Stars & Stripes (Cut & Run 6)

“Great.”

“I called McCoy too, told him what was going on.”

Ty winced.

“He asked if you were catatonic,” Zane said, voice trembling as he tried not to laugh.

“That’s not funny.”

“It kind of is.”

“I’ll never hear the end of this shit.”

Zane laughed and squeezed him close. Ty patted his arm and stopped walking. To Zane’s surprise, Ty was grinning.

“Stars and stripes, Zane.”

“What?”

“It’s the Fourth of July. I saw stars, and then I saw stripes.” He began to laugh like it was the most hilarious thing he’d ever heard, doubling over and grabbing Zane’s arm to hold himself up as he cackled. Though Zane knew it was the lingering effects of the drugs on Ty’s system, he couldn’t help but laugh too. Whether he was laughing with Ty or at him, he wasn’t sure.

“Come on, you stoner,” Zane whispered. He pulled Ty, still giggling, into the dining room. Ty calmed and cleared his throat, attempting a little decorum.

Beverly was quick to greet them with a disapproving glare. “Mr. Grady, I suppose we all owe you a debt of gratitude,” she said, sounding like she was trying to chew a light bulb.

Ty sat in the chair Zane pulled out for him, and he nodded, still too sedate to engage her.

Zane wondered if they couldn’t just pack up and go home now. They’d gotten enough of a lead to give to the local authorities, and Ty didn’t deserve the abuse he was putting up with for Zane’s sake. Not from those yahoos in the bar, not from the elements, and not from Beverly Carter-Garrett.

“I do hope we’ll leave this to the real authorities now, though?”

Zane glared down the table at her.

“What real authorities?” Annie asked, her tone acerbic. “The sheriff is overrun, and animal control are chasing their asses around a hot potato because people are reporting loose tigers from here to Austin. It’s caused a panic.”

“That is none of our concern.”

“It will be when that tiger gets hungry enough. We all know he’s still on the C and G.”

“Annie.”

Annie shrugged, but went back to her meal without provoking Beverly further.

Beverly looked around the table. “We don’t want any more incidents drawing unwanted attention to us.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Zane saw Ty reach for the wine in front of him and toss back the entire glass in one gulp. Zane winced. That wasn’t going to react with those tranquilizers well.

“Mother, we can’t let this drop now. Ty’s life is in danger. You saw that this morning when they came here fishing.”

“Who went fishing?” Ty asked.

“Forgive me for being callous, but if he’d leave, he wouldn’t be in danger anymore. As it is, he’s attracting trouble to our ranch.”

“And I smell like tiger breath,” Ty muttered.

“Now Beverly, none of this is Ty’s fault,” Harrison said, voice calm as he handed Ty his own wine glass. Ty whispered a thank you and downed that as well. Zane almost said something, but the conversation distracted him from his disapproval.

“They’ll keep coming back until there’s nothing to come back for,” Mark interjected. “Annie was out there too, and if she saw them, they may have seen her. They’ll know it was her, and she’s in danger too.”

“We need Zane and Ty here, Beverly,” Harrison said. “Circling the wagons.”

“Yes, I can see how much use that particular wagon is going to do us,” Beverly said, nodding toward Ty.

Ty stared at her, and Zane could see it coming from a mile away. He had two, maybe three seconds to stop his partner from tearing his mother’s head off.

He sat back and crossed his arms instead.

Ty’s eyes drifted from Beverly, who sat stiff and proper, waiting for his retort, and landed on Sadie instead. She smiled shyly at him and stuck a piece of chicken in her mouth. Zane watched in fascination as Ty gave her a half-smile and returned his attention to the tabletop.

Everyone else noticed it too. They all looked at Sadie, who was still grinning and chewing.

Ty cleared his throat. “If you want me to leave because you think I’m putting your family in danger, then I will.” He met Beverly’s eyes, then looked at Sadie again. “But I would like to stay and help protect your family.”

The table was silent, but for the sounds of Sadie eating. The emotionless mask on Beverly’s face was back, but Zane could see her struggling with her response. Ty had realized that trading barbs with her was not the way to handle it—that a direct, sincere approach was much more likely to throw her off her game. It was a little unnerving sometimes, watching Ty manipulate others. Zane couldn’t help but wonder how many times Ty had done that to him without him realizing it.

Beverly finally exhaled and gave a curt nod, blinking rapidly. “If you believe yourself fit enough for the job, Mr. Grady, then so be it.”

Everyone was silent, letting the tension settle over the table. Soon enough, Harrison picked up his fork and knife and began to cut into his steak.

As they ate, the tension slowly broke, and they filled Ty in on what he’d missed. He sat with a frown, listening and offering little in response. When they were done, Ty sat in silence, still nodding his head, staring at the table.

“Ty?”

Ty looked up as if Zane had splashed him with cold water. “I don’t think this is about tigers.”

“What?”

Ty glanced around and gave a small shrug. “I don’t think the tigers are the target.”

“But we caught them in the act. We saw them poaching the tigers,” Mark insisted.

“Just give it a little time,” Zane said more gently. “Let your mind catch up to the tranquilizers, okay?”

Ty eyes flickered to Mark, but he nodded. “Right.”

“Well. You all will excuse me. I have business to attend to.” Beverly stood without waiting for a reply and made her way out of the room.

Zane sat back, watching Ty, a sense of foreboding creeping over him despite everything. Ty knew something he wasn’t sharing, and Zane intended to find out what it was tonight.

Ty sat with his booted feet propped on the railing of the large porch, rocking himself in a wooden chair. He held one last glass of wine in one hand and a slim cheroot in the other, secure in the knowledge that he deserved to indulge in both vices. The sheriff had come and gone, taking his statement without even a raised eyebrow.