Page 48 of Feels Like Home

If Ian couldn’t use his humongous body to break down the door, that meant Nolan—who wasn’t nearly as large—wouldn’t be able to break into the room.

That should have made Jace feel safe. Not only was the entrance to the room hidden but he also had a deadly panther shifter watching over him.

Unfortunately, there were also two evil pricks with dumbass vendettas under the same roof.

“Do you really think you can cause dissension between them?” Jace polished off his pack of crackers and went for another one. Apparently, this level of stress made him famished.

Considering this was Jace’s first kill-or-be-killed situation, he could only assume that was the reason for his sudden hunger. He’d always thought people lost their appetite when under a tremendous amount of stress.

It was just his luck he was hungry enough to eat a cow while locked in the wrong room of the house.

“Owen is already on Nolan’s last nerve. I just have to goad Owen into being his annoying self since he’s more easily triggered.” Ian put a finger to his lips before he turned the microphone back on.

Jace sat on the floor, leaning his back against his mate’s long legs and watched the screens mounted on the walls.

Ian’s once spotless kitchen was now a disaster. Jace was pretty sure all his glasses and plates were destroyed. There were even scattered shards of porcelain plates around the living room from their short-lived careers as Frisbees.

“I’d take you up on your offer, Nolan, but…” Ian huffed a laugh. “It seems that Owen is pissed that you asked me to kill him. Between you and me, I think his overinflated ego is compensating for a small…brain.”

That wasn’t what Jace thought he would say. Publicly penis-shaming any guy, whether true or not, basically ruined him. Come to think of it, privately shaming had to be just as humiliating.

“I have a counteroffer, Nolan,” Ian continued, talking like he was a late-night DJ. Sweet Jesus, he even had the sultry deep voice that thirsty men and women drooled over.

Nolan casually glanced around, clearly trying to find a camera. They had to be expertly hidden. Jace hadn’t even noticed any when he’d been in the living room.

“I’m listening.” Nolan stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, his shoulders relaxing.

If he hadn’t been a murderous lunatic, Nolan would be a damn good-looking guy. The whole crazy persona knocked the shine right off of him.

“Fuck his counteroffer,” Owen shouted to the ceiling. “Ian’s playing mind games, trying to turn us against each other.”

“First, I just pointed out the fact that you have a small brain,” Ian replied. “Mind games would hardly be fair for you. Second, Nolan was the first to offer me a bargain to permanently shut you up. I’m merely modifying his original proposal.”

Jace clutched his pack of crackers as Owen let out a guttural scream and charged right for Ian’s couch. He rammed into it like a bull then flipped the piece of furniture over.

Now he simply stood there, heaving every breath through gnashing teeth, his hands and arms twitching.

That couch could have been Jace when Owen was his supervisor. He’d thought the guy was an asshole, but to witness his unfettered rage was truly terrifying.

“Come here.” Ian ever-so-gently lifted Jace off the floor and settled him on his lap. Strong arms swaddled him against a warm, firm chest. “I feel like a rotten bastard for exposing you to such violence. Goading Owen into attacking Nolan isn’t worth traumatizing you, sweetheart. I’m sorry.”

Jace closed his eyes and tried to purge the image of Owen’s intense rage from his mind. He’d never seen anyone so unhinged.

It was downright unsettling.

“I just keep thinking he could have turned that brutality on me at work,” Jace said. “There was a time or two when I saw fury in his eyes when he was riding my ass, but…”

Ian held him tighter. “He’s never going to lay a hand on you, sweetheart. When I saw the way he treated you at the gym, I was determined to intervene and protect you.” He ran his hand over Jace’s hair. “That was before I discovered you were my mate. Now I’ll bury anyone foolish enough to step to you the wrong way.”

“But you have to keep pushing him.” Jace sat up, staring into whiskey eyes.

Ian cupped his face. “Not at the expense of your mental well-being.”

“My mental well-being has been taking one hit after another ever since they showed up,” he said. “We’re trapped in here, Ian. We either go on the defense or die of starvation. I’m willing to bet one of them has a cell phone jammer. Can you think of another reason our calls keep failing?”

“Even if one of them is carrying the device, we can’t get our hands on it while we’re locked in here.” Ian scrubbed a hand through his hair.

Jace refused to give up, no matter how frightened he was. “You get back to antagonizing Owen. I’m going to work on getting that manual switch to work.” Jace stood. “Right after you point me in the right direction. There are so many hidden panels in this house I wouldn’t be surprised if the switch was buried behind one.”

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