Fish & Chips (Cut & Run 3)

Ty suspected the same men who"d been doing the shooting and chasing; it was probable they had planned to cheat the entire smuggling ring and kill them all. They weren"t talking either, which left a whole lot up to conjecture about who the hell they really were and what had truly happened. They"d been locked up in the jail on Tortola, and they were being held on charges of attempted murder. They might even face charges for attempting to hijack the cruise ship, if prosecutors were feeling particularly vindictive. Ty thought for sure there would be other charges coming along as well, including smuggling, money laundering, and weapons charges pending extradition.

The captain had politely informed them that the Bianchis were on house arrest in their cabin until Dolce and Gabbana could claim jurisdiction.

Ty wondered how the hell he and Zane got stuck in the damn holding cell instead of in their luxurious stateroom with a guard at the door. When Ty had voiced that objection, the captain had politely informed them that they would remain right where they were… until they made port in Maryland.

They might as well get comfortable.

Ty turned his head to peer through the wire at Zane, his mouth twitching into a smirk. “McCoy specifically told me if I ended up in the brig not to call him,” he said with wry amusement. “I"m not sure what annoys me more, the fact that he assumed I"d end up here, or that he was right.”

Zane grimaced, but he still laughed. “But we met the challenge,”

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 the wire as he pressed his nose against it. “I know this wasn"t all fun and games for you.”

Zane huffed out a pained laugh. “You could say that.” He glanced at Ty, disbelief clear on this face. “I still can"t believe you said that to me.”

Ty tapped his finger against the thick wire, the wedding band making a small clinking sound next to his ear. He smiled weakly. He had to agree, but probably not for the same reasons Zane couldn"t believe it. He didn"t say anything in response, hoping the smile would suffice. Zane just shook his head and looked away.

Ty released the wire partition and sat back, lounging back on the 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 harder than expected. But it was nothing compared to the tightness in his chest. His finger hurt too, but he was loath to ask someone to cut the ring off. He would miss it when it was gone. And he"d probably never wear another one that meant anything to him.

He watched the light play off the scuffed silver band.

There was nowhere to go, and they had all the time in the world to get there. It was an oddly freeing thought, one that made that tightness in his chest ease a little. He licked his lips as his thumb grazed the ring. “I love you” was not something he had ever really planned on telling Zane, especially not in a situation when neither of them could hide from the other. But it had come out so naturally up there on that railing he hadn"t been able to stop himself. Now, he could either lie right to Zane"s face and let Zane believe it had been a mere ploy to get 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 that he was saying it out loud, especially now, when everything seemed to be going well for their odd relationship.

Zane raised one brow. “Besides sitting soaking wet in a jail cell in the middle of the Caribbean?”

“I have to say, it"s not a first for me,” Ty muttered. He smiled and looked up at the ceiling, almost talking himself out of saying it. He waited a moment to make sure he truly wanted to say it, and when he spoke he had finally dropped the fake accent. “No, this is a different kind of problem.”

Despite the expressed surprise from a moment ago, this time Zane"s voice was more serious, with a shade of audible concern. “What is it?”

Ty bit the inside of his lip as he looked down at his hands and turned them over. They had begun to shake slightly. He could feel the nerves coursing through his body. If he told Zane, nothing would be the same. Their entire partnership would change, for better or for worse.

And he knew he would get nothing out of it except the relief of coming clean.

He took a deep breath and looked up at Zane, meeting his eyes through the painted wire. Zane frowned slightly and moved closer to the fence, flattening one palm against it as though trying to get to Ty to help him.

Ty didn"t reach out to touch him, knowing it would make it too hard for him to get the words out. He knew what Zane"s response would be. He hadn"t really thought this through—the repercussions, the ripple effects—but he rarely thought anything through before doing it.

It was sort of like the first jump out of a plane. Close your eyes and take a step and hope the ground doesn"t hit you too fast. Either way, you knew wind was going up your nose at two hundred miles per hour.

Falling in love or just plain falling: they were both terrifying at any speed.

He sighed heavily and lifted his chin stubbornly, meeting Zane"s eyes without flinching. “I didn"t say it just to get you to jump. I"m in love with you, Zane,” he admitted in a calm, clear voice. “I have been for a while.”

Zane"s eyes widened, and the shock was clear in them. He didn"t try to hide it. That, at least, was telling of the trust they"d built between them. He didn"t hide his emotions from Ty much anymore. No more than Ty did from him. Zane"s lips parted like he was about to say something, but nothing came out as he tipped his head slightly to one side.

“You don"t have to say anything,” Ty said quickly. He"d known how Zane would respond, and he"d come to terms with it. He still didn"t want to hear the words, though. He couldn"t meet Zane"s eyes any longer, and he could feel his face warming. He looked down at his hand and turned it over. “I know you don"t….” He shook his head and glanced up at the stark white wall across the way from his cell, starting over. “I know you care about me. That"s all I need. I just figured… we have enough secrets between us,” he continued as he looked back up at Zane and smiled nervously. “Now it"s just one less.”

The cascade of emotions across Zane"s face surprised him; Ty didn"t think he"d ever seen Zane look so startled. Zane"s fingers curled into the fencing, and he nodded just slightly. “One less,” he echoed softly, though his lips moved like he was starting to say something else and stopped. Then he restarted. “Why tell me that way?”