Page 68 of Flint's Arrow
“We should do this again,” Arrow said.
“Definitely.” Flint yawned. “But maybe not tomorrow. I need to sleep in after all that dancing.”
Arrow laughed quietly. “Deal.”
And that, right there, is what’s important,Flint thought as he dozed quietly on Arrow’s shoulder. Arrow accepted him, overalls and all, and whether they were sleeping in, or out on a job, or simply having fun at the alley, Flint knew Arrow would always be beside him…just the way mates are meant to be.
Epilogue
Levi
“We’re almost home.”
Calvin’s voice drifted through the truck cab, low and rough with exhaustion. Levi grunted in acknowledgment, his hands tight on the steering wheel as he navigated the final turn onto the dirt road leading to the Alley. The headlights cut through the darkness, illuminating familiar trees and the weathered wooden sign he and Calvin had carved together.
Welcome to Assassin’s Alley.
Two in the morning. They’d been on the road for eighteen hours straight after a three-day job in Nevada that should’ve taken one. The mark had been paranoid, well-protected, and constantly moving. Calvin had finally gotten close enough to break the bastard’s neck in a parking garage while Levi kept watch, but the whole thing had left them both wrung out.
Levi pulled into the driveway of the house he and Calvin shared, killed the engine, and sat there for a moment. The silence pressed in, broken only by the ticking of cooling metal and Calvin’s steady breathing beside him.
“You okay?” Calvin asked.
“Just tired.”
“Yeah.” Calvin shifted in his seat. “Let’s get inside.”
They hauled their gear into the house in silence, moving around each other the way they always did - locking weapons in their safe, duffle bags dropped off in the laundry room, and their boots lined up by the door.
Levi stripped off his jacket and tossed it over a chair, then headed straight for the kitchen. He needed water. Maybe food, though his stomach felt too tight for eating.
Calvin’s hands settled on his shoulders before he reached the sink.
“Hey.” Calvin’s thumbs dug into the knotted muscles at the base of Levi’s neck. “You’re wound tighter than a spring.”
“M’fine.”
“Bullshit.” Calvin applied pressure, working methodically on the tension. “Talk to me.”
Levi braced his hands on the counter and let his head drop forward, giving Calvin better access. The touch helped - it always did. Calvin knew exactly where he carried stress, exactly how much pressure to use.
They’d been together since they were calves. Born in the same herd down in Texas, though they weren’t related by blood. Just two young bulls who’d recognized something in each other from the start. When Levi’s family moved north, Calvin had followed. When Calvin decided to try his hand at ranch work, Levi went along. When they’d both discovered they had a talent for killing and the agency came calling, they’d signed up together.
Three decades together, and they’d never spent a day apart.
“I’m tired,” Levi said finally, his voice coming out rougher than he intended. “Not just from the job. I mean…I’m tired of this. All of it.”
Calvin’s hands stilled. “You want out of the agency?”
“No.” Levi straightened and turned to face his partner. Calvin looked as exhausted as Levi felt - dark circles under his eyes, tension in his jaw, a healing cut on his cheekbone from wherethe mark had gotten in a lucky punch. “I want what the others have.”
Understanding flickered across Calvin’s face, followed immediately by something that looked like fear.
“Lee…”
“I know what you’re thinking.” Levi reached up and covered one of Calvin’s hands with his own. “You’re worried that if we find our mate, it won’t be the same person. That one of us will get claimed and the other will be left behind.”
Calvin’s jaw tightened. He didn’t deny it. “We’ve talked about this,” Calvin said, his voice barely above a whisper. “What if you find someone and they don’t want me? What if I find someone and they expect me to leave you? I can’t…Lee, I can’t lose you. I’d rather spend the rest of my life unclaimed than risk that.”
