His hands fall to his hips, and his gaze drifts over my shoulder, hardening into a murderous glare.
I turn and find Trace standing at the bottom of the stairs. Fingers resting in the pockets of his jeans and chin angled down, he watches us from beneath a scowling brow.
“How long have you been here?” How did I not hear him?
“You said asshole, and I figured you were talking about me.” His scowl twitches, giving me a trace of a smile.
I face him fully and don’t smile back. “If you knew there was a chance Cole would return, why did you propose to me? No more bullshit, Trace. I want a straight answer.”
“I didn’t know he planned to retire.”
My mouth opens, closes, and I glance back at Cole. “Is that true?”
“I guess I never mentioned it.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “It’s none of his business.”
“You told him about my pussy ring. I’m pretty sure that was none of his business. But quitting a job you shared with him, retiring from something you were born to do? That very much qualifies as something you would tell your best friend.”
Cole stares at me, complexion ashen. Dragging a hand across his mouth, he paces to the futon and perches on the edge. Bending over his lap with his hands laced together, he bounces a leg and scatters nervous energy through the room.
“When you asked me to watch over her…” Trace stands still, his tone accusing. “You said it could be an ongoing thing.”
I whip my head toward Cole. “You lied to me?” My heart beats against my chest so violently I have to cough a few times to get it back under control. “You said—”
“I know what I said.” His brown eyes thrash with unwavering adamancy. “It wasn’t an easy decision. The job was a part of me. I know you understand that. It would be like asking you to give up dancing.”
The air evacuates my lungs. “I couldn’t.”
“Exactly. But the night I told you I was leaving for a year, I knew it would be my last mission. My job endangered you. It separated me from you.” He drops his gaze to the floor and lowers his voice. “With all those miles and years between us, it became very clear just how easy it would be to give it up. And I did. I quit the moment I returned to the States.”
He lets me chew on that, watching me with yearning and desperation.
The only sounds in the basement are our heavy breaths and the tick of the analog clock on the wall. It’s only eight in the morning, and the constant strain of the past two hours is starting to wear on me. I should be in bed, with Trace, dreaming of wedding plans.
I press my thumb against the silver band on my finger. Trace knew there was a chance Cole would come back, but he thought Cole would just leave me again. And again and again. That realization spider-webs through my mind, weaving all of Trace’s actions, desires, and impulses into a sticky net of protectiveness.
“You didn’t want me to be alone anymore.” I peer up at Trace, hating the worry pulling at his scowl.
“I fell in love with you, Danni, and with that comes a responsibility. Your happiness and safety trumped my loyalty to Cole.” Sadness darkens his expression. “You’re all that I am, and the moment I accepted that, protecting you was no longer a favor or a job. It became a prerogative.”
“So you bound me to you.”
“No, I bound myself to you.” His eyes flash to Cole and return to me. “I’m sick over the position that puts you in. But I will never regret the way I feel about you.”
Cole jumps to his feet. “How about instead of proposing to her, you waited until I came home? Who she spends her life with is her choice, her decision to make after she has all the facts.”
“I gave her the choice.” Trace snaps his spine straight, voice booming. “She chose me.”
“Because she thought I was dead!” Cole bellows, making me wince. “I will never forgive you, you selfish son of a bitch. You took the choice away from her and—”
“We all have choices. Right here. Right now.” I step between them, heart racing. “Cole, you can go back to your job. If it means that much to you, you should. It’ll hurt like hell, but if I can survive your death, I’ll pull through if you walk away.”
“I’m not going anywhere. Never again.” He plants his feet, hands on his hips, staring at me with equal measures of madness and determination.
Relief whispers through me. I can talk a big talk, but I just got him back. Losing him again would gut me.
I turn to Trace. “You knew he might show back up. What was your plan for that?”
“I didn’t have a plan.” Trace holds his hands behind him, shoulders back, a stalwart tower of formality and calm grace.
I appreciate his reserve now more than ever. Two hotheads in one room would’ve ended in bloodshed. But every man fights differently, and I won’t underestimate Trace. Whenever he strikes, I don’t see it coming.
Cole paces around me, blustering noisy breaths and stirring up the dust. “If you thought I would back down and let you—”
“I knew if you returned,” Trace says, “it wouldn’t be easy. Lines will be drawn. Rivalry will ensue. Because I’m not going anywhere, either.” He looks at me with that confident tilt of his head I adore so much. “I’m not leaving your side, Danni, until—” His voice loses strength, and he swallows. “Until there comes a point when I’m not the one you want. And even then, I’ll convince you to see the error in your decision.”
Mounting dread closes my throat. I feel so heavy, so weighed down with panic and helplessness. The ache behind my eyes returns, stabbing like a thousand needles. I suck my bottom lip between my teeth, biting down and shaking my head rapidly, but I can’t loosen the grip of my emotions.
“I need…” Time. Space. A solution that doesn’t exist. “I need to think.”
I swivel toward the stairs with thoughts of escape, in my bed, where I can cry myself to sleep.
But what if they leave? They said they wouldn’t, but the thought stops me on the bottom step.
“Are you going to work?” I ask Trace.
Thankfully, today’s my day off. I might find solace in dancing, but not at the casino, where I’d have to smile and entertain a room full of strangers.
“I just called in and rearranged my schedule.” Trace searches my face, frowning deeply at whatever he sees in my eyes. “I’ll be here.”
I shift my focus to Cole. “Where are you staying?”
He goes still, his voice stunned into a whisper. “This is my home.” His hand presses against his sternum. “You are my home.”
I turn my head toward the top of the stairs, trembling against the rise of tears. “How’s that going to work? Are we all going to share a bed?”
“Fuck, no.” Cole flexes his jaw. “I’m not sharing you.”
Trace shakes his head, expression tight.
“I guess that means we’ll all be nice and cozy and celibate for the indefinite future.” I swipe at the spill of tears on my cheek and meet Cole’s eyes. “All of your things are down here. You can sleep on the futon.” I motion toward it. “I spent the night there a couple months ago. It’s comfortable.”