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"Probably me, too, but they didn’t kno lazy I aone under your radar, has access to restricted Bureau areas in a federal building and was close enough to knohen to detonate that bomb

We prettyspontaneously exploding federal property is a long way toward proof that this guy is a Fed"

Zane set his forehead back against the pillow, straightening his neck to relieve the slicing ache He’d noticed Ty had called hi frohed softly "So it really is one of us," he said sadly

"At least he isn’t trying to kill us, yet," Ty lanced over Zane’s nearly nude, bloody body worriedly "Unless you’d been sitting on the da, a blast that sh to take you off the case" He continued to stare at the h, he decided to go all out and treat Zane like the partner he was going to have to be For a minute, at least "My room made me nervous," he adhtly narrowed eyes tracked over to Ty "Think someone was in there?" he asked Zane kneouldn’t say so about all that trash he talked was that you knehen he was serious

"Could have been Housekeeping," Ty hedged with a shrug "Could have beencovered in your blood I didn’t see anything out of place Justfelt it Probably nothing But I’ht, if you have no objections"

Zane didn’t reply immediately After a short pause he spoke quietly

"I’ll warn you, I’"

"And I’ll be on the lookout for that e of attitude," Ty responded sarcastically

Zane rolled his eyes and quashed the iht to put stuff on retfully instead, shifting slowly to climb to his knees

"Do you need help?" Ty asked as he watched withoutonce he was on his knees, Zane drew a shaky breath as the abused skin shifted and stretched He cursed under his breath "Is there glass on the floor?" he asked "I’d really rather not walk in it"

"Why don’t you stay there, and I’ll clean you off?" Ty answered

"There’s no reason for you to have to get up The bed’s already bloody"

Zane turned his head to study Ty, wondering where this solicitous side had come from Did he just bury it under soto take you up on that offer," heto stretch out sideways

"Good," Ty nodded with a slight sht," he said over his shoulder as he headed into the bathroohed He should have known Ty would have sole, the bastard Zane reached for one of the pillows and pulled it over, stuffing it under his chest to lie on, his arms wrapped around it as he waited

In his h’s salve, so with his always prepared mantra, a flask of peach-flavored moonshine all the way fro called a proper ot the job done He extractedcounter He filled the ice bucket ater, grabbed the stack of hand towels, and headed back out into the outer roos extended out over the bed

Ty licked his lips and for the first time took a moment to really look at his new partner It had been hidden under the suit, but there was no denying that he was impressively muscled, at least And kind of hot, in a stuffed-shirt, stick-up-his-ass sort of way When he wasn’t covered in blood

He shrugged that thought off andthe water down next to hiot to disinfect with is iodine," he told him as he looked up and examined the wounds "Gonna burn"

"Sure, what’s a little hter

Ty was silent as he carefully wedged several towels under Zane’s body to catch the th to say no when you don’t have to," he finallythe blood with a moistened cloth "I respect that, if thatwiped carefully over his back "Thank you," he finally said quietly Wouldn’t a glass of whiskey or a handful of Vicodin be great right about now? Hell, even some ibuprofen

Maybe he’d think a littlethe ibuprofen There were other things he said no to, as wells he’d do better not to think about at all Like theoff hiain His voice wasn’t self-deprecating or self-sy it was a little cold and clinical

"There’s a lot of things I say no to," Zaneabout Ty’s reaction "But there’s certainly no one to care"

"You saying you don’t care?" Ty asked curiously

Sighing, Zane pressed his cheek to the pillow "I do care But it’s the bare minimum of motivation Like I won’t pick up a bottle because I want to keep a job I love That doesn’t necessarily translate to caring if I pickle otten a bit self-concerned sincewith self-concern," Ty said as he wiped one last time at Zane’s back, then set the cloth aside and reached for the iodine "I could just do salve," he offered as he looked at the iodine doubtfully

"Compromise," Zane said "Put iodine on the worst ones so they won’t get infected Salve on the rest ought to be fine"

"All righty," Ty ruashes "Why’d you drink?" he asked suddenly

Zane’s shoulders tightened in response

"Don’t have to answer," Ty went on with a careless shrug "Just curious"

Zane pressed his lips together tightly "My as killed in a car accident," he said tonelessly "I was across the country at the time Had been for a month"

Ty pursed his lips and continued with the iodine, his eyes drifting to the ring on Zane’s finger "My condolences"

Zane let out a pent-up breath "I kind of gota little out of control

Clichéd, I know, but there it is"

"Happens," Ty responded with another e

"So here I am; er, alcoholic, addict, all-around asshole turned squeaky clean by force of will, threat of jail, and sheer terror I suppose it’s no wonder your ‘pansy-ass’ coet in my craw," Zane muttered

"I wouldn’t think much of you if they didn’t," Ty answered, frankly a little surprised at Zane’s self-description "And we all have our sob stories

Nothing to be asha to be ashamed over"