Touch & Geaux (Cut & Run 7)

Kelly cleared his throat and pointed at Liam. “So let me get this straight. You’re here to kill him,” he said, indicating at Ty. Then he gestured to Zane. “But you thought you were after him because he was the mole.”

After a moment of contemplation, Liam nodded. “At its very basic, yes.”

“So why aren’t either of them dead?” Owen asked.

“Well,” Liam said, drawing out the word. “Either I am the worst assassin in the world, which, if you want a hint, is not the right answer. Or . . . I realized I was after a couple of Feds and I pulled out.”

“You refused the job?” Nick asked.

“Yes.”

“You told me you hadn’t called it in yet!” Zane shouted.

“I lied.” Liam winked at Zane. “I do that, remember?”

“Are you lying now?” Nick asked.

Liam grinned as they locked eyes. “Maybe.”

Nick ran a finger over the bridge of his nose. “Either way. By now they’ll have sent a backup.”

“Precisely!” Liam grinned. “You were always the brains of this operation, weren’t you?”

“Bite me, British.”

Liam shivered theatrically and grinned. “They won’t have had the time to plan that I did, so they will go for something with less charisma and more brute strength.”

“How many?” Ty asked.

“I would say six to eight. Just to cover their bases.”

“So, we have cartel hit men after us?” Digger asked. “What the shit does that have to do with gris-gris?”

“What is a gris-gris?” Liam asked.

Liam and Digger stared at each other, eyes narrowing, lips curving into snarls.

Nick passed a hand over his eyes, groaning.

“Why did you come to the hospital?” Ty demanded of Liam.

A frown creased Liam’s brow. “I haven’t been to hospital.”

“You didn’t come to my room and threaten me?”

“Why in the hell would I go to all this trouble if I could have found you at the hospital? Why were you in hospital?”

Ty glanced at Nick and slid lower in his seat, rubbing his hand over his face.

“Does that mean you really did attack a male nurse at the ER?” Owen asked.

Ty nodded from behind his hand.

Liam shook his head, peering at Ty. “You really are off the rails, huh?”

Ty sat forward, holding out a hand. “The point is, the situation has changed. The cleanest way to handle any of this is to skip town.”

“You want to run?” Zane asked, practically sneering.

Nick narrowed his eyes, trying not get defensive. “There’s running and then there’s strategic retreat. It’s good to know the difference.”

“You want to run,” Zane repeated.

“Yes,” Ty said. “We’re not equipped to handle this here.”

“We’ll never have a better chance against them. There are seven of us.”

“Six,” Ty corrected.

Liam counted the men around the table. When he got to seven, he pointed to himself and shook his head. “This is not my fight,” he said. “I don’t plan on dying for any of you.”

Ty and Zane locked eyes again. Nick sort of wanted to lean away from the line of fire.

“You know damn well we will never have another opportunity like this one,” Zane said through gritted teeth. “We know they’re coming. Even if this isn’t their fight, it’s yours and mine.”

“Garrett, we are outgunned,” Ty said, his voice getting louder. He pressed a finger against the table. “We know they’re coming, but we don’t know how or when. And in case you’ve forgotten, there is a city full of cops hunting us down right now. If there’s trouble, we’re just as likely to end up in jail as we are dead, and either way ends bloody for me.”

Zane crossed his arms and huffed. “I never thought I’d see the day I wanted to call you a coward.”

“Whoa,” Owen whispered.

Nick sat straighter and put both hands out. “Okay, slow down.”

Ty stared at Zane, not moving, not blinking. He didn’t even appear to be breathing. Nick tensed, preparing to grab Ty when he lunged. Zane returned the stare, unwavering. Across the table, Liam whistled softly.

Ty stood as if the noise had propelled him, his chair scratching against the wooden floorboards. Nick stood with him, but Ty didn’t attack.

“Where are you going?” Kelly asked.

“To get a drink,” Ty spat. Nick sighed as Ty stalked toward the bar.

“Well that was productive,” Digger muttered.

Nick sat again. Digger and Kelly were both shaking their heads, looking to Nick for guidance. Owen had his arms on the table, resting his head on them. Liam was sitting with his lips pursed, and when Nick made eye contact, Liam grinned and winked. Zane was still leaning back in his chair, but his body wasn’t relaxed. He was resting his mouth against his hand, elbow propped on the arm of the chair. His hard eyes followed Ty’s movements.

“Okay,” Nick said. “Nothing good is going to come of us sitting here sniping at each other. We’ll call it a night, come back with clearer heads at dawn. Keep watch in shifts of two. Bell doesn’t take a turn.”

“You’re putting a guard on me?” Liam asked.

“Yes. Would you like to tell me why I shouldn’t?”

“I’d like to tell you where to go, do I have permission to do that?” He stood, muttering under his breath as he walked away. He said something to Ty as he mounted the stairs, then ducked and covered when Ty chucked a heavy glass at him. It shattered against the wall and rained shards over Liam’s shoulders.

“Excellent idea, Grady!” Liam shouted. He stood from his crouch. “Lace the steps with glass so we can hear them coming, good thinking.”

“Keep running your mouth, you bastard, you’ll wake up bloody!” Ty shouted.

“Yeah, in my sleep, that’s the only way you’ll ever get the upper hand.”

Liam hustled up the steps before Ty could reply, taking them two at a time and narrowly avoiding the second glass Ty threw at him.

Nick chewed on his lip for a few seconds, then turned to glance at the others. “Who wants to volunteer for first watch with Ty?”

The bar felt heavy when it was deserted, as if the music and smoke and drink had all risen to the top and begun pressing down on everyone below. That had always been Ty’s favorite time of day. The memories weren’t so sweet now, though.