Laurel swatted Jace’s shoulder over Nolan. “Don’t call him names. He’s hurt. And this is partially my fault. You two spent so much of your energy making me comfortable…”
“I’ve enjoyed every minute of the past weeks.” Nolan stopped her from going down that road. “If you got something out of it, then I’m happy, even if it means that you’re ready to go out on your own with Jace now.”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. There is no us without you. There never was and there wouldn’t be now.” Jace looked toward Laurel, who nodded. “Being around you, feeling comfortable, having someone to bridge the gaps between us and push us when we both get stuck... That’s what finally made this possible. It only works because of you.”
Jace cleared his throat when his voice turned ultra-raspy. “So don’t be leaving us now. Not because you’re nervous and definitely not because you let some piece of shit like Draven put a hole in something vital.”
“Does me being part of the Shields freak you out?” Nolan felt exhaustion creeping over him like a heavy blanket. They had so many hurdles in their path.
“Upset? No. More like impresses the hell out of me.” Jace frowned. “Although I’m torn up for Teddy’s family, and will probably lose my shit every time you’re away from us, I wish I was half as capable as your team. If I had been, maybe I wouldn’t have ended up where I did.”
Suddenly Jace’s fierce independence and his scrapper nature made so much more sense. Good thing Nolan never had been deterred by those rough edges.
“On a personal level, I love spending time with them, especially Sola and Kennedy.” Laurel grinned. “I could learn a thing or two from women as strong as them. And the guys too. Including James, of course.”
“You do? Yeah, you do.” Nolan’s head hurt as he tried to consider the possibilities, but he couldn’t deny that Jace and Laurel had already melded into his network of friends.
“Don’t overthink this.” Laurel rubbed his back.
“Okay.” He turned off the destructive voice reciting the reasons it couldn’t work. “In that case, do you guys want to move in with me when my place is ready? You could hang out with James and…the rest of the team. And…you know, me. All the time. When I’m gone, you’ll have other people around, which will help me overcome my guilt for leaving. Plus, they’ll look after you, too. I mean, not that you need it, but I would be less anxious knowing you were covered.”
Jace laughed, damaging Nolan’s heart a bit. Was it so ridiculous?
“Did you think you could get rid of us?” Jace leaned in and kissed Nolan while Laurel kept caressing his tensed shoulders.
“I don’t like to make assumptions…” Nolan held his breath as he looked to Laurel.
“It’s not like we have anywhere else to go.” She shrugged. “I already told Kate I would accept her job offer, and the Powertools will be using this place as a showroom for their tiny home offerings starting next month.”
“But that’s not the only reason, right?” Nolan hated the doubt he couldn’t fully erase. He wanted Laurel and Jace in his life, permanently. But he couldn’t be on the outside looking in forever or he’d never survive.
“Of course not.” Laurel grinned as she shoved him lightly. “I’m teasing about that last part. Didn’t you know, being an agent for the Shields is a good gig if you can get it? I’m pretty sure I don’t need to work for the next five years, if I don’t feel like it. And I might actually take some time off once Kate is back from maternity leave if I end up going to school. Ms. Rodriguez, the director at Tom’s shelter, said she’d be happy to write a reference letter for me if I want to apply to the social work program at the community college here. With the experience I’m getting during my volunteering there, and her backing, she thinks I have a good shot at getting accepted. No matter what, we’re not going far. And I could hire James’s husband and wife to build me a whole village of tiny homes without putting a dent in our bank account.”
“Good point.” Jace smirked. “And that’s even before we count the advance Kason is giving me since he signed me as a permanent member of his studio band.”
“He did?” Nolan hugged them. “That’s great news. Both of you. You deserve it. Laurel, you can change the world. Jace, you make Kason sound even better.”
“Thanks.” He smiled, and for the first time since Nolan had met him, it felt like it reached all the way to his soul. The man was content, some of the anxious edge fading away. Though he was still plenty sexy in his bad-boy rocker sort of way. “I believe this is where we were meant to end up, what we’re meant to be doing. But none of it matters without you. As awesome as a custom tiny home from the Powertools would be, none of those places would come with a smoking, bisexual assassin with a big dick and perfect hair like you.”
Nolan laughed at that, or started to until his body told him it wasn’t the greatest of ideas. Despite the stiffness in his torso, he was glad Jace and Laurel hugged him to keep him next to them in bed when he felt like he could float away at any moment. Could this really be true? Could he have what he’d been too afraid to dream of?
“There was one other thing that happened while you were out of it that you should probably know about.” Laurel rolled up the sleeve of her pajama shirt, which he realized was one of his button-downs. It swallowed her, but it touched him that she’d wanted to be wrapped in his scent when he’d been out of it.
Jace didn’t bother with subtlety. Instead he whipped his long-sleeve T-shirt over his head, making Nolan very aware that they were cuddled up in their bed and that the aftereffects of the buckets of adrenaline his body had produced during the raid hadn’t quite worn off.
Jace and Laurel lined their arms up so he could see the tattoos they’d gotten of each other’s names. And there, above each of theirs, was his own. A heart with a dagger through it replaced the o in Nolan, making him sure they fully accepted both his profession along with their relationship being something real and lasting.
“Holy shit.” He licked his finger and scrubbed it across the bright blue fading to navy on Jace’s skin, but it didn’t come off. It was the real deal. He was part of them and they had claimed him, right there for everyone to see.
Laurel cracked up. “It’s not temporary, Nolan. Blakely made a quick house call for us.”
Whether she was talking about the artwork or their relationship, he figured it was true for both.
He reached for them, dragging them to his chest and crushing them with his shaking arms, aches and pains be damned. “I love you too. Both of you.”
Nolan would have said more, but Jace’s mouth was there, kissing him with less urgency and more finesse than usual, as if he knew they had eternity and didn’t have to rush anymore. His gaze was steady when it met Nolan’s before he broke the kiss so Laurel could have a turn. She was sweet and gentle, though no less determined than Jace.
Nolan had never been surer of anything. He’d found his home. Here, between them.