by Luna, David
Cade argued, “But, you had sausage for breakfast.”
At the same exact time Braden said, “But, I had sausage for breakfast.”
Braden burst out laughing and Cade grinned knowingly. “I’m getting to know what you like.”
They looked at each other and grinned. Neither of them was aware that the room had gotten quiet and everyone was watching them. They continued to smile and chat with each other, and everyone else watched, with smiles on their faces. Maya tugged her brother closer. “This makes me so happy. I haven’t seen Braden smile and laugh like this in years.”
Cooper looked at both men. They were in their own little bubble. He spoke so only the others could hear him. “Cade hasn’t been this happy in a long time either. They’re great together, and I don’t even think they fully realize it yet.”
The other guys nodded in agreement and everyone went back to talking. Braden waited for a lull in the conversation. “I just wanted to thank all of you for being here. You’ve all helped me today, and I can’t explain how much that means to me. If you guys hadn’t done what you did, I probably wouldn’t even be sleeping in my place tonight, let alone in my own room, so thank you, a million times over, for your help. It’s not much, but if you all let me know what your favorite dessert is, I’ll bake it for you.”
Vaughn spoke up, “Braden, I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say that we were happy to do it. You’re important to Cade, and Cade is important to each one of us, so that’s all there is to it. I’m sure the guys will also agree that you don’t have to bake us anything for it, but I know we’d never turn down a homemade dessert.”
Braden smiled. “I mean it, before you leave gentlemen, there’s a notepad on the kitchen counter. Write down your name and your favorite, and it’s yours.”
Everyone laughed their asses off as Jackson silently got up and went into the kitchen, wrote on the notepad, and came back, wearing a satisfied grin. After that, they continued to eat and chat for another hour. Braden rested against Cade. He could tell that the bigger man thought he was asleep, and he wanted to foster that assumption, so he kept his eyes shut and stayed motionless. The group had started telling more stories again, and though they were not all centered around Cade, most of them were. He supposed that it would be hard for them not to be, what with him being the commanding officer of their unit. He was learning things about this serious and heroic man that he didn’t think he’d learn by asking him. So he kept quiet and still, and tried to learn all he could.
The more he heard the more shocked he was. Cade had been through so damned much and you wouldn’t know it from looking at him. He seemed so unaffected, but that was obviously not the case. Cade tensed several times during the conversation and even broke in and tried to deflect the storyline, quietly, so as to avoid waking him. His men however, were undeterred and continued to remember some of their hardest deployments. Braden knew they were being very careful about how much they shared. He knew they weren’t allowed to talk about much of what they did, so they were very vague with the details, but he was learning enough to get the gist, and a better understanding that Cade, who was always taking care of his needs, was always there, taking care of other’s needs, as well, even on the battlefield.
As Braden sat, cuddled up next to Cade, he barely registered that he wasn’t pretending any longer and was tuning in and out as exhaustion took over. He’d been running on fumes ever since he’d learned of the break-in. Braden woke when Cade removed his arm from behind him and began to clean up the mess.
Braden realized that must have been a universal sign to the group that it was time to get going, because the living room was spotless in less than ten minutes and people were filing out the door by way of the kitchen, which made Braden smile a mile wide. Cade kissed him on the forehead and let the last of them out. Sawyer had a whispered conversation with Cade at the door while Maya hugged Braden goodnight. When everyone was gone, Cade set the new alarm system.
Braden sighed. “It’s only 8:30 p.m., so why do I feel like it’s midnight?”
Cade approached Braden, slid his hand into his hair and hugged him close. “Because, it’s been an emotional week, let alone the emotional clusterfuck that was this evening. It was bound to catch up with you. Do you want to go to bed early?”
Braden smiled and looked up into Cade’s eyes. “How about we watch a movie?”
“That sounds great. You’ve got a TV in your room, do you want to watch it in there, see how you feel about being in your new space?”
Braden nodded and pulled slowly out of Cade’s arms. “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Why don’t we get ready for bed and meet in my room in a few minutes?”
Cade watched as Braden walked toward his room. “Sounds good. Tomorrow morning, I can explain your new security system.”
Braden turned back with a smirk. “OK, yeah, cause that thing looks like it could pilot an airplane.”
Cade chuckled, headed to the guestroom, got ready for bed and checked his email. He’d gotten the file on Eric and would look at it later. He wanted to spend time with Braden, ensuring that he was feeling comfortable and safe in his bedroom. They picked out a movie and began to watch it. They cuddled together, Cade’s arm around Braden. Less than 30 minutes into the movie, Braden was asleep. Cade took the remotes and turned everything off. He stayed for a while, enjoying the feeling of Braden sleeping against him.
Cade eventually got up, moving carefully so that Braden stayed asleep. Cade sat down on the couch in the living room, turned on his iPad, downloaded and read the file on Eric. His teeth clenched and his muscles bunched. His gut was telling him that they’d found their stalker.
The file on Eric was long and extremely thorough, and it left Cade feeling uneasy. Within minutes, he sent Cooper the file with a note, “Our guy?” Apparently, Eric no longer worked as CEO for the local well-known non-profit Homeless Youth Support Coalition (HYSC), the job that Braden said meant everything to Eric. That did not bode well for Braden’s insurance policy being as meaningful as it had been in the beginning. Add to that, he’d sold his condo and cashed out a savings account, and Brody couldn’t find a trace of him anywhere in the continental US since. It wasn’t irrefutable proof that Eric was their guy, but it was pretty damning. Cade knew the information would upset Braden, so he wanted to do what he could to get more info locally before he had to break the news.
He called Cooper and asked him to make a stop at HYSC early the next morning and ask around and try to find out what the scoop was from the workers there. The file stated that he resigned, but upon further digging, Brody had found several company emails hinting to the fact that he’d been asked to leave because of a possible sexual harassment claim. Brody had stated that there was nothing more that he could find digitally, as they’d kept mention of it out of further emails and digital files.
Cade also asked Cooper to talk to Sawyer and Jackson about staying and helping out with some legwork, to gather more data on Eric as fast as possible. Apparently Vaughn had offered up his house as a place for the guys to crash instead of continuing to stay in hotel rooms when Cooper had spoken to him before he’d left that evening. He was going to tell Sawyer and Jackson to head over there for the night after they were done wiring the system. Cameras and outdoor work would wait until the next day.
Cade had been working for about two hours when he started getting tired. On his way to bed, he checked in on Braden, who was still sound asleep. He got ready for bed, turned out the light and was asleep in minutes.
He was woken from a dead sleep by a cry of alarm coming from Braden’s room. He was up and armed in seconds, running down the hall. When he got to Braden’s room, he heard Braden cry out again and realized he was having a nightmare, not being attacked. Adrenaline pumping, Cade set down his SIG on Braden’s dresser, took a deep calming breath and walked towards him. Braden began thrashing around, and Cade sat beside him and placed a hand gently on his chest and whispered that he was OK. When Braden cal
med immediately and continued to sleep, Cade got up and went back to his room.
Less than an hour later Braden’s nightmare returned and again Cade’s soft touch and voice calmed him and kept him sleeping. This time, instead of heading back to his room, he got into bed with Braden so he would be close if he had further nightmares. Braden must have sensed he was near, because he turned over towards Cade and laid his head on his chest. Cade hugged him closer and drifted off to sleep himself.
Cade woke around 5 a.m. and realized that Braden was still curled up next to him, fast asleep. He thought about waking him, but decided to let him get as much sleep as his body needed, and if they had to take an extra-long run in the evening to make up for last night and this morning’s missed run, they would. Cade loved how Braden felt, snuggled up next to him. Braden fit him perfectly, like he was made for him. He pulled him a little closer and dozed off and on for another hour.
Around 6:30 a.m., Braden began to stir. He blinked bleary eyes, realized his head was lying on Cade’s chest and blushed. “Hey, I must have fallen asleep during the movie. Sorry about that.”
At that moment, he glanced towards the clock on the nightstand on the other side of Cade and saw the gun. He sat up with wide eyes, fear etched over his face. “What happened?”
Cade sat up as well, touched Braden lightly on the thigh to reassure him everything was OK. He explained what had happened the night before and Braden put a hand on Cade’s and caressed it softly. “I guess I was affected by the break in more than I thought I was. It’s weird, because I didn’t even see any of it, you guys had it cleaned up so fast.”
“You didn’t see it, but that doesn’t mean you weren’t affected. Having someone break into your home is such a violation that I think I would have been more surprised had you not reacted in some way.”
Braden lifted Cade’s hand, turned it over, and kissed his palm. He turned it back over and looked at it, all the while feeling Cade’s intense watchful gaze. He kept looking at Cade’s hand, his huge, masculine hand, which had apparently soothed him all night, so that he could get some sleep. It could be used as a deadly weapon, and had nicks and a scar across the knuckles and another on the back of the palm; but was so infinitely gentle with him. He turned it palm up again, placed his own hand against it, seeing the difference in size.
His own hands were much smaller, with soft skin and long, narrow fingers. His grandmother had often joked with him that he had the hands of a pianist without a scrap of musical talent. Cade’s, on the other hand, were extremely large. Palming a basketball would be no problem. They were rough to the touch, callused and thick, with long fingers, a huge palm, and blunt nails. The contrast between the two was almost funny, but Braden loved seeing it.
He felt so safe with them touching him. He hadn’t known if he’d ever feel comfortable with another man’s touch after Eric’s abuse. But suddenly, he realized Cade touched him all the time, little touches here and there, just letting him know he was close. He immediately knew that Cade had been doing it on purpose, trying to get him used to the touches and making sure he knew he was safe as well. His touch was never overtly sexual but always gentle, always with Braden’s well-being in mind.
Braden blushed again, smiled and looked up at Cade. “I gotta get ready to go to the café. I have lots to keep me busy and quite a few ‘thank you’ desserts to get started on. Thank you for last night, for staying with me and making sure I was able to sleep somewhat peacefully.”
He looked down at their hands again, turned Cade’s over, kissed the back of it. Braden knew he had to get out of bed quickly, or he was going to start kissing more than just Cade’s hand. He smiled at that thought and bit his lip. “I like your hands, Zavier. They make me feel safe. I’m gonna jump in the shower.”
Just like that, he was out of bed in a flash and Cade was left in a state of yearning arousal he felt deep in his core. He’d seen the look in Braden’s eyes as he made his escape. It was at that moment that he decided to make a call to Maya.
She answered after one ring. “Everything OK?”
“Yes, he had a rough night, with a couple nightmares, but he seems to be doing well. I wanted to talk to you about this Saturday. Does Braden usually work weekends?”
“He usually comes in on both Saturday and Sunday, for several hours, to get us through the weekend business, but he does the bulk of his weekend baking, and subsequent freezing, on Friday, so that his hours on the weekend don’t have to be too long.”
“Would you be OK without him, at least on Saturday?”
“I’ll make sure that we are. What’s up?”
“I just think he needs a day off, a day to do some fun things and not worry about all this stalker bullshit. I want to spend some time with him, take him out.”
“That sounds really great, Cade. I’ll tell him we got a special order for mixed pastries for Friday night pick up. That way, we’ll be OK, both Saturday and Sunday. He could use the time, never takes any for himself, and refuses to get someone to help him in the kitchen.”
If Cade had anything to do with it, that would change. They said their goodbyes, and Cade went to his room to take a quick shower and change, then on to the kitchen to cook some breakfast. Braden came out of his bedroom, ready for the day, and sat down with Cade to eat. When they were both ready to leave, Cade grabbed his iPad and iPhone and went to the front door, where he explained the security system to Braden, and how it could be managed from their secure website. Cade sounded really excited about the security system, which made Braden grin. He tried to cover up his amusement. “Just tell me how to turn the thing on and off; all the other bells and whistles will have to come later.”
Cade chuckled and asked for Braden’s hand. He helped Braden place his thumb and ring finger to the screen when it prompted them, and Cade finished the rest of the set up so the system could only be turned off and on by either his finger and thumbprint or Braden’s. He walked Braden through the short process of turning the system on and off, and they left the row-house together. Cade held Braden’s hand in his bigger one and walked them across the street to the café’s back door, where Cade noticed a camera was already installed. He locked the back door behind them.
He glanced around and noticed the cameras and sensors in the kitchen. He was happy to see sensors and cameras in the office and the break room as well. He got Braden’s promise not to leave the kitchen, and went up front to look for Sawyer and Jackson. He caught Layla making some coffee. “Hey beautiful, mind if I have a cup?”
Blushing and stammering just a little, she was finally able to pour him one. Murmuring his thanks, he took his cup of black coffee and walked towards Sawyer and Jackson and then smiled when he saw Jackson being hit on by a very flirtatious Zoe, on her way to unlock the cafe doors.
“Hey Boop, you giving my guys a hard time?”
She flashed a megawatt smile at him over her shoulder. “Well, according to Maya, you’re off the market, so I decided to try my hand at this tall, dark and handsome fella. I just love the strong, silent type.”
Cade shook his head and chuckled; if she only knew. She sauntered forward, unlocked the front doors, and winked suggestively at Jackson. Cade grinned when he saw the slight blush on Jackson’s bearded face. To give his friend credit, he merely gave her a crooked half smile and kept working. His men packed up their tools. Jackson tapped the security monitor screen with a few commands, and it went dark. Cade went behind the counter and got the attention of Zoe and Layla.
Once the ladies were both standing in front of him, he spoke softly to them both. “I’m sure Maya has made you both aware of why we are all here, and some of what is going on with Braden. Did Sawyer or Jackson explain the security alarms we placed back here for you to use in case anyone tries to get to the back from up here or anything else happens?”
When both of the ladies verified that they had gotten directions on how to sound the alarms, Cade let them get back to work and walked into the back after Sawyer and Jac
kson. In the kitchen, Cade told the men to contact Cooper for next steps, as he might want them to start on Maya’s system, or he might have some more info to go on after his appointment this morning.
Both Sawyer and Jackson were aware that Cooper was at HYSC this morning and knew from the look on Cade’s face not to say anything about it around Braden, even though he had his buds in, as always. Jackson went towards the back door to run the final diagnostics on the security system. Sawyer didn’t move to help, however, but instead looked at Cade with a burning intensity that got his blood racing. Cade immediately turned and walked towards the office, where Sawyer followed.
“Talk to me.”
As much as he didn’t mean it to, Sawyer’s voice sounded accusatory, “Have you placed any of your tracers on him or added Brody’s app onto his phone?”
Cade tilted his head, studying Sawyer with eyes that had gone glacier in warning, and waited. It took a lot to intimidate a man like Sawyer; in fact, Sawyer could list the number of people who could do it on one hand, with fingers left over. One thing he’d admit to, freely, is that one of those men was Cade, and one of the many reasons for that was the waiting. Cade could out wait anyone, and everyone who was ever in his unit knew of the look. He would sit in eerie silence that he somehow injected with an aura of intimidation, the likes of which Sawyer had never seen, and wait and wait and wait some more, until whoever he was staring at caved under the intense scrutiny. He didn’t let Cade wait any longer, as he wasn’t about to challenge his CO.
“Cap, I’m not questioning your management of this job, you know me better than that. I’ve got a feeling that the security systems will help, but more is needed.”
More waiting.
“My skin crawls every single time I work on one of the systems we’ve installed. We brought you two tracers.”
Even more waiting.
“Cap, use them, both of them.”
“You think I need to use both tracers?”