Ty had his arms up, hands held out to the sides as he was given a cursory pat down. Julian looked sideways at him, then at the TSA agent. After another moment he calmly said, "He has a bomb."

Zane whirled in place so he could see Julian just as the agent said, "Excuse me?"

Ty's head snapped up, and he looked at Julian murderously as Julian repeated, "He has a bomb." Ty would have lunged and throttled him right then and there, but the TSA agent who'd been searching him wrapped his arms around Ty's shoulders to restrain him.

"Cross," Zane said in warning,"they've already checked our ID." Attempting damage control, he took a couple of slow steps to put himself between Ty and Julian. Cameron hovered on the other side of the mat, looking mortified.

"Their IDs are fake," Julian told the TSA agents with supreme confidence. He was even using his Irish accent as he spoke. He looked at Ty with what appeared to be heartfelt sincerity. "I can't let you kill innocent people."

"Shut up!" Ty growled at him. He pointed a finger in Julian's face. "If I get a cavity search because of you, I will kick your a.s.s!"

"Grady, enough," Zane said, pointing at him before he turned to Julian. "You're not helping yourself, Cross." He pulled out his wallet with the utmost care and held out his ID and a confirmation card with the appropriate security numbers, hoping to head off a mess.

Julian actually smirked and winked at him. Zane resisted the urge to roll his eyes and maintained his calm, professional mask as a worried-looking TSA agent took his cards and made a beeline for the phone on the desk. Zane could practically hear Ty vibrating with outrage behind him.

Several minutes later, two very large security agents returned with the first and flanked Ty. "You're going to have to come with us, sir."

Ty growled and pointed at Julian, looking at Zane as they dragged him away. "I hate him."

Zane quashed a sigh and nodded. It wouldn't help to rail against the very excitable TSA, and he turned to nod at Julian. "Go ahead and search him. Thoroughly," Zane told the agents. Worst case, he could leave Ty and Cameron and take Julian to DC himself, though he'd get no end of s.h.i.t about it from Ty afterward.

Julian was still smiling as he held his handcuffed hands up to be searched.

" WHAT if they'd just locked us all up? What would that have accomplished?" Cameron asked Julian as they walked alongside Zane, following in Ty's wake. He was talking on his cell phone as he stalked toward the airline desk.

"It would have delayed the inevitable," Julian told him with a negligent shrug. He was smirking, something he only did when he was feeling particularly evil.

Ahead of them, Ty stopped in his tracks as he spoke on the phone. "What do you mean, rent a car?"

Julian began to laugh. The delay at Midway had caused them to miss the last flight to DC for the night. When they'd missed that one, whoever was giving Ty and Zane orders had told them to haul it to O'Hare to catch the midnight flight, which they had tried to do, but they'd hit the everpresent Chicagoland construction, and it had taken them a full three hours to get up to O'Hare. By then the last flight was gone, and they were grounded until morning. Which was exactly what Julian had wanted.

Cameron wasn't sure what surprised him more, the ten-minutelong nearly incoherent rant that had come out of Ty's mouth as they'd sat in traffic in a minivan taxi with no shocks, or the extent to which Julian seemed to be enjoying himself.

"Antagonizing him probably isn't the best idea," he said as they stopped as well. Ty didn't seem to have a lot of patience to work with, and Cameron knew that Julian could try the patience of a saint if he felt so inclined.

"I've had worse," Julian murmured. Ty snapped the phone closed and turned to Zane. "He told us to rent a f.u.c.king car. He doesn't want us to hang around until morning. He wants Batman and Robin here on the move and away from the TSA."

"Sounds like he wants us to scramble," Zane said, just loud enough for Cameron to discern.

"Exactly, but I'm not sure why. We're not on anyone's radar. Unless he's not telling us that either." Julian hummed but didn't comment. Cameron watched as Zane just looked at Ty, and after a long moment, Ty sniffed, shoved his phone in his pocket, and turned on his heel to head toward the rental cars. Zane turned back to him and Julian. "Ready for a ride, gentlemen?"

"A ride? In a car? With the three of you?" Cameron asked, horrified. "To Washington, DC?" He would have sworn he saw a twinkle of humor in Zane's eyes before the man looked away.

Ty stomped back up to them and grabbed Julian by the elbow. "Get the lead out, Garrett," he said to his partner. He was muttering to Julian as he dragged him away. "Come on, funny guy. I'll show you where they keep the cavity search kits."

Cameron had to work hard to keep up with the three taller and longer-legged men. "Is your partner always this way?" he asked Zane.

Zane glanced at him, and this time Cameron did see faint amus.e.m.e.nt. "No. Sometimes he's a little excitable."

Cameron stared at him, trying to decide if he was joking or serious. He couldn't tell with Zane's dry delivery. When he looked away from Zane, Cameron nearly ran into Ty, who had stopped and turned around to wait on them. Cameron winced. The man had to be made of solid rock. Ty looked from him to Zane. "If you're going to get friendly with the prisoners, take this one," he told Zane, unceremoniously shoving Julian at his partner. He took Cameron's upper arm in an iron grip and turned, pulling Cameron along with him toward the car rental desks.

Stumbling along, Cameron looked over his shoulder at Zane and Julian. "Is this your way of getting friendly?" "'He has a bomb,' he says," Ty parroted in answer. He kept on, taking on a comically exaggerated Irish accent. "Oh look, Mr. Rubber Glove Man, he has a bomb. Och, we missed our plane."

Cameron laughed as he stumbled and b.u.mped into Ty again. "Come on, man, you're like half a foot taller than me. Give me a break!"

"Stop talking."

"You need a Valium or something," Cameron said under his breath as he tried to hurry enough that Ty wouldn't drag him. "Yes, I do. I should also be given a cigarette after what that TSA agent did to me," Ty snapped. He looked over his shoulder to find Zane and Julian lagging behind. "Garrett!"

Cameron watched as Zane held out a hand to his side, as if willing Ty to be patient. Neither he nor Julian looked to be in all that much of a hurry, which Cameron knew would just incense Ty more. Ty mumbled as he and Cameron came up to the rental desk. Cameron didn't even know if what Ty was saying consisted of real words, much less English ones.

By the time Zane and Julian joined them, the rental agent was almost finished telling Ty what models of car were available. Ty turned to Zane and shook his head. "I refuse to drive to DC in a compact."

"There's no way we'd all get into a compact unless we lashed Cross to the roof," Zane said. Ty looked Julian up and down. "They don't even have any SUVs," Cameron said to Julian and Zane.

"Maybe the trunk," Ty said. Cameron gave him a disbelieving look before shaking his head, and he was seized with the urge to smack Zane as the man looked to be considering it.

Julian looked between them without comment, then rolled his eyes and looked away. "Seriously, Zane, I'm not driving to DC in a f.u.c.king Chevy Aveo," Ty said after apparently dismissing the idea of stuffing Julian in the trunk.

"Train?" Zane suggested. "We'd have to wait longer for that than the next plane," Ty muttered. Then a light entered his oddly colored eyes, as if an idea had struck him. "Let's head to the field office. Steal a truck."

"Borrow a truck."

"That's what I said."

"The office is nearby. We'll get a cab," Zane said, taking Julian's arm to turn him toward the door. "Do you two do this kind of thing often? Because you really don't seem very good at it," Cameron said as he resettled his bag on his shoulder.

"Practice a little self-preservation, love," Julian murmured. "Why? That's what I've got you for," Cameron said with a smile for his lover.

"Oh, gag me with a sock," Ty muttered as he pulled Cameron away and headed for the doors. "You need a little love in your life," Cameron told him. Ty narrowed his eyes but had nothing sarcastic to say to that.

"Really," Cameron said, just to get in a dig of his own for being dragged around. "It did wonders for Julian's att.i.tude."

Ty shook his head and looked over his shoulder at Julian as they walked through the automatic doors. "Your boyfriend's coming on to me," he told Julian with the same sincere honesty that Julian had used to tell the TSA agents Ty was carrying a bomb.

Julian made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat. "Zane's more my type," Cameron said, just to irritate Ty even more. Zane snorted before smiling again.

"Hear that?" Ty asked Julian over his shoulder. "He's kind of a wh.o.r.e." Cameron huffed and elbowed Ty in the ribs as they exited the terminal. The man didn't even wince, which made Cameron want to find somewhere he didn't have a protective layer of muscle and kick him.

T Y SAT in the driver's seat of a "borrowed" FBI sedan, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel. They hadn't been able to get away with an SUV, so the sedan would have to serve. It was roomier than anything the rental agency had been offering, and when the Chicago field office found the car missing, it would be a nice little "f.u.c.k you" to d.i.c.k for sending them into this mess without all the information.

Because it was painfully apparent that they didn't have all the information. They didn't even have the CliffsNotes version.

Ty smiled as he thought about the reaction the missing sedan would get from Burns, but he was still irritated just on principle. The first half of the day had been perfect, only to be marred by the addition of the two criminals in love in the backseat. Julian Cross got under Ty's skin simply because he felt dangerous. He was unflappable too, something Ty had rarely encountered. In fact, Ty couldn't think of a single person he'd ever met that he couldn't irritate to some degree. Cameron Jacobs, however, was annoying because he was so d.a.m.n nave it offended Ty's sensibilities. How the two had fallen in love and managed to stay that way Ty couldn't fathom.

Zane had insisted they stop to load up on supplies at the first drug store they came to. He was taking his sweet freaking time with it. Julian and Cameron were in the backseat of the car, handcuffed to the special rings welded to the floorboards, the child locks engaged so they couldn't get out. Ty sat with his gun resting on his knee, just in case Batman got creative.

"What could you possibly gain by making us miss our plane?" Ty asked when he got tired of hearing the two of them murmur to each other. "Now your a.s.s has to ride seven hundred miles in the backseat."

Julian didn't answer him. Cameron leaned as close to him as his restraints would allow and looked to be ignoring Ty as well. Ty watched them in the rearview mirror for a moment before rolling his eyes and looking back at the doors to the store. His knee was bouncing, and he didn't try to curtail the movement. He was considering the radio when he saw Zane finally approach the car, several plastic bags hanging off each hand.

Ty reached down to pop the trunk for him as he neared the car, but he stayed put as Zane dealt with the bags. Then Zane got into the car, placing a couple of bags at his feet before shutting the door and pulling on his seat belt. "Vamos, companero," he said.

Ty glared at him as he started the car. "Took you long enough." Instead of answering, Zane leaned over, dug through a bag, then pulled out a can of Red Bull and held it out in front of Ty with an enticing waggle.

Ty raised one eyebrow and smiled crookedly. He took the can with a grateful "Thank you."

"Oh G.o.d, really?" Julian blurted from the back seat. "He's going to twitch himself through the moon roof."

"Shut up," Ty and Zane said simultaneously.

In the rearview mirror, Ty saw Julian reach sideways and touch Cameron's knee. It was all the contact they could manage. "This should prove to be a long night," Julian said a moment later. "Perhaps the rest of us could be treated to coffee instead of Agent Grady's Red Bull-fueled spurts of nervous energy?"

"Coffee sounds good," Zane said.

"Me too," Cameron added. "We'll find a McDonald's after we get out of the city," Ty said. He wanted to deny the request just for the h.e.l.l of it, but he couldn't think of a good reason.

After an uneventful ride on the Chicago Skyway and over an hour later, Ty pulled off at the innocuous exit to Portage, Indiana. It took a few turns and a couple of miles to find the McDonald's, but soon the four of them had their rest stop and their coffee-Julian and Cameron having to make do with their hands still handcuffed. Ty had a cup of hot chocolate with molten properties, and they were on their way back to the highway.

It was two thirty in the morning, but Ty figured he could go another couple of hours on a can of Red Bull before they would need to stop at a hotel for a rest, since Zane had to be as tired as he was. Traveling at night would be quicker and less conspicuous, and the more the two in the back slept during this trip, the better.

The first thing Ty had done after borrowing the sedan was dismantle the active GPS locator; therefore, the GPS unit on the dash was silent and dark as well. They were using an off-brand portable GPS Zane had bought at the pharmacy for directions for their cross-country trek.

"Follow the yellow brick road," Zane murmured as the GPS unit chirped directions at them in a woman's voice, telling him how to get back to the toll road.

"I think I love her," Ty said as he petted the GPS attached to the dash with a suction cup.

"Until she talks back," Zane said as he settled back in his seat. They were coming up on the bridge they'd crossed less than ten minutes before. Close to the highway.

"That's what I like about her. She's bossy," Ty said with a smirk as he glanced sideways at Zane.

"Like that dominatrix you interrogated last month."

Ty whistled to keep himself from laughing.

"I feel like I need a psychology degree to be here," Julian muttered from the back seat. "I don't know. They're kind of entertaining," Cameron said. "Our definitions of entertaining vary wildly."

"You certainly do have authority issues," Zane drawled to Ty before taking a sip of coffee, ignoring Julian's and Cameron's asides.

Ty glanced at Zane and smiled. He was about to respond when he felt a hand come up from behind him, between the seat and door at his side. He shouted as he realized it was Julian reaching for the child-lock b.u.t.ton on the door, but before he could grab for him to stop him, his seat belt jerked tight, pinning him to the seat and tightening over his throat. Scalding hot coffee poured over his shoulder onto his chest and lap, and the car swerved across the bridge as Ty slammed on the brakes.

"What the h.e.l.l?" Zane held his sloshing coffee out in front of him and braced his free hand on the dash as the car fishtailed across the bridge before coming to a stop just feet from the guardrail.

Ty shouted as he fought to get his seat belt undone while pawing at his shirt front. He heard the back door open and struggled with simultaneously trying to get his own door open and trying to get the scalding material of his shirt off his skin.

"Get him!" Zane was out of his door, and the next thing Ty heard was a gunshot, a spray of concrete, and a scream from Cameron, who had been about to climb out of the back seat to follow Julian.

"Son of a b.i.t.c.h!" Ty finally rolled out of the car. He stripped his shirt off and wiped at his chest with it as he rounded the car and took in the carnage. G.o.d, he sort of hoped Zane had shot the Irish b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

What he saw was Zane with his gun drawn and trained on Julian, who looked like he had stopped and frozen in midstride. Small chunks of asphalt lay scattered at his feet.

"Back in the car, Cross," Zane said in absolute monotone. Ty cleared his throat and swiped at his cooling belt buckle with the coffee-soaked T-shirt. The frigid air hit his damp skin, and he began to shiver.

Julian held his hands up toward Zane and moved back to the car. "No need to get combative, now." "Yeah, keep talking with the Irish accent. Makes it easier to shoot you."

Ty stepped over and grabbed Julian, slamming him against the side of the car. He secured the handcuffs Julian had picked, making them tight enough to leave bruises if they were left on long. They would need something more, because the man was obviously too slick for a single pair of restraints. He searched Julian thoroughly, finally finding the last sliver of metal he had missed on his initial search. Once he was satisfied Julian wouldn't be escaping again, Ty gripped him by the back of his neck, helping him into the car with a not so gentle shove after Cameron scooted back inside. He banged the man's head on the top of the door, muttering a careless apology as he shoved him inside and slammed the door behind him.

He looked over the top of the sedan at Zane. "You okay?" Zane's jerky movements as he holstered his gun spoke volumes. He took a breath and twitched. "Yeah," he said after a long moment, though Ty knew it was partially a lie. "You?"

"Burned my nipples," Ty said, not able to say it without smiling. Zane gave him a whisper of a smile, and the tension in his jaw and shoulders relaxed. "Open the trunk. I've got something that might help that."

Ty looked at him dubiously, wondering what Zane might have bought at a Walgreens that would help burned nipples-and why-but he decided not to ask. "Let's stop for the night, okay? Just stop and regroup, figure out a better way to keep Cross tied down. We'll tackle this s.h.i.t in the morning."

"What about Burns?"

"Priority in this mission was low profile, not speed. He made that very clear. I think it's a good call to stop." Zane nodded, and Ty leaned into the car to pop the trunk like he'd been asked. He looked over the seat at the two men in the back. "A for effort," he told them. Cameron looked a little pale, so maybe now he knew they meant business. To this point he'd been treating them like they might be just as cute and cuddly as the hired killer he called his lover.

Julian met Ty's eyes, but he didn't show a hint of emotion or an inkling of what he was thinking. The guy made the hairs on the back of Ty's neck stand up, and he found himself putting his hand on his gun without first being aware he was doing it.

Zane dug around in the plastic bags in the trunk for a minute, then walked around the car toward Ty. He had a small plastic package in one hand and a wad of brown cloth in the other.

"What's all this?" Ty asked as he straightened. He reached out to run a hand down Zane's arm, not caring that he shouldn't when they were working. Before this morning, he hadn't seen his lover in days, had barely touched him in a week, and he knew fishtailing in the car had to have set Zane's teeth on edge. Echoes of a nasty crash that had almost killed them both would do that.

Plus, Ty didn't care if the criminals knew he and Zane were an item. It was one thing to stay hands-off for a seven-hour flight. Entirely another for a two-day drive. He was tired of being so careful that it looked like he didn't care.

Zane offered him a more natural smile as he held up the plastic package. "Wet wipes." He then shook out the brown fabric. It was a Tshirt, and on the front it displayed a picture of a blue robot with yellow eyes and the words "Overkill is one of my many modes."

Ty laughed and took the shirt and the wipes. "Thanks, Zane." "It sounded like you," Zane said before taking back the wet wipes to open the package so Ty could use them. Ty watched him with a growing sense of calm. Just having Zane here with him was enough to keep him sane.

After pulling open the package, Zane glanced up at him. "All right, Grady. Strip down or you'll be sticky and miserable, and then we'll all be miserable."

Ty muttered at him but pulled his wet jeans off, right there on the side of the road. Several cars pa.s.sing by honked at them, but this didn't even register on the scale as far as Ty's embarra.s.sing life moments went. He put the T-shirt on, and they used his other shirt to pat down the front seat. Then they tossed his wet clothing into the trunk, where the smell of the spilled coffee wouldn't make him want to kill things. He changed into a pair of dirty jeans from the small bag he'd been carrying with him and slid back into the driver's seat.

He sat in the silence of the car and looked into the rearview mirror. "Next time he won't be aiming at you," he told Julian. Cameron's eyes widened as he looked from Ty to Zane, but Zane was looking out the windshield rather than back at them and offered no comment.

"Understood, Agent Grady," Julian said. He didn't seem put out that his attempt had failed, nor did he seem upset with the overt threat to his lover. That bothered Ty more than he liked to admit, and the simple fact that Julian Cross made him nervous also made him angry.

And he wanted to know how the h.e.l.l Julian had slipped those cuffs so quickly. He started the car with a grunt. "Buckle up," he told them, even though neither man could comply because of their handcuffs. He pulled back out into traffic with a less than gentle yank of the wheel that sent both men toppling sideways.

Chapter 6.

C AMERON looked out the window at the Comfort Inn, thinking it looked like it had landed right out of the seventies. Two floors, dark wooden plank construction, narrower and higher windows than in newer hotels, but it seemed nice enough for being out in the middle of nowhere, northern Indiana, off the toll road. It was almost three, and Cameron was exhausted. Surely Ty and Zane were too, and after Julian's attempted escape, they didn't seem to be willing to take any chances.