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"Anyway One of the guys sitting in front of us turned around to say so and I told hiot a handful of so he wasn’t ready for Nick told me later it was the first time someone had stood up for him just because they could Ever First time in his life"

"And that’s why he says you earned his loyalty when you sat down"

"That’s right When I asked him who’d broken his rib, he said his father When I pointed at his knuckles and asked why he hadn’t hit back, he told me he had But he’d used a baseball bat" Ty smiled when he re around the Nick’s tone for a joke, but Ty had laughed his ass off at the time "I just told him I liked his style, and ere inseparable after that When I got news that Deuce had been in his wreck, I wasNick was the one who keptAWOL We looked out for each other, had each other’s six"

"You two going to be okay now?"

"Yeah," Ty said without giving it even a second of thought "I need to do better by him"

When they reached the patio of theon, much more than could be justified by the tail end of dinner or the fact that soenerators As they stepped into the circle of light cast by the landscape lighting, Nick ca on?" Zane asked

Nick gri to catch his breath "Richard Burns is dead"

Chapter 13

They tried to keep Ty out of the room, but he bulled his way past all three of the back Earl was there, refusing to leave Richard Burns was sprawled on the floor There was no blood, no obvious injuries or signs of violence on his body The rooh unscathed Tables were overturned, pictures and lae had been tumbled over and crashed into a wall

The stone walls were so thick throughout the mansion that no one had heard what seemed to have been a pretty epic battle

The electricity orking again in parts of thethis room Ty didn’t kno, and he didn’t ask

"His neck’s been broke," Earl told Ty His voice was gruff He knelt beside Burns’s body, holding thesteps and stopped again His knees eak, and he would have sunk to the floor if a strong aring to him

"I’m sorry," Zane whispered

Earl’s eyes traveled over all four ravel and anger "Tell me what happened And then find out who did this"

Ty nodded, his breath co but the body on the ground

Kelly knelt by the body "May I, sir?" he said to Earl

Earl refused to let go of Burns’s hand, but he nodded Kelly began to check the body over Zane left Ty where he stood,with Nick Ty finally tore his attention away froan to scour the rooainst his attacker He’d fought with all the skill and knowledge he’d acquired in his years Soed to take hiht Burns when his guard was down, or both

Anger and grief boiled deep in Ty’s gut He could barely concentrate on the crime scene Zane and Nick hadover Kelly as they waited for his report Ty could find nothing but the obvious signs of a struggle in the rooht be able to do so with this, but no visual evidence had been left behind In a fight like this, so should have been left behind

Ty sed hard "It was a pro"

Kelly sat back on his heels, sighing and glancing up at Nick and Zane "He’s been dead for hours Probably right after he left your intervieith hi around the periphery of the room, unable to look back at theround like that

"Could it have been Kline?" Nick asked

Kelly shrugged "She certainly had the capability"

"We know there’s at least one uy The manon the beach," Zane reminded them

"Could that have been Fraser?" Kelly asked

"He said it wasn’t andI believe him," Nick said

"Did you ever tell the truth when it was us?" Ty asked hi "A man like Fraser hasn’t exactly been trained for what I put hih"

"I’ to cut the tension, "but I’m pretty sure his neck was snapped"

He pointed to Burns’s chin, refraining froround to see what he was talking about Tyalmost sideways in an attempt to see but not see There were bruises where Kelly was indicating, like so’s all wrong," Nickhis head to see

Kelly nodded "Either it wasn’t soht like hell and fucked up their hold"

"Or the person was injured," Zane pointed out

"Burns was a large man," Nick added "Avery Kline would’ve had a ti to snap someone’s neck when they’re a foot taller than you isn’t exactly easy"

"That would explain why she panicked andat bothany answers frolanced at hiot to his feet and paced a few steps, his eyesTy’s He stopped in front of hi hi his dislocated shoulder Earl took his good arain, and Ty was forced to look at the body of Richard Burns

Earl pointed at him "Look at that man, son"

Ty stared at his father for a few moments, then turned his eyes to the floor

"I le, Ty You knohat that is?" Earl grabbed Ty’s shirt front, pulling hiround, Beau find who did this, and you kill hi At the body on the floor His stoht of any of thesedead on the floor,at Elias Sanchez’s funeral, of carrying that casket He ree

"Yes, sir"