"Maybe I'll check it out," Ty shot back. Supply closet. He didn't imagine anyone else had a welcome mat in front of their cell, but he knew he was going to have to round one up now. It had started out as a joke, but now it was a matter of principle. He knew Bea was just giving him a hard time about it, but by damn, next time she came by, there was going to be a fucking welcome mat of some description in front of his cell.
Ty had known almost from the moment he'd met Bea that nobody was going to tell her what to do, and he had to respect that about her. It might be dangerous, she might be putting herself at risk, but it was her decision to make. He wasn't the sort who'd try to stop anyone from doing what they felt they needed to do. He might not like it necessarily, but that was another issue. "Would've been a damned bad day for me too, if I'd been here," he mumbled.
Bea starting to smack him made Ty laugh, but it was a sound that caught in his throat as he struggled with unwanted emotion. It was so typical, so Bea that it almost overwhelmed him. How had he managed to stay away from her for so long? Now, he couldn't even imagine how. He'd had such a set idea in his mind of how things should be, and that didn't include him living in a safehouse that he was not running. But if that couldn't be... then he needed to be here. He'd finally come to that realization as he'd huddled in his hiding place trying to be patient as his ankle healed enough for him to travel.
"I'm real," Ty replied, wrapping his arms around her when she hugged him. His eyes closed, and he rested his cheek against the top of her head as he exhaled a shaky breath. She probably disliked showing emotion as much as he did, but it seemed to be unavoidable in this case. Normally he might have snapped out some smart remark when she told him she missed him, even with the endearing little pet name she added to the end, but it wasn't coming to him right now. "Missed you too," he said, not showing any inclination to let go of her.