Touch&Geaux (20 page)

He turned, but Nick grabbed him by both shoulders,

holding him there and forcing Ty to meet his eyes. “Think,

okay? Breathe.”

Ty lowered his head like a bull preparing to charge, but

Nick faced him down, waiting for him to calm himself. Ty

took a deep breath and nodded.

“Okay,” Nick whispered. He released Ty.

Nick’s phone began to ring from his back pocket, breaking

the spell. Ty was shaking when Nick pulled the phone out and

turned away from him. He glanced up, trying to stay calm,

trying not to think of the things that could happen to Zane

between now and 2 AM.

Nick cursed as he checked the caller ID, walking away.

“Good afternoon, Detective,” he answered with a wince. He

turned to Ty. “Of course, any way we can help. When would

you like us to come in?” His eyes widened and he waved at Ty.

“You’re coming to the hotel?”

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He pointed to the phone and then to his feet. The

detective was coming here to interview them again. “No, no,

that’s fine. But I’m afraid Agent Garrett isn’t here right now,

maybe we can delay it until he is.”

Ty shoved his phone in his pocket and rushed to the

bed to grab his jacket. He couldn’t be caught in the room.

He glanced at the others, and they both waved him toward

the door. Nick tapped his watch and held up five fingers: five

minutes to get clear.

Ty made a gesture to let them know he’d find them, then

wrenched the door open, only to stop short when he found

himself face-to-face with a man holding a phone to his ear

and a badge, two uniformed policemen flanking him.

“Son of a bitch,” Ty grunted.

“Well, Tyler Beaumont,” the detective drawled. He shut

his phone, and Nick cursed behind Ty. “I should have known

you’d show up with a load of trouble and a couple fake badges.”

“Wake up, darling, we’re wasting time here,” a voice said

in the darkness.

It was the same name Ty called him sometimes, but it

wasn’t the same word. There was no drawl to it, no affectionate

smirk in the voice. It was British, said with sarcasm and

disdain.

Zane forced his eyes open, wincing as light lanced

through his brain. A blond man came into focus. He leaned

over Zane, holding a penlight. He shined it in Zane’s eyes, and

Zane groaned and turned his head away.

“Wakey wakey,” Liam crooned.

“Go to Hell,” Zane grunted.

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“No need to be testy, Zane. I’m here to help you.”

Zane ignored the throbbing in the back of his head to

glare at the man. “By bashing me in the head?”

“Nothing less would have stopped you from going back in

that pub and making a huge mistake.”

Ty. Zane tried to sit up, but his hands and arms were tied

down. He was stretched out on a concrete floor, trussed up

with ropes around his ankles, knees, and wrists. Liam sat

beside him on the ground. “What is this?” Zane growled.

“Merely precautionary,” Liam said. Zane was already tired

of the way he talked, all dark threat laced with that cheerful

British accent. “Hear me out, and then I’ll let you go.”

Zane didn’t trust that for a second, but as long as Liam was

talking, Zane had a chance of slipping his ties and escaping.

“You see, I know Tyler Grady. Quite well, to be frank, and

he’s a danger to you. To everyone, really, but we can’t all be

perfect.”

“Tyler who?” Zane mumbled as he stared up at the ceiling.

“Oh, that’s sweet. Still protecting him even after what he’s

done.”

Zane cut his eyes sideways.

“That’s right, Zane. I know what happened. I knew before

you did. And I know more. Do you care to hear?”

“No.” He couldn’t stand the thought of hearing more of

Ty’s sins, not from this source.

Liam leaned closer, casually resting his elbow on Zane’s

chest so he could look down into his eyes. “It’s okay. I

understand. Ty broke my heart too. It’s a small but spectacular

club. Welcome.”

Zane licked his lips, trying to regulate his breathing,

desperate to slow his heartbeat so the man wouldn’t feel it

banging against his chest.

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“It’s not really his fault, it’s just how Ty works. He’s easy

to fall for when he’s got that mask up. He makes you love him

because he knows that’s the easiest way to get what he wants

from you. You trust him, you see something worthwhile,

something vulnerable in him, and you think you can help. Six

months later, he has all your secrets, and he’s gone.”

Zane was shaking his head as Liam spoke.

Liam reached to pop the button on his shirt. “You’re

lucky your heart was merely broken.”

Zane’s eyes darted between Liam’s hand and his face,

his mind whirring. Liam yanked another button loose, then

another. He pulled his col ar down to reveal two circular scars

on his chest. Bullet wounds. He tapped one with a finger.

“Courtesy of the love of your life.”

Zane stared at the scar.

“A .45 caliber MEUSOC pistol. Standard for Force

Recon, you know. Back in the day.”

“You’re SAS?”

“I was. I see he’s told you the story.”

Zane was silent. This really was the man Ty had been

talking about. The man he’d been involved with in the service,

the man he’d shot. He was handsome and charismatic, exactly

the type Ty would be drawn to. Zane could see that much.

That, and he carried a gun.

Zane wanted to question him further, but doing so would

reveal how much he already knew. He wanted Liam to keep

talking.

“No matter. I’ve always said the past is the past for a

reason, yeah? Although it does occasionally come back to bite

you in the arse. Do you remember a man named Antonio de

la Vega?” Liam asked, his blue eyes narrowing.

Zane’s breath caught. “Name’s familiar. Zorro, right?” 151

“Oh come now, Zane, don’t be coy with me. We’re all

friends here. We can share.”

“Friends don’t tie friends up.”

“Oh, you’ve got the wrong sort of friends then,” Liam

purred. He laughed, a surprisingly warm, pleasant sound. “I

quite like you. You’re fun. Listen, Ty’s already called me once

so he knows I have you. I’m not going to harm you, I promise.

And I keep my promises, unlike some of us. But I need to lay

some groundwork before I call him back, so do me a favor and

indulge me. Antonio de la Vega?”

Zane gritted his teeth, but he supposed he didn’t have

much to lose. “I heard he was dead.”

“That doesn’t answer my question. Nor is it news.”

Zane groaned. “I remember him. Head of the Vega cartel,

out of the Republic of Colombia. Feeds into the larger set of

Gulf cartels.”

“Excellent. He is indeed very dead. You were one of the

FBI agents to infiltrate them. The last one left alive, to be

exact. You lot almost took him down, from what I understand.

Quite a nice body of work.” He paused to glance down the

long line of Zane’s body.

“Eyes are up here,” Zane grunted.

Liam was smirking when he looked back at Zane’s face.

“There’s a bit of a price on your head.” He paused, waiting

for a response. When Zane merely stared at him, he nodded.

“When that plane crashed with Antonio de la Vega in it, his

brother took over. You remember his brother?”

Zane did. Antonio de la Vega had been smart and

controlled, stingy and almost surgical with his use of violence.

He’d lived by a certain code of loyalty and honor. He hadn’t

been a bad man to work for, and illegalities aside, Zane had

quite liked the man. He’d been saddened when he’d heard of

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his death. But the younger de la Vega was a different animal

altogether. He had a temper. Zane nodded curtly.

“Well. He believes the FBI agent who helped destroy part

of his operation is the very same agent who killed his brother.

He’s out for blood.”

“I didn’t kill Antonio.”

“We know.”

“We? You went from SAS to being a cartel henchman?”

“No, darling, I went from SAS to NIA.”

Zane rested his aching head on the cold floor. It seemed

that what Ty had told him was at least partially true. “NIA.”

“Your very own National Intelligence Agency.”

“I know what it fucking stands for. What are they doing

involved with this?”

“They’re not.”

Zane closed his eyes. “You’re freelancing.”

“Hmm. Juan Carlos de la Vega was contacted earlier this

week and told the FBI agent who killed his brother would be

here in New Orleans this weekend.”

“By who?”

“Whom.” Liam shrugged, pursing his lips. “I was merely

contracted to take care of it.”

That got Zane’s attention, and fast. He raised his head. “I

told you, I didn’t kill his brother.”

“No. But Tyler did.” Liam nodded condescendingly.

“Don’t look surprised. It’s what he does, Zane.”

“So, what, you’re here to kill him for a paycheck?”

Liam quirked an eyebrow. “Does this low opinion of me

come from Tyler, or from my actions, I wonder?”

Zane could only assume that was a rhetorical question,

since he could feel where the blood had caked on the back of

his head.

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“I didn’t know who my target was until I got here, so you

can stow the attitude. I can only stall for so long, however.

When the job doesn’t get done, more will come. And you

know what will happen then.”

Zane clenched his jaw and nodded.

“Now, you’re a smart boy, so I assume you’ve already

detected the real problem. For you, that is. It’s not that

someone wants to kill Ty.”

“That seems like a real problem to me.”

Liam waved that off. “As you like. The real issue, of course,

is de la Vega’s henchmen don’t know what Ty looks like. They

will, however, spot your beautiful face from a mile away. And

I’m pretty sure they don’t believe in coincidences.”

Zane was silent.

“I’m going to untie you now,” Liam said. He leaned over

Zane, still smirking. “You must promise not to try to maim

me, because I will put you down.”

Zane snorted. Liam was at least six inches shorter than

Zane, with compact, wiry muscles and very little bulk to

him. “You’ll put me down?” he repeated, incredulous. Liam

nodded. “You and what army?”

Liam grinned wider. He pulled a knife from a sheath

in his boot and cut through the zip tie that held Zane’s feet

together. As soon as Zane was free, he kicked up, aiming for

Liam’s head. Liam blocked the blow with his forearm, then

rolled over his own shoulder to crouch several feet away. He

was still grinning.

Zane arched his back, pushing himself off the floor so he

could pull his tied hands under his body and over his legs,

bringing them in front of him as he rolled to his feet. He faced

Liam, bent low, ready for an attack.

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Liam shook his head. “I’m not here to fight you, love. I

do enjoy the feisty ones, so if you’re willing, I’m ready to go.

That being said, I’d rather not make you bleed anymore today.

I’ll even hand you the phone so you can call Tyler yourself.”

He pulled a cell phone from his back pocket and waved it

enticingly.

Zane nodded. The man was convincing, but Zane couldn’t

help but expect a trap. No one so calm and soothing could be

up to any good. “Slide it over.”

Liam placed it on the floor and pushed it. Zane stopped it

with his foot, not taking his eyes off Liam.

Liam held up the knife as well. “A peace offering, yes?” He

placed it on the ground and shoved it toward Zane too.

Zane bent slowly, not taking his eyes from his opponent

as he grasped the knife. He cut the tie on his wrists and then

whirled the handle of the knife around his fingers, gripping it

so the blade rested along his wrist, ready to fight.

Liam propped his elbow on his knee, resting his chin in

his hand. “Feel better now?”

“A little.”

“You’re armed. Go ahead and give Tyler a cal . I’m sure

he’s burning down the Quarter looking for you by now.”

Zane fumbled with the cell phone, using his free hand

without moving his eyes from Liam’s. He hit send twice,

assuming it would be Ty’s number. Nerves skittered through

him as the phone rang. Liam remained in a crouch. His

composure and reassurance were infuriating.

When Ty’s voice mail picked up, Zane frowned harder.

“Ty,” he gritted out. “You answer your goddamned phone in

the middle of sex but you can’t pick up now?” He jabbed the

phone off, cursing.

Liam’s brow creased. “He didn’t answer?”

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Zane shook his head.

Liam ran one finger along his lower lip, frowning harder.

“Odd, that.”

Zane took deep, calming breaths and tried to push past

his whirlwind of thoughts to find a point of clarity. It all

boiled down to whether to trust Liam Bell’s word right here