Touch & Geaux (Cut & Run 7)

Kelly was lingering near a man with a guitar. When he spotted Zane, he pushed away from the wall and grinned lopsidedly. “Not exactly a discreet meeting place.”

Zane shrugged. “It was the only place we all knew how to get to. And it’s crowded.”

“Fair enough. What the hell is going on?”

Zane winced and glanced around the throng. He didn’t want to go through this more than once, and he knew the others would have the same question. “It’s complicated.”

“I’m fairly intelligent,” Kelly said with a laugh. “I can usually follow.”

Zane snorted.

“Garrett, the others will be here soon, and then we’re dealing with the whole group dynamic and accusations and serious ADD, so . . . you want to let me know what’s going on now so I can help you?”

Zane stared at the man for a long moment, then nodded. “You were the group’s corpsman, right? So you can deal with . . . any injuries that come from this?”

“Yeah,” Kelly said warily. “Why?”

“I ran into Liam Bell,” Zane said, and hurried to explain faster as Kelly’s eyes widened. “He claims he was hired by a Miami cartel to come here and kill Ty.”

“What? Why?”

“It’s a really long story.”

“How’d you get away from him?”

“I didn’t.”

Kelly narrowed his eyes, looking off into the distance over Zane’s shoulder. “I don’t understand,” he finally said.

Zane couldn’t help but laugh. A hand touched his back and he jerked, reaching for the knife in his pocket.

“Easy, tiger,” Nick said as he stepped around Zane and patted him on the back. “Someone want to tell me why I just made myself a fugitive?”

“It’s complicated,” Kelly answered.

“I’m not doing this again,” Zane grumbled.

Nick stood on his tip toes and looked around the crowd. Several uniformed policemen were walking along the edges of the crowd. Others rode horses. The way they were scanning faces made it obvious they were looking for someone. “We should start moving,” Nick whispered. “We’re too conspicuous standing like this.”

Kelly grabbed Nick’s arm and stopped him.

Nick and Zane both turned to see what had caught Kelly’s attention. Zane spotted Ty immediately. He was still moving slowly, obviously still in some pain and fighting off the remainder of the sedative the hospital had given him. He was keeping his head down and his face in shadow, but Zane knew the roll of his shoulders. Trailing behind Ty, looking far less conspicuous, was Liam Bell. Ty’s eyes locked on Zane’s, and relief flooded through his entire body. Ty took a hasty step forward, but a hand appeared on his shoulder, jerking him back. He went rigid again, putting his hands to his sides.

Zane would recognize that posture anywhere. Ty had a gun at his back.

Ty’s eyes stayed on Zane’s, and Liam used Ty’s body to cover himself. “Let’s all be calm now,” Liam said when they got close. “Who’s armed?”

Zane pulled his jacket away to reveal the knife there. Nick and Kelly both shook their heads.

Liam eased his grip on Ty’s shoulder, then gave him a pat on the back. He slid the gun under his coat and grinned. “Just making sure.”

“What the f**k is going on?” Nick demanded. “Why is he here and am I allowed to hurt him?”

“Not yet,” Ty answered.

“Where are the others?” Liam asked.

Zane glanced at his watch. “They haven’t shown yet. They’ve got two more minutes.”

They remained in an uneasy standoff as the bells of the cathedral rang out the hour. Liam still lingered behind Ty’s shoulder for cover. No one spoke. No one moved, save for Zane periodically checking the time.

Digger eventually materialized from the crowd, Owen on his heels. They’d apparently met up somewhere and made their way here together. They approached warily, sensing the tension in the group. Neither man said a word when they joined them.

“Okay then,” Zane finally said, relieved everyone had made it out. “We have all our stuff stashed, we’ll go get it. But where to after that?”

“We can’t break town,” Nick grunted. He had yet to take his eyes off Liam. “We need somewhere to lay low, regroup.”

“And then you can tell us what the f**k is going on,” Kelly added.

Zane nodded.

“Where do we go?” Liam asked. “My safe house is blown.”

“How?” Zane demanded.

“Too much activity, I don’t trust it.”

Ty glanced over his shoulder at the man, then back at Zane. His mouth was set in a grim line. “I might know the perfect place.”

“Ava?” Zane asked. Ty nodded.

Nick snorted. “The girl who tried to kill you with a cleaver?”

“It’s worth a shot. I think she might be in danger too; I need to warn her.”

“We’ll split up, then,” Liam said. He gave Ty another pat. “You test the waters with cleaver girl, and we’ll get our supplies.”

Ty glared over his shoulder, but he nodded. “You four, go with him. Keep him in line. Zane and I will scout it out and call you in thirty.”

The others nodded, albeit grudgingly as Liam led them away. Zane and Ty were left alone. Meeting Ty’s eyes made Zane’s stomach flutter, but the anger lingered. He clenched his teeth, trying to keep it in.

“You okay?” Ty asked.

“He didn’t hurt me.”

“Not yet, maybe. He’s slick, Zane. Don’t ever let your guard down around him.”

“Really?” Zane snarled. He took a step closer, straightening to his full height so he could look down at Ty. “Because that’s what people have been saying about you for two years now.”

Ty flinched, but he didn’t look away. He pushed his shoulders back, narrowing his eyes. It was like watching a dog bristle as it stared down a threat. Zane hadn’t felt that since their first few weeks together. He refused to back off, though. He put his finger on Ty’s chest. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten just because your ass needed saving.”

It was too dark to read Ty’s expression, but he finally broke eye contact to glance down at Zane’s finger.

“Where is this place?” Zane asked when it became apparent that Ty wasn’t going to respond.

Ty spoke through gritted teeth. “Just off Frenchmen Street. Down Decatur and across Esplanade.”