Ball & Chain

Zane sat heavily, his heart and head throbbing. “This was never really about Stanton’s company. This was about me.”



Chapter 14



They stood on the edge of the cliff, staring out at the moon sparkling on the waves.



The boat bobbed in the distance, its emergency beacon blinking and reflecting on the water like Christmas lights. It made Nick miss his boat. He always lined the vessel with strings of lights for Christmas.



“Do we try for it?” English asked.



“I want to go home,” Kelly grunted. “I say we swim for that bitch, fuck waiting for the ferry.”



Ty, Nick, and Zane murmured in agreement. Park merely nodded.



“Who’s physically capable of making that swim?” Nick asked, looking down the line at all of them.



Ty shook his head. Kelly had put his shoulder back in joint, to the tune of much squabbling and name-calling and Ty screaming in the end.



Zane wasn’t injured at all, but he looked dubious. “I can try for it,” he said, “but I’m not a very strong swimmer.”



“I’m good for it,” English said with a nod.



Nick looked him up and down. “Dude, is there a wet suit that will fit you?”



English laughed. “Probably not on this island.”



Nick shook his head. The sea was far too cold to swim without a wet suit. He’d die before he got halfway there.



“I can swim,” Park said. His arms were crossed, and he was still wearing his sunglasses even in the dark of night. “But perhaps we should use that canoe on the beach instead.”



“The what?” Ty and Zane blurted at the same time.



Park nodded toward the beach below. None of them could see what he was seeing, so Nick lay out on the edge of the cliff and shined his light down there. A battered red canoe reflected back at them.



“How the hell?” Nick asked over his shoulder.



“His sunglasses have night vision,” English answered, deadpan.



“Seriously?” Ty and Kelly both said.



“No.”



Both their shoulders slumped in disappointment, and Nick laughed. He wasn’t sure if it was really that funny or if he was just at the end of his sanity. He didn’t really care either. He stood and brushed himself off, then patted English on the chest and jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the beach below. “It’s all you, buddy.”



English nodded, gesturing to Park.



“Wait, we can’t send them alone. What if they leave us here?” Kelly asked.



Nick raised an eyebrow at his lover, but it was a valid question. He glanced at English, who was nodding.



“Fair enough. Who wants to go with me?”



“I will,” Zane offered. He and Ty exchanged a glance, communicating silently for a few seconds. Then Zane checked the ammunition in his gun. Nick handed him his knife with a nod.



They turned to English to see if he’d object. The big man shook his head. “He’s already told me he can’t swim. If I want to kill him, I’ll just tip the canoe.” He gave them all a cheeky grin, then turned to make his way down to the beach.



“Oh,” Ty said. “Oh, hell no.”



Zane laughed and patted him on the shoulder. “It’ll be okay.” He followed after English, leaving the four of them up top to watch their progress through the real set of night vision goggles they’d found in the stash of weapons Frost had cleared from the mansion’s stalking room.



Park turned to them, frowning. “Garrett know how to drive a boat like that?”



“No, why?” Ty answered.



Park shrugged. “Neither does John.”



Nick rolled his eyes and shoved the night vision goggles at Kelly, then began to strip himself of any unnecessary accessories.



“What kind of Green Beret doesn’t know how to handle a boat?” Ty asked.



“He thinks he does,” Park said, beginning to grin. “That’s the problem.”



“Wait up!” Nick called to the two men, jogging to catch up to them on the beach path.



The sun was rising when the boat neared the shoreline. The dock was the only place even remotely capable of taking a vessel the size of the craft they’d retrieved, but there was too much damage and debris to get close. They had to ferry people two and three at a time, using the canoe and the lifeboat they’d found on board. Ty wasn’t even able to help do that because of his throbbing shoulder. He sat aside and watched despondently.



They left the house as it was, the bodies where they’d been lying, save for Burns, who they’d wrapped in canvas and taken with them. Earl had been adamant he wouldn’t leave Burns behind. Luggage was left in the rooms, only the necessities taken with them back to the mainland. Hamish, Fraser, and Frost were all tied down, tied up, and gagged so none of them could speak for the entirety of the two-hour boat ride back to the mainland. Mackie had been left to his cottage and his destroyed dock.



Nick worked on the radio, trying to raise assistance. He finally picked someone up, but they couldn’t understand his accent and he couldn’t understand theirs. He wound up cursing into the radio and giving up on trying to raise anyone else.



Ty stood beside him at the helm, feeling as if they still had so much left to say but not sure where to even start. He was still having trouble pushing past the shock of Richard Burns’s death. He couldn’t imagine going through that loss without Nick to help him.



Nick finally looked him up and down. “You look like hell, Ty, go sit down.”



Ty remained for several more seconds. When Nick glanced at him again, Ty said, “I love you like my own brother. You know that, right?”



Nick stared at him.



“I know you’ve got to be mad at me for a while. But remember that, okay?”



Nick gave him a curt nod, swallowing hard. Ty turned away from him, heading out of the pilothouse. Deuce met him in the doorway, Livi on his arm.



“You two okay?” Ty asked them.



“Today was our wedding day,” Livi said, her voice choked. She covered her mouth, fighting back tears. Then she took a deep breath. “We wanted to thank you for what you did. We were coming to thank Nick.”



Nick still had his back to them, but his head was turned, listening and watching out of his peripheral vision.



Livi moved past Ty and went up to Nick, not saying a word, merely hugging him. He was forced to take one arm off the wheel to return the hug, his big hand gentle on her slim frame.



Livi was crying quietly when she released him. She moved back to Ty and Deuce, tears streaming down her face.



“Are you okay?” Ty asked again, unsure of what to do for them.



She laughed shakily and nodded, wiping at her face. “After everything that happened, I feel so stupid. I just . . . I thought we’d be married when we got back to the mainland. It wasn’t even official, it was just a . . . stupid ceremony on a stupid island!”



Deuce pulled her into a hug, resting his chin on her head. He met Ty’s eyes, smiling weakly.



Ty nodded in understanding. Then an idea hit him. He turned to Nick again, narrowing his eyes.



Nick stiffened when he saw the look. “What?”



“You’re the captain of this ship.”



Nick’s eyes darted from Ty to Deuce and Livi, who were both frowning at Ty in confusion.



“You can marry them.”



Nick stared, his mouth hanging open. “That’s a horrible idea.”



“He can marry us?” Livi asked.



Ty shrugged. “It’s just as official as a ceremony on a stupid island.”



Livi’s blue eyes grew wide and hopeful.



Nick pointed a finger at her. “I’m immune to those looks.”



“Five minutes, Irish, you can marry them.”



“I don’t know how to perform a marriage ceremony, Ty!”



“Please,” Deuce said quietly. “Everyone we love is on this boat. That’s all that matters. Just say man and wife for us in front of our families.”



It seemed like Nick was going to protest, but he finally cursed under his breath and turned to slow the boat.



As soon as he turned back, Livi darted toward him and hugged him around the neck. “Thank you,” she whispered. Then she left the pilothouse to get everyone together.



Deuce gave Nick a smile and a nod before going off after her. Ty couldn’t keep from grinning as Nick glared at him.



“I’ll make you regret this,” Nick warned, walking past.



Fifteen minutes later, they’d gathered everyone, and Nick was at the bow of the ship, Livi and Deuce standing before him. No one was with them, no best man or maid of honor, no father of the bride giving her away. Livi had put her wedding dress on, sans all the accessories, to leave her in a beautiful white sheath gown that spread out in a train behind her. Amelia sat on the train, gnawing on the expensive silk.



Nick took a deep breath. Ty could tell he was nervous. Probably close to just throwing himself overboard rather than doing this. He finally looked at Deuce and Livi and gave them a signature O’Flaherty grin.



“Deacon Grady,” he started. “Do you intend to spend the rest of your life with this woman? Love her, cherish her, let her pick out the curtains, and shield her body from any future bullets?”



Deuce chuckled and gazed at Livi, reaching to take her hand in his. “I do,” he said softly. He slid a ring onto her finger, never taking his eyes off her face.



Nick turned to Livi.



“Olivia Stanton,” he said.



“I do,” she said before he could continue. She wrapped her arms around Deuce’s neck and kissed him. The boat erupted in cheers and applause, and Deuce took Livi in his arms and turned her, dipping her for a kiss. Amelia grabbed onto Livi’s train and slid across the deck as it moved, laughing gleefully.



Nick stood with his hands spread, incredulous. “Why am I even up here?” he demanded.



Livi and Deuce laughed merrily, kissing again before Deuce set her on her feet once more.



“Only other part of this thing I know is ‘you may now kiss the bride!’” Nick told them, clearly offended that he hadn’t been able to at least do that part.



Livi laughed again and stepped forward to give him a kiss on the cheek, and then she and Deuce turned to their family and loved ones and raised their joined hands. Everyone clapped for them, some people giving off whistles and howls. Deuce bent to pick Amelia up, and he wrapped his arm around his wife, walking into the crowd with his family. Ty stood to the side, still clapping, watching his brother with a smile on his face. Zane was next to him, brushing against him as he clapped.



He glanced up at the bow of the boat only to find Nick watching them.



“Anyone else want to get hitched while I’m up here?” Nick asked, staring at Ty and Zane pointedly.



Ty swallowed past the sudden knot in his throat and turned to Zane, warmth spreading through him. Zane’s eyes had widened, his mouth parted but no words coming out. Ty grasped his hand and kissed his fingers. “Will you marry me, Zane?” he whispered.



Zane looked from him to Nick and back, a grin spreading across his lips. Then he shook his head. “No,” he answered, laughing.



Ty huffed and fought not to smile.



Nick walked past them, shaking his head. “Damn, son.”



“That’s cold,” Kelly added before they were gone.



Ty and Zane both watched them go, then turned back to each other, both of them smiling. Ty pulled Zane to him and kissed him, holding him by a handful of his hair so he couldn’t get away. “I’ll get you eventually, my pretty,” he whispered.



“And I look forward to it,” Zane mumbled against his lips.



Chapter 15



Ty, Nick, and Kelly were still in their dress blues. Zane had loosened his tie and removed his suit coat because he refused to be in a funeral suit longer than he had to be. They’d retreated from the graveyard and taken up residence in a local tavern, one Ty had apparently frequented when he’d been based in Washington, DC.



Zane was drinking Coke. Ty had ordered a scotch to toast Richard Burns, but after that he’d stuck to Dr Pepper. Zane had caught a glance between Ty and Nick that spoke clearly to the fact that Nick had read Ty the riot act at some point about drinking in Zane’s presence.



Nick and Kelly were drinking water. Zane didn’t know whether to be grateful to them or to be pleased that these men, men who reportedly had always been hard-drinking, hard-partying hooligans, would refrain for him.



Either way, he’d given them each a nod in recognition of what they were doing.



“I can’t believe all this shit circles back to me,” Zane said, staring at the tabletop.



“If you pull one of those ‘everyone I love dies, let me disappear’ moves on me, I’ll hunt you down,” Ty told him.



Zane laughed sadly. “Noted.”



“This is the mole,” Ty told him, almost growling. “He knew Burns was closing in on him. He’s the only one could have known enough information to feed to de la Vega and pull this shit off.”



“This the same mole who made the mess in New Orleans?” Kelly asked.



Zane nodded, still staring. “This isn’t going to end until the cartel is gone. Or I am.”



The table fell silent, and the sounds of the noisy tavern began to fade until Zane was sitting in the silence of his own head, staring at the wood grain of the table.



“So this de la Vega guy,” Nick finally said. Zane raised his head, blinking away the deep reverie he’d been lost in. Nick was lounging in the corner of their booth, his arm around Kelly’s shoulder, his other hand on the table like he was accustomed to sitting with people he didn’t hide his hands from. He tapped his fingers and met Zane’s eyes. “How do we take him out?”