Rico allowed himself to finally crash into the chair of his hotel room with a groan of relief. The past few days had been a whirlwind of activity. After Jett’s final bow, Rico had barely managed to catch the man before he crashed to the floor, having passed out. By the time Rico had pulled Jett to the back of the stage, the backup Rico had called finally came running in.

Before Rico had allowed himself to do much more than order his men into the audience with Oliver’s picture, and to take care of Riley, he had seen to Jett. Paramedics had shown up to take Jett away, loading him on a stretcher and wheeling him out of the auditorium. It had pained Rico to stay behind as he watched Jett’s unmoving form leave through the double doors. His chest had ached as he caught sight of Jett’s bloody wrists, a crimson smear that stood out even through the strong haze of magenta.

The next few days had involved Rico running all over the city. If he wasn’t at the station trying to help them put the pieces together, he was at the hospital watching over Jett. Rico hadn’t been surprised to see Jett recovering quickly, becoming restless and wanting to leave the hospital after only a day of bedrest. Rico had considered asking if they would give the magician more pain meds, if only to keep him steady, but it turned out to be unnecessary. In a moment alone, Jett had asked if he could stay in Rico’s room.

“I just want to sleep forever. I can’t do it here, but in your room…” Jett had said softly, his voice tender enough to pull at something in Rico’s chest.

There had been no arguing with Jett’s request, Rico had relented immediately. It also meant, after making sure all the arrests were made and everyone was filled in on the details, Rico didn’t have to stay at the station. He was finally able to drag his laptop with him to fill out the necessary paperwork from the comfort of his hotel room.

When he entered, he found the bed empty, but the sound of running water from the bathroom told Rico that Jett had meant what he said and slept for hours at a time. Rico had barely seen Jett awake when he came back from the station to check on him. A smile crossed his lips as he sat on the small loveseat, remembering how gentle and peaceful Jett had looked while asleep.

As if he sensed Rico’s thoughts, the sound of Jett’s shower ended. Rico listened as the thumps of Jett stepping out of the shower came from the bathroom. There was another pause before Jett walked out of the bathroom in a cloud of steam. The steam couldn’t hide the warm hue around his body, small wisps floating in Rico’s direction. Jett looked at the desk beside the table, spotting Rico’s work laptop and searched for him.

Rico smiled when Jett’s eyes found him. “Morning sleepyhead.”

Jett snorted. “It’s six PM.”

“Well, it’s morning for you.”

Jett used one towel to rub at his shoulders and his hair with another draped around his waist. Water droplets ran down the flat stretch of Jett’s stomach, beading in the dark patch of hair there. After nearly three full days of running around, keeping constantly busy, Rico thought Jett was the best sight for his sore eyes.

Jett caught his expression, smiling with one corner of his mouth. “Got something on your mind, Detective Hernandez?”

Rico smirked. “I might.”

Jett shifted, putting himself more on display. “Anything I might be able to help with?”

Rico thought about it for a moment, sighing as he patted the loveseat beside him. “My mind says yes, but my body says it needs to rest. Can I maybe show you how much I’ve missed you after I get a nap in?”

Jett stepped across the room, sitting down with a chuckle beside Rico. “Can’t say I blame you. Have you slept at all?”

“I think you’ve been doing all the sleeping for both of us,” Rico replied, reaching out to pull Jett closer to him.

Jett settled against Rico’s body, wrapping an arm around his stomach. “Do you mind telling me about it?”

Rico looked down at him. “Are you sure you want to hear?”

Jett snorted. “Rico, I’ve been doing nothing but sleeping and trying to wrap my head around everything that happened. I’ve been watching the news, so I know a certain Oliver Trentwood is in fact alive and has been arrested, along with Riley. The only way I can get past it is to understand what happened and why.”

Rico understood the feeling all too well. He had spent months trying to make sense of the tragedy which had killed his entire team, ripped the love of his life away, and ended with him tossed on the street, out of his career and home. It had taken a long time to come to grips with the understanding that bad things happened, often without reason or warning. At least Rico could provide Jett with something practical to sink his teeth into.

“I’ll start from the beginning, then. Turns out Oliver had been having an affair with Riley for months. Apparently, he wanted to leave his wife, but didn’t want to risk losing everything if his wife found out what he’d been doing with Riley during the divorce proceedings,” Rico began.

Jett snorted softly against him. “So, he was an asshole and an adulterer, and Riley was a traitor and a whore. Sounds about right.”

Rico nodded, understanding Jett’s anger. “They came up with the perfect solution, apparently inspired from your idea about a double. They used the same software you’d used to find Mason. I talked to Dutch after you left before the show and discovered he’d found one out in Salem, Oregon. A man by the name of Albert Coltrane.”

Jett grimaced, nodding toward the TV. “I’m guessing he’s the one who was murdered.”

Rico nodded. “Oliver lured him out here on the promise of an all expense paid trip to Vegas. After they did a bit of surgery on him—we’re still working out if they used the same surgeon you did or not—they had him come up to the 83^rd suite. Once Oliver had him there, he shot him, left him in the pool, and went down to Riley’s room, where he’s been hiding out.”

Jett nodded, chewing his bottom lip. “I, uh, saw you guys arrested Mason yesterday too.”

Rico grimaced, knowing no part of this story would be pleasant for Jett. “Yeah, turns out Oliver had made a deal with him. They were going to set you up for the murder, but without evidence, the cops—I would have been chasing my tail. But in the meantime, they were going to get rid of you. Apparently, the plan was to let you go through the deathtrap, which would have taken care of any evidence. And since only a few people knew about your double, Mason was poised to take your place.”

Jett shook his head, burying his face against Rico’s chest. “Christ, they were going to set me up, murder me, and put someone in my spot? I never thought having a double for a magic act would end with me getting killed.”

Rico watched as gold, first just a hint of sparkles and then increasingly deep lines, showed in the aura surrounding Jett, where the two of them touched. It drew a smile to Rico’s lips as calm and a sense of belonging washed over him. He had spent so long trying to ignore and push away his feelings for Jett, it was a relief to finally just let it happen.

“And they’re going to jail for the entire thing,” Rico told him with a squeeze.

Jett snorted out a laugh. “God, it’s like something from a movie. I mean, who the hell comes up with the idea to switch places with someone for real?”

“It was the plan of two greedy and awful people, helped along by another greedy, awful person. If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t have figured it out in time,” Rico told him with a smile.

“You might have figured it out sooner if I had told you everything quicker. Your instincts were on point, but I was too busy trying to keep my secrets and not trusting you to really think about it,” Jett said with a heavy sigh.

Rico shook his head vehemently, easing Jett up so he could see his face. “Don’t. Don’t start kicking yourself over it. I was only pushing you about not telling me everything because I was looking for an excuse to not trust you. If I trusted you, it meant I had to really admit how I felt about you.”

Jett smiled warmly, reaching up to play with Rico’s bottom lip. “And how do you feel?”

“I knew what you were trying to ask me the day you told me about your double. And you were right, completely right. Me sleeping with you, being willing to go so far with you, was a sign. I wouldn’t have bothered if I hadn’t been convinced of your innocence, even as I tried to stay neutral and professional about the whole thing. I just didn’t want to admit I was starting to fall for you,” Rico said in a rush, heat rise to his cheeks.

Jett’s smile split wide. “You got some feelings for me, huh?”

Rico tried to scowl at the teasing tone but settled on kissing Jett instead. It was so much gentler than their last kisses had been, with none of the rushed, desperate quality of before. Rico took his time, pressing his lips firmly against Jett’s before gently nudging their lips open. Their mouths worked softly against each other, Rico drawing Jett closer until he was practically sitting in his lap.

When the kiss finally broke, Jett was looking up at him in adoration. Rico ran a thumb over Jett’s jaw, tracing the shape, and pulling a strand of the man’s shaggy hair out of his face.

“I can’t believe I thought you were boring the first time I saw you,” Jett whispered.

Rico’s laugh came out in a bark. “Boring? You know, I could totally see it. I guess I have been pretty boring, and stubborn.”

Jett shrugged. “It’s not like I have any room to talk about you being stubborn.”

Rico tapped the side of Jett’s cheek, stroking it. “I am sorry.”

It was Jett’s turn to shake his head. “Don’t be. You have nothing to be sorry about. I wasn’t making it any easier for you to trust me, but I was demanding you trust me at the same time. I was pushing you away and expecting you to understand, so we’re both guilty.”

“I guess it makes sense. I would have to find someone who was just as stubborn and difficult as I am,” Rico said with affection.

Jett nodded, laying his head on Rico’s shoulder and nuzzling into his neck. “And now, we have plenty of time to try and make up for everything.”

Rico nodded, resting his head on Jett’s as he pulled him close. “We do.”