Trusting Cade (Custos Securities Series Book 1)

by Luna, David

  Several nurses had come in since he’d been in the ICU, one of which had drawn some blood. Cade was happy to see that the medical staff seemed to be doting on Braden, checking on him and making sure everyone visiting him got what they needed. Cade was even more relieved when his ICU doctor came to introduce himself. Dr. Eduard Himmel was of average height, sported wire rimmed glasses, and had curly hair sprinkled liberally with gray. He smiled kindly at them.

  “So, let’s see how Braden is doing, shall we? I’m not very familiar with his case yet, as I just came on shift, but I’ve gotten a few tidbits. He’s our most popular patient right now, which is rather ironic, as he’s in a coma, but all of the nurses seem quite protective of him already.”

  He glanced down at the iPad he had in his hands, tapped a few buttons and swiped through a few of the screens in Braden’s medical file. He frowned at something he read and looked up at Cade. “He was kidnapped but later let go after having been beaten and ending up in the coma. There’s mention here of a personal guard. I’m assuming that would be you?”

  “Yes, among other things.”

  Dr. Himmel raised his eyebrow at that and shrugged good naturedly, but tilted his head to look at Cade a bit closer. “You’re a McCade. I should have seen the resemblance right away. Are you Finn’s brother?”

  “Yes.”

  The doctor smiled. “A man of few words. Another similarity, I see.” Seeming to move on, he looked at Nana. “And you’re his mother?”

  Nana blushed a bit. “Grandmother.”

  Dr. Himmel smiled wide. “I don’t see how that’s possible, but I’ll take your word for it. Miss?”

  “I’m Maya, Braden’s best friend and business partner.”

  Cade was slightly bemused that the doctor wanted everyone’s story, and his lips twitched when the doctor continued. “And what is your business, if I may ask?”

  “We own the Sugar n’ Spice Café together.”

  The doctor stared at Maya for several beats and then snapped his finger and pointed in her general direction. “A couple blocks over from Dolores Park?”

  Maya nodded. “That’s us.”

  The doctor closed his eyes and sighed as if in bliss. “Oh, your coffee and those scones! My wife told me about it. Found it one day and dragged me there the next. She’s a fan of your teas, too. We’ve made it a habit to come round for your English Tea Tray, I’m a sucker for the traditional scones with clotted cream and preserves.”

  Maya smiled, genuinely pleased. “We’re so happy that you enjoy it so much. I run the front so the coffee and tea portion is mine. Braden is our baker.”

  “Well then, let’s hurry and get him well, so he can get back to thriving at what he’s best at, shall we? So you all are Braden’s core team, as it were. He’s going to need you. I believe that Braden may be cognizant enough to hear you and feel you. Touching him, talking to him, to each other, it’s all good. The more you do, the more likely he’s going to fight to come out of the coma sooner, rather than later. So, right now, I’m going to take a look at his injuries. If any of you would like to leave, for his privacy or yours, it will only take a couple minutes.”

  Maya looked at Nana. “I don’t think I can take seeing more of the damage that bastard did to him. I’ll be in the hallway for a few minutes.” Nana must have agreed, as she nodded and followed her out.

  Dr. Himmel set down his iPad, washed his hands, and proceeded to turn down the blanket from Braden’s chest to his waist. Cade’s muscles bunched in his torso and arms as he crossed them over his chest and moved to stand closer to Braden. The doctor, seeing the movement, paused to look up at Cade. “I really am rather fond of those scones, Mr. McCade. I want nothing more than to get Braden well, so that I can continue to enjoy them. I’m also a very big fan of keeping all of my teeth, having working limbs and undamaged fingers.”

  Cade smiled at the doctor, and noticed him relax a bit at the gesture. “Just Cade, Doc. You have nothing to worry about; it’s the guy that did this to him that needs to be worried.”

  “I would imagine he is, if he knows you’re his guard…. Among other things.” This was said with a smile, as the doctor continued, “I’m going to pull up his gown, take a look at his ribs, and then take a look at his legs. I just want to check on the injuries, so that I can monitor their progress while he’s here.”

  With that, the doctor gently tugged Braden’s gown up above the blanket at his waist to reveal the dark bruising and slight swelling of the area on his lower chest, over his ribs. Being this close, Cade noticed that the skin was actually broken there. His insides turned to ice when he thought of the amount of pain Braden had sustained. The doctor gently touched the area around the bruising and told Cade that the bruises themselves would take a month or more to fade, but the pain from the kick, as it didn’t crack any ribs, should not last more than a week or two. Though some tenderness would remain for several weeks, and Braden should not overdo with strenuous activities.

  He lowered the gown under the blanket, being very careful to respect Braden’s modesty. After that was done, he lifted the blanket from the bottom of the bed to reveal Braden’s bare legs and took a look at the bruising there. When Cade realized that Braden had tubes coming out of him, practically from head to toe, he felt reality hit him like a ton of bricks. He rubbed his face and pushed his hands into his hair and realized the doctor had continued to talk about Braden’s condition and here he was, in his own head, paying attention to his own issues with the situation at hand.

  He got his head back in the game and admitted to the doctor that he’d zoned out and asked him to repeat what he’d said about Braden’s legs. The doctor gave him a sympathetic look and did just that. He said the pain for those bruises should take much less time to heal and cause less pain than his ribs. The doctor moved to Braden’s face, and pulled back the medical tape holding the gauze to his eyebrow. After covering the stitched area back up, he moved over to Braden’s right temple, removing the gauze from around his head. Cade couldn’t keep a hiss from escaping his lips when he saw the damage to Braden’s skin there. There were a couple large bumps, the skin had split, and he was bruised and had bled there as well. The doctor once again covered up the damage, returned to the sink and washed his hands again.

  Cade frowned. “Did you doubt that he’d been taken care of properly by the ER?”

  Dr. Himmel shook his head. “Not for a second, but with the trauma his body has sustained, the more eyes on his open wounds the better. I want to check them every day to ensure there is no sign of infection, which would greatly impact his recovery time and possibly keep him comatose longer if his body isn’t healing properly.”

  Cade nodded and the doctor turned to write a few things in the iPad file with his stylus. When he was done, he swiped back a few screens and checked on something before turning it off. Dr. Himmel looked up at Cade. “Braden’s glucose numbers are slowly coming back in line. In another hour or so, a nurse will come in to administer an insulin injection and an hour or so after that, another one will come in to draw some more blood. This will continue to be the case until he’s released and can do his own testing and injections, as he’s always done. The nursing staff is wonderful in our ICU, and you’ll all be treated well. Should you need to see me while I’m on shift, please let one of them know, and I’ll make my way back around to you. I’ll be checking on him once again prior to the end of my shift or if anything should happen that needs my attention.”

  Cade sat on the side of the bed closest to the window. “Thanks, Doc.”

  Dr. Himmel reached across Braden to shake Cade’s hand. “Sure thing. It was a pleasure to meet you, Cade.”

  “You as well, Doc.”

  Dr. Himmel walked out and Nana and Maya came back in, followed by Cooper, Finn, Vaughn, Sawyer and Jackson. Several minutes later, the door opened again and his mom and dad, as well as sister and older brother walked in as well. He took it all in, the support in the room, and realized in that moment that ne
arly everyone he loved was here in the hospital room of his partner, not only to support him, but to support the man he loved, even if they hadn’t even met him before.

  Emotion and extreme gratitude, the likes of which Cade had rarely felt, swamped him in that moment and all he could do was watch, as his family and friends talked quietly together. His dad approached him, not saying a word, but placing his hand on his shoulder and squeezing there in quiet support and understanding that he was feeling overwhelmed.

  Gideon drew near and they both looked like they had something on their minds. Feeling emotionally exhausted, he half hoped they didn’t have anything earth shattering to discuss, as he wasn’t sure how much more he could take. He kept himself rooted to the spot, sitting on Braden’s bed, holding his hand, but he did turn a bit to face his dad and brother, and spoke in a low voice to keep the others from overhearing. “OK, out with it. I know you two went off on your own today, so you might as well tell me what this cloak and dagger routine is all about.”

  His brother had his hands in his pockets, and Cade caught the smile, which was a rarity for Gideon in recent years, before he looked at his feet, waiting for their dad to do the talking, it appeared. Cade looked at his father and saw something there, a glimmer of pride or contentment, maybe, but he wasn’t sure. Tilting his head to the side, he didn’t say a word and waited for his dad to speak, and when he did, he couldn’t have been more surprised by the turn of events.

  “So, we never really talked about what would happen when one of you kids found the love of your life. It wasn’t part of our family only plan, but I think it should have been, and that was an oversight on the part of your mother and me. We had a conversation with your brothers and your sister earlier today, and we know Aiden wouldn’t have a problem with our decision. We want Braden to have this, but we think that it needs to come from you.”

  Cade looked down at the box his dad had in his hand and reached to take it, giving him a questioning look. Cade opened the box and looked at their family crest that was etched into the wide platinum frame around the face of an Imperator watch that only their immediate family wore because of the upgrades to the foundry chips they’d had made specifically just for their watches. His heart beat at a faster cadence and he had to blink several times to clear the tears from his eyes. He took a deep breath and was about to try to say something, but his dad beat him to it.

  “If Braden is going to be a part of our family, he’s going to need an Imperator watch. We saw the Militis watch he left in the cafe, with its leather band, which we really like by the way, and we figured he’d need an upgrade. We want to welcome him to our family properly, but wanted to hand it off to you, to give to him as you see fit.”

  Cade wasn’t talkative at the best of times, but at this exact moment, he couldn’t think of a single thing he could say that would fully encompass all that he was thinking and feeling, so he stood and he gathered his brother and his dad in a hug and held on tight, and they gave as good as they got. His family didn’t doubt for a second that Braden was it for him; his one, his only. They never would have brought Braden one of the Imperators had they not all fully believed in Cade’s claim that Braden was his everything.

  He sat back down next to Braden, reached for his right arm and placed the watch on his wrist. It was huge on him, so he’d remove it later when his family left, and set it aside for when he woke. He knew he’d need to remove the links on the watch and attach it to Braden’s leather handmade band, or have another made for him, if it didn’t fit. However, right now he could think of nothing he wanted more than for Braden to wear it.

  His dad put his hand on the back of Cade’s neck and squeezed. “Do your mother and Finn a favor, and take a nap right now. Emotionally you’ve been put through the wringer. Look at everyone in here. We’re all talking, eating some food and supporting you and your young man. I know you won’t allow yourself any sleep tonight, because you’ll be on guard, so you need a few hours now. At least one of us will be here to watch over you both, so lie down for as long as your body allows it, and take advantage of that.”

  Cade looked at the sofa and the reclining chairs. Every spot was taken, and he smiled up at his dad, about to say he was out of luck, when his dad nudged him. “Braden is small enough that there’s plenty of room for you right beside him. Don’t tell me he wouldn’t want you there, or that you don’t want to be there. Just lie down and rest, Cade.”

  Finn lifted a brow. “Why do you think I asked for one of our bigger beds to be brought in here?”

  It seemed his whole family was doing their best to take care of him and Braden. He smiled as his mom walked over with Braden’s pillow from his bed and his blue fleece blanket. He gently lifted Braden’s head and replaced the pillow with his own, took the other and lay down on Braden’s left side, facing him. His mom covered them both with the fleece blanket, and Cade let himself relax to the rhythm of the conversations around him, as his family and friends continued to talk and eat. It felt so good to have Braden next to him. As much as he wanted to curl himself protectively around him, he knew Braden was too injured for that yet, but just being close enough for their bodies to touch was enough for him to let down his guard and will himself to sleep.

  Later on, when Cade woke, he realized he had moved himself closer to Braden in his sleep. He had started out on his side, arms folded across his chest so he didn’t hurt him while he slept. He woke with his hand lying lightly on the side of Braden’s neck, like he was pulling him in for a kiss, while he slept. His lips were a mere inch from Braden’s forehead so he leaned in and kissed him, nuzzling his hair and whispering that he loved him. He checked his watch and realized that he’d let himself sleep for over four hours, and he did feel remarkably better.

  He sat up and realized what had woken him when he saw Braden’s nurse drawing blood. She smiled so sweetly at him that he was taken aback. “Even in sleep, I can tell how much you love him, and what’s even more remarkable is that even in his coma, he can feel that and reciprocate. He gravitated to you while you slept, turned his head towards you to be closer. So sweet to see. I had your friend take a picture for you. One of us will be back in about an hour to give him some insulin.”

  With that she left the room, and he glanced to the sofa to see Maya sitting with Cooper and he knew that everyone else had left. He used the bathroom and when he came out he remembered to take the watch from Braden’s wrist to give to him later. He moved one of the recliners close to the bed again and sat. Cooper walked to the counter at the front of the room and from what looked like a warming bag, pulled out a tray with a silver cover over the food. He brought it to the rolling table and lowered it in front of Cade and removed the cover. The steak on the plate was enormous and the roasted baby red potatoes and seared asparagus had his mouth watering. Cade dug in while Cooper updated him.

  “Nana went home with your mom and your sister around 8 p.m. I think this day really did her in. I brought back some food for the three of us, and the guys just went out to eat. I think you’ll probably have some visitors off and on during the night.”

  Cade looked up at him and didn’t say a word. Cooper knew what he wanted to hear and he sighed, which clued Cade in to the fact that he wouldn’t be happy with his next words. “After he abandoned the car with Braden in it, he hoofed it several blocks, and from what we can tell he caught a bus. From there he got off at the mall and that’s where the signal stayed. Jackson and Sawyer drove to the mall and found that the phone had been dropped in one of the outside trash cans.

  “We’ve done a number of things so far. We’ve contacted Detective Miller, who is searching for any and all cars reported stolen today, no matter where they went missing. Jackson and Sawyer went to all of the stores in and around the mall that sell pay as you go phones with a couple pictures of Eric. So far no one has said he looks familiar, but he’s changed his looks and the camera footage pictures are grainy, so that’s no surprise. We’ve got Brody training Landon, and they’re go
ing through camera footage from any of the cell phone stores in the area that have security feeds available.”

  Cade muttered several expletives under his breath. “So, he’s in the wind, and we’re back to square one.”

  Cooper sighed. “Basically, yeah, until Braden wakes, and we ask if he has anything he can tell us that might help. Cade, take this time during your boy’s recovery to rest. Even if we’re not in the room, one of us will be on the floor, keeping an eye on you both. He’ll need you at your best when he wakes.”

  Cade nodded. He knew Cooper was right. He took stock of his reaction, his stress level, after their conversation and made a decision. He asked Cooper to take lead on the investigation with Eric and to keep all updates to himself until he asked for the data. He trusted Cooper to do what needed to be done, and they were always so in tune with each other that he knew Cooper would handle it just like he would, regardless. He set aside anything and everything that was Eric, and vowed not to think about it until Braden was out of the woods.

  For Cade, the next 24 hours passed in a blur of visitors, doctor and nurse check-ins, blood draws, insulin injections, and a lot more pacing. He’d been able to sleep, off and on the night before, feeling more comfortable with the safety of the hospital after Cooper had assured him that the staff was being very cautious and that one of his men would remain on the premises at all times. However, the day had been long and his tension had been high. Some sleepwear and his dopp kit had been brought for him, and he was able to take a quick shower and brush his teeth in the en-suite bathroom to freshen up, which made him feel a bit better.

  Braden’s wounds were being checked regularly for any infection. Coma patients were often in danger of getting pneumonia, so his medical staff was religious with their testing and treatments. Cade knew he was getting the best care possible and had to trust in that fact, or he’d drive himself crazy with worry. That anxiety was lessening by the hour, however, especially in light of his continued conversations with Braden’s medical team. Dr. Himmel was very optimistic that Braden would have a full recovery and reassured Cade every chance he got.