Touch & Geaux (Cut & Run 7)

Ty shook his head, his voice harsh. “I can’t do that.”

“You can.”

“I can’t let you go like that.”

Liam gave him a weak smile. “Oh, how I wish you meant that like it sounds, darling.” He took a step toward the door.

“Stop moving.”

“Make me, Ty.” Liam took another backward step and put his hand on the doorknob. “You and I both know you can’t take me down without a gun, and you won’t even shoot me when I ask you to.”

Ty drew in a deep breath. “Liam. We’ll figure something else out. Please don’t go.”

“Why not? Would you miss me?”

Ty looked into his eyes and nodded jerkily. “Yes, I would.”

“So tell me why I shouldn’t go.” They stared at each other. Liam took a step back. “Or better yet, come with me and tell me every night.”

Ty’s heart pounded, the blood rushing through him and making him light-headed.

“If you don’t follow and shoot me somewhere that looks like a kill shot, I’m going to go find someone else who will. Someone without your aim.”

Ty narrowed his eyes.

“You could be killing me if they miss.” Liam turned and disappeared around the corner.

Ty holstered his gun and darted after the man, knowing Liam would do exactly what he’d threatened. He caught up to him in the canteen. It was crowded with troops, laughing and eating, playing pool and darts, relaxing after a long, trying day.

“Sergeant Bell!” Ty shouted.

Liam stopped on the other side of the room, turning to meet his eyes.

The room gradually quieted, confused by their combative stances.

Liam glanced around at their comrades in arms. Ty understood now that Liam had always intended to leave them, known forever to them as the spy among them who was shot and killed. They would never know what he’d done for their safety, what he’d sacrificed, and Liam had known that all along.

Ty grew angrier as the confusion ebbed. Who the hell had the right to ask them to be like this? Who decided it was their job to sacrifice their lives?

Liam looked at him expectantly, silently begging him to announce he was a traitor, to draw on him. A low murmur of confusion and amusement began to rumble through the room.

Ty couldn’t get the words out. They stuck in his throat. His hand wouldn’t reach for his gun. He shook his head, unable to come through for Liam when he needed him most.

Liam mouthed the word, “Please.”

Ty’s hand settled on his gun. His body was cold all over and his hand shook. There was no way he could take that shot. He’d miss the target and kill him.

Liam sneered and peered at Ty with icy blue eyes. He drew his gun. Shock and alarm rippled through the soldiers and Marines as Liam aimed at Ty. “I’ll shoot you, Tyler,” Liam murmured.

Ty went cold, seeing the truth in the man’s eyes, and yet he still couldn’t pull his own weapon. If he had to die, he wanted someone worthy to take the kill shot.

Liam fired and the bullet caught Ty in the left shoulder. He cried out and stumbled back, fighting past the shock to realize that if he didn’t shoot Liam, someone else in the room would. He pulled his service pistol, not taking the time to think, not letting his nerves overtake his hands, and put two rounds in Liam’s chest.

“You shot him because he asked you to?” Zane asked.

Nick released Ty’s shirt and backed away. They all gaped at Ty.

“Technically, I shot him because he shot me.” Ty pressed his back against the wall. He was breathing hard, like he expected one of them to come at him again. He looked cornered.

Zane knew what happened to Ty, and to the people around him, when he was cornered. He moved forward, brushing past Nick. “You need to sit down,” he said under his breath.

Ty nodded, taking a deep breath. He locked eyes with Zane, refusing to look away as Zane placed a hand on his shoulder.

“If he asked you to shoot him, why would he be here for revenge? Why are you scared?” Owen asked.

Ty cleared his throat, taking a step toward the bed and then reversing and pacing past Zane. He met Zane’s eyes again briefly, then turned back to the bed.

Nick caught him by the arm to stop him. “Answer him.”

Ty took another deep breath. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“For what?” Nick demanded.

Ty cleared his throat and glanced around the room. He gently pulled his arm out of Nick’s grasp. He sat down hard. “Liam is the reason Sidewinder was discharged.”

A chorus of questions and complaints arose, but all Zane could do was watch the line of Ty’s shoulders as he leaned forward and rested his face in his hands. He suddenly looked like a man who’d been carrying a great weight, and Zane knew there were other secrets Ty carried, secrets as big as this one. Secrets that weighed on him in ways no one could understand by merely looking at his façade.

Nick took a step into the center of the room, raising his hands to calm the other three. He turned to Ty and knelt in front of him. “Tell us what happened. Please, Ty. You’ve obviously been keeping this on yourself, it’s time to trust us.”

Ty straightened, both hands on his knees. He looked down at Nick. “Once they had him declared dead and he’d recovered enough to move, I think Liam pulled strings with NIA. He convinced them we’d make a good asset, the whole team, that we could be military assets for NIA just like he’d been.”

“NIA made a deal with the Marine Corps?” Kelly asked.

Ty nodded, looking sick. “They tried to, from what I was able to gather. I was never given the full briefing, but I do know we were to be released into the umbrella of the National Intelligence Agency to be used as part of a new ultra-militarized arm of the CIA. We’d have had to jump whenever they called. We wouldn’t have been real Marines anymore, we would have been spooks in Marine uniforms. When I was informed of the orders, I . . . I refused them.”

“You spoke for the whole team?” Zane asked.

“Yes, I did.”

“You’re telling me I got kicked out of the Corps because you had a lover’s spat?” Owen growled.

Ty stood, baring his teeth like an animal. Nick stood with him, just managing to stop him from advancing. He shoved him back to the bed. Ty bounced on the mattress, grabbing his side and grunting.

“Shit, sorry!” Nick said. He patted Ty’s head but kept his body between him and Owen. “Why would Bell be back here for revenge?”