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.