Ball & Chain(80)

“I didn’t realize it was so late,” Kelly said under his breath.

“Yeah, time flies when you’re in a freezer playing with someone’s intestines.”

Kelly snorted. “Tell me about it. Every time.”

Ty glanced at him, but Kelly was maintaining a straight face. He met Ty’s eyes and grinned impishly.

“I think almost dying did something weird to you; you’re like the beginning of a horror movie,” Ty told him. He returned his attention to the large dining room, searching for Stanton or Burns. He didn’t see either man, but he did spot Deuce and Earl, sitting in a corner eating. He tapped Kelly’s chest and gestured for him to follow as he wound his way toward their table.

Deuce saw them coming and gave them a halfhearted smile. Ty and Kelly both pulled up chairs and sat down.

“How’s the investigation going?” Deuce asked.

Ty shook his head. “Not too good.”

“What have you found?” Earl asked.

Ty shifted uncomfortably. How the hell should he even get into this with his dad, who had known Burns since they were teenagers? It would be like someone telling him that Nick had been doing all the things Burns had been doing for years, using his son to do it. He licked his lips, stalling until he could come up with something.

“Milton was a spy,” Kelly told them before Ty could speak. Ty gaped at him. Kelly reached out and plucked a cucumber from Earl’s plate. He pointed it at Earl. “For your buddy, Burns.”

Ty stared at him as he crunched down on the cucumber. Deuce and Earl were both wide-eyed, mouths hanging open.

Earl finally turned to Ty. “What?”

“I . . . basically, yeah.” Ty glared at Kelly, and Kelly shrugged. “Burns runs certain operators for jobs that . . . aren’t really aboveboard.”

“You’re talking about black ops,” Deuce said. “Uncle Dick runs black ops for the FBI? It’s not just you?”

Ty cleared his throat, wondering why it had suddenly gotten so damn hot in this place. “Yes. And the dead man was one of his.”

“And you’re one of his?” Earl asked in a stunned voice.

Ty met his father’s eyes and nodded.

Earl sat back, exhaling slowly. “That rat bastard.”

Ty put up a hand, trying to calm himself more than anyone else. “Let’s just focus, here. Do you know where Dick is right now?”

“I haven’t seen him since Zane and Nick came to talk to him,” Earl said through gritted teeth. “He came back to the table, said he had to get something from his room. Haven’t seen him since.”

Ty shook his head, glancing at his brother. Should he tell Deuce what they’d found on the laptop? One more glance at his father’s angry face and Ty decided he’d lit a fire under enough of the Grady family for now. He pushed back in his chair. “If you see him, tell him we need to talk to him, okay?”

“Oh, I’ll tell him all right,” Earl growled.

Ty nodded, retreating with Kelly toward the great hall. Once they rounded the corner, Ty turned and smacked Kelly in the arm. “What the hell was that, Doc?” he hissed.

Kelly rubbed at his arm, scowling. “What? You were going to take a fucking week before you got around to telling them. Wasn’t it more painless my way?”

Ty rolled his eyes. “Nick is going to strangle you in your sleep in the first six months, I guarantee it.”

Kelly shrugged. “He tries that every night.”

Ty squeezed his eyes closed, holding his head. “I told you, no sex stories and I won’t freak out. That was our deal!”

Kelly was laughing, an evil little giggle that Ty knew well.

“I have a very graphic imagination, okay? Do you want me to freak out?”

“It’s kind of fun to watch you freak out. Reminds me of the old days.”

“I hate you so much right now,” Ty grumbled.

They made their way toward the back patio in search of Burns or Stanton, but it was deserted. It seemed people were staying inside, sticking close to where they felt safe.

“Everyone must be locked in their bedrooms or something,” Kelly observed wryly. He and Ty shared a frown. “What if they’re rooming with a killer?”

Ty snorted and surveyed the patio one last time. Then Kelly’s words truly sank in, and a cold dread began to settle in his stomach. He turned to Kelly. “Locked doors don’t mean shit in this place, not with the passages in the walls. Even if they’re not rooming with a killer, they’re still in danger.”

Kelly nodded and shrugged. “Hasn’t that been true from the beginning?”

He and Ty stared at each other, then Kelly began to nod when he saw the look dawning in Ty’s eyes.