CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
It was over an hour later that the police had finally left, but it felt like twice that long.
"I don't envy you telling Clay that story once he's back," Kalei spoke from behind him, and Ian turned away from the door with a groan.
"We don't have to tell him at all."
"I don't have to."
"He's never going to go on another vacation," Ian argued. "Hell, he may refuse to ever let me out of his sight, which would hinder my move to New York."
Kalei raised his eyebrows. "Does that mean you've made your decision?"
Ian glanced towards where Alex was sitting on the couch, with his mother curled around him.
Even if he hadn't decided before tonight, he would, now. He never wanted to be away from Alex ever again.
"Yeah. There are things to talk about, of course, but if we come to an agreement, I'm taking the job."
"Good." Kalei followed his gaze and nodded. "I'll leave you to it, then. Call me in the morning. If we need to read in more people into this assignment, we will."
Ian was about to shake his head, but stopped himself. He wasn't up for making a decision on that tonight, so he pushed it for tomorrow.
"I'll call you. And thank you for coming."
When Ian had contacted him earlier, as soon as he'd taken a spot outside of the building to wait for Alex, it turned out Kalei was already on the move, notified by Alex's mother, who had called him right after Ian had left.
"Of course. Anytime. Now, have some rest, if you can."
"You, too."
The moment the door closed after Kalei, Ian leaned against it to get his bearings.
He shouldn't be so shaken up.
Sure, they rarely needed to use actual physical force and basically perform a citizen's arrest, but it had happened. They trained for it, too.
Hell, they trained for far worse.
And yet, tonight, when Connor showed up, fists flying, and threatened to kill Alex, Ian had to fight to keep his emotions at bay, to trust his training and to remember the protocol.
If he hadn't been there to—
Nope. Not going down that road.
He straightened and headed towards the living room area to take another look at Alex and make sure he was physically okay. He'd been fine, before, but Ian hadn't had a chance to do what he wanted the most—pull Alex into his arms and breathe him in, assure himself that the man was safe and sound.
Edina was still curled around him as Ian came closer, but they disentangled at the sight of him.
"I'll head up," she said quietly, running a hand through Alex's hair one more time before standing up and dropping a kiss on the top of his head. "I have Boo for the night, so don't worry about him."
Alex opened his mouth, probably to protest, but then he closed it again.
He'd been desperate, earlier, to get his eyes on Boo as soon as they'd returned to the apartment and he'd stared at his sleeping son for as long as he could before he had to talk to the police again.
Ian wouldn't blame him if he wanted to keep Boo with him the whole night, but was frankly relieved Alex acquiesced to his mother's plan.
On her way out, Edina walked up to Ian and hugged him hard.
"Thank you," she whispered. "For everything."
Usually, at any other assignment, Ian would insist he was only doing his job, but the words wouldn't come out this time.
"Thank you, too," he told her instead. "Your quick thinking made Kalei arrive sooner than he would otherwise."
"What can I say." She pulled back with a shadow of a smile. "I learned a long time ago when to listen and when not to listen to a stubborn man. Good night."
"Good night."
And then she was gone, leaving Ian alone with Alex, who was sitting on the couch a few steps away from him. Safe and sound. And here.
"I swear I'd run to you like they do in the movies, but I'm not sure my legs would hold me up." Alex slumped back into the cushions, his eyes shining as he looked at Ian. "Come here?"
Nothing would stop Ian now. He was on the couch in a blink of an eye, gathering Alex into his arms and basically lifting him into his lap, needing him as close as humanly possible.
His arms were threatening to shake as he tightened them around Alex, but he ignored that and pressed his nose against Alex's neck, inhaling deeply.
"What the fuck, Ian." Alex clenched his hands hard against Ian's back, holding on for dear life. "What the actual fuck."
"You're safe," Ian told him, then repeated it again and again as Alex trembled in his arms. "It's okay now, you're safe. We're all safe."
"I can't believe—" Alex's teeth chattered, a clear sign of adrenaline crash, and Ian pulled him even closer. "He had me followed, and then tried to attack me. What am I even going to do with this?"
As it turned out, the reading man from the café was actually a private investigator hired by Connor a month ago to find out what Alex was up to.
Luckily, he had chosen not to run and cooperated with the police fully, obviously trying to situate himself on the right side of what was definitely going to be a huge media scandal.
But it wasn't the time to worry about that.
"The police will take care of it, and so will your lawyer. You don't have to do anything about it, especially tonight."
"The media storm will be worse than it had ever been," Alex muttered against the skin of Ian's neck.
"Then again, the fact that your former bandmate attacked you on the street will be much bigger story than the one about Boo's existence. Redirection will be your friend."
"I'll have to pull out from the White House event, though. There's no way I'm showing my face in public anywhere anytime soon."
Ian exhaled slowly. He couldn't deny that it would be a relief, but…
"Are you sure that's what you want? Kalei said we could read in more people, cover you and your family for the rest of your stay in DC."
"No, I—" Alex lifted his head slowly, his makeup from the award show smudged now a bit around his eyes. "I can't stay here."
"Oh."
It shouldn't be a surprise. Hell, on any other assignment Ian would have been the first to suggest relocation, since with the attack happening right outside the building, the place would be swarming with reporters soon.
Not to mention the fans, whose detective skills were unmatched when they were determined.
And yet, Ian wished it could be different in this case. He wished for more time, more days like the last week—domestic in a way that couldn't be completely replicated in real life, with their jobs and everything, but one he was reluctant to part with so soon.
"Both Boo and I will be safer at home, in New York." Alex's quiet voice was almost apologetic, and Ian snapped out of it.
"You're right," he assured Alex quickly as he squeezed his hip. "Of course, you're right. I'll be sad to see you go, without question, but your safety is the number one priority."
"I'll miss you." Alex leaned back slightly and brushed the tips of his fingers along Ian's brow and then his cheek before cupping his chin gently.
"I feel like I just got you back and I don't want to lose that.
The last few days…" He shook his head. "It was the happiest I've been in years. Maybe ever."
The kiss that followed was desperate, hungry, and Ian surrendered to the onslaught easily. A part of him that had already started to worry about the separation and what it could mean was quickly overtaken by the power of Alex's emotions.
And then, Alex pulled back and looked at Ian from up close.
"I love you." It was both a declaration and a promise. "I'm not letting you go, I'm not disappearing, I'm not waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'll go home and wait for you to follow, and we'll make do in the meantime."
"We will." Ian swallowed hard, overwhelmed by being known so well that Alex understood what he needed to hear. "I love you, too. I'll follow you as quickly as I can."
"You should move in with us when you do."
For a moment, they both stared at each other, seemingly equally surprised, but then Alex cleared his throat.
"I mean, I know that it's fast and all, and it may not make sense, with the commute and stuff. But whenever you're ready. Or," he hurried to add, "we can start looking for a place."
"Hey, hey." Ian squeezed Alex's waist. "Breathe. It's okay, I'm not freaking out."
Alex slumped and ran a hand through his hair. "Good. That's good. Still, I probably shouldn't have said that."
"Believe me, I don't want to be that person, but…
we had a really intense evening, and the emotions are all over the place—for both of us.
A part of me wants to take you and your family and hide out, so it's not just you.
But I don't think we should be making any long-term plans tonight, aside from what has already been decided. "
Alex watched him carefully and Ian let him—let him see everything. He didn't have anything to hide, not anymore.
"You'll be open to that discussion at some other time, though?"
"Yeah. Of course." Ian leaned their foreheads together. "I may be constitutionally unable to agree to cohabitation a week into the relationship, but I'm definitely open to it in the future."
Alex chuckled. "Even only half a diva needs a responsible boyfriend to keep him from going off the rails."
"And I need that charm of yours." Ian grinned as he closed his eyes. "You're so lovely to be around. It's both calming and rejuvenating, which shouldn't be possible, and yet."
"I know what you mean." Alex brushed a soft kiss on Ian's eyelid, then the other. "We're a good team."
Ian hummed. "The best."
And they were only getting started.