Julian huffed but finally nodded. "As long as I get to watch."

Chapter 11.

W HILE Ty was safely hidden away under the CIA vehicle, dismantling the GPS, Zane and Julian discussed their options. Cameron sat and listened, as he always did. They finally made the decision that they needed to get to DC as fast as possible, and to Cameron's surprise, Julian agreed that making it to DC was now what they wanted to do, rather than escaping.

"The enemy is too powerful. We need someone on our side. These two and their boss will have to do until we find someone bigger," he explained to Cameron.

It made sense, in a very Julian sort of way.

They headed for the nearest airport, which happened to be Pittsburgh. Ty and Zane didn't flash their badges this time, going for low-key as they went through the security checks. They had ditched their guns and wallets. Julian behaved himself, staying close to Cameron. It all went smoothly, which immediately put all of them on edge.

While standing in line with Zane to get a sandwich, Cameron watched as Julian moved around the sizeable shopping area in the airport, Ty trailing only a few steps behind him. Julian had a.s.sured the FBI agents that he wasn't going anywhere, but Ty didn't trust him.

Cameron couldn't help but watch his lover. When other people noticed Julian, they tended to do one of three things: stare at him, hustle away, or some odd, jerky combination of the two. Cameron shook his head as a couple of teenage girls stopped and watched him pa.s.s.

"I really feel for people sometimes," Cameron said once Julian was within hearing.

Julian raised an eyebrow and gave Cameron a fond smile. "And why is that?"

"Oh G.o.d, don't make him talk about his feelings," Ty muttered as he joined them.

Cameron shook his head. "You're like a shark. You walk around and all the little minnows go swimming away."

Julian hummed and glanced around the room. Ty began to snicker quietly, and Julian looked over his shoulder at him.

"Dude," Ty said as their eyes met. "Your boyfriend just called you a shark. That's a besotted burn."

Cameron saw Julian just barely roll his eyes as he looked away from Ty and back at him. Cameron edged up a shoulder. He heard Zane laugh behind him.

"While I appreciate the spirit of the observation, there is a flaw in your theory," Julian told him, voice lowering as he took a step closer.

Cameron tried not to grin. "Really? Because you do like to bite."

"Oh Lord, TMI," Zane muttered.

"This whole trip has been TMI, Zane," Ty grumbled.

Julian ignored both of their comments, returning them with a mere smile before he explained. "A shark, while frightening to us, is not a threat to the minnow at first sight. We know what a shark can do, the minnow doesn't."

Behind him, Ty rubbed his eyes. "Oh G.o.d, now I'm actually agreeing with him."

Cameron shifted his weight to peer around Julian at Ty. "Excuse me?"

Ty looked up and waved a hand at the airport around them. "Sharks eat fish, right? Or seals or... whatever. But if a seal is afraid of a shark on sight, then the shark will never get close enough to the seal to do anything."

Julian was nodding, looking moderately surprised that Ty knew what he'd been talking about. "What he's saying is if the prey recognized the predator as a danger, they would instantly flee. So the shark regulates its behavior. The majority of the time, a shark swims peacefully through schools of its prey, never causing trouble, never being pegged as a danger, barely noticed by the very things it hunts."

Cameron looked back and forth between them. "So... if you're not a shark, then what are you?"

Julian winced, and to Cameron's surprise, he flushed as he looked down at his shoes. "I've always a.s.sociated myself more with a lion," he mumbled.

"I'll buy that," Ty said as he stepped away from the counter so Cameron could see him more fully.

"I'm not convinced," Cameron said, crossing his arms. He looked over his shoulder at Zane. "Does Julian look like a lion to you?"

"I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that it's stupid," Zane said, mimicking Julian's way of speech, before stepping up to order his food.

Cameron turned back to Julian. "Well?"

"Big cats are the only predators on earth who are known to kill for fun," Ty provided almost merrily.

"Meow Mix," Zane said over his shoulder in a flat tone.

"You said that before, at the apartment," Cameron remembered. "When Ty picked up Wesson."

"Wait, he picked up Wesson?"

Cameron nodded.

"How?"

"Grady has a codependent relationship with big cats."

"Why?"

"One tried to eat me," Ty said, the answer flippant.

"Actually, that explains so much," Zane muttered to himself, looking between Ty and Julian.

Cameron rolled his eyes. "Why a lion, Julian?"

"They're large and territorial. They're feared on sight no matter if they're hunting or sunning on a rock. They take advantage of environmental factors to hunt and kill their prey. And they occasionally go rogue."

"And start killing for fun," Ty finished with a flourish of his hand.

Cameron turned up his nose. "And what about you, Mr. Killing for Fun?"

"I don't kill for fun."

"I meant what are you? A bulldog?"

Zane let out a sharp bark of laughter. Ty grunted at them both, no longer enjoying the game now that he was the focus.

Julian turned to look at him. He nodded as if coming to a decision. "You see, Cameron, of us all, Agent Grady is the real shark."

Ty looked at Julian in outrage.

Cameron narrowed his eyes, studying Ty, trying to fit the description Julian gave earlier to what he'd seen of Ty. Julian and Zane both turned heads with their imposing dark looks and brooding auras. They were both somber and controlled. Like sharks patrolling their territory as they weaved through a crowd. Ty, though, sort of struck Cameron as a playful puppy in comparison, flopping along, cracking jokes, handsome face usually open and smiling.

Maybe Julian was right.

"Do you play poker?" Cameron asked Ty.

"Sometimes," Ty answered distractedly, still looking at Julian. "What the h.e.l.l do you mean, I'm the shark? I'm not a shark!"

"You're a shark," Zane said as he turned away from the counter with a drink in hand, though his words sounded begrudged.

Ty gave him a wounded look, and Cameron almost felt sorry for him.

Julian nodded, satisfied. "Of all of us, he's the one someone in trouble would approach for help," he told Cameron. He waved a hand at Ty. "He doesn't seem outwardly dangerous, in fact, quite the opposite. So the wounded little fishies just swim right up to him."

"Okay, that's enough," Ty grunted, shoulders tightening.

"But he has probably killed more people than myself and Agent Garrett combined."

"Now you're just being mean," Ty muttered.

Zane shrugged. "You remember what Clancy said. You go around b.i.t.c.hing and people still like you because you're charming. You can't help yourself."

"You're not helping, Zane!"

"Maybe Ty's a big cat too," Cameron said, not comfortable with the talk of kill counts and still feeling sorry for Ty and the wounded look in his eyes. Maybe Ty really was a shark, dangerous and dashing and still managing to make Cameron feel sorry for him.

"No," Julian murmured, still looking at Ty. "He's a shark."

Cameron glanced to Zane. "What about him?"

"I was born in the year of the horse," Zane said. He was leaning against the counter, waiting for their order.

"You're not a horse," Ty told him, sounding truly offended by the entire conversation now.

"I think maybe... a bear. A big grizzly bear," Cameron said as he studied Zane.

"A bear fits," Julian agreed.

"A bear?" Zane shrugged. "I've been called worse."

Ty was silent, looking at Zane with narrowed eyes. "Oh!" he said suddenly, pointing at his partner. "He's an elephant!"

Julian looked back at Ty and then at Zane, almost laughing, but then he nodded in surprise again. "That's... disturbingly fitting."

Cameron had to laugh when he saw the look on Zane's face. He was staring at his partner in clear disbelief. "An elephant?" Zane said.

"They're killers, man," Ty told him, voice trembling with laughter.

"As much as I hate to agree with him," Julian murmured, waving at Ty with a grimace.

"An elephant?" Zane repeated. "What the h.e.l.l?"

"They lose their tempers and trample and gore and cause mayhem all the time," Ty said, his voice flippant but his eyes glittering.

Zane crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, glowering.

Cameron cleared his throat and whistled as he turned to look at Julian. Julian was trying desperately not to smile.

"Elephants are unpredictable creatures," Ty told Zane, voice lower and mockingly earnest.

Zane c.o.c.ked his head to one side. "Do tell."

Cameron edged away from Zane and reached down to pick up the second tray of food they'd been waiting for. "How do you two know so much about killer animals, anyway? I know you don't watch Discovery Channel, Julian."

Julian licked his lips, sharing a look with Ty that was oddly familiar, as if they shared a secret. "Studying the way animals stalk is an effective way to... sell antiques."

"Yeah," Cameron drew out, keeping his eyes on Julian and shaking his head.

Zane groaned and rubbed his eyes.

"C'mon, Simba, go buy me some lemonade while I find a table," Cameron said, hooking his arm through Julian's.

Ty and Zane remained behind them for only the briefest of moments, glaring at each other, before Ty broke away to trail behind them. Cameron got the very distinct feeling that they were communicating silently and that they would be discussing elephants the next time they were alone.

When Ty joined Cameron at the table, it was just the two of them. Zane had gone off to find a restroom, and Julian was waiting in line for a lemonade.

Cameron sat in the metal chair with his club sandwich as he watched Julian. It was always interesting to observe him interacting with strangers, whether he was a lion or a shark or a teddy bear. He was much the same as when Cameron had met him: mostly silent, otherwise soft-spoken and succinct. It had made for a challenge when Cameron served as his waiter at Tuesdays, the gourmet restaurant where they'd met. It still made him smile, thinking about how he'd been so sure Julian hadn't even known he existed.

Ty thumped down beside him and huffed, breaking his reverie. "You know how you can tell when someone's really in love?" Ty asked him out of the blue, his tone casual. He glanced sideways at Cameron, one eyebrow raised. "You're sitting here, watching him do something completely mundane, and you're grinning like an idiot."

"And what's wrong with that?" Cameron asked with a light laugh.

"Whatever, you make my teeth hurt," Ty grumbled, though Cameron could see the barest hint of something beneath the gruff exterior, perhaps amus.e.m.e.nt.

"I think you're just as sentimental as I am. You hide it better," Cameron claimed, remembering Ty's snappy response about being away from his loved ones. "I just don't have to hide it at all. It's really freeing."

"I bet," Ty murmured. Though his eyes still followed Julian's movements, they seemed to be staring off into the distance as well, as if he was seeing someone or something else. Cameron wondered, as he looked at Ty, what sort of person a man like him would love. Ty shook it off and glanced down, then looked away as if he sensed Cameron's eyes still on him.

Cameron took a bite of his sandwich. "Don't you get tired of it?" he asked. "This tough guy image?"

Ty didn't look at him, but Cameron could see his eyes gaining distance again. "It's all I've ever known," he answered, voice matterof-fact and melancholy.

A glance showed Cameron that Julian was accepting the cups from the lady at the counter. Ty would totally clam up once Julian walked over. "It doesn't have to be that way. Julian was able to adapt," Cameron offered, hoping Ty might be able to see it could be done. "You just have to love the right person."

"What makes you think I don't?" Ty asked in an oddly distant voice.