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“Quit with the whispering,” Ty said in a sharp voice.
Cameron could see the reflection of his eyes in the rearview mirror, looking back at them. “So you can scoff at us for having a quiet moment? I don’t think so,” he said with a sniff as he tried to cuddle closer against Julian.
“Kid, I don’t think you really understand the situation, here, so let me make it perfectly clear,” Ty said, voice going harder and hazel eyes flashing with anger. “You and your boyfriend are federal prisoners, and you do exactly what we tell you, when we tell you, without the attitude and without the cute little remarks. One coffee in my lap is all the free pass you get, and we don’t have to fucking be nice about it. You whisper, I leave you on the side of the road and he rolls in the trunk. Got it?”
Cameron stared, wide-eyed. He nodded, suitably chastised and feeling stupid for his forays into the acerbic. He looked up at Julian. “Do you think Zane would really have shot you?”
“Yes,” Julian said, sounding confident. Ty was nodding in the front seat as he looked out the window.
“I thought he was the nice one,” Cameron said under his breath.
Julian put his lips to Cameron’s ear and whispered, “Next time I’ll dump the coffee on him instead. ”
Cameron sighed in exasperation. “You’re deliberately causing trouble. ”
Julian shushed him as he glanced toward the front seat. Ty was rolling his eyes and rubbing at his temple. Cameron shifted closer to Julian and tilted his head until they could push their mouths together for a small kiss. Julian whispered against Cameron’s lips, turning his head to hide the movement of his mouth from the mirror. “We have to get away from them before we reach Washington,” he murmured. He kissed Cameron again to mask the words.
The kiss made Cameron’s pulse race, just like Julian’s touch always did. Cameron hummed to let Julian know he understood. He cursed the handcuffs; he wanted to shift himself further into Julian’s arms and wished he could crawl into his lap, Ty watching be damned. He felt Julian smile against his lips. He’d obviously picked up on Cameron’s desire to do so.
“Christ, please stop,” Ty said from the front seat, voice plaintive.
Cameron pulled back and smiled at Julian.
Julian was looking at him in the same adoring way he always did, but he was also smirking. There was a hint of malicious enjoyment in his black eyes. “Do you object to all public displays of affection, Agent Grady? Or is it the fact that we’re both men?” he asked without looking away from Cameron.
Ty answered with the loud slide action of his 9mm service weapon. “If you really must know, I’m of the opinion that it’s rude to make out in a man’s backseat. ”
“Well, technically, it’s not your backseat. ”
“I’ve been on the road too long and I miss getting laid in my own bed. Don’t push me. ”
Julian laughed and kissed Cameron again for good measure. Cameron shook his head afterward and settled down, turning a somewhat apologetic look toward Ty. “I’m sorry you’ve been away from home so long,” he said, sincere. He wouldn’t apologize for the kisses though.
“My own fault,” Ty said, voice curt.
“Why?” Cameron could see Ty’s eyes in the mirror, looking at him evilly.
“I’m too sober for you, Jiminy Cricket,” Ty muttered. He looked out the window again and shook his head.
Julian hummed. “I don’t suppose asking for a separate room would go over well?”
“Probably not,” Ty said.
“I’m fine with two beds,” Cameron said. “Can you see Ty and Zane getting any sleep in a double bed?”
“Ty and Zane will be just fine,” Ty said in a falsely cheerful voice. “Cross will be sleeping in handcuffs on the floor. ”
“Kinky,” Julian said, smirking.
“What do you mean?” Cameron asked, sitting up, peering at Ty through narrowed eyes.
Ty held up a third pair of handcuffs that clinked as he waved them.
“Funny,” Cameron said with a frown. So much for a comfortable night.
The passenger door popped open and a cold blast of wind assaulted them. Zane leaned over to peer inside at his partner. “You can just park right here. We’re going in the front and up to the second floor. ”
“What took so long?” Ty asked. If Zane was surprised to see Ty sitting there with his gun and his handcuffs in his lap, he didn’t show it. It made Cameron wonder about the sanity of both men.
“It took her ten minutes to decide they didn’t have any connecting rooms available. So, one room,” Zane said as he gathered the bags out of the floorboard.
“Great,” Ty muttered as he pushed open his door and got out of the car.
Julian ducked his head to peer out the window at them. “Luck is with us tonight,” he whispered to Cameron.
“Why is that?”
“With one room it will be easier to disable them and get away. ”
“You’re not going to kill them, are you?” Cameron asked, shifting uneasily in the seat. “I mean, they’re just doing their jobs. ”
“Not unless they make me,” Julian said as he looked back at Cameron. “The threat from Grady is negligible, but Garrett will kill both of us if he thinks he’s justified. Remember that before you get too attached to them. ”
“You always tell me I trust too easily,” Cameron said. “He just seemed like such a… nice guy. ” He shivered, though, remembering how Zane’s face had been so cold and blank as he’d shot the asphalt at Julian’s feet.
“He’s not. Neither of them are. ”
His words were punctuated by Ty opening the back door and waving at Julian. “Come on, O’Doul. ”
That worried Cameron a lot, to think that men in law enforcement could be as bad as the criminals they chased. Not that he thought of himself and Julian as criminals, although technically, he supposed Julian really was. Or used to be. Or might have been.
As he climbed out of the car, he watched Zane, the wind riffling his hair, his gun gripped in a gloved hand. Cameron’s eyes shifted to his lover. Julian and Zane looked similar enough that it was a little eerie in the harsh parking lot lights—tall, broad-shouldered, dark-haired….
When Ty stalked around the car to join his partner, all gruff attitude, hard muscle, and broad shoulders, Cameron barely quashed the urge to cringe away. He and Julian were in more trouble than he wanted to believe, and now he felt really stupid for ever joking around with the two men.
Ty pushed Julian against the car, a hand in the center of his shoulders, and he kept the hand there as he turned to face Zane. Zane stepped closer until they were right in front of each other. Each kept his eyes over the other’s shoulder—Zane watching Julian, Ty watching Cameron and the parking lot—as they spoke. Ty tilted his head so he was murmuring into Zane’s ear. It had an oddly intimate feel as they stood there, and Julian was craning his head to watch them. Cameron wondered if he could make out anything they were saying.
Whatever they’d been discussing was decided, and Ty patted Zane’s belly before stepping away from Julian and moving toward Cameron. “Come on, kid, let’s go,” he said as he held his hand out toward Cameron, waving him forward.
“What about Julian?” Cameron asked, dragging his feet.
“He and Zane are going to get to know each other down here. Come on,” Ty said as he moved a step closer and took Cameron’s elbow. He didn’t tug on him, though, appearing willing to give him a chance to go of his own accord.
Cameron looked from Julian to Zane and back before nodding reluctantly. “All right,” he murmured. Ty handed him his bag and shouldered his own as they started walking toward the front door.
When they got to the entrance, Cameron glanced back over his shoulder to where Julian and Zane still stood next to the car.
Julian had turned around, and he stood with his cuffed hands clasped in front of hi
m. He nodded at Cameron.
“They’re okay,” Ty said in an oddly gentle voice as he pulled the door open and held it for Cameron.
Cameron didn’t feel reassured, but he walked inside anyway. The interior of the hotel had the same feel as the exterior: too much brass, too much glass, and way too much disco fever.
They passed the front desk and headed on to the large set of stairs in the center of the entry hall. There was no elevator. Ty led him to the room just to the right of the steps and keyed the electronic lock, then pulled Cameron into the room as he flipped on the light.
Cameron couldn’t think of a reason Ty would bring him up here alone unless Zane was going to do something to Julian. “Aren’t they coming up too?” he asked as he stood just inside the door.
“After we’re done,” Ty said in an offhanded manner. The door closed behind them, and Ty pulled Cameron further into the room, turning on lights as he went.
“Done?” Cameron felt a pang of alarm. Maybe Ty was going to do something to him.
“Yeah, sit down,” Ty said, distracted as he pointed at one of the two beds in the room and looked around. He walked to the window and peered out, then pulled the heavy curtains closed.
Cameron frowned but perched on the foot of the bed closest to the door as he tracked Ty’s movement through the room.
Ty inspected the window and its frame before crouching to look at the air conditioning unit under it. He gripped the face of the unit and tugged at it. He picked up the chair and pushed at the small desk in the corner. He shoved at the miniature refrigerator with his toes and got down on the ground to look at the bottom of the safe attached to the wall. He turned the television on its swiveling stand, pulled out all the drawers in the room, plucked out the Bible, and flipped through the pages. He turned to look at Cameron as he held the book upside down and shook it.
“What are you doing?” Cameron asked. “I thought the Red Bull was wearing off. ”
“I’m looking for something solid. And I’m making sure there’s nothing in here your boyfriend can use to kill or maim us,” Ty said as he dropped the Bible back in the drawer. He knelt just behind Cameron and looked under each bed, then he slid his hands under the mattress.
“He doesn’t need anything to kill or maim you,” Cameron said as he realized he felt uncomfortable with Ty kneeling so close to him.
Rather than being impressed or intimidated, Ty just laughed. “I know,” he said as he pushed himself to his feet.
“So why bother with the search?”
Ty sat down beside him on the double bed, too close to him. Yeah, he definitely made Cameron uncomfortable, like patrons at the restaurant that got too flirtatious. Only Ty hadn’t done anything even remotely like that, so Cameron couldn’t figure out what it was that made him uneasy. Maybe Ty was just one of those people who exuded that sort of feeling.
“You ever seen two big dogs fight over a bone?”
Cameron shrank back. “No. But I know what you’re getting at. ”
Ty nodded. “In theory, the one with the spikes on his collar has the advantage. But really it’s the one who ain’t worried about protecting a puppy hiding behind him. ”
“Great. Now I’m a puppy. ” Then it hit him. “Wait. You’re not talking about you, are you? You’re talking about them, out there alone, fighting over… something?” Cameron’s voice had risen as he started to panic.
Ty shook his head and began rubbing at the bridge of his nose. “It’s a general metaphor. Don’t take it literally,” he said, but then he waved his hand. “Look, all I’m saying is you coming with him, it put him at a disadvantage. But you keep your dog on a leash, I’ll keep mine on one too. ”
Cameron looked at him, uneasy. Then he nodded. “I’ll try. ”
Ty nodded and stood.
The nerves faded once Ty wasn’t beside him anymore. Yeah, it was definitely just a feeling Ty gave off.
Ty took his phone out of his pocket and dialed. Then he said, “We’re good. ” He looked down at Cameron as he put the phone away. “You’ll have that bed. Don’t move,” he said as he turned and headed toward the bathroom.
Cameron opened his mouth to object but swallowed it instead, shaking his head as Ty disappeared into the bathroom. The handcuffs comment made sense now. Well, he was in for a surprise, then, because if Julian ended up sitting on the floor handcuffed to a table leg or safe or mini refrigerator, then Cameron would be sitting right there next to him.
Cameron mulled over what Ty had said, and the unusual discomfort of the situation, until the door to the room opened and Julian walked in. He still appeared calm and stoic, but Cameron recognized the tension in his shoulders. As soon as he saw Cameron, though, he relaxed. Obviously he’d been having the same flashes of alarm Cameron had experienced when Ty took him up here alone, and that made Cameron feel both a little better and a little worse.
“Have a nice chat?” Cameron asked, putting on a smile he didn’t feel.
“Oh, it was enlightening,” Julian said, drawling the words out in amusement.
He took a step toward Cameron, but Ty appeared out of the bathroom before Julian could get past the door, and snapped the spare handcuffs onto one of Julian’s wrists. Then he grabbed the back of Julian’s coat, almost as if he were scruffing a cat, and dragged him into the bathroom. There was a brief and noisy struggle, complete with bangs and crashes, during which Cameron heard Julian say a few choice words he’d never heard his lover utter. A few moments later, Ty stepped out of the bathroom, primly adjusting his clothing as he gave Zane a dashing smile.