Page 45 of Feels Like Home

Shit. It was Jace doing all that banging. His mate was going to be livid that he’d been locked in the bedroom. Ian would be lucky to come away with his balls intact.

Aside from mating with Jace, tonight could kiss Ian’s ass.

Right after he punched in the unlock code, the panel flew open. Jace stumbled backward at the quick release of the door, falling right for the floor with outstretched arms.

Ian caught his mate and steadied him.

“Why was I locked in the bedroom?” Jace brushed hair from his eyes, looking around as if the answer was hiding around the corner. He lifted his gaze and stared at Ian. A deep frown puckered between his hazel eyes. “Did the door become jammed somehow?”

“Kitten, I promise the door isn’t issue. I have to obscure the glass before they see us in here.” Ian swung the door closed, locked it with his phone, then grabbed the remote to opaque the wall of glass.

“Before who sees us?”

“Nolan and Owen.” The glass wall in his living room was made of the same shatter-resistant material as the one in his bedroom. However, the traditional-sized windows in his home lacked that feature. They would be able to break one and gain entrance. After Ian killed the sons of bitches, he was making a call so that every fucking window in the house was polycarbonate.

Jace’s brows rose to his hairline. “Did you just say…” He pressed his hand against his stomach.

The terrified expression on his mate’s face only fueled Ian’s wrath. It was clear why Owen wanted to get his hands on Jace. The asshole was too narcissistic to admit that his own actions had gotten him fired. He blamed Jace and wanted to take out his rage on him.

Over Ian’s dead body.

But Nolan’s presence was still a mystery.

They looked at the panel when they heard glass shattering. Nolan and Owen had found their way inside. Ian grabbed Jace’s hand and led his mate to his office.

“Another secret room?” Jace glanced inside. “You know, in the movies, hidden rooms are depicted as small, cramped spaces. I could fit my bedroom in here.”

Ian sat at his desk and pulled up the interior of his house on the twelve screens. His blood boiled at seeing intruders inside his home, prowling around like they were casing the joint.

When Ian had his dream home built in Midnight Falls, he’d wanted the secret rooms because of the YouTube videos he’d watched on amazing home designs. It had seemed so cool to him to have areas inside his house that no one else would know about.

Admittedly, it was the inner child in him that had been fascinated with the idea, unaware that the concept would one day help to keep his mate safe.

Jace moved closer to the screens while Ian watched Nolan glance around the living room. Owen was checking out the kitchen. For what? Did the idiot think Ian and Jace were hiding inside the cupboards or in the dishwasher?

“Call the cops.” Jace turned toward him. “Have them arrested, Ian.”

As badly as Ian wanted to kill them, he had his mate to consider. He could take on Nolan, but that would give Owen the chance to go after Jace. “I could handle them if you stayed locked in the bedroom.”

Jace’s body was slightly rigid as he chewed his plump bottom lip, his gaze jumping from Ian to the screens. “What if they hurt you?”

Ian stood and pulled his mate into his arms, knowing his touch calmed Jace’s anxieties. “I’ll always be a complete kitty cat around you.” He tucked his finger under his mate’s chin so Jace would look at him. “I never want you to see me any other way, but when you grow up on the streets, life very quickly hardens you.”

“I can’t let you go out there to get hurt.” Jace’s breath was coming out in small pants as his gaze dropped. “I…just can’t.”

Which meant Jace wouldn’t agree to stay locked in the bedroom so Ian could give his full attention to killing Nolan and Owen.

“Please.” Jace looked up at him. “Call the police.”

Whatever the two were charged with wouldn’t be enough to keep them behind bars. They would get out, and then Ian and Jace would have to constantly look over their shoulders. Ian couldn’t keep an eye on his mate twenty-four-seven.

Sooner or later, Owen would exact his revenge on Jace. Nolan knew how much Ian cared for the human—possibly surmising already that the guy was Ian’s mate—and Nolan would try to use Jace as leverage to get to him.

The only real way to end this was to kill them.

Although Ian didn’t want to make the call, he pulled his phone from his pocket. When he dialed the cops, all he heard was a succession of beeps. “The call isn’t going through.”

“I’ll get mine.” Jace pulled away from Ian and ran into the bedroom. With the threat so close by, Jace being even a foot away made Ian’s panther snarl.

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