Page 49 of Feels Like Home

“It actually is.” Ian gripped Jace’s shoulders as he guided him into the bedroom.

“I figured.”

Ian crouched in front of the chair he’d been seated in when Jace had questioned his mate about being a reflection of all things hidden.

Ian pressed a section of the wall and an access panel roughly five by eight popped open.

“Could you have made that any smaller?” Jace wondered how Ian managed to fit his large hand into such a compact space. The access panel revealed a square hole that required one to reach in and flip the switch. He couldn’t understand why on earth someone would place the lever inside the drywall like that.

“Now you see how I broke the damn thing.” He reached into a decorative box on a high shelf and came away with a… It looked like the world’s smallest platypus beak. Only the broken switch was gray, not black.

“Can’t you superglue this back on?” Jace frowned when Ian placed the piece in his palm. “For an expensive house, this feels like cheap plastic.”

“Trust me. I’m pitching a fit when I finally call the company that installed my state-of-the-art security system.” Ian swept his hair up into a messy man bun with a rubber band he’d fished from his pocket. “They charge me an astronomical price for their top-notch technology, but they cheaped out on me when it came to a switch that has the potential to seal me in a tomb.”

“That’s…really messed up and thank you so much for making me look at your bedroom as a luxurious burial chamber.” He patted Ian’s firm arm, stealing a squeeze of hard muscle. “From now on, I’m only stepping in here if you keep the door propped open with a heavy brick.”

Jace wasn’t sure why his mate was smiling warmly at him.

“I love your sense of humor and the fact you selflessly share important pieces of your life with me, kitten.” He pressed a soft kiss against Jace’s temple. “Now stick your skinny-ass hand in that cramped space and get us the hell out of here.”

“Smooth segue from romantic stud to bossy pants.” Jace held up the broken lever. “Am I supposed to ram this back in.”

Ian’s brow shot up.

Fire consumed Jace’s entire face. “You know what I mean.”

“I strongly recommend any ramming be confined to our bed.” Ian plucked the piece from his hand and held it up. “Do you see where there’s a V-shape missing from the base?”

Jace nodded, though his mind was still on ramming things. It took concentrated effort to yank his mind out of the gutter and pay attention to what Ian was saying. “It sort of looks like a V, but kind of twisted.”

“The missing chunk is still attached to the base, hon. I tried once to flip that tiny piece of cheap plastic upward then gave up.” He set the broken switch on the shelf. “I’m really hoping you have better luck. In case you do, we need to whittle down our enemies. Let me amp up the insults and dissent.”

“Why didn’t you call when you failed to flip the switch?”

Ian walked backward, wearing a cocky grin that had to have stolen many hearts. “Forgot the minute I slammed the panel shut. I’ve never claimed to have the greatest attention span.” The way Ian looked at him, like he could literally undress Jace with his eyes, made Jace’s heart surge a little faster. “Unless I’m thinking about how you got off on my thigh or how my dick looked trapped between your lips. No goddamn way I’ll forget a second of last night.”

Jace realized he was smiling at Ian like a love-struck goober. Yep, he was falling hard for his mate, even if he didn’t have the balls to admit that out loud.

With a sigh, Jace turned back around and frowned at the hole in the wall. “Look, I know you got a raw deal, little switch, but can you play nice so this room doesn’t turn into my final resting place?”

Stress and lack of food was making him loopy.

“Here goes.” He slid his hand inside the space, feeling around for the base. His fingers touched something smooth, and then Jace felt the jagged piece Ian was talking about. When he tried to flip it up, the sharp end stabbed his finger.

What he needed was something small and flat he could use to force the broken chunk to flip upward. He poked around the immaculately clean bedroom. Jace’s room had clutter on top of his dresser, junk in a few drawers, and clothes everywhere. He felt like a slob compared to his mate.

Giving up, he walked into Ian’s office.

“You want me to take Owen out but offer nothing in return,” Nolan was saying.

“You’ll get peace and quiet. It’s a win-win.” Ian glanced up at Jace. There was something about the way his mate looked at him that always put Jace at ease, even when the current conversation was ghoulish and disturbing on the deepest level.

He had to keep reminding himself that Nolan and Owen were the perpetrators. Jace and Ian just wanted to be left alone. They were being forced into this position by a pair of nutjobs.

Jace stared at the monitors. Owen paced back and forth in the kitchen, still gnashing his teeth. Nolan was perched on the overturned couch, his arms resting on his knees like he was just chilling at a friend’s house.

The longer Jace observed Nolan, the more he picked up on subtle glitches. Not glitches. That was the wrong word, but Jace couldn’t think of the right one.

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