Divide & Conquer (45 page)

But they didn"t know Julian. He was a whole different level of danger.

“Don"t worry about me,” Cameron murmured. He shook his head and crouched, calling for the dogs. He gathered them and put them into their playpen in the far corner of the room. His gaze settled on Smith and Wesson. While the two cats tolerated him because Julian kicked them out of bed if they didn"t, they didn"t like him that much. Cameron wasn"t too sure he could get them back into the bedroom without damage to himself. So they"d just have to take care of themselves.

Ty and Zane moved together in the middle of the living room as if drawn by magnets, putting their backs to each other, standing maybe four feet apart. Zane faced the door while Ty faced the balcony, synchronized like they"d been doing this a long time. The dogs began yipping plaintively, and Smith and Wesson both sat down in the opening to the bedroom, ready to enjoy the show.

Cameron cocked his head, listening. He could hear nothing over the complaining of the dogs.

The door burst open suddenly, kicked hard from the hallway, splintering the doorjamb. Julian"s gun was drawn already, trained on the two so-called federal agents. Zane was already facing him, gun up and pointed. Ty didn"t turn to face Julian. He kept his gun trained on the silent balcony.

Julian moved into the room, large and hulking and practically livid. He pointed his gun at Zane, and the two men stood there aiming at each other, silent as they sized each other up. Cameron was struck by the strong resemblance between them.

“Julian Cross?” Zane finally asked evenly.

Armed & Dangerous |

Julian answered by pulling back the hammer on his gun.

Cameron saw the trigger move. It was just a tap away from a bullet now. He swallowed hard and forced himself to keep his eyes open. But Zane didn"t even blink.

“We"re here on orders from Richard Burns, assistant director of the Criminal Investigations Branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to call on your status as a registered federal informant,”

Zane rattled off efficiently, neither his weapon nor his voice wavering.

Cameron"s eyes widened in surprise as he saw Julian"s gun waver ever so slightly.

“And we would appreciate it if you"d put that gun down,” Ty added without turning around. “And tell your buddy I don"t appreciate the feeling of his crosshairs on my forehead,” he added calmly.

Julian"s eyes darted between them and Cameron. “Are you okay?” he asked Cameron softly.

“Yes,” Cameron said, resisting the urge to run over to his lover.

He was using Julian Bailey"s American accent, and Cameron remembered that Julian had told him that was a warning sign, that it meant he didn"t know or didn"t trust the people they were with. “They didn"t touch me.”

Julian"s black eyes moved back to pin the man in front of him.

“Put your weapon down. Then we can talk.”

“I"m telling you right now, Cross, tell your buddy on the roof next door to stand down,” Ty interrupted in a gruff voice.

“Put down your weapon and we"ll discuss it,” Julian repeated slowly.

“Don"t think I won"t shoot your Irish ass just "cause I"m a Fed,”

Ty growled. “We don"t need you to be walking.” Zane"s gun was still trained on Julian. As far as Cameron could tell, he hadn"t even twitched as Ty talked.

Even though Ty wasn"t even looking at Julian, the threat still made Cameron shiver. Somehow they knew Julian wasn"t American.

Cameron had to swallow hard on a fresh wave of fear.

Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux

And Cameron didn"t know how Ty knew someone else was out there at all. Cameron knew that it was Preston, Julian"s ever-present, forever-silent driver and cohort, which meant that if Ty even twitched he"d be on the floor, likely not breathing, and Zane wouldn"t be but a second behind. Cameron really didn"t want corpses of federal agents in their apartment. “Julian, please,” he asked plaintively.

Julian waited another breathless moment before slowly lowering his weapon. He eased the hammer down and then held it up sideways as proof that he"d done so. He slid it carefully back into its hiding spot.

“My man on the roof stays trained on your partner while you show me a badge,” he bargained.

He held up his hand in a signal to Preston. Cameron looked between Julian and Zane as Zane moved the hand bracing his gun and slowly slid it into his jacket. He pulled out a leather wallet and tossed it to Julian.

Julian caught it deftly with one hand, flipping it over to look at the identification within. He stared at it for a moment before looking up at Zane darkly.

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 slightly. “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.

Armed & Dangerous |

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.”

Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux

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, he wasn"t much problem for Ty to push 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.”

Before
Armed & Dangerous
,

meet Julian Cross and Cameron Jacobs in

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

About the Authors

MADELEINE URBAN is a down-home Kentucky girl who"s been writing since she could hold a crayon. Although she has written and published on her own, she truly excels when writing with co-authors. She lives with her husband, who is very supportive of her work, and two canine kids who only allow her to hug them when she has food. She wants to live at Disney World, the home of fairy dust, because she believes that with hard work, a little luck, and beloved family and friends, dreams really can come true.

Visit Madeleine"s blog at http://www.madeleineurban.com/. You can contact her at [email protected] Visit her web site with Abigail Roux at http://www.urbanandroux.com.

ABIGAIL ROUX was born and raised in North Carolina. A past volleyball star who specializes in pratfalls and sarcasm, she currently spends her time coaching volleyball and dreading the day when her little girl will hit that age. Abigail has a baby girl she calls Bitty, six cats, a crazyass extended family, and a cast of thousands in her head.

Visit Abigail"s blog a
t http://abigail-roux.livejournal.com/.
Visit her web site with Madeleine Urban a
t http://www.urbanandroux.com.