I charge after it and get the ball under my feet when booming laughter cuts through my concentration. Wait. Is that?
“What the fuck are you idiots doing?” A familiar voice laughs.
I practically throw the trash can off my head before whipping myself around.
I stand in shock for the shortest moment before I finally recover. Luke stands before us, grinning at us like this very moment is one of absolute beauty. There’s a calmness over his face that looks really good on him, though, it’s not as though I don’t notice the cuts and bruises that go along with it.
“Fuck,” Jace grunts as his trash can goes tumbling to the ground. He’s the first one to reach him and they wrap their arms around each other. Jace claps him on the back while Luke just holds on for dear life.
We all stand back, allowing them to have this moment together before we intrude. I walk up to them to catch the tail end of their conversation. “I should have been there with you,” Jace tells Luke.
“No, you shouldn’t,” Luke argues. “None of us should have been there. It was a fucking trap.”
“I know,” he sighs before pulling him back in. “I’m so fucking happy to see you.”
They hold onto each other a moment longer before they pull back in their desperation to maintain their usual manly selves. Luke goes around the group as we all welcome him back. Imogen gets tears in her eyes as she hugs him before she falls into my arms.
I hold her tight and run my fingers through her hair as she pulls herself together. Luke watches us for a moment before his mouth pops open. He looks at us then cuts across to Cole as if what he’s seeing couldn’t be real. “What the fuck?” he grunts with a panicked look on his face as he looks to Cole again.
I grin at his reaction. “A lot has happened since you’ve been away.”
“Yeah,” he grunts. “No shit.”
We get him settled in and Rylee rushes around to find him a beer. As he takes a seat and props his feet up, he looks relieved. I can’t help but know. I need to ask.
“How are you?” I say, hoping it’s not too soon to be bombarded with questions, but the curiosity is too much.
He averts his eyes and puts on a smile that is as fake as Jace’s Rolex. “I’m good,” he says.
Not one of us believe him, but it’s a clear warning that he hasn’t come to terms with it all. “So, you got out?” Jace questions.
Luke looks over to him and from the look on his face, he’d prefer not to talk about it, but he knows he needs to. “Yeah,” he replies. “I was stationed in Iraq. We had received intel that a group of Americans were being held and tortured for information on our government by a group of men known to us for extreme methods. Their torture sessions were filmed and uploaded so we were able to find their location, and since we were close enough, we went in.”
Imogen latches onto my hand as she listens intently to Luke’s recap of the story with a broken heart. “What happened?” she whispers.
At that, Luke looks down at his beer. Clearly what he’s about to say is still very raw and hard to talk about, so I’m not surprised when it comes out mechanical and void of any emotion. “We went in, but they were waiting for us. We hardly stood a chance. The second we were spotted it was a shootout. Me and two others went in There weren’t even any American’s there. It was discovered later that the video which was uploaded was old,” he informs us with a scoff.
Luke continues, unable to meet our eyes. “There were more men inside. Jonesy went down almost immediately and we had no choice but to retreat. I wanted to go back for his body, but we didn’t have the time. Ben though, he’s only a kid, he went back for him and I couldn’t leave him behind.”
Imogen’s hand tightens in mine and I pull her in closer. Luke sighs as he continues. “We never got out from there,” he states.
“But,” Rylee cuts in with tears in her eyes. “You’re ok, though? They didn’t hurt you?”
Luke presses his lips together and gives her a sympathetic look. With just that look he’s answered her question. They did things to him that he’s not about to talk about. That fact alone has Jace hanging his head as he leans forward on his elbows.
“Look,” Luke finally says after a moment of drawn out silence. “All you guys need to know is that I’m here now. I went through some shit and I’ve come out the other end. I’m home for good and I don’t plan on going anywhere.” I know he says it mainly to help the girls with their grief, but it goes a long way to help my concern. “Now,” he says, trying to move on. “Why the fuck aren’t you dickheads at my gym?”
With that, everyone lets out a breath and pulls themselves together. The girls hastily wipe at their eyes as the boys come to terms with the fact that he’s here, and so far, he’s doing ok. He probably has a long way to go and some deep issues to sort out, but for now, he’s home and he’s physically safe.
A smile comes over my face as relief finally settles over me. There’s been a hole in our family since the day Luke was deployed and now with him home, that hole is closing up.
Cole holds his beer up and at once, we all do the same. “Welcome home, man,” Cole says. “You don’t know how much we’ve missed you.”
“Trust me,” he says with a grin. “I missed you guys more.”
Chapter 22
Caden
I practically bounce on my toes as I wait for Brandon to walk through the door. My foster license finally came through and so did the approval for me to permanently care for Brandon.
The kid is going to lose his mind when I tell him. I mean, seriously lose his mind. He’s going to go nuts and I can’t fucking wait.
It’s been just over four months since I applied for my license and four months of listening to Brandon complaining about his living situation. Don’t get me wrong, he loves Katia and is grateful for everything she’s done for him, but his father still haunts him so he hardly sleeps at this point. Imogen is working her ass off during their therapy sessions to try and help him, but we both know this big move is going to do wonders for him.
Imogen and I have spent the last few days getting my place ready for him. We’ve put his bedroom together and I even changed my bedroom around, because, little does she know, Brandon won’t be the only one moving in with me.
Imogen had also applied for a foster license as we knew our relationship was heading in that direction, but I don’t see the point in waiting, and besides, I’m a selfish prick, I want her with me. I want her coming home to me each night. I want her in my kitchen, barefoot and pregnant. I want to hear her call my home ours.
The door opens and an excited Brandon comes flying through. I absolutely love that he’s so excited to be here. It’s the highlight of my day.
He’s come so far in his training that I wouldn’t be surprised if he asked to start competing in the next season. He could really go far and I can’t wait to watch him grow and develop into an amazing fighter.
I’ve surprised him today with a session held by Xander. The kid idolizes him. It’s kind of sickening really, or maybe I’m just a bit jealous. Who knows?
Katia is next to walk through the door and she gives me a knowing grin. She has secretly packed all his belongings into the trunk of her car so we can surprise him after his session. Though I have to admit, I’m a bit nervous. Following his session, I’ll be taking him home.
I’m a bit anxious, I mean, what if he doesn’t want this. I know a few months back, he was begging me to take him, but things change, especially with growing boys. They change their minds all the time. I just hope living with me isn’t one of them.
Imogen and Susan walk in afterward, and as usual, I look up at Imogen to soak in the radiant smile I know she’ll give me when she sees me. And as usual, she doesn’t disappoint. She blows me the fuck away.
“You’ve got it bad,” Luke murmurs as he passes behind me towards the studio room.
“Shut up,” I say, but he’s right. I do have it bad.
Luke pretty much jumped stra
ight back into his old routine, here at Rebels Advocate. The very next day after he returned, he was in the gym, going through all the emails and getting up to speed. I admire his dedication but I feel that he’s using it as a distraction rather than dealing with what happened.
Imogen has been dying to get in there and do her therapy thing on him, but she wouldn’t dare cross that line with him, not unless he wanted her to. I’m still holding on to the hope that he will deal with it in his own time. For now, I’m just happy he’s home and safe.
The other good thing that returned with Luke was the normal Jace. The Jace who’s a shit-stirrer and purposefully goes out of his way to play stupid pranks on me and Cole. It’s a sweet sound hearing both Jace and Luke chuckling after tackling Cole to the ground and wrapping duct tape around him from head to toe. I was just fucking pleased it wasn’t me, though I know it’s coming.
I get my ass over to Brandon and the girls. The second I step in front of him, he holds his hand up and we launch into our secret handshake, which after all these weeks, we’ve finally perfected. I lean over and give Imogen a quick kiss as I can’t possibly continue without it.
“Come on,” I say to Brandon as I place a hand on his shoulder and lead him deeper into the gym. I get him started on his warm-up when Xander walks over.
Brandon practically freezes to the spot as he looks up at his idol. It’s pretty fucking hilarious to watch seeing as though Xander talks to him all the time. “Hey, kid. What’s up?” Xander says, holding his hand out.
Brandon’s hand shoots out faster than lightning in his desperation to talk with him. “Hi,” he says with wide eyes, though nothing else comes out.
I grin as I place a hand on his shoulder to gain his attention. “How would you feel about having a session with Xander today?”
“Are you serious?” he asks as he looks between both me and Xander. “That’d be so cool.”
“Alright,” I laugh before ushering him forward towards Xander.
“What are you working on?” Xander questions.
Brandon instantly pipes up. “I’ve been learning about the different submission holds, but I really want to learn how to do a tornado kick, but Caden says I’m not ready yet.”
Xander looks at me with a sparkle in his eye before focusing back on Brandon. “You’re on,” he tells him. I groan as he puts his arm over his shoulders and leads him away. “Have you learned roundhouse kicks or spinning kicks yet?” I hear him question.
“No,” Brandon replies.
“Well,” Xander says. “This is going to be interesting.”
With Brandon preoccupied, I take the chance to go out with Katia to get his things put into the back of my truck. When I get back inside, I sit down with Imogen and we watch Brandon’s session with Xander. He’s always perfectly behaved with me, but the level of concentration and effort he’s putting in for Xander is enough to have my mouth popping open.
Today’s session is going to go a long way in helping him with his confidence and simply just fill him with absolute joy. I find myself excited for it to be over as I can’t wait to hear the way he’ll go on and on about it.
Just as expected, when he’s done, he comes running over to tell us all about it. I can’t help but grin. Imogen and I keep our mouths shut and eventually the other boys come over to watch how this all goes down.
Katia stands up and grabs her bag off the seat. Brandon takes a step in her direction, thinking he’s about to leave when I call out to him. “Hey, Brandon?” He turns back around and looks to me with a question in his eyes. “How’d you like to come home with me?”
His face scrunches up in confusion and he looks at Katia who watches him with pride in her eyes. “Huh?” he grunts, making a massive grin rip across my face.
“You heard me,” I tell him.
“What? You mean…?” he questions, looking back up at Katia again, completely confused with what’s going on here.
The boys snicker and chuckle around us as they happily watch the confusion on his face. “I mean, I have a bedroom at my place with your name on it and it’s all yours if you want it.”
“Like forever?” he questions.
“Yeah,” I laugh. “Forever.”
He charges forward and nearly knocks the wind out of me as he wraps his arms around me. “Thank you,” he cries, holding onto me with everything he’s got.
I try not to get emotional around all the guys as I wrap him up in my arms and give him the hug he needs. “It’s ok,” I murmur quietly.
He eventually pulls back and looks at Katia. “So, I’m not staying at your place anymore?”
“No, sweet boy. You’re not,” she tells him. “All your things are already in Caden’s truck.”
He nods his head and it’s clear that he’s become quite fond of Katia over the time he’s been staying with her. He gives her a hug and thanks her, and before we know it, both Katia and Susan have left, leaving us to get on with it.
The second the door closes behind them, Brandon instantly loses his shit. He runs around, he jumps, he high fives everyone he passes, but what’s more is the smile that lights up his face.
Imogen laughs as she watches him with adoration. I slip my hand behind her back and pull her in close. “Do you think he took it well?”
“I don’t know,” she jokes. “He looks devastated.”
I laugh as I bend down and kiss her. “Are you coming for this?”
She beams up at me. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
With that, the three of us pile into my truck and we get Brandon to his new home. He jumps down from my truck and the smile still hasn’t left his face. I walk around the back and grab his things before heading for the door.
Imogen takes the keys from my hand and unlocks the door for me before ushering Brandon into our home. “Welcome home, kid,” I say.
He looks around as though he’s never been here before, but I guess to him, he’s seeing it in a whole new light. He bypasses the living room and kitchen as he’s already seen them and we follow him down the hallway. “Where’s my room?” he questions.
“Your room?” I gasp. “Are you supposed to have one of those?”
His face falls and I chuckle behind him. “Relax,” I grin as I point out a door a few steps down. “It’s just here.”
He practically runs to it before grabbing the handle and giving it a twist. He pushes it open and steps through the threshold. His eyes go big and he instantly looks around. He momentarily forgets that he’s trying to act cool while he looks through the room. “Oh, cool,” he says as he takes in the TV and play station, then turns to find the laptop on the desk. “Wow. Thank you,” he gushes before taking in the size of the bed.
I’ll have to sit him down and set some ground rules with him, but when it comes down to it, I don’t think I’ll have any issues. He’s proven to me that he’s a good kid, though sometimes a little careless with his decisions, so I’ll have to put a lock on his bedroom window in case he feels like escaping in the middle of the night. But if I provide him with a home he feels safe in, then I won’t have a problem.
The night flies by and before I know it, we’ve had dinner, Brandon is showered and in bed, and I’m lying on the couch with Imogen in my arms. “So,” I start, wondering how the hell she’s going to take his. “It was Brandon’s turn today, what about yours tomorrow?”
“Huh?” she grunts.
I sit up and adjust Imogen so she sits in my lap facing me. I look into those beautiful eyes that I’m so deeply in love with and let her have it. “I want you to move in with me and Brandon,” I tell her.
Her mouth pops open and I see the wheels in her head starting to turn as she tries to comprehend what the hell is going on. “I…um. What?”
“I want you here, Imogen,” I repeat. “I know it’s quick and I know it freaks you out, but it feels too right for it to be wrong.”
“But,” she argues.
“No, buts, babe,” I tell her. “I want you her
e with me. I want you to come home to me every night. I want to share my life with you. No, scratch that. I want to build a life with you. You’re my world, Imogen. You always have been and you always will be, so it’s about time you face the facts that no matter if it’s now or in ten years, this is exactly how we’re going to end up. It’s your call, babe. Do you want to start this thing with me now, or waste time doing it later?”
She raises her arms and loops them over my neck before gently pressing her lips to mine. “You’re serious?” she questions. “You’re that crazy about me that you want to see me here every day?”
“Every day,” I confirm. “When you’re in your pajamas. When you’re running around, late for work. When you crack the shits because me and Brandon are picking on you.”
“You’re not going to get sick of me?” she asks as she leans forward and kisses me again.
My hands slip under her shirt and run up the bare skin of her back. “Never,” I murmur with my lips on hers.
She pulls back slightly and rests her forehead against mine. She closes her eyes and lets out a shaky breath. And just when I think she’s about to tell me no, she goes and blows me the fuck away. “I love you, Caden,” she murmurs.
My eyes close with the overwhelming relief rocking through my body. I knew she did but hearing it from her sweet lips is one of the sweetest things I’ve ever experienced. “Say it again,” I tell her.
With that, a smile crosses her lips. “I love you,” she repeats.
“Thank fuck for that,” I whisper before running my hand straight up her back and into her hair. I kiss her deeply when it occurs to me that I can no longer fuck her on the couch. I wouldn’t want Brandon to come out and see something that would scar him for the rest of his life.
I’ll have to remember to take her to my room before we get carried away, but before I do that, I need to get an answer out of her. “What do you say, babe? Are you going to put me out of my misery and move in here?”
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