Ball & Chain (Cut & Run 8)

Once Ty was on solid ground, Zane let go of him and grabbed at Nick’s shirt, then his belt, helping Kelly haul him over. Nick scrabbled at the wet grass, looking for purchase, but he never found it. He and Ty both would have gone over for sure.

When they got far enough away from the cliff, Nick sprawled on his back, breathing hard. Kelly fell onto his ass and put a hand on Nick’s stomach, laughing in relief. But Zane crawled toward the edge, his panic enough to override his fear of heights. “Did Amelia fall?” he cried.

“It wasn’t her,” Ty groaned. He was rolling around in the grass, holding his right arm. “It was a decoy.” He sat up, wincing. Some of those cracking bones had obviously belonged to him. He glared over at Nick, who was on his back, a hand held to his stomach. “Asshole!”

Nick responded with a weak laugh. Kelly knelt next to him and shined his flashlight on his torso. His shirt was bloodied and torn.

“Is he okay?” Zane asked.

Kelly shook his head and shoved his flashlight into Zane’s hands. “He’ll be fine. We need to get him inside though.”

Ty crawled closer. “Is he conscious?”

Kelly tapped his fingers against Nick’s cheek.

“Quit it, Jesus Christ.” Nick swatted at Kelly’s hand.

“Yeah, he’s conscious,” Kelly answered.

Ty leaned over him. “Where are the kids, Irish?”

“I found a place to stash them,” Nick answered. His words were a little slurred. “Gave the oldest one a gun and told him to shoot the next person who came around the corner.”

“What happened?” Zane asked.

Nick lifted his head, looking at the man Kelly had beaten half to death. “Guy took out the Snake Eater at the door, sent the nanny in for Amelia. The oldest boy wouldn’t let her get to her; that’s when I walked in.” Kelly took Nick’s arm and helped him to his feet. They all clambered off the wet ground and moved further away from the treacherous edge of the cliff, going to stand over the groaning form of Nick’s attacker.

“It’s Jockie Fraser,” Ty said, eyes wide.

“Who the hell is that?” Emma asked.

“The groundskeeper.”

“Wait, so the groundskeeper and the nanny?” Kelly asked. “This is an island thing and not a Snake Eater thing? Damn it!”

“You owe me twenty bucks,” Nick told him.

“Fucker!” Ty shouted as he tore his eyes away from Fraser to look at Nick again. Zane could see the warning signs coming. Ty grabbed Nick’s shirt, heedless of either of their injuries, and shook him. “You tried to stab me so I’d let you go!”

“I would have taken you with me, Ty!”

“Stab me so I’d let you fall!” Ty shouted, not appearing to hear anything anyone else was saying as Kelly and Emma both tried to calm them. Zane moved forward, putting a hand on Ty’s shoulder that Ty didn’t even notice. “Don’t you f**king remember the last time?”

“Yeah, I remember shoving a friend off a cliff to save your life!” Nick cried. He pushed away from Ty, holding his bloody side.

“Stupid, selfish f**king son of a bitch!” Ty took a swing before Zane could stop him, catching Nick under the chin.

Nick staggered backward into Kelly, who barely managed to catch him and keep him on his feet.

Zane lunged, wrapping his arms around Ty before it could turn messier. Ty was breathing hard, almost gasping for every breath, and he was very nearly sobbing. Zane placed himself between the two of them. Ty rested his chin on Zane’s shoulder, then lowered his head, and Zane hugged him close, not sure what else to do for him but make sure he didn’t try to hit anyone else.

Nick had his hands on his knees, apparently trying to shake the cobwebs after Ty’s punch. Zane knew what a sucker punch from Ty felt like. Not many men could come back from one, certainly not quickly. Nick’s angry face was highlighted by a streak of lightning that hit too close for comfort. The rain was still torrential, obscuring their vision, making it hard to hear.

“Do you have any idea what it would do to us if you fell?” Ty shouted at Nick, his voice breaking. “What it would do to me?”

Nick shook his head, looking wobbly. He hadn’t tried to straighten up yet. He fell to his knees, and before Kelly could grab him, he tumbled face-first into the grass.

Kelly knelt beside him, a hand on his cheek. “Well, that’s just f**king great, Ty!”

Zane held Ty tighter. His entire body was trembling. It was like trying to hold on to a bolt of pure energy.

“What about the kids?” Emma shouted over the sound of the storm and the crashing waves below.

“Those kids could be anywhere. How the hell are we going to find them before someone else does?” Zane snarled. He pointed at Fraser. “We all know there are more people on the island working with that ass**le.”

“Oh God,” Ty whispered. He was apparently just realizing that he’d knocked unconscious the only man on the island who might know where the kids were hidden.

Amelia might not have been Zane’s blood, but he still considered her his niece. She was somewhere in danger, being hunted by ruthless people who’d already killed to get to her, and they were all helpless to find her.

“Ty,” Zane grunted. “We have to go find Amelia. Doc and Emma will take care of Nick. Come on.”

Ty met his eyes, nodding dazedly. He turned his attention back to Kelly. “Where would Nick stash them?”

“He said he didn’t know,” Kelly snapped. “Maybe if he was conscious he could lead us there!”

“If he was going on instinct, where would he have gone?”

“I . . . I don’t know,” Kelly stammered. “There’s so many places inside those walls he’d . . . it has to be the basement. He always took his sisters to the basement when his dad was drunk. He’d have gone down until he couldn’t go anymore, then he would have hid them. Anything underground. Look underground.”

Ty gave a curt nod. “Okay. It’s a start.” He looked down at Nick one last time, hesitating. “Tell him I’m sorry when he wakes.”

Kelly glanced up, glaring briefly. “Tell him yourself.”

Zane pulled Ty away before he could respond. They turned to hurry back to the mansion, but Kelly called after them.

“He always booby-trapped the stairs! Be careful! Think like Nick!”

Ty groaned. “Think like Nick. I’m going to f**king die in Scotland.”