Fish & Chips (45 page)

“Care to share?” McCoy asked drily.

Ty looked around at the other people around the table and sighed heavily. Perrimore reached into his lap and grabbed the phone from him. Ty didn"t try to resist; that would just have made them even more curious. He"d never been more thankful that he rarely put real names into his contacts list, though.

Perrimore read the last message from Zane out loud, eyebrows raised. “Who"s Lone Star?” he asked with a grin as he looked at the name Ty had stored in his phone. “And does she carry a whip?”

“Everyone get out before my eyeballs explode,” McCoy ordered as he sat rubbing his temples with the heels of his hands.

Ty snatched his phone from Perrimore and whapped him in the head as they stood to leave. Alston trailed behind them, laughing the entire way.

Divide & Conquer |

ZANE looked up from the files he was stacking when he heard Ty"s voice, low and wry and borderline aggrieved. A smile pulled at Zane"s lips. There hadn"t been a reply to his last message of a little less than ten minutes ago.

“Hey, Garrett, have you met Grady"s latest fling? She sounds like a real piece of work,” Alston said as they arrived, chuckling. “Probably has the key to his handcuffs pierced through her tongue.”

That certainly wasn"t what Zane expected to hear when they came back from the meeting. So that probably meant Ty had been caught. He didn"t appear to have that “just outed by his co-workers” look about him, though, and Zane knew Ty nicknamed all his phone contacts, so he was relatively certain they were okay.

“Getting texts at work again, partner?” Zane drawled as he looked over to see Ty.

“Well, you know my type,” Ty responded with a saccharine smile as he passed Zane"s desk. “No self-control and loads of mental issues.”

He did sound exasperated, though.

“That"s never seemed to bother you,” Zane answered as he stood up and lifted his suit jacket off the back of his chair.

Alston laughed and took off with a wave, not bothering to stick around to hear the banter the whole team had become used to. Clancy and Lassiter had departed half an hour ago, and Zane had seen Perrimore detour toward the elevators as the group came back from the meeting. So once Alston disappeared down the hall, it was just Zane and Ty as Ty locked up his desk drawers.

Ty glanced up at him darkly, and Zane grinned. Oh, he was so going to pay for his mischief tonight. The look in Ty"s eyes promised as much.

Ty looked around the nearly empty floor as he moved closer to Zane. He held his phone in his hand, and his overcoat was draped over his arm. He stepped closer to Zane, his knuckles brushing against Zane"s stomach as he held the coat between them.

“Me scream for you, huh?” he asked in a low voice, his nearly green eyes raking across Zane"s features.

| Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux

“Since you can"t take the
pun
ishment,” Zane said, feeling himself warm a little under Ty"s scrutiny.

“One more, Garrett,” Ty warned as he raised one finger. “One more and we"ll see who can go the longest in a cold bed.”

Zane frowned and huffed quietly. “Fine. You, screaming,” he reminded. “I did offer to bring you dinner.”

“Dinner later. My house. Bring clothes for the weekend, "cause you won"t be making it home.” Ty didn"t say another word, just turned and headed for the elevator at a stroll, shrugging into his overcoat as he went.

Zane watched him go, enjoying the sight. “Score,” he said under his breath before he grabbed his phone and keys and hurried to follow.

About the Author

MADELEINE URBAN is a down-home Kentucky girl who"s been writing since she could hold a crayon. Although she has written and published on her own, she truly excels when writing with co-authors. She lives with her husband, who is very supportive of her work, and two canine kids who only allow her to hug them when she has food. She wants to live at Disney World, the home of fairy dust, because she believes that with hard work, a little luck, and beloved family and friends, dreams really can come true.

Visit Madeleine"s blog at http://www.madeleineurban.com/. You can contact her at [email protected]. Visit her web site with Abigail Roux at http://www.urbanandroux.com.

ABIGAIL ROUX was born and raised in North Carolina. A past volleyball star who specializes in pratfalls and sarcasm, she currently spends her time coaching middle school volleyball and softball and dreading the day when her little girl hits that age. Abigail has a loving husband, a baby girl they call Boomer, four cats, three dogs, a crazyass extended family, and a cast of thousands in her head.

Visit Abigail"s blog at http://abigail-roux.livejournal.com/. Visit her web site with Madeleine Urban at http://www.urbanandroux.com.

Read about how the Grady-Garrett partnership started in A series of murders in New York City has stymied the police and FBI alike, and they suspect the culprit is a single killer sending an indecipherable message. But when the two federal agents assigned to the investigation are taken out, the FBI takes a more personal interest in the case.

Special Agent Ty Grady is pulled out of undercover work after his case blows up in his face. He"s cocky, abrasive, and indisputably the best at what he does. But when he"s paired with Special Agent Zane Garrett, it"s hate at first sight. Garrett is the perfect image of an agent: serious, sober, and focused, which makes their partnership a classic cliché: total opposites, good cop-bad cop, the odd couple. They both know immediately that their partnership will pose more of an obstacle than the lack of evidence left by the murderer.

Practically before their special assignment starts, the murderer strikes again—this time at them. Now on the run, trying to track down a man who has focused on killing his pursuers, Grady and Garrett will have to figure out how to work together before they become two more notches in the murderer"s knife.

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The partnership continues in Book Two

Six months after nearly losing their lives to a serial killer in New York City, FBI Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett are suffering through something almost as frightening: the monotony of desk duty. When they"re ordered to take a vacation for the good of everyone"s sanity, Ty bites the bullet and takes Zane home with him to West Virginia, hoping the peace and quiet of the mountains will give them the chance to explore the explosive attraction they"ve so far been unable to reconcile with their professional partnership.

Ty and Zane, along with Ty"s father and brother, head up into the Appalachian mountains for a nice, relaxing hike deep into the woods… where no one will hear them scream. They find themselves facing danger from all directions: unpredictable weather, the unrelenting mountains, wild animals, fellow hikers with nothing to lose, and the most terrifying challenge of all. Each other.

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

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MADELEINE URBAN and ABIGAIL ROUX

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