Ball & Chain

Nick blinked rapidly, his mouth going harder.



Zane sniffed. “Are you laughing at me?”



Nick rubbed his fingertips over his lips and shook his head, but when he glanced back up he was sniggering softly. He cleared his throat and schooled his features. “Okay. So it was after 4:20.”



“Yes,” Zane grunted. He crossed his arms, blushing harder.



“How bad was the storm when you went out there?”



Zane exhaled slowly, rubbing at his neck. “It was bad. I’m not surprised a tree took out the boathouse. I mean, it was raining sideways and the wind was howling. It was, um . . . it was beautiful.”



Nick sat motionless, his green eyes on Zane, his face expressionless. Finally, his gaze drifted upward and he seemed to be staring at the ceiling over Zane’s shoulder.



“O’Flaherty?”



“How did that broken watch make it through a storm like that?” Nick asked.



They sat in silence, staring at each other, both stumped by the question. Nick rested his chin in his palm, tapping his lower lip with his finger. “It couldn’t have.”



Zane shook his head. “The pieces would have been washed away for sure. The gears probably inundated.”



“Someone killed him around midnight, then went back after the storm was gone and smashed that watch. Why?”



Zane sat frowning at Nick, trying to come up with a reason why someone would do that. “I’ve got nothing,” he finally admitted.



“We need to look at that watch again.”



Zane nodded. “I’ll go with you as soon we’re done.”



“Yeah.”



Nick shook off the mystery of the broken watch and proceeded to ask Zane a few questions about the party, approaching several things from different angles in an attempt to jog details loose from Zane’s memory. He seemed tired, though, and Zane could see his fingers trembling almost imperceptibly.



Nick was almost done with his questioning when the door burst open and Kelly barged into the room. Nick and Zane both stood.



“Sorry, just be a second,” Kelly said to Zane, and he made a beeline for Nick behind the bar. He grabbed him before Nick could say anything, and kissed him.



Zane’s mouth fell open, and he sat back down hard as he watched. Kelly pulled away from the kiss, leaving Nick wide-eyed and speechless. “Ty told me what you said. Love you, too.” He kissed him one more time for good measure, then turned with a nod to Zane and left the room.



The door shut with a muffled click.



Nick stared at the door as Zane stared at him. When Nick finally glanced at him, still looking stunned, Zane pointed a finger at him and shouted, “I knew it!”



Chapter 6



Nick emerged from the game room after half a day of interviews, looking ragged and irritable. Ty felt badly for him.



The wedding party and staff had mostly dispersed, the latter going back to work, the former enjoying what was apparently a rare sunny day on the island. There was a pool in one of the wings Ty hadn’t explored yet, a sulfur spring somewhere on the island, and he’d heard people talking about badminton and croquet. There were rumors of a movie room somewhere, too, and tonight’s big event included a screening of something. Ty had a feeling he’d be skipping that in favor of other endeavors.



Amelia and the other Grady kids had all been carted off to the pool by the grandparents and one very disgruntled Snake Eater. Ty and several of the others were loitering around one of the many lounge areas in the great hall. Zane and Marley King, Emma’s cameraman, were involved in a pretty hefty game of chess. Livi and Emma were playing some sort of game they both had on their iPhones, competing for high scores and alternately trash-talking each other and giggling. Deuce and Kelly had drifted away, their heads bent together in a conversation Ty was pretty sure someone should arrest them for having. Take Deuce’s medical-grade weed and grow it with Kelly’s homemade mountain blend, and they could probably occupy small countries with it.



Two of the Snake Eater bodyguards, a Korean of very few words named Riddle Park and a wiry blond named Solomon Frost who never seemed flustered by anything, had been drawn to the crowd, too. Ty had sat talking with them about their adventures for a while. They were essentially mercenaries, but they were interesting men and they’d led interesting lives. By the time the interviews were all over, Park and Frost were trying to recruit Ty into their company, and they were giving it a pretty good sell.



At one time, Ty would have made a perfect mercenary.



When Nick approached, they all halted their activities and watched him expectantly. Deuce and Kelly wandered back over, and everyone was silent, watching Nick.



“So,” Ty finally said after the silence had grown awkward. “Do we talk about your findings and suspects, or do we talk about the more important matter of you and Kelly banging?”



Nick pointed his notepad at Ty. “And there it is.”



The others laughed, and Kelly came over to wrap his arm around Nick’s waist. Nick pulled him closer to hug him. Ty couldn’t help but grin. He was a little thrown by it, he would admit. And he had decided to deal with the horrifying realization that two of his closest friends were now fucking each other by just not ever accepting the fact that they were. Problem solved. But that aside, Nick and Kelly had always been affectionate with each other, and had always loved each other. This wasn’t so huge a step.



As long as Ty didn’t think about them fucking, it was all good.



There was a clatter from the side table where Zane and Marley were playing chess, and Ty glanced over at them.



Zane was peering under the table. “Shit, sorry. I didn’t realize it was under there.”



“Don’t worry about it, man, it’s a tough old bastard,” Marley said as he bent to pick something up. Marley was an easygoing guy with the beginnings of dreadlocks and a perpetual smile. He was wiry and athletic, with the long, lean body type Ty associated with surfers. The flip-flops, cargo pants, and graphic tees he always wore reinforced the image, and his pockets seemed to be loaded down with all kinds of tools and miscellaneous bits. Plus, he was kicking Zane’s ass at chess. Ty liked him.



He sat back up cradling a large camera, patting its side like a baby. “You’re okay.”



Zane was smiling, but as Ty watched, he saw an idea strike Zane like it had physically hit him. Zane leaned forward and pointed at the camera. “Have you been filming with that?”



“Yeah, I got most of the party last night. Little bit of scenery this morning. I was going to go through it tonight, put some B roll together.”



Zane turned to Ty, his eyes wide.



Marley glanced between them, frowning. Then it dawned on him why Zane would be interested, and his face split into a huge grin. “Maybe it recorded something important, right?”



“Wow, if we’d thought of that five hours ago that would have been nice,” Nick grumbled.



Emma hopped up from the couch. “We’re on it!” she said, tapping Marley on the shoulder. “Want us to look for anyone who looks like a rock-bashing psychopath, right?”



“Ideally, yeah,” Ty told her. “Find anything of Milton you can so we can track his movements.”



“There’s a movie room,” Livi told them. She stood as well. “I think you can attach your camera to the equipment and watch the footage on the big screen. I’ll show you where it is.”



The three of them headed off, Marley lugging the camera on his shoulder.



“What are the odds he caught the murder on camera while he was eating or something and we can all go back to being common wedding guests?” Zane asked under his breath.



Park and Frost both shook their heads. “Nope,” Frost said.



They all turned their attention back to Nick. He looked exhausted and frustrated.



“Hey, Irish, you want to get some real food before we powwow on this?” Ty asked him.



“Yeah. I also wanted to take one more look at the body, see if we can pull something off that watch, so I’ll just head for the kitchen.”



Kelly smacked his ass. “We’ll come with.”



Zane snorted and stood. They said good-bye to the two Snake Eaters, who had to go take their shifts, and left Deuce to retrieve Amelia from her nanny. The four of them headed for the kitchen.



They were halfway down the winding steps to the kitchen when Nick stopped abruptly and Ty bowled into him from behind. They barely caught themselves from tumbling down the steps.



“What the hell, man?”



“That smell,” Nick whispered. He backed up a step, reaching wildly. His hand landed on Ty’s stomach and he clutched at Ty’s shirt. His other hand grabbed for the gun he had tucked in the small of his back. Ty hadn’t even known Nick was carrying.



He immediately recognized the panic in the other man, and he knew what happened when Nick panicked. Going for the gun himself would’ve gotten Ty killed, so he grabbed Nick from behind, wrapping him up so he couldn’t get it either. Ty felt like he’d just grabbed a tiger by the tail.



“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he said urgently. He pulled Nick backward, lifting him and swinging him up the steps, away from the kitchen. Nick kicked against the stone stairwell wall, slamming Ty against the opposite wall. His breath left him in a rush and he saw stars.



They struggled silently for several more seconds, until Nick was hyperventilating and Ty had given up on getting him up the steps. Zane and Kelly crowded closer.



Ty fell to his back on the steps, using the weight of his own body to drag Nick down. Kelly reached for them and Nick lashed out at him.



“What the hell triggered it?” Kelly asked. “When did he start doing this shit?”



“I don’t know. I’ve never seen this!” Ty answered, voice strained.



“I’m okay,” Nick gasped.



Ty could feel Zane hovering behind him, obviously at a loss. Zane had become well versed in how to handle Ty’s flashbacks and panic attacks, but he’d never seen Ty react like Nick just had. Ty’s instinct when the memories got too close was to freeze and curl up and wait for them to pass.



But Nick’s instinct had always been to stand and fight. He’d go on the offensive before he could be hurt. He’d expose himself to whatever triggered him until it no longer caused a reaction. And if he got lost enough in a flashback, he could be downright dangerous to anyone and everyone near him. He’d once nearly taken out an entire med bay on ship before he was sedated.



“I’m sorry,” Nick offered, voice hoarse and weak. “I’m okay.”



“Like hell you’re okay,” Kelly said softly. He shook his head at Ty. “He’s done. I’m pulling medic rank. No more of this shit today.”



Ty nodded. Kelly would find no argument from him.



“No!” Nick grunted. He took a deep breath. His entire body was trembling, though, and he couldn’t even look toward the bottom of the stairs. “We have to go down there.”



“I’m going to vote no on that one,” Zane said under his breath.



“You have to,” Nick insisted. He twisted in Ty’s arms, his muscles flexing. Ty loosened his grip, and Nick instantly began to relax. “The smell . . .”



“What was the smell?” Ty asked.



“Copper. Blood.” He reached to the small of his back and brought out his Glock, handing it to Ty. “It’s blood, Ty. Get down there.”



Ty left Nick and Kelly on the steps, and he and Zane hustled to the kitchen. He led with the weapon, clearing the kitchen silently as Zane remained in the stairwell, then signaled for Zane to join him.



Zane stood over the pool of deep dark blood spreading across the pristine white tile of the gourmet kitchen. The copper scent was almost overwhelming.



“He’s got one hell of a nose on him,” Zane said.



Ty nodded, taking in the gruesome scene. The cook lay sprawled on the floor, the blood still trickling from a wound in her back. One of her expensive knives was protruding from her spine, and her fine white hair was caked with blood. Ty bent to check her pulse. She was still warm, but there was no heartbeat and far too much blood on the floor for her to have lived long.



“Doc!” Ty called out anyway.



Ty turned when he heard the scuff of a shoe on the stairs. Kelly stood there, face pinched in concern. “Blood?” he asked.



“Lots of it,” Ty answered. “Don’t let Nick down here, okay?”



Kelly shook his head, but a second later Nick appeared at his side, peering into the kitchen. He was pale and shaken, and he was holding his shirt over his nose to prevent another bout of scent-induced panic. But he was there and he looked determined to stay.



“Victim?” he asked, his voice muffled.



“Cook’s dead. Knife to the back,” Ty answered.



Kelly moved toward them and bent to check her regardless.



Ty was watching Nick, though. “Irish, you don’t need to be here.”



The apprehension in Nick’s eyes said he completely agreed, but he shook his head. “Where’s Milton’s body?”



Ty glanced around for the walk-in freezer, making his way carefully over to it. There were no signs of a struggle in the kitchen, nothing out of place or messy. He covered his hand with his sleeve when he opened the freezer door to prevent his fingerprints from contaminating the scene. Not like they could fingerprint anything, but still.



He peered into the freezer and was immediately knocked back by what he found inside. He turned his head away from the sight, gagging and covering his face with his sleeve as he shoved his shoulder into the door to close it.



“Oh God,” he managed to groan.



“What is it?” Zane asked, voice laced with dread.