Protecting Braden (Custos Securities Series Book 2)

by Luna, David

  “Whatever, he had evidence that would have locked that asshole away, and he should have used it. He could have avoided this whole fucking stalker issue from the get go!”

  “So now you’re blaming him for getting stalked? Shit, man, you better be careful what you say to Braden. That right there would have been career ending, telling his partner he’s at fault for being raped and stalked. Listen to me when I say, you work in the SVU of the SFPD, and if you haven’t taken courses on how to treat survivors of rape and other sexual assaults, you need to. I can’t believe for a second that wasn’t part of your training. What I can promise you, is that if you want to remain on this case, or even in the SVU, or fuck, the SFPD itself, you need to step back and reflect on your own reaction to that conversation. You also need to do your homework, man. His name isn’t Zavier Cade, it’s Zavier McCade. Huge difference. If that name doesn’t ring any bells, then you’ve had your head in the sand.”

  “McCade, as in….”

  Cooper nodded his head. “Now you’re getting it.”

  Miller let out a shaky breath and rubbed a hand over his mouth. “Shit.”

  “That about covers it. But, I gotta say, regardless of who Cade is, you shouldn’t be treating survivors of assault the way you just treated Braden. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

  Miller threw up his hands. “He could have put the guy away for a long time!”

  Cooper regarded the detective. “There’s never a guarantee in that type of case, you know that.”

  “He still should have done something.”

  Cooper narrowed his eyes. “That’s not your call to make. It’s the survivor’s call whether or not to press charges. Listen, Cade specifically kept you on this case because he was impressed with your maturity and the way you were handling everything. The day you first showed up, he could have easily made a phone call and gotten the top detective in the SVU on this case immediately, but he didn’t. Think about that the next time you have a mind to go off halfcocked. He did you a solid and look at how you’re repaying him.”

  Miller shook his head. “That still doesn’t give him the right to—”

  Cooper interrupted. “Stop talking and start listening. Cade calls the Chief of Police uncle, because his dad is best friends with the guy and was in the military with him. It might also behoove you to know that his family knows the mayor and when the mayor’s daughters were being threatened several years ago, it was Custos Securities that was hired, Cade specifically, to ensure his daughters’ safety. He doesn’t make idle threats.”

  “I fucking hate seeing repeat offenders not get the punishment they deserve.”

  Cooper crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Understandable, but the answer is never to blame the survivor. Look, as long as you behave appropriately and professionally, Cade won’t say a word. If you don’t, all I can say is good fucking luck finding work as a cop anywhere, let alone at the SFPD. He’s an easy going guy, but if you fuck up, you do not want to be on the tail end of that shit storm, I can assure you. Get it together. Understood?”

  Cooper watched the detective closely to ensure his point was made and realized that he finally understood the gravity of the situation. He’d lost all color and was rubbing his hand over his mouth repeatedly and looking like he wanted to be sick. He looked Cooper in the eyes, nodded, and ran both hands through his hair. He walked to his car and got in, sitting there for several minutes before he slowly pulled out of his spot and drove away.

  Cooper headed into Maya’s place to update the team on what he’d learned in the last few hours. He wasn’t sure what would help with apprehending Eric, but he needed to be looking at this data with the rest of the guys and make sure they did everything within their power to track this asshole down.

  Cade waited until Cooper ushered the detective out the door before turning Braden into his arms. “I’m so sorry that you had to go through recounting everything again and then have him come at you like that. If I knew he was going to react that way, I would have insisted upon relaying the information on your behalf. It won’t happen again. Are you OK?”

  Braden’s eyes popped wide. “Am I OK? What about you? You seem more upset than his mouthing off probably warrants. Did you need to threaten his job? At first I was pissed at him, but after that tongue lashing, I’m feeling kinda sorry for the guy.”

  Cade kissed him on top of the head. “Don’t. He’ll handle this properly going forward. He had no right to judge you for the decisions you made in the past. They were your decisions to make and it was completely unprofessional of him to berate your choices. I won’t have him, or anyone else, for that matter, treating you poorly. Not if I’m in a position to prevent it.”

  “I just hate that you had to get stressed out over it.”

  Cade rubbed his back in soothing circles. “The only thing that stresses me out is if someone I love is in pain. Frankly, I wasn’t even mad at the guy. That was an emotional outburst from him, so there’s probably a reason behind it on his end. However, that doesn’t mean that I’ll allow it, and if he pushes things, he’ll wish he hadn’t.”

  “But can you really do the things you threatened?”

  Cade pulled back and looked down at Braden, his face serious. “I would never lie in a situation that involves your well-being. I wouldn’t put you at risk like that.”

  Braden nodded, his expression solemn, voice grave. “I have a serious question for you.”

  Cade looked concerned. “What is it, baby?”

  Braden can’t help but let a grin slip across his face. “Does my new family like chocolate?”

  Cade narrowed his eyes. “Yes, everyone likes chocolate. You know, you’re getting awfully cheeky with me lately. There must be some form of punishment out there to suit my needs.”

  Braden’s smile lit up his face. “Punish me later in bed. For now, I need to make some chocolate ganache to dip these cream puffs into.”

  “Jesus, baby, you can’t say shit like that to me, you know it stirs me up. I think you’re angling to explore some domination and submission, to push your boundaries. Are you really ready for that?”

  Braden blushed. “Well, I figure you dominate me in bed already, why not push it a little farther while you’re at it?”

  Cade’s expression remained serious. “It’s one thing for you to ask me to take control and for me to ask you to put your hands above your head and not move them, but anything further needs to be discussed thoroughly between us. I’m not interested in forcing submission on you, Braden. I never want you cowed.”

  Braden took a deep breath before explaining what he’d just discovered for himself. “Everything you do feels perfect to me. It’s like you have a direct line to all my hot buttons. I think from a personality standpoint, you’re more dominant and I’m more submissive. I think that’s just how we are, intrinsically, both in and out of bed.”

  Cade nodded. “I don’t ever want to skirt that edge with you without having discussed it thoroughly. I don’t ever want you to compare me to him because of the way I treat you, in or out of bed. That would kill me, Bray.”

  “You would never. He was abusive, period. What you do is take control in such a way that I feel safe and loved, taken care of. You make me feel more desired and more satisfied than anyone I’ve ever been with.”

  “Yeah?”

  Braden grinned up at Cade. “Yeah.”

  “Good. That’s what I want for you when we’re together like that. We’ll have to talk about the other stuff later, and believe me, I’ll be bringing it up because you’ve got me thinking of so many possibilities.”

  Braden was still smiling as he began to make the ganache. Cade came up behind him and told him he had to use the restroom. He watched Braden’s reaction to ensure that he was going to be alright in the kitchen on his own. Braden tensed but nodded.

  When he came back in with his iPad, ready to get some work done, he was surprised to hear Braden’s playlist coming through the small set of speakers on top
of the refrigerator. Braden looked relaxed and when Cade approached him, he looked over his shoulder, smiled, and nodded that he was indeed OK. A weight lifted off of Cade at that; it was a start. He looked up from his work when a plate carrying a rather large cream puff dipped in chocolate was placed in front of him.

  He smiled up at Braden and was just about to dig in when his phone rang. He looked at the screen to see who it was, but didn’t know the number. He glanced at Braden, gave him a reassuring smile and put the call on speakerphone. He had a feeling it was in regards to Detective Miller, so he relaxed into his seat and answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Mr. McCade?”

  “Who’s asking?”

  “Sir, this is Lieutenant Peterson. I’m calling in regards to one of my guys that you’ve been working with, Detective Miller.”

  “Yes.”

  There was a pause on the other end of the line, perhaps the lieutenant was surprised to not be getting much of a reaction from him. He wasn’t about to make this situation easier on anyone, so he waited. The lieutenant cleared his throat. “Mr. McCade, I’d like to apologize on behalf of Detective Miller. He’s a good cop, and at the end of the day, all he wants to do is get the bad guys. I’m sorry for the way he went about it today and he understands that he fucked up. I assure you, sir, that Mr. Cross’s case will be handled as you requested and Mr. Cross himself will be treated with the utmost respect going forward.”

  “You realize that we shouldn’t even be having this conversation, correct? He should have the training to know how to treat survivors of sexual assault, or frankly, survivors of any type of violence. Treating the survivor like they are the guilty party should be number one on your ‘shit not to do’ training list. So, I’ll ignore most of what you just said and take away two things: Braden’s case will be handled as I’ve specified, and he will be treated with respect, going forward. Is that correct, Lieutenant?”

  “Yes, sir. Everything you said is true and Detective Miller has taken the required training courses. I will make sure that he gets further training going forward. Can I be frank with you, sir?”

  Cade sighed. “I would hope so, Lieutenant. Otherwise, what the hell is the point of this conversation?”

  “Right, sir. Well, I just wanted to let you know that I believe what happened today was a result of something much more personal to Detective Miller. I am unable to provide any details, but I believe that is what happened. I will be working with him to rectify the situation. In the end, the why doesn’t matter. He handled Mr. Cross poorly, and for that I apologize again on behalf of Detective Miller and the SFPD. I assure you, it won’t happen again.”

  Cade snuck a glance at Braden to see how he was handling everything. “Lieutenant, it’s your responsibility to see that he gets the help he needs in order to be successful at his job. As I told the detective, he can continue managing this case, as long as it’s handled properly. If something in his past causes him to behave in this manner, perhaps working in the SVU may be too much of a trigger for him and you may be inadvertently setting him up for failure. That’s just my two cents.”

  “Yes, sir. We’ll work with him going forward and perhaps moving him to another unit would be best for him. That’s something we’ll deal with internally. I also wanted to ask if you both had time tomorrow afternoon, say around 2 p.m., for one of our sketch artists to come by and get a composite drawing of what Mr. Pollard looks like today. All of the pictures we have of him are old.”

  Cade glanced up to see Braden nodding. “I believe that time will work for us, as long as it doesn’t take much more than an hour.”

  “An hour should be enough time. I’ll schedule it right now with our best artist. Thank you for your time, Mr. McCade.”

  “You’re welcome, Lieutenant.”

  Cade hung up the phone and sat for a minute, looking at it. He glanced up at Braden and saw a look that he didn’t understand. “What is it, Bray?”

  Braden smiled and shook his head. What he wanted to say was that Cade cared, more than he wanted to admit, about Miller’s career. If Braden was a betting man, he’d say that the reason Cade had allowed the young cop to stay on his case was because he saw something in him. If he was anything, Cade was a trained observer of human nature. There was a reason he hadn’t had the detective fired immediately from the case after going at Braden that way.

  Braden knew if it had just been any other cop, Cade probably would have reacted much more angrily and had him tossed from the SFPD without another thought. Just knowing that he did care, at least enough to see that the cop got the help he needed to be successful, filled Braden with warmth. He didn’t say any of that, because he knew Cade would simply gloss over it. “Nothing. I love you. Now eat your puff. I need to head next door to get a pastry box.”

  Cade gave Braden an amused look but wasn’t deterred from his warning. “Braden, no working.”

  “I know, I know. I just want to check in on how things are going with Nana. She hasn’t worked in years. I just want to be sure she isn’t tiring herself out.”

  They walked over to the café and Braden could hardly believe his eyes. Nana was in her element and looked to be handling things extremely well. She had scones in the oven, dough rising on the counter, and ingredients set out for what Braden assumed would become his coffee toffee muffins. When they walked in, she washed her hands and approached them. He still found himself amused as he watched Cade lean down to hug his tiny grandmother. She hesitated when she faced him and his heart hurt, knowing his reticence to be touched had hurt her. He set aside his own discomfort and gave her a short hug. When they pulled apart, she wiped a tear away, but her smile was a mile wide.

  While she talked to Cade about how much fun she had there every day, he wandered into the office, but didn’t find Maya. He walked up to the front and could hear Nana saying she was going to make it a habit to come here once a week, when she was no longer needed on a daily basis. She said she was having too much fun not to keep coming. He smiled, and walked through the door behind the front counter without a second thought.

  All of a sudden, he realized what he’d done when he saw the busy café, full of customers, full of strangers. He started to look around frantically for Eric, unable to convince himself that he wasn’t there, lurking and waiting. He sucked in a breath and backed into the kitchen, his flight instincts alive and well. When he got there, however, he found himself unable to move. His breath came in ragged pants and he realized belatedly that Cade was saying his name.

  Cade saw Braden head up front and kept an eye on him closely, about to follow him, so that he wasn’t out of sight. He needn’t have bothered, because not even fifteen seconds later, Braden was back in the kitchen, standing still as a statue. Cade realized his stance was one of terror. He could tell that Braden’s breathing was erratic and something had triggered his panic. He held up his hand to quiet Nana when she asked if Braden was alright. He pulled out his SIG and kept it lowered at his side.

  He passed Braden, hating to leave him in a panic, but unwilling to take any chances with Braden’s safety. He pushed through the swinging door and kept his body canted so that no one could see he was carrying. He scanned the front and relaxed when he realized there was no one that remotely looked like Eric. Maya turned and saw him, a shocked look on her face. He shook his head and walked back in the kitchen.

  He tucked his gun back in its holster at the small of his back, heard Maya follow him back, but approached Braden. Only a few moments had passed, but Braden still had a glassy look in his eyes and wasn’t making eye contact. His breathing was still erratic and Cade’s heart broke a little at seeing him like that. He stood in front of him, and clasped Braden’s face in his hand. He tilted his face up toward him. “Braden, listen to me, you’re having a panic attack. We have to slow your breathing down.”

  He took Braden’s hand in his and placed it open-palmed to his chest. “Feel my breathing. Slow your breathing down to pace with mine. Deep, slow breat
hs, Braden. Slower. Slower, baby. That’s it. You’re doing better. Look at me now.”

  He slid his fingers into Braden’s hair, rubbed his thumbs across Braden’s cheeks and willed Braden’s eyes to his. “Look at me, Braden. I need you to focus on me, focus on my breathing. That’s it. You’re doing great. Slow that breathing a bit more, that’s right. I need you to focus. Focus your eyes on mine. There you go. He’s not out there, Bray. I checked. He’s not there. You’re safe with me. You’re safe. Do you understand, Braden? You’re safe.”

  He saw Braden swallow and then he nodded his head. Cade relaxed a bit. “That’s good. You’re doing great. Keep breathing deeply, slowly. Good. You’re safe. He’s not here. I’m here and you’re safe.”

  “I’m safe.”

  “That’s right, you’re safe. Come here.” Cade pulled him in for a tight embrace and rocked him as he continued to murmur that he was safe. Braden’s adrenaline was crashing now and his whole body was shaking. They stood there for several minutes, no one said a word. The ladies watched as Cade reassured Braden.

  Braden finally pulled away, and instead of the tears that Cade thought he might face, a thrill shot through Cade when what he saw was anger. This he could work with. Braden looked up at him. “I hate him for turning me into a fucking coward. I can’t live my life like this! I can’t get scared to be in public or to be more than fifteen feet from you. This isn’t OK, Zavier!”

  “First of all, don’t ever call yourself a fucking coward. You’ve been through hell, and he’s the cause of it. Give yourself a break and realize that you’re doing better every day. You’re feeling stronger, and you did great today when I wasn’t with you. Things are improving. It doesn’t happen overnight. We’ll deal with it together. You are not alone in this, Braden.”

  Braden nodded, but looked dejected. He put on a brave front and told Nana and Maya that he had wanted to check in and see how everything was going. They chatted for a few minutes, neither of them wanting to stress Braden out, and for that, Cade was grateful. Braden went over to the closet of supplies and pulled out a large pastry box. While he was doing that, Cade hugged Maya and Nana and assured them both that he would make sure Braden was alright.