Protecting Braden (Custos Securities Series Book 2)

by Luna, David

  Braden blushed, but then smirked sexily and pulled Cade’s head down so he could whisper in his ear. “Yes, sir.”

  Cade gripped Braden’s hips, not allowing him to move away. Cade’s serious expression did little to disguise his arousal. His gritty voice lowered. “One day, you’re gonna say that to me and mean it.”

  Cade watched as Braden’s pupils blew at the combination of his words and his voice, his boy’s breathing hitched. “Promise?”

  More turned on than he had any right to be, Cade narrowed his eyes. Braden turned and walked into the shower stall, tossing a flirtatious smile and a wink over his shoulder. Cade rubbed his hand over his mouth and shook his head. “Fuck me sideways, you’re gonna be the death of me, boy.”

  Braden heard Cade’s comment and heat spread through him. Cade had never called him boy before, and though he probably would have hated it in any other context, something about the way he said it during their playful sexual banter revved his engines and he hoped to hear it again. He turned the water on and got under the spray when it heated up.

  He was just as surprised at his reaction to that spank as Cade was, especially considering what he’d recently been through. He didn’t want to second guess anything he felt for Cade and actually felt a bit giddy, knowing that if he could be feeling this way right now, he was going to get through this fucked up situation and come out on the other side stronger.

  He hurried through his shower, his levity short lived as his anxiety forced a rush job to get him back to Cade. He put on his glasses and was just finishing with his insulin when he saw Cade sit down on the bed and slip some socks on before he tugged on his beat up leather combat boots. Braden went to the closet and took a few minutes to calm his racing heart, not wanting Cade to know he was feeling so apprehensive.

  He took some deep breaths and focused on what he should wear. He wasn’t going to be working and he might be meeting Cade’s family. He decided to dress up a bit, but not overly, so he didn’t come off as trying too hard. He felt a completely different nervous flutter in his stomach at the thought of meeting them at their house.

  He sat down next to Cade and finished dressing. He was about to stand to get his watch when he realized the last time he had it on he’d left it behind in the café, when he’d left with Eric. He tried to take a deep breath, but it caught in his throat and he slouched, then winced at his sore ribs, his casted palm lying on top of his empty right wrist where he wanted to put his watch. He was frustrated with his emotional reactions; they were going to do him in. He felt like he was up high one second and then down low the next. It was exhausting.

  Cade watched Braden perform his dressing rituals and saw the minute things went south. He slid his hand into Braden’s hair and turned his head so they looked at each other. He saw Braden had lost the color in his cheeks and had tears in his eyes, which he blinked back as he took a deep breath. He opened his mouth to speak, but Cade covered his lips with a finger and shook his head. “We’re not gonna let the little things bother us. You’ve got a new watch now and I removed several of the links, so it just might fit. If not, I’ll take another few out. We’ll get another leather band made for it, as well. It’s as simple as that.”

  Braden felt a weight drop from his shoulders and he smiled up at Cade. “Yeah, that would be great. Can I try it on?”

  Cade laid back and reached for the watch that was sitting on the nightstand on his side of the bed. He sat back up and put the new watch around Braden’s wrist and it fit nicely. He saw some color return to Braden’s cheeks. “I’ll upload your data from the old watch so you won’t lose any of your reminders or anything else you’ve coded in.”

  Cade grinned when he saw that perked Braden right up and he pulled him close for a kiss. He pressed his forehead gently to Braden’s and they sat there for a few minutes. “I’m hungry. Let’s fix something for breakfast, and then we need to talk. I heard Nana several hours ago when she went over to the café, so that’s being handled.”

  Braden looked over at Cade and decided it was now or never. He needed to know what he was facing when he met Cade’s family. “Can I ask you something?”

  “You can ask me anything, anytime, Bray.”

  Braden rubbed his hands against his thighs back and forth several times before Cade rested his own hand on Braden’s, stopping the nervous gesture. Braden took in a deep breath. “Do they hate me for what I put you through by going with Eric? I just want to know what I’m facing when I meet them tonight.”

  Cade eyes widened incredulously. “My family?”

  Braden kept his head down and nodded. Cade got down off the bed and onto the floor in front of Braden. Knees spread on either side of Braden’s feet, he whispered gruffly, “Braden, look at me.”

  Braden tucked his hair behind his ears and raised his eyes to look at Cade. The emotion, the love on Cade’s face relaxed him immediately, even before Cade’s words. “What you’re facing tonight, at my parents’ house, is your new family, Braden. You’re going to walk into a home where you’re already considered a son. You’re going to gain a mom and a dad, and whether you want them or not, you’re going to gain three brothers and a sister.”

  The disbelieving look on Braden’s face made Cade smile. “Braden, my mom is going to hug you, probably for a really long time, and cry because you’re OK. My sister is going to try to keep it together, but she’ll probably end up teary as well. My brother, Finn, the doctor, is going to pepper you with questions about your health and how you’re feeling, and my older brother, Gideon, is going to pepper me with questions about the case and what we’ve got on Eric. My other brother, Aiden, is a SEAL and is OUTCONUS, so you won’t meet him tonight. Braden, you have nothing, absolutely nothing to be concerned about. I promise you, baby.”

  Cade stood and pulled Braden up with him. Braden smiled and finally let the worry leave him. “A new family, huh?”

  “If I’m stuck with them, you’re stuck with them.”

  Braden grinned, reaching out and lightly rubbing the backs of his fingers on Cade’s abs. Braden was about to say something when his stomach made its hunger known. Cade grinned. “Come on, let’s eat something and then get on with the day.”

  They went to the kitchen where Cade cooked an omelet for them both. They sat eating their breakfast and Braden geared up for the conversation that was to come. They chatted about inconsequential things while they ate and, once finished, sat on the couch facing each other. Cade reached out and ran his hand over Braden’s thigh. “Cooper is the one handling the search for Eric right now. Do you want me to relay the information to him that you tell me, or would it be alright for him to be here? I don’t want to pressure you, if you’re uncomfortable talking with him here.”

  “No, it’s fine. He can come over. But I have to warn you, I wasn’t conscious for most of it. I don’t think I’ll have much to tell you. But, before he comes over, I want you to know something. I never spoke a word to Eric.”

  Cade stared at him, dumbfounded. “You…What?”

  Braden didn’t know how to explain himself without sounding silly, so he faced forward and looked at his hands, fidgeting with his watch to avoid making eye contact. Cade wasn’t having it though. He slipped his palm around the back of Braden’s neck, gently turning Braden’s head to face him. “We don’t hide from each other. That’s not how this works. I need to understand what you mean, and I need you to look in my eyes when you tell me.”

  Braden huffed and was just about to explain when Cade patted his lap. Braden’s skin betrayed him when it flamed red. He couldn’t help but remember their date night, which felt so long ago now, and how Cade had first had him sit on his lap. He couldn’t keep a relieved sigh from escaping as some of the chaos deep within him calmed. He got up, straddled Cade’s lap and settled down, feeling much more self-assured than the first time around. Cade rubbed his thighs and stayed silent, letting Braden gather his thoughts.

  Braden couldn’t help but lean forward and kiss Cade qui
ckly on the lips before he explained himself, eyes on Cade’s. “When I got in the car, he looked so smug and it hit me then that he always had that look when he’d won. His ploy worked to get me there, but that didn’t mean that I was going to participate. As soon as I saw that look on his face, I ignored him.”

  Braden looked down at Cade’s large hands on his thighs. He traced his fingers along the veins on the back of Cade’s hands, gathered his courage, and looked up into his eyes again. “I know it’s pathetic and childish, my attempt at sticking up for myself was silence. But, I remembered how much he loved it when I was scared, angry and sad. How happy it made him when I cried, argued, begged and fought back. I just decided not to react. It felt good, but boy, did it piss him off.”

  Pride evident in his eyes, Cade pulled Braden to his chest, wrapping his strong arms around him and holding him close. “You’re so fucking brave. Don’t belittle your actions by calling them childish and pathetic. You knew you couldn’t beat him physically, but man, you could fuck with his head, and you did. That takes an incredible amount of courage, especially when I’m sure most of the injuries you have are a direct result of your actions. Am I right?”

  Cade released him and Braden looked into his eyes. He blushed at the admiration he saw there and began to feel some measure of pride in himself again. He nodded his head. “Yeah.”

  “He was probably shocked as hell that nothing went according to plan. As much as I want to admonish you for it, I can’t—it gives me too much satisfaction. Let me text Cooper to come and listen while you walk us through what happened. Detective Miller will ask you many of the same questions, so you’ll have to go through it all again, but we need to see what you know for our own investigation first.”

  Cooper came over and they had Braden walk through his account of what happened from the time he got the text to the time he woke up in the hospital. He talked as much about what he could remember about the house. Braden remembered that the last thing he saw that he recognized was a street sign for Twin Peaks Blvd, which he stated was right about when Eric had lost control and repeatedly slammed his head into the window. When he told Cooper and Cade about the bedroom setup it almost made Cade lose his shit, not to mention the handcuffs and unnecessary violence. By the time he was done, Cade was pacing with his hands curled into tight fists.

  Braden stood and instead of heeding Cooper’s silent warning to stay back, he approached Cade from behind and placed a hand between his shoulder blades. Cade immediately stilled, and turned slowly. Braden could see him struggling to keep his temper, so he reached up and pulled Cade down and kissed him until he relaxed and wrapped his arms around Braden’s body to pull him closer. Cooper cleared his throat after several long moments and brought them both back to reality.

  Braden broke the kiss. “We have too much shit going on today and no time for Vaughn’s big bag, so that will have to do.” Braden smirked, knowing both men would fall for it.

  Cooper and Cade let out identical aggrieved huffs. “Heavy bag.”

  Braden chuckled. “Whatever the fuck.”

  Cade, knowing he’d been had, did his best to hide his smile and replace it with a menacing look. “Are you trying to manage me, Braden?”

  Braden bit his lip and couldn’t keep his own smile off his face. “How am I doing?”

  “Remarkably well, actually.”

  Braden nodded, turning serious. “Good. I know hearing that stuff makes you crazy. But I need you with me right now.”

  Cade sighed deeply, his smile gone. “You’re right. I’m sorry, baby.”

  There was a knock at the door and Cooper stood to answer it. “Detective Miller. I’ll bring him in.”

  Braden spoke up. “Bring him into the kitchen. I need to bake, so he can ask me whatever he wants to ask me while I keep myself busy.”

  “Braden, you’re not supposed to be….”

  Braden glanced back, interrupting Cade. “Z, a stranger is going to be asking me for a bunch of information that I don’t want to share. Not to mention, I’m not meeting my new family for the first time without baking something for them.”

  Braden saw the softening of Cade’s expression and the moment he relented about him taking it easy. Braden gathered ingredients, greeted the detective while avoiding his handshake, and warned him that he’d be working in the kitchen while he answered the questions. He washed his hands and busied himself with baking. He answered all questions but barely made eye contact with the cop. He couldn’t find it in himself to do so. What that said about him, he wasn’t sure, but as he was hanging on by a very thin thread, recounting everything he’d been through yet again, he wasn’t too worried about it.

  When the conversation was drawing to an end and it sounded like the Detective Miller was almost done with his questions, Braden surprised them all with his emphatic statement. “I want to press charges.”

  At Cade’s audible indrawn breath, Braden focused on his work. He didn’t want to second guess his instincts. “From what I understand, there’s DNA evidence from the latest situation that occurred. There’s also a rape kit at the same hospital from over a year ago. He raped me and beat me when I was trying to leave him. I also have that on videotape.”

  “Wait, what? You never mentioned anything except him beating you. You were raped and there’s a rape kit with DNA evidence that you never used against him? What exactly do you have on videotape and why the hell didn’t you use it to press charges a year ago?”

  Braden turned around quickly, surprised by the judgement flying out of the cop’s mouth. One look at Cade, whose body had been a tightly drawn bow-string during Braden’s recounting of the facts, had him reassessing his desire to jump to his own defense; it looked like he didn’t need to deal with the stress of that particular chore.

  Braden watched as Cade sat up slowly, loose limbed now, no longer tense; a stance that Braden could only call ready. Ready for what, Braden didn’t know, but he was sure the cop had no idea what he’d just gotten himself into. Braden was glad the deadly look in Cade’s eyes wasn’t aimed at him. He glanced at Cooper and saw that he’d changed his stance as well, but where he’d previously been relaxed, he now looked tense. He was no less ready than Cade was, and Braden had to marvel at their opposing reactions.

  He turned back around and kept working, waiting for the inevitable. He didn’t have to wait long and a chill raced up his spine when he realized this was Cade’s other persona, the one he’d only heard about, never seen and had actually doubted. He shook his head, almost feeling sorry for the cop. Almost.

  Cade’s voice at that moment, the one Braden would be happy to never hear again, was very deep, strangely calm, and reflected absolutely none of the anger he knew was bubbling under the surface. “Detective, you seem to be operating under the false assumption that it’s your right to be conducting this interview, questioning Braden, and performing your duties on this case. Let me be very clear with you, regarding your reality. I am allowing you to perform your duties on this case.”

  When the detective went to speak, Cade stopped him by raising his hand, stripping him of his rank. “Miller, you would be wise to understand your place and keep your mouth shut, until you’re fully cognizant of your situation. Until today, you’ve been very professional. You’ve treated Braden with respect and you’ve performed your job duties admirably. I specifically didn’t ask for a more senior detective because of the way you’ve worked with us so far. Please understand that it would take a simple phone call to have you removed from this case, or any case for that matter.”

  Cade leaned back in his seat, appearing almost bored. “This has turned into a big investigation, one that could make or break your career. Do not make the mistake of thinking I’m bluffing and try to push my boundaries. You will remain on this case as long as it is handled according to my needs and the needs of my partner, Braden. The second you deviate or try to circumvent my requirements, it will be too late for you in this investigation, and perhaps in your career. Contr
ary to what you may be thinking, I don’t particularly enjoy throwing my weight around.”

  He paused and Braden turned to look at him. As they made eye contact, Cade continued, seemingly ignoring the detective and talking to Braden. “Braden has a videotape of his rape and beating, but it will not be used until it appears that it’s the only way to get a conviction. You will not see this video. The only person privy to the video, should it be needed, will be the lawyer I will hire to try the case.”

  Braden nodded and Cade turned his attention back to the detective who was practically vibrating with indignation. “You can’t tell me what will and won’t be used as evidence! Who the hell do you think you are?”

  Cade tilted his head as if pondering the question. “If you don’t know who I am, that’s on you. Due diligence, Detective Miller. If this story goes to the press, as I assume it will, in order to help you capture Mr. Pollard, you will keep Braden’s name out of the headlines. Sexual assault victims have that right. If his name is released, you will be out of a job. We’re done here.”

  Cade glanced at Cooper and spoke in Dari. “Get this joker out of my face.”

  Cooper responded in kind. “He won’t be making any more mistakes on this case, Cade. I’ll make sure of it.”

  Nodding, Cade stood and approached Braden, effectively cutting off any further contact with the detective. Cooper escorted him out the front door and armed the security system on his way out. He was just about to speak, but the detective beat him to it. “I don’t give a fuck what he says. Zavier Cade has no power over my case, so he better back off.”

  Cooper shook his head and took a deep breath. This guy needed to understand that Cade was never one to make empty threats. “Miller, do you think his anger is unwarranted? You went at Braden for making a personal choice that was his to make. You know damn good and well that treating rape survivors like that heaps guilt on them for the simple fact that they got assaulted, when it’s the assholes that raped them that are at fault. What is wrong with you, going after him like that?”