Fish & Chips (41 page)

“True,” Zane agreed, shifting tiredly on the small bench in the next cell. He still looked tense. “They"ll clear it up soon enough and let us out of here.”

Once the ship"s security had gotten their shit together, the situation had settled down fast. Mostly because everyone was locked up somewhere or another, according to the various and sundry visitors they"d received to fill them in or taunt them.

Dolce and Gabbana had come by to berate them for sticking their American (maybe) noses where they didn"t belong. The two goons turned out to really be Italian Guardia di Finanza, presumably assigned to shut down the Bianchis. Ty and Zane could only assume Vartan Armen really had been trying for a coup; he"d supplied the Guardia with the information they needed to bust the Italian couple. Ty was fairly sure these two wouldn"t be long for their jobs after all the reports got filed.

It was possible Armen actually hadn"t resorted to attempted murder, but they would never know for sure, since he was now in the Fish & Chips | 265

ship"s morgue and couldn"t tell anyone what had happened. While Armen may or may not have been the guilty party where the attempts on Ty"s life were concerned, the perpetrators of the scuba-diving and rock-climbing incidents might not be found, according to the captain.

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.”

266 | Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux

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 Fish & Chips | 267

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.

268 | Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux

“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?”

Ty shrugged one sore shoulder. “Seemed like a good idea at the time,” he answered, embarrassed.

“I was pretty much blind, deaf, and scared out of my mind.” Zane admitted. “But I… heard you.”

Ty nodded uncomfortably. It was harder than he thought, knowing an admission of love in return wouldn"t be coming. He was glad to have told Zane, but he sort of wanted to change the subject now.

“I guess that explains why you"ve not minded me being so possessive,” Zane added abruptly a minute later.

Ty raised one eyebrow and shook his head. He was almost relieved that Zane hadn"t tried to deny any of it and seemed to be going for a lighter, less meaningful response. He smiled gratefully. “Try that shit on land, and we"ll see how I react.”

Zane rolled his eyes. “I wondered how much of it was Del and how much of it was you. After a while I wasn"t sure I could tell anymore.”

Ty wasn"t certain what to say to that, and anything else coming to mind just took them back into that territory that might end up being painful if they weren"t careful. He found he was disappointed that Zane"s most natural response to learning Ty loved him was to talk about their case. He watched Zane for a moment longer before turning Fish & Chips | 269

to rest his shoulders against the wall behind him and looking down at his fingers again. In his peripheral vision, he saw Zane do the same.

They sat in a somewhat tense silence until Zane spoke.

“I"m thinking I"ll take my chances.”

“On what?” Ty asked as he looked over at Zane with a frown.

A smile slowly pulled at Zane"s lips. “Trying that shit on land.”

Ty leaned away from him and turned his head to be able to see him better. He hadn"t expected to hear an “I love you” from Zane. If he had gotten one, he probably wouldn"t have believed it. But he supposed

“trying that shit on land”—and the implication behind it that Zane wanted Ty to himself—was about as close as he"d get. The realization made him smile slowly.

“You"re so easy,” he told Zane in satisfaction as he looked at the plain white wall again.

“Only for you, doll,” Zane drawled in his Corbin voice.

Ty sighed and ran a hand through his blond hair. “Don"t ever call me that again,” he warned in a tired voice. “Asshole.”

Zane chuckled, visibly releasing the tension he"d been carrying in his shoulders, and he laid his head back against the wall. He didn"t look at all worried. Ty watched him from the corner of his eye. All Ty had to do was keep that look on Zane"s face, that one right there, relaxed and content and slightly amused. Then they"d be just fine.

“Oh, by the way,” Ty murmured. “Merry Christmas, Zane.”

Zane looked at him in some surprise, then glanced to the plastic clock on the opposite wall. It was just past midnight. He snorted softly.

“Merry Christmas, Ty.”

TY HAD anticipated a barrage of questions when they reached dry land, but he had also expected a trip home, a nice shower, and some new clothing first. But there hadn"t been any detours from the waterfront to the Bureau office. They were to be debriefed ASAP.

270 | Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux

Ty sat at one of the interrogation tables—on the wrong side. They were bringing in someone to cut the ring off his finger while he wrote up his report, but they also wanted an agent to speak to him, which was unusual. He was a little nervous that he and Zane had missed something or fucked up somewhere, especially since Zane had been conducted to another room for a separate debriefing.

He tried to tamp down the nerves as he finished up his brief synopsis of what had happened on the ship. He signed the bottom of the report and pushed it away, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

The door opened, and he exhaled slowly as three men entered.

SAIC Dan McCoy smiled at him and held the door open for one of the lab techs and Special Agent Scott Alston, who trailed behind him.

“Grady. Good to have you back,” McCoy greeted as he seated himself across from Ty.

The lab tech rolled out a piece of gauze and extracted a pair of sharp utensils that looked like a cross between scissors and a prop from
Hellraiser
. Ty swallowed on an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu. The last set of utensils he"d seen rolled out in an interrogation hadn"t been used to cut metal. He cleared his throat and looked away quickly, giving the tech his left hand so the man could cut the silver ring off his swollen finger.

He met McCoy"s eyes as the tech began trying to work one side of the wicked scissors under the ring.

“Turned into a real shitstorm, huh?” McCoy said with a sympathetic smile.

Ty snorted. “You could say that. What the hell happened, anyway? There were people trying to kill us left and right!”

“Yes,” McCoy replied slowly, nodding. “We stepped in it. Sorry.”

Ty stared at him incredulously. “Sorry?”

McCoy shrugged. “It looks like you two never really got into the eye of the storm. You were more like… the cows who got tossed around on the outskirts.”

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Alston snorted and tried to cover it with a cough and a hand to his mouth.

Ty glanced between them with a frown, unamused. “I"m feeling more like a goat on this one, Mac,” he growled.

McCoy held up his hands in surrender. He had a small dossier in one. “We had no way of knowing all this was going on.” He slid the file across the desk to Ty. “There were four different groups at play.