Julian caught it deftly with one hand, then flipped it over to look at the identification within. He stared at it for a moment before looking up at Zane.
He made a “quit” motion with his hand toward the balcony. “You can tell Richard Burns to stick it,” he finally said as he handed the wallet back.
Zane snorted as he pocketed the wallet and lowered his weapon somewhat. “If you know Burns, you know that won’t help.”
Julian’s eyes darted between the two men. “Get out,” he ordered.
“Also won’t help,” Zane said, sliding his gun under his jacket. “We’re here to escort you to DC. If we don’t get you there, someone else will, and much less comfortably, I assure you.”
Julian’s shoulders tightened. He lowered his head and shook it. “I told them before. I will not be involved. I’m sorry you’ve wasted your time.” He glanced at Cameron, his expression softening. “Perhaps you should see the sights before you go home, make the trip worthwhile,” he told the two agents. His voice was polite, but he couldn’t fool Cameron. He was angry and tense.
Though Zane was the one talking now, Cameron paid more attention to Ty. He still had his gun out and in hand and was staring devotedly out the balcony doors.
“No misunderstanding, Mr. Cross,” Zane said, his voice genial enough under such odd circumstances that it pulled Cameron’s attention away from Ty. “This isn’t a request.”
Cameron stiffened when Zane’s eyes turned to focus on him speculatively, and Cameron bit down on his tongue to keep from blurting out what was sure to be a stupid question.
“Then so be it,” Julian finally answered stubbornly. “Anyone else looking for me will follow the bread crumbs you’ve left behind you, no doubt. The longer you’re here, the more you become my problem.”
“Okay,” Ty said impatiently as he stuffed his gun into his holster and moved around the couch, approaching Cameron. “Mr. Cross, I understand you won’t be accompanying us to Washington willingly, is that correct?” he asked brusquely, continuing before Julian could answer. He moved toward Cameron as he extracted a pair of handcuffs. “Cameron Jacobs, you are under arrest for harboring a federal fugitive.”
“What?” Cameron yelped, putting his hands behind his back and backing away. “Harboring a fugitive? Julian, what is this?”
“Stay calm, love,” Julian requested, though the undertone in his voice told Cameron he was having trouble following his own advice.
Whoever these two men were, they knew physically threatening Julian would have no effect on him, and physically threatening Cameron would just piss him off. Arresting Cameron, however….
Ty gripped Cameron’s elbow and pulled at him, turning him around with alarming strength as he clasped one cuff on his wrist.
Cameron looked up at Julian, hoping he knew what he was doing.
“You’re bluffing,” Julian said as he looked at Zane. “You have no grounds to arrest him, and you can’t force me to Washington.”
“Actually, yes, we do, and yes, we can,” Zane replied. “It would be a shame to find an unregistered firearm in Mr. Jacobs’ possession, especially if he threatened a federal agent with it.”
Cameron gasped. “That’s awful and you know it!”
“Yeah, you’re breaking my heart.” Ty’s hand tightened on Cameron’s shoulder as he secured the handcuffs, and his voice was low and gruff in Cameron’s ear. “You have a good evening now, Mr. Cross,” he said in a louder voice, pushing Cameron in front of him toward the door.
Cameron tried to dig in his heels, but he was no match for Ty. Both the FBI agents were closer to Julian’s size than his, and since the top of his head did well to reach Julian’s nose, it wasn’t much problem for Ty to push him around. But Cameron was determined to stay calm, like Julian had told him, though it wasn’t looking good as Ty propelled him forward. At least he was almost certain these guys wouldn’t kill him.
“I’m sure you have ways to find us,” Zane told Julian as he walked toward the door, somehow managing to look casual but keep facing Julian the whole time. He was still holding his gun. “If you decide to change your mind.”
Julian sidestepped, stopping their progress. He didn’t budge as Ty moved Cameron toward the door. Ty’s fingers dug into Cameron’s shoulder to stop him.
“Zane, I think Mr. Cross is a little more attached to Mr. Jacobs than we realized,” Ty said casually to his partner.
“Well, leave it to intel to miss important little details like that,” Zane muttered. He offered Julian an insincere smile. “Your choice, Mr. Cross. In a manner of speaking.”
“Either get out of the way or have your man on the roof shoot us,” Ty told Julian, sounding as if he hadn’t a care in the world.
Julian narrowed his eyes. He glanced to the side, looking at Zane as he held up his hand and slowly reached into his coat with the other.
He extracted his cell phone carefully and slid it open. He looked back at Ty as he pressed a button and put the phone to his ear. “Preston,” he said slowly, “shoot the stupid one.”
“Julian!” Cameron snapped, annoyance flaring. Julian was supposed to be helping them!
Julian shrugged. “What do you mean, which one?” he said to Preston, whose voice could barely be heard on the phone.
“Let me guess; Preston drives the clown car?” Ty asked, unimpressed.
“Preston, don’t you dare!” Cameron yelled at Julian’s phone. “How is this going to help?” He looked around at the three men, and Cameron realized what a mess this was. There was nothing here but a lot of testosterone. He hoped. “Are you going to keep threatening each other, or is something going to happen besides someone dying on our floor?”
Zane raised an eyebrow. “He’s got a temper,” he observed as Cameron pulled at Ty’s immovable hands.
Julian closed the phone in his hand in disgust and glared at the two agents. “You realize you put both our lives in danger with this stunt.”
“We can live with that,” Ty said. “Now do you want to do this nicely, have time to pack your Uzi in your underwear, or do we get to cuff you and drag you out?”
Julian’s jaw tightened. “I won’t go without Cameron.”
“This isn’t a vacation, Cross,” Zane said.
“He’s exposed now, thanks to you. I go with you willingly on the condition I keep him by my side.”