“Threefold.”
Nick snorted. Between Ty, Digger, and Sanchez on missions, all the superstitions had almost killed them all. It was contagious, though, because Nick had carried his own good luck charms with him. So many that other Marines had taken to calling him Lucky. After all he’d seen and been through, he was willing to put some stock in the reality of magic.
But Zane gaped at Ty. “You actually believe in that stuff?”
“To an extent, yeah. Yeah, I do.” Ty shrugged. “And you can bet people around here believe it too.”
“The stronger you believe, the stronger the power of the spells,” Digger added.
“Wow, D. Wow,” Kelly said. He was keeping a straight face, but his mouth twitched.
“Well, the bag the girl had was white,” Nick said. “What’s that mean?”
Ty ran a finger over his lower lip, wincing. He walked further into the shadows, like a magnet being repelled by the crowd. “I think it’s for protection. Something about protecting your home, maybe. I don’t remember.”
“It’s for any kind of protection,” Digger said.
“Well, it didn’t work for her,” Owen muttered.
They all stared at him for a second before Nick cleared his throat. “Anyway.”
“Are we investigating a murder while we’re here, or are we actually going to get to be normal tourists this time?” Kelly asked.
Zane glanced at the scowls they all gave Kelly and he laughed. “This time, huh?”
“Don’t ask,” Nick muttered. His theory was that it was because they were all trained to help, but even he had to admit they stumbled over crimes more often than your average bear.
Digger shrugged. “Sounds like a hoodoo thing. Turf wars. The locals can handle the weird ones like that.”
Ty looked relieved.
Nick wondered just how much trouble Ty would be in if someone recognized him down here. He knew Ty would never tell them until trouble reared its ugly head, but he supposed he should have expected Ty to have left New Orleans with enemies. He was suddenly very conscious of the fact that they might have put Ty in danger by luring him here.
“Not our jurisdiction. Not our problem, right?” Ty said.
Zane’s brow furrowed, but he remained silent.
Nick shrugged. “I guess not.”
Kelly continued on down the street. “Kind of a buzzkill though.”
The grisly crime in the middle of their revelry had indeed cast a pall over the night, but they only had the weekend to enjoy each other, so they continued on. They hopped from bar to bar for another hour, and after a quiet talk with Zane about the alcohol, Ty finally ordered himself a few oddly colored drinks to toast the memory of their fallen brother. They told stories, sharing them with Zane so he wouldn’t feel left out, and reminisced about the good days they’d spent together.
Most of the tales had to do with Elias Sanchez, and Ty had to force himself to relax and enjoy it. It wasn’t hard to push the murder out of mind; that was what they dealt with every day and he’d learned to compartmentalize. He ignored the fact that Owen was ignoring him. He battled the guilt that came with every sip someone took in Zane’s line of sight. He tried to forget that he might be recognized by the wrong person and bring all kinds of trouble down on them.
The ambiance and good company were finally enough to filter through the worries, and the night wound down as a success. As they were strolling toward the hotel, Ty slipped his arm around Zane’s shoulders. New Orleans was still one of the most romantic places Ty had ever been. He couldn’t wait to get Zane alone and finish what they’d started back in Baltimore.
Nick had booked them all into the Bourbon Orleans, making a point of giving Ty and Zane their own room for the weekend. The rooms weren’t together, so they said good night to the Recon boys in the elevator at the third floor, and then rode up two more to their own room.
“It was nice of him to do this,” Zane said. He was working the key card to the room as Ty leaned against the wall beside the door.
“More like self-preservation. Nobody wanted to share a room with us.”
Zane glanced at him with a smirk. “How drunk are you?”
Ty bit his lip against a smile. He reached out for Zane, hooking him by his belt to pull him closer, and Zane left the key in the door and reached for Ty’s hips with both hands. He pressed Ty hard against the wall as they shared a languorous kiss. Ty was ever conscious of the taste of liquor on his tongue, but he supposed the cigarette taste in Zane’s mouth would combat it.
Zane broke away and opened the door, shoving Ty in ahead of him. Ty chuckled as he entered the room.
Zane gave him a smack on the ass, then shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it at the chair in the corner as he headed for the balcony doors to peer at the view. Ty hung back, enjoying the roll of Zane’s shoulders and the way his long body leaned to the left without him realizing it. Ty had decided it was a cowboy lean, something he’d never actually noticed until after he’d seen Zane in Texas over the summer. It probably had more to do with the gunshot he’d taken to his thigh than anything, but something about it hit Ty the right way.
“Ty.”
“Huh?
“You didn’t hear a word I just said, did you?”
Ty looked into Zane’s eyes and began to smile, shaking his head. Zane huffed.
“What did you say?”
“I was talking about how odd it is that we keep stumbling over these murders. It’s like someone has it out for us.”
“Ugh, Zane, don’t think too hard about it.”
“Fine. I’m too tired to shower and too dirty to go to bed,” Zane said. He was stripping off the rest of his clothing, tossing them toward the chair.
“That’s the beauty of a hotel.”
Zane narrowed his eyes, looking Ty up and down. “You coming to bed?”
Ty nodded, but he made no move to undress. “Will you tell me a story?”
“A story? What are you, five?”
Ty grinned. He began pulling at his buttons. “Tell me about the guy in Miami.”
Zane snorted. He reached to help Ty out of his shirt. “Why? Does it turn you on to hear about my past conquests?”
“A little, yeah,” Ty admitted.
Zane arched an eyebrow. “Really?” He tossed Ty’s shirt away and pulled him closer. “Take that shower with me first?”
Ty nudged his nose against Zane’s cheek, grinning.
It didn’t take much to convince Ty to shuck his clothing and climb into the shower with Zane. They went about it slowly as they let the water heat up, standing in the middle of the bathroom and kissing. Zane could see them in the mirror over Ty’s shoulder. He watched his hands drag across Ty’s skin, leaving red streaks behind that soon disappeared. He watched the muscles of Ty’s back slide, the biceps with the bulldog on it flex.