Page 51 of Feels Like Home

Nolan stopped and smiled up at the camera—clearly, he’d found the one by the bedroom door—giving it a half-ass salute. “I’ve decided to keep my original deal with Owen. He gets Jace, and you’re all mine, Ian.”

Trembling uncontrollably, Jace walked to the monitors and tapped where Nolan’s eyes were on full display.

“I see it, sweetheart,” Ian said.

The two started ramming the door again. Jace shut the office door.

“It pains me to tell you this, but that won’t do any good.” Ian slid his arm around Jace’s shoulders. “Nolan will be able to track us through our scent.”

“That means he’s been toying with us this whole time.” Jace curled against his mate. “He could smell our scents in the hallway.”

“Yes.” Ian nodded. “Although I’m almost certain they can’t break that door down, if they do manage to get in, there’s a crawl space in the ceiling of my closet. I want you to hide up there. Nolan is only interested in me. Owen is human, so he won’t be able to use your smell to find you.”

“But what about you?” Jace gripped Ian’s shirt. “I can’t just abandon you to those homicidal nutjobs! You’re strong, Ian, but they’ve got crazy on their side.”

“Promise me you’ll get into the crawl space.” Ian yanked off his T-shirt. “I won’t be able to concentrate on the fight if you’re in danger.”

“I’m in danger right now,” Jace said hysterically. “Why in the hell are you getting naked? I highly doubt you’ll gain an advantage by shedding your clothes!”

“Deep breaths, kitten.” Ian gripped Jace’s upper arms. “I’m stripping because I’m about to shift. If they get through that door, I’m killing Owen first. He’ll be easy to take down, and I’ll be eliminating your threat.”

Jace couldn’t breathe. He gasped for air, but he felt like he was sucking down terror instead of oxygen. His limbs shook uncontrollably as if someone was rattling his bones around. This couldn’t be happening. There were two men trying to break down the door so they could end Jace’s and Ian’s lives. He was only twenty-four and had a full life ahead of him.

His mom and grandma were going to be devastated. Jace didn’t want to leave them. He didn’t want to leave Ian. He didn’t want to lose Ian, either.

“Jace!”

He snapped his head up and realized Ian was cupping his face in a firm grip, his whiskey eyes filled with worry.

“Look at me, hon.” His thumbs drew comforting circles on Jace’s cheeks. “Concentrate on my voice. Deep, calming breaths. That’s it. Focus on my eyes, babe.”

“I-I don’t want to die,” Jace sobbed. “I don’t want to lose you, Ian. I l-love you.”

Ian’s gaze held a tenderness that could only be described as a gentle embrace. “I love you more than anything, kitten. You’ve become my entire world. I’m not going to lose you, and you’re not going to lose me.”

Jace nodded, trying his best to hold it together.

“I need you to try to calm down. We have to keep our wits about us. They’re determined to get to us, but I’m just as determined to end them.” Jace closed his eyes as Ian kissed his forehead. “The only way I’m going to be able to take them both down is if I know you’re in that crawl space.”

“I don’t want to be a coward.”

“You’re not a coward. We’re a team, Jace. My job is to kill them. Your job is to keep yourself safe at all costs.”

“The door!” Jace’s voice cracked with desperation.

The deafening bangs echoed through the room, each one making the door shudder and splinter even more. The force from the outside was relentless, a crushing weight that threatened to break through at any moment.

“Get into the crawl space.” Ian pushed Jace toward the closet. “Hurry!”

Ian’s bedroom was about to be compromised, and Jace was terrified they would kill his mate. Before he could get inside the closet, the bedroom door crashed open.

Chapter Fifteen

Nolan was the first through the mangled door. He stood in the way of Ian swiping his claws across Owen’s neck and quickly ending him.

Even if Owen didn’t deserve a quick death. He’d been a bane in the lives of a lot of people. A rank asshole who thought women were playing hard to get when they turned him down.

One of those guys. The kind who couldn’t understand, or care to understand, what boundaries and permission meant. For some time, Ian had been dying to put the creep in his place.

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