by Abigail Roux
Ty was wearing tattered jeans and a gray T-shirt with an angry elephant on it, holding a knife, that read “Elephants never forget, and they never forgive.” It had made Zane laugh when Ty had pulled it out, and now Zane had a hard time keeping his eyes off Ty as he settled at his desk.
They weren’t there for five minutes before McCoy called them into his office. Ty and Zane trudged along amidst the taunts and catcalls of their coworkers. Zane pulled the door shut behind him, and was shocked to see Richard Burns leaning against a file cabinet in the corner of the office.
“Glad to see you back, Grady,” McCoy said to Ty. “Garrett, have a seat.”
Zane sat, looking between McCoy and Burns apprehensively. McCoy got up and made his way out of the office, leaving them alone.
“I’ll make this brief,” Burns said as soon as the door shut. He moved toward the desk, bending and sliding his hand underneath it.
Ty and Zane shared a confused look.
Burns placed both hands on the desk. He waved Ty and Zane over, and after another moment of confusion, Ty got up to step around the other side of the desk. Zane followed. Burns spoke as they moved.
“Because of your recent exposure in the media, we’re going to be taking you off undercover work permanently.”
They’d already been warned of that much. They were in a fucking calendar, after all. Zane supposed they were just moving up the timeline after what had happened in New Orleans.
Burns pointed under the desk. Ty studied him cautiously, then knelt and peered underneath. When he looked back at Burns, his eyes had widened. Zane crouched to inspect the desk as well, and his heart stuttered when he saw a small microphone taped to the desk. A listening device.
“You’ll both be strictly investigative agents from now on,” Burns said. He laid a notecard on the desk.
Your mole is here.
Zane’s heart stuttered again. Burns’s hand came to rest on his shoulder, squeezing hard.
“Since you’re both so good at closing cases,” he said with special emphasis. “Carry on, gentlemen.”
Ty took the card, crumpling it in his hand and turning away with a last glance at Burns. He nodded, his jaw tight and his eyes hard. Zane was numb, unable to process the information. One of their coworkers was spying on them. Trying to get them killed. How much did they know? How much had they seen? How were they getting their information?
They left Burns in the office, passing McCoy in the doorway. He patted Zane’s back, giving him his usual friendly grin. Zane managed a smile and nod for his boss as they headed back to their desks.
Neither of them said a word. There was nothing to say, not here. Not now.
It barely registered when the elevator dinged, but when Ty straightened, Zane caught the movement. The look of concern on Ty’s handsome face spurred Zane to turn.
Two men in Marine uniforms stood at the elevator, speaking with McCoy and displaying a packet of official looking papers. Burns joined the discussion when it got heated.
Alston sat on the edge of Zane’s desk beside Ty to watch. “This is odd.”
McCoy argued with the Marine, growing angrier until Burns finally sent him back to his office. Burns continued the discussion, but the stoic Marine merely answered with single words. Burns finally headed to McCoy’s office too, pulling his cell phone out as he went.
Zane shared a glance with Ty, who shrugged.
One of the Marines took a few steps closer to the work groups and stood straight and tall. “Is there a B.T. Grady present?”
All eyes on the floor turned to Ty. Ty glanced around, his expression a mixture of confusion and trepidation. Then he stood, stepping away from Zane’s desk. He matched the man’s posture, a parody in his Converse sneakers and elephant T-shirt.
The Marine seemed startled, but he covered it quickly. “It’s an honor to meet you, Staff Sergeant Grady.”
“Special Agent Grady,” Ty corrected.
The Marine gave a curt shake of his head and stepped forward, handing Ty a blue packet of papers. “I’m here to inform you that you have been recalled to active duty, Staff Sergeant, by special authority of the SOCOM initiative you agreed to when you were formerly released.”
Ty reached out to take the orders, looking shell-shocked. He stared at the folded bunch of papers, then raised his head, meeting Zane’s eyes briefly before looking back at the Marine. “And what if I refuse?”
“Then your team will be recalled without you, Staff Sergeant. And you and anyone else who refuses will spend up to three years in Leavenworth for dereliction of duty.” There was no malice in the words, merely a Marine giving Ty the answer he had requested.
Ty was trying hard to keep his expression stony. “Thank you, Sergeant,” he finally said, voice tight. The Marine turned on his heel and rejoined the other at the elevator, leaving with as little fanfare as they had arrived.
“Did you just get conscripted?” Lassiter asked.
Clancy stepped forward to look at the papers. “Jesus Christ, can they do that?”
Ty subtly turned the papers away from her and nodded.
“You’re . . . you’re going back to the Marines?” Alston stuttered. “I thought SOCOM was defunct.”
“It’s MARSOC now,” Ty mumbled.
”But that’s special operations. You don’t have a choice?”
“No. I don’t.” He studied the orders. “I report in forty-eight hours. Immediate deployment.”
Zane stood. His hands shook as he gripped the edge of the desk. Ty looked up, seeking Zane out. Zane could see it in Ty’s eyes. There was no choice. No way to wriggle out of it. No way for anyone to save him.
“Oh God, Ty,” Zane whispered.
Ty stared at him for a moment longer as the others broke into outraged babbling. Then Ty shook himself. He tossed the packet of orders onto the desk and stalked over to Zane.
He grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him.
The room spun to a halt. The babble ground to a stunned hush.
Ty’s hands moved to the small of his back and he held him tight, bending him just enough for Zane to have to wrap his arms around him to keep from falling. He kissed him again. In front of their coworkers. In front of King and Country and anyone who would watch. It was the first purely honest kiss they’d ever shared.
And it was a kiss good-bye.
The Cut & Run Series
#1: Cut & Run (with Madeleine Urban)
#2: Sticks & Stones (with Madeleine Urban)
#3: Fish & Chips (with Madeleine Urban)
#4: Divide & Conquer (with Madeleine Urban)
#5: Armed & Dangerous
#6: Stars & Stripes
Novels
The Gravedigger’s Brawl
According to Hoyle
Caught Running (with Madeleine Urban)
Love Ahead (with Madeleine Urban)
The Archer
Warrior’s Cross (with Madeleine Urban)
Novellas
A Tale from de Rode
My Brother’s Keeper
Seeing Is Believing
Unrequited
Abigail Roux was born and raised in North Carolina. A past volleyball star who specializes in sarcasm and painful historical accuracy, she currently spends her time coaching high school volleyball and investigating the mysteries of single motherhood. Any spare time is spent living and dying with every Atlanta Braves and Carolina Panthers game of the year. Abigail has a daughter, Little Roux, who is the light of her life, a boxer, four rescued cats who play an ongoing live-action variation of Call of Duty throughout the house, one evil Ragdoll, a certifiable extended family down the road, and a cast of thousands in her head.
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