“What about Julian?” Cameron asked, dragging his feet.
“He and Zane are going to get to know each other down here. Come on,” Ty said as he moved a step closer and took Cameron’s elbow. He didn’t tug on him, though, appearing willing to give him a chance to go of his own accord.
Cameron looked from Julian to Zane and back before nodding reluctantly. “All right,” he murmured. Ty handed him his bag and shouldered his own as they started walking toward the front door.
When they got to the entrance, Cameron glanced back over his shoulder to where Julian and Zane still stood next to the car.
Julian had turned around, and he stood with his cuffed hands clasped in front of him. He nodded at Cameron.
“They’re okay,” Ty said in an oddly gentle voice as he pulled the door open and held it for Cameron.
Cameron didn’t feel reassured, but he walked inside anyway. The interior of the hotel had the same feel as the exterior: too much brass, too much glass, and way too much disco fever.
They passed the front desk and headed on to the large set of stairs in the center of the entry hall. There was no elevator. Ty led him to the room just to the right of the steps and keyed the electronic lock, then pulled Cameron into the room as he flipped on the light.
Cameron couldn’t think of a reason Ty would bring him up here alone unless Zane was going to do something to Julian. “Aren’t they coming up too?” he asked as he stood just inside the door.
“After we’re done,” Ty said in an offhanded manner. The door closed behind them, and Ty pulled Cameron further into the room, turning on lights as he went.
“Done?” Cameron felt a pang of alarm. Maybe Ty was going to do something to him.
“Yeah, sit down,” Ty said, distracted as he pointed at one of the two beds in the room and looked around. He walked to the window and peered out, then pulled the heavy curtains closed.
Cameron frowned but perched on the foot of the bed closest to the door as he tracked Ty’s movement through the room.
Ty inspected the window and its frame before crouching to look at the air conditioning unit under it. He gripped the face of the unit and tugged at it. He picked up the chair and pushed at the small desk in the corner. He shoved at the miniature refrigerator with his toes and got down on the ground to look at the bottom of the safe attached to the wall. He turned the television on its swiveling stand, pulled out all the drawers in the room, plucked out the Bible, and flipped through the pages. He turned to look at Cameron as he held the book upside down and shook it.
“What are you doing?” Cameron asked. “I thought the Red Bull was wearing off.”
“I’m looking for something solid. And I’m making sure there’s nothing in here your boyfriend can use to kill or maim us,” Ty said as he dropped the Bible back in the drawer. He knelt just behind Cameron and looked under each bed, then he slid his hands under the mattress.
“He doesn’t need anything to kill or maim you,” Cameron said as he realized he felt uncomfortable with Ty kneeling so close to him.
Rather than being impressed or intimidated, Ty just laughed. “I know,” he said as he pushed himself to his feet.
“So why bother with the search?”
Ty sat down beside him on the double bed, too close to him. Yeah, he definitely made Cameron uncomfortable, like patrons at the restaurant that got too flirtatious. Only Ty hadn’t done anything even remotely like that, so Cameron couldn’t figure out what it was that made him uneasy. Maybe Ty was just one of those people who exuded that sort of feeling.
“You ever seen two big dogs fight over a bone?”
Cameron shrank back. “No. But I know what you’re getting at.”
Ty nodded. “In theory, the one with the spikes on his collar has the advantage. But really it’s the one who ain’t worried about protecting a puppy hiding behind him.”
“Great. Now I’m a puppy.” Then it hit him. “Wait. You’re not talking about you, are you? You’re talking about them, out there alone, fighting over… something?” Cameron’s voice had risen as he started to panic.
Ty shook his head and began rubbing at the bridge of his nose. “It’s a general metaphor. Don’t take it literally,” he said, but then he waved his hand. “Look, all I’m saying is you coming with him, it put him at a disadvantage. But you keep your dog on a leash, I’ll keep mine on one too.”
Cameron looked at him, uneasy. Then he nodded. “I’ll try.”
Ty nodded and stood.
The nerves faded once Ty wasn’t beside him anymore. Yeah, it was definitely just a feeling Ty gave off.
Ty took his phone out of his pocket and dialed. Then he said, “We’re good.” He looked down at Cameron as he put the phone away. “You’ll have that bed. Don’t move,” he said as he turned and headed toward the bathroom.
Cameron opened his mouth to object but swallowed it instead, shaking his head as Ty disappeared into the bathroom. The handcuffs comment made sense now. Well, he was in for a surprise, then, because if Julian ended up sitting on the floor handcuffed to a table leg or safe or mini refrigerator, then Cameron would be sitting right there next to him.
Cameron mulled over what Ty had said, and the unusual discomfort of the situation, until the door to the room opened and Julian walked in. He still appeared calm and stoic, but Cameron recognized the tension in his shoulders. As soon as he saw Cameron, though, he relaxed. Obviously he’d been having the same flashes of alarm Cameron had experienced when Ty took him up here alone, and that made Cameron feel both a little better and a little worse.
“Have a nice chat?” Cameron asked, putting on a smile he didn’t feel.
“Oh, it was enlightening,” Julian said, drawling the words out in amusement.
He took a step toward Cameron, but Ty appeared out of the bathroom before Julian could get past the door, and snapped the spare handcuffs onto one of Julian’s wrists. Then he grabbed the back of Julian’s coat, almost as if he were scruffing a cat, and dragged him into the bathroom. There was a brief and noisy struggle, complete with bangs and crashes, during which Cameron heard Julian say a few choice words he’d never heard his lover utter. A few moments later, Ty stepped out of the bathroom, primly adjusting his clothing as he gave Zane a dashing smile.
Zane’s lips were pressed together hard. Cameron would have sworn that he was trying not to laugh.
“Secure?” Zane asked with difficulty.