mafrayed knot!'"

Another rippleof nervous laughter anda smattering of clapping met his words. The crowd hadgrown considerably largersince news of possible death and dismemberment had spread.

Zane stared up at Ty, ata lossfor a long moment. Then he called out,"Howlonghaveyoubeensavingthatone?"Heknewhisvoice was bordering on strident, but Zane didn't care.He was mad, upset,and scared, damn it! And allTy could do was tell jokes!

"Beenwaitinguntilitwasrelevant," Ty calleddownwithashort laugh.Hesoundedwindedfromtryingtotalkandclimbatthesame time. He steadied himself where he had his feet on two solid holds and then pressed hisforehead to the wall, flattened like a bug on a windshield.Zanegrowledinfrustration.AtleastTyhadenoughsense to know when he'd reached his limit.

Luckilythemanclimbingtohimwasonlyfeetfromhim,and soon he reachedhimwiththe rope and began looping itthrough the carabiner rings on Ty's harness.For a short moment, Zane was so light-headedwithreliefthathethoughthemightfallover.Insteadheturned to Manny and asked, "Where are the stairs to get up there?"

"Stairs?" Manny echoed. He looked shell-shocked.

"Tothetopofthewall.Wherearethey?"Zanesaidinsistently, glancinguptosee Ty movingagain,nowsafetyanchoredandgetting closer to thetop. He would be determined toreach the toprather than just pushing away from the wall and letting them lower him down.

Manny pointedtothesideofthefakerockfa?ade,andwithone more look to check on Ty's progress,Zane tookoff at a run toget up there. He rushedthe steps andmade it to the top just in time to see two menhelping Ty overtheedgeofthewall. Tycrawledaway fromthe edgeandimmediately flattenedtothefloor,lookinglikehewastrying to hug thesolidground.Zane dropped to hiskneesrightnextto him, reaching down to touch and reassure himself thatTy was okay.

"Baby?"Zane whispered,the panic echoing through himagain now that it was over.

Ty looked up at him in surprise,and this closeZane could see that despite the jokeshe'd been cracking, Ty'sentirebody wasshaking, and hewascoveredwithafinesheenofsweat."Didyoufly uphere?"Ty asked incredulously as he pushed himself up.

Zanedidn'tanswer,didn'teventhink;hejustpulledTy intohis arms and heldhimclose, letting thefearrush through himandslowly start to dissipate.

Ty huggedhimbackhard,onearmaroundZane'sneckashe twisted awkwardly, still on his knees.

"Areyou okay?" Zane asked shakily.

"I'mafraidnot,"Ty whisperedagainstZane'sneck,hisvoice barely audible.Hebegantoshakesilently,hisbody tremblingwith nervous laughter.Zane huffed andhugged himcloser, but he didn't think it was too damn funny.

Afteralong minuteofbeingunabletoletgo,Zanefinally pulled backenough to fumblewith the buckleof Ty'shelmet andyank it off. HetossedthethingtothesidesohecouldkissTygently andpullhim close again.It was a struggle to hold himself together, andZanereally didn't want to make a scene, but... "Jesus, baby," he said brokenly. Thatmomentofwatching Ty slippingandfallingwasburnedintohis mind, and he couldn't wipe it away.

"It'sokay," Ty murmuredgently.HepattedZane'sface awkwardly."Let's unhookmesoIcangothrowupsomewhere,"he jokedweakly ashesatbackonhishaunchesandbeganpullingatthe harness. The twoattendantshelpedhimgetloose,offering mumbled apologies andexpressionsof admirationfor how he'dmanagednotto fall,but Ty merely noddedtothemashepushedattheharness.He probably wasn'thearingthem.Hismouth wassetinahardline,andhe was still trembling as the adrenaline burned off.He looked up atZane and methiseyes,giving a shaky exhalationafterhe stepped outof the harness and kicked it away.

Zane heldouthishand. "C'mon,baby.I thinkthat'senoughfor this morning."

Ty tookhishandandsqueezedithard,pullinghimselftoward Zaneasifhewereoneoftheropes Ty hadjustbeenharnessedto.He wrapped an arm around Zane's waist and huggedhim close for a moment before sliding underZane's arm and letting it encircle his shoulders.ItwasthefirsttimeZanecouldremember Ty initiatingsuch adisplayofphysicalcomfortaftersomethingtraumatic.Hewondered if it was for show or if itwas real.

Zane hated that thiscasewasforcing himto ask himself thatover and over.

As they started walking, the slight difference in their heights madeiteasy tomovewithoutstumbling,evenwhiledescendingthe narrowstairs.Bythetimetheygottothedeck,Zanethoughthemight be calming down, but then a mobof staff surrounded them withbodies and babble.

"Mr. Porter!—"

"Please let us apologize—"

"Mr. Porter, areyou okay?"

"Can we getyou anything?Mr. Porter, we'll do whatever—"

"Enough,"Zanesnappedfirmly abovethenoise,silencingthem, angerfinallyrisingoveralltheotherwellingemotions."Wejustwant to getback to our room.You canbe sureI willletyou know if we need anything and just exactly whatI think about this accident."

The cowed staff meltedout of theirway,andZanegot them moving again.

"Holdon," Ty murmuredashepattedatZane'sbelly tostophim from trampling anyone in their way. He began to pull away, still looking dazed. "I want to see the rope."

Zanefrownedat Ty briefly,thinking Ty mightactually bein shock, but then his brain caught up to Ty's. "It's out on the platform."

Tymovedtowardwheretheropelayinamessypileofcoilsat thebaseofthewall.Mannystoppedhim,askinghimifheneededa doctor and once again barraginghim with offersofassistance and compsandeverythingelseunderthesun.Tywavedhimoff,shaking his head and giving theman an easygoing grin.Though he musthave been shaken,Zane had to give him credit for maintaining thewinning smile that seemed able to charm just about anyone.

"Couldyoucutthe endoff thatrope for me?" Ty askedManny grandly,hisaccentbackinplace."I'dlovetoadditto my collectionof things that have almost killed me."

TylaughedandpattedMannyonthebackasifhewasmaking light,andtheworkerswhocouldhearhimseemedtoattributeitto either the carefree attitude of a daredevilor aBritish stiff upper lip. Eitherway,theyweren't abouttorefuseanythingTyaskedatthat point.SoonTy wasmovingbacktowardZanewithsixinchesofrope clutched in his hand and a forced, charismatic smile firmly in place.

Zane slid his arm aroundhim again. "Let'sgo," he suggested. "I don't know ifyou need a break,butI sure as hell do." The staff members around them laughed in weakrelief.

Asthey passed by thelargecrowdofmillingpassengers,many of whom called out to them in congratulations or sympathetic relief,Zane hada hardtimesimultaneously shaking a fewhandsandnodding at peoplewhiletryingtokeepTy'sheaddownsonoonegotaverygood lookathim.They weretryingtostay undertheradar;thiswasnot exactly the best way to do it.

TyfinallyclearedhisthroatandglancedsidewaysatZane."I wouldn't recommend the rock wall toyou. Very high."

"GettheinsultsinnowwhileI'mstilltoothankfultohaveyou here safe to mind," Zane warned.

"I'llpass,"Ty muttered.Hehelduptheropeassoonasthey were far enough fromthe crowd not to draw attention.Half of the thickrope wasfrayedhorribly,almostfuzzy fromthetraumainflicted by its separationfromtheotherend.Butroughly a thirdof thefailedend was cleanandstraight,withnaryaruinedstrandtobeseen.Tyturnedit around grimly."It wascut."

As soonasthedoor totheir stateroomwasclosedandlockedbehind them,Ty felthiskneesgo weak.He reachedoutto the wallnearesthim andclosedhiseyesashelettheweaknessseepintohimwhilehehad thechancetoletit.Hehunghisheadandsanktowardthecarpet without furtherwarning,justthankful to be onsolid groundandin private.

"Whoa, baby, c'mon, not on the floor,"Zane murmured as he caught Ty partway down.Theworry wasclearinhisvoice,which wavered enoughthat Ty tooknote of itand triedto man up a little. He attempted to gather himself with a deep breath. "Much more comfortable on the bed," Zane continued.

WhenTy satontheendofthebed—orwhatheassumedwasthe endofthebed,sincethedamnthingwasround—hesimply hunghis headandleanedover.Nomatterhowmany timesapersonalmostdied, itnevergotto thepoint thatitwaseasy toshrug off.Aftera momentof composing himself,heraisedhisheadanddejectedly lookedatZane. "Even whenI'm someone else, people try to kill me," he joked.

Zane sighedand satdown next to him. "Must beyour charming personality showingthroughallthebleach."Hereachedouttorunhis fingers through Ty'sabused hair.

Tyclosedhiseyesandleanedintothetouch."Imayhavegiven usaway outthere,"hesaidruefully."Someoneisapparently tryingto killor atleastinjure one of the Porters.Ifthey were watching,they heard me cussing without my accent."

"Ireallycan't bringmyselftocareaboutthatrightnow,"Zane murmured, rubbing Ty'sback in slow, soothing motions.

Ty lookedathimmoreclosely,surprised by thestatement.Zane didn't meet his eyes, and his face was set with what looked like pain.

"Hey," Ty saidsoftly asheplacedahandonZane'sknee."Look onthebrightside,right?Atleastitwasn'tyou,"hetriedwithalaugh as he pattedZane's thigh.

Zane shook his head slowly as his eyes tracked to meet Ty's. "No. That would have been easier to handle," he said baldly.

"Allrightthen,nexttimeyoudangleovertheocean," Ty offered as he unconsciously rubbed at his abused fingers. He understood what Zanemeant,though.Tyknewfromaprevious,ill-adviseddiscussion about their deepest fearsthatZane's was not being there to save the day when the proverbial shit hit the fan. Zane had been much more eloquent inhiswording,ofcourse.ItwasonefearTyhadnoideahowto assuage.Anditwasa legitimateone,sinceitprobably happenedalot and Zane just didn't know it.

"No problem," Zane whispered as he caressed Ty's cheekwith a slightly tremblingfinger."Ididn'trealizeI'dbeso—"Hisvoice actually broke,andhelookedaway,outintotheroom,hishandfalling away.

"Zane,"Typromptedgently.Hewasbeginningtoworry.Inall fairness,itreally shouldstillbehimfallingapartattheseams,nothis partner.Italmostmade himangry thathehadtobetheonetonarrowly escape death orinjury and console his partnerabout it.Fora brief second, he allowed himself the suspicion that Zane might be putting on justtogive Ty something tofocuson.Heletthatfancy passwhenhe saw the real emotion in Zane's eyes.

Zanedrewasharpbreathandclearedhisthroat."Sorry,hesaid. Ithinkit'ssortofhittingmenow.Whatcouldhavehappened.Idon't know why.It'snotlikeIwasn'tstanding there scaredoutof my mind."

He offered Ty a smile that didn't make it to his eyes.

"You damn well better have been!" Ty blurted indignantly.

"I was," Zane said fervently, taking Ty's hand again. "I couldn't do anything."

Tyexhaledsharplyandstood."Let'snotlingeroverit,Garrett," he said with forced nonchalance. No matter whathe said to Zane just now, he knew he'd be dreaming aboutfalling tonight.Discussing itin detailmighthelpeaseZane'smind,butitwouldn'tdo Ty a damn bitof good.

Zane's hand tightened to keep Ty from moving away. "You scaredme.Youdidn'tcutyourownrope,buthowcouldyouliterally be hanging by your fingertips and still be joking?"

Ty looked down at him in surprise andgave an insulted huff. "Cut my own rope?" he repeated.

"Ty. Please,"Zane said,hisvoice carrying a hintof that dismay. He shook his head a little as he tried to hold Ty'sgaze.

Ty tiltedhishead and petted Zane'shand."One thingI've learned is,ifyou'retoofocusedonthefallingandhowhorriblyit's goingto hurt,youdon'tseewhat'saroundyou.Youmightmiss thevery thing you can hang on to,something that couldstopthe fallaltogether. So if you stay calm..."Heshrugged.Itwasn'ta lesson he'd necessarily learned while literally hanging in the air, but it served for many of life's difficulties.Including literally hanging in the air.

Zanestilldidn'tlookhappy."Notonemaninathousandcould have done whatyou did today.I couldn't have."

Ty didn'tdisagree.He'dhadextensivetraininginordertodo exactlywhathe'ddonetoday.Nottomentionahealthydoseofpure dumbluck.Zaneknew that,and Ty didn'tunderstandwhy hewasso upset.Hewassilent,frowninginconfusionashewatchedtheplay of emotions over Zane's face.But none of themstayed in place long enough for Ty to really interpret them.

"I toldyouwhatI thinkaboutfreefall,"Zanefinally said."And stayingcalmisn'tenough. You up there joking?You weren'tdoing it foryourself, wereyou?" It wasn't so much a question as a conclusion.

"Well,you know how amusing I find myself."

"Yeah,right.Youwereabouttofallthirtyfeet,andyouwere more worriedaboutme thanyou wereaboutyourself."Zane stoodand reachedtoplaceahandoneachsideofTy's face,holdinghimstill. "Areyouokay?Icouldn'tdoanythingbutstandandwatchbefore,but I could do something to help now."

"Yeah,youcan,"Tymurmuredsomberly,hiseyesdartingback and forthas he lookedoverZane'ssincere face."You canget me some Tylenol.Andice.Andadrink.Andpossiblyanicegentlemassage, 'causeI'm notgoing to be able to move my arms in an hour."

Zaneleanedtokisshim, justasoftpressofthelips,probably to halt Ty's litany of demands. "You can have anything you want, baby."

Ty almostgaveintothegentlesentiment,butheclosedhiseyes andshookhisheadobstinately."Quitit!"hedemanded,barely keeping himselffromstompinghisfootinapetulantfit.HewantedZaneback to being hisnormalindignantself,notthisweirdquixotic versionof his lover andpartner."Snapout of itand... I don'tknow... yell at me for almost dying or something!"

"Allright,allright,"Zane said,smiling a little and straightening his shoulders,giving himself a slight shake."Next timeyoudo something like that,I'mgoing tosmackthe helloutofyou,okay?" He stole one more kiss andsighed, then padded over to the phone.In the nextmoment,hewastalkingtothebutlerservice."Whatdoyouwant to drink?" he directedat Ty, his hand over the mouthpiece of the phone.

"A lot," Ty answeredgrimly.

Zaneorderedasix-packofGuinnessandlargepitcheroficedtea, a shot of their bestwhiskey, a bucket of ice, some cold sandwiches and chips, and a cookie platter in quick succession before hanging up.

"Cookies?" Ty asked with a smile he didn't try to restrain.

"Comfortfood.Yougetbeer;Igetcookies,"Zaneexplainedas he kicked off his cross trainers and walked back over to the bed.

Ty watchedhimmove,seriously considering tacklinghimand relieving some stress ina morefavorable manner thana shower or cookies.But hedecidedagainstsucha tack,considering howdistressed Zane seemed and how important the morning's events might be to the grand scheme of things."So," he said quietly."Do we think someone is trying to killDel,or dowe thinksomeone's figuredoutwe're notthe Portersandthey're trying tokillme?Or us,I guess,since therewasno way of knowing which of us would go first."

He watchedasZane studied him silently foramoment and then advancedonhim."There'snotbeenenoughexposureforourcoverto beblownunlessthere'sawildcardinplay whoactually knowsthe Porters.Wehavenoreasontothinkthat,"Zanesaid.Hestoppedright in front of Ty, looking down at him. "Take off those shoes."

Thefirmtoneofvoicealonemade Ty shiverslightly,andittook him a moment to realize he wasstill wearing theclimbing shoes suppliedby thestaffattherockwall. Ty lookeddownatthemin surprise. He felthimselfflush at theabsentmindedness,and heyanked themoffoneatatime,tossingthemtowardthesofa."Sowhytryto hurt one of the Porters?" he posed as he did so. "A fall like that wouldn'tnecessarily kill.Especially sincecutting halfway througha rope isn'texactly aprecisemethod.Whoeverdidithadnoideawhenit would rip. And sinceI doubtDelor Corbinare better climbersthan me, it's likely they'd have been lower when it did go."

Zanegruntedincommentashewalkedaroundtheedgeofthe bed. He satand pulledup his legs, leaning against the headboard and crossinghislegsattheankle."It'sawfully imprecise.Wecouldhave skipped our appointmentor been late and it could have been someone else up there." His voice was steadier now, almost back to normal.

"Whichprovestwothings,"Tysaidwithafrown."Whoeverdid itisn'tin ahurry tokillus—them—whoeverthey'retrying tokill.And they'renotafraidtohurtinnocentbystandersdoingit. My bet'son Armen. Anyone who likesto drinkasmuch as the Italian can'tbe sober often enough to plan ahead."

"Notnecessarily.Ifyou'vegottolerance,alcoholmightsharpen your attention, not blunt it."

ThecommentbroughtTy upshort.He'dbeenjokingabout Lorenzo Bianchiand his love of wine, an off-handed comment he probably shouldn'thavemade.ButZane'ssincere belief inthewords he'd justuttereddisturbed Ty enoughthathe wasn'tableto keepthe surpriseandconcernoutofhisexpression.Zanejustofferedashrug and a rueful smile.

"Is that really whatyou think?" Ty asked, unable to help himself.

Zane's browcreasedalittle."Yes.Everyonereactstoalcohol differently, just likedrugs, just likeinjuries. Depends on how you handle it, whatyou let it do to you. Why?"

Ty realizedhewasstaringatZaneslightly agape,andhequickly pressed his lips together. He shook his head sadly. The reasoning seemed very... self-serving for analcoholic. Hedidn't want to argue withZanejustthen,sohenoddedandlookedaway,determinedtolet thethreadofconversationdieanaturaldeath.Hemovedtowardthe bed,pullinghisdampshirtoverhisheadandcastingitasideashesat inthegenerallocationoftheendofthebed.Heexaminedthescaron his hand. His ring finger was beginning to swelleven more.He was nevergoing togetthedamnring off.Hemightactually needtohaveit cut off soon.

"I'msittingheretryingtothinkofacreativewaytoyellatyou forscaringtheshitoutofme,andnothing's reallycomingtomind otherthan fucking you against the shower wall until weboth feel better," Zane said from behind him, his tone calm and conversational.

Ty noddeddistractedly."I doneedashower,"hecommentedina voice to match.

Zaneshiftedhisweighttoclimboffthebedandmovedtoward him,reachingoutonehand.Whenheglancedup,Ty wassurprisedto see the intense look in Zane's eyes. His fingers brushed over Ty's skin, but they flinched after a firm rap on the stateroomdoor.

Ty looked upatZaneandsmiledgamely.Zaneglancedtothe doorandbackto Ty,clearly considering ignoringituntiltherewasa second knock, louder than the first.Zane huffed and stalked across the room to unbolt the door and open it just enough to look out.

Ty watchedtensely,handsloose near thegun he'd stashedunder the mattress earlier, andhunched over so he could grab it quickly. He couldn't seeorheartheirguest,buthewouldn't putitpastZaneto growlatthemtogoaway sotheycouldproceedtotheshoweras planned.

"Unless you're hiding a cart with cold beer and cookies, go away," Zane growled atwhoever was out there.

Tylaughedsoftlyandshookhishead.Helayback,leavingthe gunsafelyunderthemattress,rolledonthebed,andstretchedouton hisstomach, surprised by the adrenaline stillcoursing throughhim. He hadn't almost died in a while. He wasn't handling it well.

Zaneexchangeda fewmore wordswith the person on the other sideofthedoorbeforeshuttingitfirmly andshootingthebolt."Weare nowtopofthetreatlist,"hesaidwryly ashewalkedbacktothebed. "The ship, if not the world, is ours on a platter."

"Great," Ty repliedwithoutenthusiasm."What else is on that damned itinerary?"

"Toomanyotherextremesportsfor my liking,"Zanemutteredas hesatontheedgeofthemattressandstartedrubbingTy'sneckwith one hand.

"What would be the point in disabling DelorCorbin at this stage?" Ty posed as he stared listlessly at the balcony doors.

"Nothing other than removing them fromtheequation,"Zane answered, twisting a little to useboth handstoknead Ty'sshoulders carefully.

"Thankyou,Sherlock,"Ty saidwithasmallsmile."I meantwhy. Have we stumbled into a business takeover, doyou think?"

Zane stayed quiet for a minute as he massaged, hisfingers firm on Ty's skin. "You mean Armen trying to take over."

"Or Bianchi," Ty said with a nod.

"I supposeitcouldbe us—thePorters—trying totake over,and oneoftheothersissimply strikingfirst,"Zanesuggestedashekeptup the massage, moving more to Ty's shoulders andupper arms.

"You'remuchbetteratthatthanthelastlady," Ty mumbled distractedly.

Thewarmhandssqueezingandrubbingkeptmovinginsmooth circlesandslides."Porterdoesseemthe typetotry atakeover,"Zane mentioned, continuing the conversation as if Ty hadn't said anything. "Anenterprisingthug.Bianchi... well, my first impressionisn'toneof aggression. Armen is dangerous."

"Right." Ty sighedheavily,closinghis eyesandconcentrating more onZane's hands. He had long fingers onbig hands, andhe spread themacrossTy'sskinexpertlyashemassagedthemusclesbunching withtension.Firstthefingerswoulddiginandkneaduntilitwas almostpainful,butthen Zane wouldletupandstartsoothing the area with long swipes of the heels of his hands, gently shooing the discomfort away.

Ty realizedhewaslettingZanediverthimfromtheslightly more important issue theynow faced. He raised his head and turned it, resting itagainso hewasfacingZane. "You'regetting distracted," he accused.

The corners of Zane'smouth pulled up slowly, and the smile echoedin his eyes. "AmI, now?" he drawled,dragging his fingertips down Ty's back.

Ty shiveredviolently,thenrolledandreacheduptoknockZane's hand away. He miscalculated wherehe was on thecircular bed,though, and his shoulder hitthe edge of the mattress and he went toppling over the edge with a flail of his arms and an abbreviatedyip.

There was silence fora brief moment,and then Zane's head appeared to look down athim.

"Haven'tyou had enough of thatfor one day?"He didn't sound particularly amused. Ty sat up, rubbing the backof his head andglaring up at his lover balefully,as if it had beenZane'sdoing. "Don't look at me," Zane said as he shifted in place, still up on the bed. "This oneyou did to yourself, dumbass."

"I hate this bed," Ty mutteredas he sat on the floor dejectedly and examinedhisabusedhands.Hecouldn't bebotheredtogetoffthe floor.

"Come back up—" Another knock interruptedZane. He climbed off the bedwith a grunt,trudged to the door,and opened it much the same as before.

Only thistimeheimmediately pulledthedoorfurtheropensothe roomservicecartcouldbepushedintotheirtable.Thestaffermade herselfscarce—notellingifshe'dheardaboutthecrazy morning—and Zane locked the door behind her.

Ty hadtostretchhisnecktowatchhimovertheedgeofthebed. Zane busied himself with the tray, smiling down at the plates he uncovered."Hey,getyourTylenolandcomeeat,"hesaid."ThenI have liquid relaxation foryou."

"Garrett, come over here," Ty requested quietly.

Zane turned his chin tolook at him, his browfurrowing slightly, buthewalkedovertowhere Ty stillsatonthefloorandstopped, waiting with a questioning look.

"Thisfloorissurprisingly clean,"Ty toldhimpointedly ashe gestured to the lush carpet at Zane's feet.

"ShouldI interpretthatas‘bringmeasandwichandabeer,'oras ‘getdownhereandkissme'?"Zaneaskedashecrossedhisarmsand looked down at his partner.

Ty justsmiledwistfully,apartofhimwishinghedidn'thaveto begZaneto getdown there and kiss him. Heheldout a hand. "Help me up," he muttered instead. Zane took his hand and pulled him up obligingly. Ty pattedhimonthearmandmovedpasthim,towardthe cartandthearray offoodanddrinks.He'donly justpickedupabottle of beer when they heard another knock on the door.

"Oh, this is just getting ridiculous," Zane muttered.

Ty shookhisheadandpoppedthetoponthebeeranyway. "Igot it," he said as he waved Zane off and shuffled barefoot to the door. He opened the door wide, assuming that whoever hadtried to killDelwas sneakier than a gun to the face in the doorway of his suite.

He was right, but what greeted him was almost as alarming. Norina Bianchiflung herself intoTy's arms assoon as he'd openedthe door, accompanied by a rush of foreign babble and her smiling husband. After a tighthug, she leaned back, pattedboth his cheeks, and then huggedhimagain.She soundedworried,andTy gatheredthe pair had learned of his mishap on the rock wall.

"Yes, I'm fine.Comein,"heinvited,flusteredashetriedto gentlyextricatehimselffromthewoman'sarmswithoutspillingbeer on her.

He heardZane's voice from behind them. "Signor Bianchi, please come in.I'mgoing toguessyour lovely wifeheardabout Del'sgrand adventure this morning."

"Ah,yes,"BianchisaidasheshooedNorinaoutofthedoorway sothey couldallgetinsideandshutthedoor."Hereshecomes,flying into the cabin to go on about a big excitement in the sporting center."

Norinawasstilltalkingrapidly to Ty,herbeautifulface undergoingadramaticseriesoffrownsandworriedexpressions.Ty was pretty goodwithlanguagesandcoulduponoccasionpick up what someone was saying fromknowledge of similarlanguages oreven the meaningsofrootwordsherecognized.Buttryingtodecipheranyof what she said when she spoke it at Mach 7 was impossible.

He smiled in amusement, suddenly finding the situation incredibly funny.He reached outand tookone ofher delicate handsin bothofhisandpattedit."Slowly please,"herequestedwithaglanceat Zaneandawink."Corbindoesn'tspeakthelanguagenearly sowellas he pretends."

"Oh!" Norina exclaimed as she looked at Zane with wide, dark eyes. "I must apologize!In my excitementI forget myself."

Ty practically sighedinrelief.ShespokeEnglish.Nowhejust needed to convince her to continue to do so even when his fake husband wasn't around.

"Noapology needed,Signora,"Zanesaidpleasantly."Won'tyou come in and sit down? We just ordered refreshments for the afternoon."

"I told my Norina you would be... comforting each other," Bianchisaidknowingly."Aftersuchaharrowingexperience.Butno, she needed to seeyour Del for herself."

"They saidyouhadfallen,"shetoldTy assheputbothhandson his chest and gazed up athim. Ty didn't know if itwas because she was Italian,becausesheknewhewasgayandtherefore"safe"togrope,or ifshewasjustthetouchy-feelytype,buthereallywishedshe'dstop touching him quite so freely.

"Itwasaminoraccident,notnearly asbadas therumors,I'm sure," Ty assuredherashepluckedherhandsoffhischestandsteered her toward the sitting area and the other two men.

"Asyousee,"Zanesaidashefilledglassesfromthebarwithice, "Del is up and about, doing just fine."

"Yes,"Bianchicommented,looking over thecart fromroom service."Andyou ordered a drink from room service to settleyour own heart, no?" he said, indicating the shot of whiskey.

TyraisedoneeyebrowatZane.He'd forgottenabouttheglass. He wasn't fond of whiskey, but he didn'tthink Zane knew that. However,Tydidn't knowifZanehadorderedtheshotforTyorfor himself.

Zane waveda nonchalant hand at it as he poured tea. "Wouldyou likesometea?Orthere's beer,andIbelievewehaveaselectionof sodas in the bar fridge and a couple bottles of wine besides."

"Wehadwinewithlunch,"Norinasaid,steppingbackfromTy slightlybutmovingtoholdhisarmasthey walkedtojoinBianchiand Zane at the table. "I willhave tea, please."

"Tea. Bah.I will have the beer if it is notAmerican," Bianchi said as he pulled out a chair, looking ready to make himself at home.

Tyhadtoholdbackasigh.Nomoremassageforhim.Butthis was why they were here,he toldhimself,toget informationfromthese people.Nottogetlaidrepeatedly by hispartnerinaluxury suite.No matter how much that appealed.