by L. Michael
“I know. But Sam is only trying to befriend him, not murder him.”
“Yeah, not like his brother or his father.”
“Wait…what?” Jakob walked over to me and took the bottle of olive oil out of my hand.
“There is a reason why I asked you to come over today.” Sighing, I leaned against the counter and looked at the blanket fort again. “Henry needs more people in his life. He needs friends and someone that knows about his past and his family. Someone he can talk to and who supports him. To show that he doesn’t have to deal with it on his own.”
“I think I missed something. Deal with what alone?”
“Henry had a visit from the FBI agent who saved his life yesterday. His brother has a parole hearing coming up, and there’s a chance that he will walk.”
“Oh, shit.”
Well, that wasn’t the most eloquent reaction, but exactly how I felt. “Yeah. Oh, shit.”
“But no one knows that he’s alive.”
“It doesn’t matter. Henry is still terrified.” I nodded towards the small breakfast nook, and Jakob followed me there. We sat down, and I made sure that I had a good view of the blanket fort, just in case Henry needed me. “Henry finally told me about his family and his upbringing. I hate to say it, but I think he has a right to be scared. The fact that he is gay is low on the list of his offenses against the family. According to his family, he’s a traitor, and I don’t even want to know what they will do to him if they ever find out that he’s alive.”
“Sam put a little alarm system on the files. If someone investigates them, he’ll get an alert. Sam doesn’t know, I know. He thinks that he was so sneaky.”
“Sam put an alarm system on files for the FBI?” I was equally impressed and worried. “One day, that could get him into trouble.”
“According to Sam, he didn’t technically hack into the FBI,” Jakob answered, but then grimaced. “But he did. I never thought that my greatest fear as a Daddy would be possibly losing my Boy because he gets arrested by the Feds. Or taken away by the CIA.”
“At least you know a good lawyer. It’s not like they’re going to send him to Guantanamo.”
“Gee, thanks. You sure know how to comfort a person, Momma Bear.”
“Sorry, I didn’t realize you needed comfort.”
Jakob glared at me, but then turned his head when Sam laughed in the blanket fort. I waited to hear Henry as well, but nothing. Sighing, I stood up and went back over to the counter to finish the dressing.
“You know, a wise man once told me that it’s tough to be the strong Daddy. Daddies need a support system, too.”
“A wise man? That sounds so much like something Des would say. He should have it copyrighted or tattooed on his forehead since he says it so much.”
“Okay, it was Des, but he’s right, you know.” Jakob followed me and began to cut up tomatoes, and I grabbed the olive oil. “You said on the phone that you wanted Henry to have friends he could trust and talk to. But what about you? Who are you talking to?”
“This is about Henry, not me.”
“Really? So, you’re not scared? You’re not afraid that they’ll find out that he’s still alive? Afraid of what they’ll do when they find him?”
“I know exactly what they’re going to do, Jakob.” Slamming the oil bottle down with more force than necessary, I grabbed the vinegar. “Henry told me. Or to be more precise, he asked me if I knew what the Nazis did to traitors. To his family, he is a traitor.”
“But he is safe, Caden. Nobody knows that he is still alive, and there’s a chance that they will deny his brother the parole.”
“Even so…” Putting the vinegar down, I turned and looked at Jakob. “He’ll always be in danger, and I don’t know what to do about it. I work with victims all the time. I help them to get justice or to start a new life. Do you know what my last case was? Abigail, a young mother with two sweet kids. Her husband was an enforcer for a local gang. He beat her up so badly that she nearly died. I helped her file for a divorce, get a new identity, and worked with the assistant DA to get the husband arrested with her testimony. She’s living in Idaho now. I helped her to get away and to start a new life. Her husband will never find her. But Henry’s family?”
“They have power, and I get that. But no one has ever looked for Henry, why would they start now?”
“I don’t know.” Sighing, I rubbed my hand over my eyes. Jakob was reasonable and pointed out the same point Ian had. Nothing suggested that they had any clue that the FBI faked Michaels's death. “I just have this bad feeling in my gut, and I can’t shake it.”
“Because of instinct or because you truly care about Henry?”
“Both?” Watching Jakob cut the tomatoes and mix them with the salad, I thought about it. “On the one hand, I care so much for him. But on the other hand, I have experience helping people get away from religious cults. I get that these are different dynamics.”
“Do you want me to see who was involved in the trial? Maybe check to see who will be at the hearing?”
“You’re not with the NYPD anymore.”
“You’re right. I’m not. You know that Sam and I are starting a private investigation office.” Jakob grinned at me and winked. “Congratulations. You’re our first clients.”
“Jakob…”
“Do you remember the name of the FBI guy?” Frowning, I nodded. “Give it to me. I’ll call and talk to him tomorrow, and then we’ll see what we can do, okay?”
“I…” I wanted to protest, but having his support lifted a massive weight off my shoulders. “Thank you, Jakob.”
“Hey, we’re family, we keep each other safe, right?”
“Yeah, right.” For a moment, we just smiled at each other in silent understanding, and then I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Charlie came out of the blanket fort, looking confident without a care in the world. That was until he spotted Jakob. “Speaking of keeping each other safe. Don’t touch the cat; he doesn’t like people.”
“What?” Jakob turned around and bent down the second he spotted Charlie. “Oh my, aren’t you a cute guy? Come here, kitty.”
“Jakob, seriously, don’t…” Before I could finish my sentence, Charlie hissed, puffed out his fur, and attacked Jakob's outstretched arm with an impressive jump before he turned and fled into the nursery. “Touch him.”
“Holy fucking shit.”
“Daddy!” Hearing Jakob curse like that had Sam scrambling out of the blanket fort. As soon as he saw the blood on Jakob's arm, he paled and rushed over to us, shooting accusatory looks at me. “What did you do? Why is Daddy bleeding? Oh my God, are those cuts?”
“Calm down, Sam. I warned him not to touch Charlie,” I defended myself while I turned around to grab a clean kitchen towel. “Here, put this on the scratches, while I get the first aid kit.”
“What’s going on?”
As I reached for the first aid kit, I stopped when I heard Henry’s voice. Sam’s sudden flight out of the fort must have alarmed him. He stood there, looking confused between the three of us. I waved my hand, so he looked at me and held up the first aid kit.
“Jakob tried to pet Charlie. It’s not that bad. He just has some—” Again, I was interrupted. This time, because Henry turned on his heels and ran into the nursery.
“Charlie? Charlie, are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
Well, Henry had priorities, and they did not include Jakob.
“I’m bleeding, and he is worried that I hurt that damn cat?” Jakob asked while he stared after Henry and Sam fussed over his arm.
“He loves his cat,” I stated and handed over the first aid kit to Sam.
“That little devil attacked me. I’m bleeding.”
“Oh, for goodness, sakes. It’s not like you got attacked by a tiger,” Sam said and rolled his eyes at his Daddy. “Charlie hates people. You shouldn’t have touched him.”
“Your Daddy was naughty and wasn’t listening.”
“Weren’
t you going to go look after Henry and his little devil?” Jakob growled while Sam laughed. “And you, Little Man, shouldn’t laugh at your Daddy.”
“But you were naughty, and now you’re acting like a big baby. It’s kind of funny.”
“Keep being a brat, and there will be no cartoon or cuddles before bedtime. Guess who’ll be laughing then.”
That was my clue to leave them alone and find my Boy.
Henry sat in his rocking chair, with Charlie curled up on his lap. I crouched down in front of them and carefully scratched Charlie behind his ear. He was purring, so it couldn’t be so bad. When I looked up, Henry was watching me.
“You okay?”
“I was just worried about Charlie. Is Jakob okay?”
“Yeah, he’s going to live. Even though he’s acting like he got mortally wounded by a tiger.” That had Henry chuckling, and I grinned. “I warned him not to touch Charlie.”
“Then, he was naughty because he wasn’t listening.”
“That’s right.” Laughing, I reached up and gently stroked his cheek. “Did you have fun with Sam before the vicious tiger attack?”
“I guess.” Henry shrugged and kept petting Charlie. “He’s nice. He apologized for snooping into my life. He was just worried.”
“Yeah, Sam is a little worrywart. But you’ll get used to it. It just means he cares.”
“I know, he said that we’re family now.” Henry frowned and bit his lip before he looked at me again. “He said that his parents died and that he didn’t have a family. Until he moved here and found Jakob and the Rainbow Room.”
“Kind of like you, Cupcake.” I winked at him, and Henry blushed. Then he shrugged, but there was a smile on his face. “Only you have me and not Jakob.”
“I’m glad because he scared Charlie, and Charlie likes you.”
“I like Charlie, too.” Tapping his nose with my finger, I smiled at Henry. “And I like Charlie’s Little Daddy. A lot.”
“So, Sam was right.”
“About what?”
“He said that we’re together.” Henry swallowed and bit his lip. Gently, I reached out and freed it from his teeth. “I mean…I want to be together with you, but, um, I wasn’t sure if you are my Daddy, does it mean that we’re…you know…”
“A couple?” He nodded. “That’s exactly what it means, Henry. I thought I made myself clear when I told you that I want to be your Daddy.”
“But being my Daddy doesn’t mean boyfriend. You can be my Daddy without being my boyfriend.”
“You have a point, and I guess that can be true for other people. It’s not that way for me. If I wanted a Boy to just play with from time to time, I could go to one of the clubs in town. But that’s not what I want. I want everything. A Little Boy to spoil and a boyfriend to love.”
“You said it again.”
“What?”
“Love.”
“Maybe that’s because I’m falling in love with you.” I winked, and his eyes got huge—my sweet, sweet Henry. Leaning up, I softly kissed him before I sat back down again. “Now, boyfriend, are you ready to get back out to Jakob and Sam? The lasagna should be ready soon, and I need to finish the salad.”
“Yeah, um, can we eat fast so we can be alone?”
“The way Jakob was acting, he probably bled out, so lunch should be quick.”
For a second, Henry just stared at me, and then he burst out laughing. The sound scared Charlie because he jumped off Henry’s lap. But Charlie seemed to be just a bit put off but unharmed. Charlie went over to the daybed, jumped up, and curled up into a ball. Henry watched him for a second, and then he turned to me again.
“Let’s just hope that Jakob survives because I’d hate to see Sam lose his Daddy.”
“Me, too, Cupcake. Me, too.”
Even though Henry missed it, I didn’t. He just admitted that he cared about Sam. Mission accomplished. Henry got himself a new friend.
Chapter 17
Henry
Thankfully, Jakob hadn’t bled out while we were away. We made our way back into the kitchen. We found Sam had put some band-aids on the scratches. He used some cute ones with ducks. When I looked, I caught Jakob frowning at them. Served him right that he felt ridiculous wearing them. Jakob shouldn’t have touched Charlie. Caden pressed a kiss to my temple, but before I could look at him, he steered me in the other direction, right into a smiling Sam.
“Caden said the lasagna will be a while yet. I was wondering if you would show me around. Your apartment is cool.”
Blushing, I quickly glanced around. But everything was in order. I looked back at Sam, and he seemed to be excited to get a tour. Still, I glanced at Caden, who smiled and nodded. Turning back to Sam, I shrugged.
“It’s not much.”
“Are you kidding? This place is amazing.” Sam grabbed my hand and started walking back to the entrance. “An elevator right into your apartment. That’s so cool.”
“It was easier to integrate it into the alarm system.”
“Oh yeah, good idea. You’d need lots more cameras to cover a flight of stairs. Not to mention the servers you’d need for that. That would be a bummer.”
For the first time, since I’d met Sam, I caught a glimpse of Sam’s adult side. He was still cute. But at the same time, much more intense, and his gaze was critical. He walked over to the security panel. I followed his gaze in wonder as he scrutinized the security panel and the cameras. It was funny to watch how he shoved his glasses up his nose and tilted his head to the side. After a moment, Sam turned back around to me.
“Is this connected to nine-one-one?”
“No. It’s connected to a private company that installed it. I thought…” Sighing, I shrugged again. “I didn’t want to draw too much attention to myself or this place, so I choose that option. If the alarm goes off, there is a silent call to the security company.”
“Good. That’s good. Once Jakob and I have set up our office, I can install a second silent call directly to us.”
“What?”
“Oh, Jakob and I are going to open our own private investigation company, and we’re going to work for Caden a lot, so it would only make sense. The silent call would go to both the security company and us.” Sam smiled at me. “Family, Henry. We keep each other safe.”
It felt still weird to hear him talk about family, so I choose not to respond and change the subject.
“Do you want to see the rest of my place?”
I showed him the guest bathroom, a little utility room with my washer and dryer, and then we were back in the central area—the open kitchen, leading over into the dining area and then into the living space. Sam admired the colossal cat tree and my working area. The only rooms I hadn’t shown him were my bathroom, bedroom, and my nursery.
“This is so awesome, Henry. What about the rest of the factory building? What’s downstairs?”
“Oh. Nothing. I just left it alone.”
“What? Why?”
“I don’t need that much space.”
“Then why did you buy a factory?”
“I fell in love with the industrial building and the open floor plan and…” I hesitated and bit my lip for a second. Did I want to tell him the real reason? Before I could overthink it, I shrugged and raised my hands again. “It’s easy to secure, and I thought that no one would look for me in an old, unused factory.”
“You’re probably right about that. But now you have us to make sure that this place is safer than Fort Knox.” Sam raised his hands to sign something else, but then he turned his head; it looked like he was listening to something before signing again. “That was the timer. We should go back. I’m starving.” Without any hesitation, Sam took my hand and practically hauled me to the dining table.
Tears gathered in my eyes because of what I saw before me. It was a sight I had always imagined having someday—Sunday family dinner. There were lovely place settings, glasses, bowls with salad, steaming garlic bread, and a hug pan with homema
de lasagna. It looked and smelled terrific. It was perfect, and I smiled. Sam walked around the table to where Jakob had pulled his chair out. My eyes widened when Jakob bound a cute bib around his neck before sitting down on the chair next to Sam.
Caden distracted me from the view in front of me when he sat down beside me and tapped my leg. “Can you eat like a big Boy, or do you need a bib, too?”
“I can eat like a big Boy, Daddy.” Calling him Daddy in front of Jakob and Sam earned me one of my favorite nose kisses and a huge smile.
“Good Boy. Now let’s eat so you two can go and play some more.”
By the end of our lunch, I understood why Sam needed a bib. It was impossible to hold back my smirk and a little giggle when I looked at Sam. He had tomato sauce all over his face and on his hands. He even had sauce in his hair. Sam caught my giggle, glared at me, then stuck his tongue out. He ducked his head, and I could only guess that his Daddy had admonished him for it. That made me laugh, but then I was on the receiving end of a slap on my wrist. My head whipped around towards Caden, who had an eyebrow raised.
“It’s not nice to mock Sam, Henry.”
“I wasn’t…” I blushed and glanced at Sam, and no surprise, he was smirking. “He stuck his tongue out.”
“Because you made fun of him.”
“He has tomato sauce in his…”
“Henry.” I didn’t need to hear Caden’s voice to know that I was in deep trouble. Well, shit. “That has nothing to do with you. You do not make fun of your friends.”
“I…I’m sorry, Daddy.”
My head dropped, and I blushed. When I glanced at Sam, I felt terrible. He wore the same guilty expression as I probably did. I let my gaze linger on Jakob for a second, and yep, Sam got reprimanded. Blinking, I watched Sam get up with a pout, and then he walked towards the kitchen and stood in the corner, his back towards the room. My gaze fixed on Sam, I got up to join him, but Caden held me back.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Umm…to stand in the corner with Sam? Because I was mean to him. For my punishment.” For a second, it looked like Caden was going to start laughing, but he caught himself.