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The constant press of Nick’s presence beside Zane was beginning to y He didn’t know if it was si about Nick’s currentbeside him almost physically painful Zane had always known Nick to be a cal that felt like it was about to explode That was usually Ty’s role

"You okay?" Zane finally asked him

Nick turned his head but didn’t quite look at Zane He nodded, but his jaas tight "He plucks people up and puts theood But he leaves the And for what? Their country?" He shook his head "It’s bullshit"

Zane didn’t even have to ask who Nick was talking about "Burns tried to recruit you when he did Ty and Sanchez, didn’t he?"

Nick nodded curtly

"Why didn’t you go in with the his hands over his face "It felt wrong Everything he told us, it just feltit’s hard to explain It felt like lanced at Zane quickly, probably to judge his reaction Zane tried hard to keep his face neutral

"I tried to tell Ty and Eli why I didn’t like it, why I hadn’t agreed to do it But I couldn’t explain the feeling, and there wasn’t a fucking thing I could point to to back me up Ty had already made up his ht"

Zane s his dad proud and he’s a brick wall I gave up on Ty, but I begged Eli to co up for Burns" He trailed off, eyes on the desktop His eyes were no longer focused on anything but the past

Zane couldn’t help but stare at him "What happened?"

Nick shook hiain "Eli stuck with Ty He said he’d rather go out with his boots on than be a civilian And Ty toldback home to Boston"

"Really?" Zane asked, duined Ty and Nick so tight they had to be untied to take a piss To discover they’d ever shared a harsh as a revelation And to hear that Ty had gone so far as to call Nick a coward, wellit gave Zane serious pause, especially after what he’d just witnessed That Nick had been harboring the sas of betrayal Zane had felthow the hell had he done it without letting it tear hi "I didn’t hear fro his, it hurt like hell that neither of theain?" Zane asked

Nick was silent, staring at the desk, and Zane realized he already knew the answer Ty and Nick never had gotten right again Not really And then New Orleans had happened, with all those secrets and lies spilling over

"I’m sorry," Zane whispered

"You remember on my boat, when you asked why I kissed Ty when I did?" Nick asked

Zane nodded, not keen to relive those memories and eht you h, was it?"

Nick was nodding, not see it The issues between the two men went deeper than even Ty or Nick knew They’d both si the parts they were familiar with, loyal to the very painful core, without questioning why it felt different

So about it made Zane inexplicably sad Ty and Nick had the most pure friendship Zane had ever witnessed; to see that it had cru foundations hurt his heart

"Burns took a handful of the best Marines in the Corps and turned the And all the bullshit his little side jobs put the in so a hard tie to punch Richard Burns in the face Or Ty, for that lancing at Nick again "I’ll hold hio for it"

Nick barked a laugh and smiled wryly He jutted his chin out toward the laptop, scratching idly at his ar for here?"

Zane turned his attention back to the coo through the other emails, see if we can make a timeline, see if there are any keywords or nu like that in your interviews?"

"Keywords or special numbers?" Nick asked

Zane nodded

"Not really Only nuot out of it was the tiain?" Nick rolled his sleeve up and frowned at his arlanced over his shoulder at the here he and Kelly had e in those walls, man"

"Kelly’s not itchy I wonder why you are"

"Curse of the red hair, I guess," Nick said wryly He stopped scratching, staring at the desk and his notepad for a second before looking up at Zane ide eyes "I’"

Ty and Kellyroom, where a sort of buffet lunch had been set up With the cook dead, the head of the house still sedated, and the staff all frightened and grieving, everyone else was just doing whatever could be done tocleared up already, though Ty checked his watch

"I didn’t realize it was so late," Kelly said under his breath

"Yeah, ti with someone’s intestines"

Kelly snorted "Tell lanced at hiht face Hedid so of a horror e dining roo for Stanton or Burns He didn’t see eitherin a corner eating He tapped Kelly’s chest and gestured for him to follow as he wound his way toward their table

Deuce saw theave them a halfhearted smile Ty and Kelly both pulled up chairs and sat down

"How’s the investigation going?" Deuce asked

Ty shook his head "Not too good"

"What have you found?" Earl asked

Ty shifted uncoet into this with his dad, who had known Burns since they were teenagers? It would be like sos Burns had been doing for years, using his son to do it He licked his lips, stalling until he could co

"Milton was a spy," Kelly told theaped at him Kelly reached out and plucked a cucumber from Earl’s plate He pointed it at Earl "For your buddy, Burns"

Ty stared at him as he crunched down on the cucu open

Earl finally turned to Ty "What?"

"Ibasically, yeah" Ty glared at Kelly, and Kelly shrugged "Burns runs certain operators for jobs thataren’t really aboveboard"