Nick rolled his head from side to side, working out the kinks. Then he rapped his knuckles on the table to draw everyone’s attention. “If we’re going to do this, we need to know how many they have and find a location good for the meet. And we need to do it fast. This place won’t be safe for much longer.”

Zane finally tore his eyes away from Ty. “Taking care of the cartel won’t get us out of New Orleans any easier. It’s the police we should really be worried about.”

“What do you suggest?” Kelly asked.

“Call the local Bureau office. Tell them what’s going on. Get backup. Get the cops off our asses. Make this something official instead of . . .” He waved at Digger. “Criminally insane.”

“I’ll lose my job,” Ty said. He was pacing, head down and arms crossed.

Nick craned his head. “What? Why?”

“I’m not supposed to be here. I could compromise half a dozen cases just by showing my face.”

“Why the hell didn’t you say something before you came down here?”

“You told me you were in jail!”

Nick made a disgusted noise. He leaned his elbows on the table and began to massage his temples.

“Call Burns, he’ll get you out of it,” Zane said, surprised by the bitter sarcasm that came out.

Ty stared at him for a long moment, looking wounded, before he began to pace again. Zane forced himself to meet his eyes.

He was ashamed to admit he still wanted to see Ty burn. He’d hoped Ty would come at him again last night, that they’d go down swinging at each other. But he knew deep down that Ty wasn’t that type of man. He wasn’t going to chase Zane, or beg and plead with him. He wasn’t going to hover over him and swat the drink from his hand every time he grasped it. He would let Zane walk away, he would let Zane self-destruct, he would internalize anything he was feeling, and become that same man he’d been the day they met. A hard, sarcastic shell. Zane could already see him building up those layers, and he hated Ty for it.

“So what’ll it be, lads?” Liam asked. He winked at Zane.

Kelly and Digger both craned their heads to look at Ty as he paced. Owen was resting his head on the table.

Ty had his back to them, his head down. He really only had two choices. Get himself fired to keep everyone safe, or risk their lives, and a murder rap, to take down the cartel heavies.

“Hey, Six?” Digger said quietly.

“I’m not your goddamned Six anymore,” Ty grunted. He began to pace again. “Call the Bureau,” he finally said, his voice grim.

“Ty,” Nick said carefully.

“My job or your lives? There’s no choice there.” Ty met Zane’s eyes across the room. “Make the call. Tell them you’re bringing in a Confidential Informant. That’s what I was supposed to be if my cover was ever blown. Use the name Tyler Beaumont; that’ll ping any dirty Feds, so we’ll go in expecting a trap.”

Zane didn’t move. His heart was sinking and it was too painful to move right now, to look away from Ty’s eyes. If Ty lost his job, what would they have between them? “You’re willing to give it up?”

“It’s not about being willing anymore, Garrett,” Ty snarled. “Make the f**king call.”

The curtain behind the bar wavered, and Ava pushed past it to lunge into the room. “They’re coming!” she hissed. “My daddy and his boys. They’re coming here. You have to leave!”

Chairs scraped on the wooden floors as everyone stood and scrambled toward the stairs to retrieve their gear.

“Are they coming for us?” Ty asked Ava.

She nodded. “Shine called me, told me they were on their way. They know you’re here.”

Ty cursed under his breath. He reached out and pulled her to him, hugging her tightly before he let her go and darted up the steps.

Only Zane remained, still sitting at the table, arms crossed. He stared at Ava until she turned to look at him.

“You called him. Didn’t you?” Zane asked, voice pitched low so only she would hear it.

Her breath caught. She swallowed hard and inclined her head, squaring her shoulders. “Ty isn’t the only one in town who’s scared of that old bastard,” she whispered. “But he’s the only one I know who just might be able to kill him if he’s given the chance.”

“You’re using him to get rid of your father. Risking his life.”

“That’s what men like him are for.” She turned on her heel and ducked behind the curtain again.

Ty led them through the residential streets of Marigny, pushing them to reach the French Quarter, trying to stick to the Easter crowds, desperate to keep his mind on survival and off the fact that his heart was breaking every time he and Zane were close.

“If we can get to the cathedral, we can lose ourselves in the crowd until the parades start,” he told them. Soon they neared Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral, one of the most recognizable landmarks in the French Quarter.

People milled around dressed in their Sunday best. Every woman wore a hat of some description, and many of the men did as well.

“Shit, you think we’ll be killing people on Easter Sunday?” Nick muttered as they neared the cathedral.

Ty nodded and Nick cursed, then stopped briefly in front of the cathedral and made the sign of the cross as he faced the soaring spires. Kelly grabbed him by the arm and tugged him, peering up at the structure.

“Forgive him, baby Jesus, he knows not what he does,” Kelly said, then pulled Nick with him.

“I’m going to Hell anyway, I don’t know why I bother anymore.”

Ty turned down Pirate’s Alley, the narrow lane that skirted the cathedral, and then they cut through St. Anthony’s garden, the tiny area behind the cathedral where four unmarked tombs rested. Ty leapt over one of the marble slabs. He could hear Nick complaining behind him.

“They’re empty!” Ty called to him. All but one, but Ty didn’t add that. He led them on through several turns until they reached Antoine’s Restaurant. The place was obviously closed, but a crowd was building in the street.

“What is this?” Zane asked. He was a little out of breath, but then, so were the rest of them.

“The first parade starts here at nine or nine-thirty. We should be safe for a while.”

“Despite the fact that the police station is two blocks that way?” Zane asked, pointing toward Royal Street.

Tags: Abigail Roux Cut & Run Thriller
Source: readsnovelonline.net