Protecting Braden (Custos Securities Series Book 2)

by Luna, David

  Gabe’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “OK, I think we’ll definitely be coming back to that in a few minutes. As long as you feel the need for Cade to stay here during our sessions, it’s alright with me. I don’t have much information, but Dr. Himmel’s records indicate that he believes you may be suffering from PTSD as a result of an abduction and physical attack. I’m assuming it’s a very recent attack as evidenced by your casted wrist and visible head wounds.”

  Braden raised his casted hand to the wound on his temple, gently pulling his hair over the damage. Grateful when he felt Cade’s hand squeeze his neck, he settled back into the crook of his shoulder. “Yes. I left willingly with my stalker after receiving threats to the life of my grandmother, best friend, and partner. The damage you see is a small portion of what occurred while I was with him.”

  Gabe steepled his fingers together, elbows resting on the arms of the chair. “I’m sorry to hear that, Braden. We’ll definitely go into that in detail, but for right now, let me tell you about my own therapy philosophies. We can then discuss how we can approach your therapy together. Alright?”

  Braden sat forward, leaning his elbows on his knees and nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

  “This session, as it’s our first, may last nearly two hours. I do this so that we can discuss our therapy options and so that I can get a better understanding of what you want to get out of the sessions. As a lot of the first hour will be me talking to you, your insurance will be billed for one hour, as all future sessions will be. How does that feel to you?”

  Braden smiled and told Gabe that everything he said was alright with him. He relaxed into the crook of Cade’s shoulder again, feeling much more relaxed with the doctor’s calm demeanor. He listened as the doctor explained some of his treatment options for his PTSD patients. The more he talked, the more Braden knew that he could trust this man. He then asked Braden to walk him through what happened.

  Braden decided to start at the beginning, which meant telling Gabe about his relationship with Eric and how it ended. After that, he began talking about the stalking, about Cade coming into his life, Eric’s escalation and then his subsequent kidnapping. He finally ended with a discussion of his injuries and the impact they were still having on him. “The doctor told me I can’t work for six days and that I can’t run for ten days.”

  “You run?”

  “Yes, I began running when I was in Junior High. I had been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes before going into seventh grade. I joined the track and field team, running cross country, to help regulate my glucose levels. I’ve been running ever since—mostly regular marathons, some ultramarathons when I can fit them in.”

  Gabe laughed incredulously. “When you can fit them in? You say that like you’re scheduling a stroll in the park. Braden, I’ve run a couple marathons myself, and I can tell you that I nearly didn’t finish both times. I can’t even fathom what an ultramarathon would be like. That’s huge!” He looked at Cade, who had been completely silent since he was last asked a question. “Does he downplay stuff like this a lot?”

  Cade looked down at Braden as Braden turned to look up at him. He smiled and kissed Braden’s head and turned back to Gabe. “He thinks of his running as a way to reduce stress, which then helps his glucose levels and keeps him from getting migraines. He doesn’t see each marathon or ultramarathon as a huge accomplishment in itself. He also never mentions the fact that he has been written up in several news articles and multiple foodie magazines for his baking at the Sugar n’ Spice Café, where he’s part owner.”

  Gabe’s eyes popped and he grinned. “That’s you? Your little, uh, what are they called, chocolate croissants?”

  “Pain au chocolat.”

  “Yes, those. I can’t get enough of them.”

  Braden smiled and thanked him and then shrugged. “I like to run and it benefits my health. I love to bake, so I’m doing what I love. That’s how I see it.”

  Gabe looked at Braden like he could see through him. He did it for several, long, drawn out moments, making Braden fidget. “We’ll discuss more about that going forward. For now, our time is almost up, and I have some homework for you. I want you to write down all the things, big or small, that scare you the most about what’s going on with Eric. Keep track of what wakes you up each night in a cold sweat, those things that make it hard for you to function if Cade is away from you for any length of time. Bring them in next time, so that we can discuss them.”

  Braden rubbed his hands up and down his thighs, a nervous gesture that brought Cade’s hand to his neck, calming him immediately. He swallowed and nodded. “Yeah, alright. I can do that.”

  Gabe glanced at Cade’s large hand encircling the back of Braden’s neck and smiled. “In addition to that, I have a running assignment for you. I want you to contact your local animal shelter, or if you don’t have one in mind, you can go to the San Francisco SPCA. I want you to arrange to volunteer to exercise their dogs by taking one with you on your runs at least twice a week.”

  Braden grinned. “Seriously?”

  Gabe smiled in response. “Seriously. If you work with the SPCA, you can tell them that I sent you. They know me well. They’ll be able to match you up with larger dogs that can keep up with you.”

  Braden loved this particular homework assignment. He’d never thought of volunteering to exercise shelter dogs. He’d had a dog when he was younger, but after she’d died, he didn’t have the heart to try to replace her. He was excited that he’d be able to help make a difference by volunteering this way. He said as much to Gabe and was given another writing assignment to keep a journal of his thoughts and feelings during the experience. That portion of the homework didn’t excite him much, but he knew they weren’t just idle requests, so he’d do it, regardless of his feelings about it.

  Four weeks had passed. Braden was feeling like his old self more and more every day. He was immersing himself in one of his favorite pastimes, baking at the Sugar n’ Spice Café. He busied himself with several recipes at once and thought back over the last several weeks. Therapy was going great. He was making strides at putting the kidnapping behind him and could go longer and longer stretches of time without being in the same vicinity as Cade, though he was never far, as he was still being guarded. His nightmares had almost completely stopped.

  He was enjoying the time running with the shelter dogs. He’d had a bit of a hard time when his favorite dog was adopted. The Belgian Malinois was the first dog he’d run with and he was so big and beautiful. He’d obeyed every command he and Cade had given him and he had a sweet and protective nature. After he’d been adopted out, Braden had been immensely sad, but he’d kept volunteering to exercise the dogs to help the animal shelter and to continue to help himself.

  He didn’t understand at first why Gabe had asked him to run with the dogs. He enjoyed it, so he continued doing it and writing down how it made him feel. He had been doing it for more than a week before it finally clicked that helping someone or something else such as the dogs put him in a completely different headspace. He was the nurturer in this instance. He was taking care of someone or something else besides himself. He was able to get out of his head and stop worrying every second what would happen with Eric. Once he figured that out and talked to Gabe about it, he’d known he was right when Gabe smiled at him and nodded his head. They’d discussed it for the rest of that session and into the next.

  The other thing that they’d uncovered was that Braden was much more apprehensive about what was going to happen to his loved ones than he was about what would happen to himself. His deepest fears stemmed from Eric doing something to hurt Cade, Nana, and Maya. He wasn’t necessarily afraid that if Cade left him alone, Eric would come to get him again. He was more afraid that Eric would go after Cade because of who and what Cade had become to him. He was afraid that Eric would get him again, hurt or kill him, but more because of what that would do to his people, more so than the fact that he’d be hurt again or die.


  Once those things became clear during the therapy sessions, some of the stress of the past several weeks left him. His shoulders felt considerably lighter and his mood was improving greatly. Maya was being watched by Cooper, much to her dismay. Nana, though no longer working full time at the bakery, had decided to stay with him until the Eric situation was sorted out and he was captured. She was working several days during the week and would often just stop in to help him out in the bakery to spend time with him and give him a rest.

  His cast was still on his wrist, but all of his other injuries had healed nicely. He was going into the doctor’s office in two weeks to get the cast removed and as far as he was concerned, that couldn’t happen soon enough. Nana was enjoying being back in the city again, closer to some of her old friends. She was being her regular social self and meeting friends several times a week. When she wasn’t home, Jackson or Sawyer would watch over her and she reveled in it, saying it made her feel like a celebrity, which amused them all.

  On the days that Nana would come in and bake for him, he and Maya would both take off to the warehouses with Cooper in tow and work with the architects and the designers to get his and Cade’s new home renovated. They were focused on the building that they’d be living in first, so that they could move in as soon as possible. So far, everything he wanted to incorporate was working and they were able to have an upstairs loft area that lent itself to three bedrooms and an office.

  Two rooms would run the length of the building and consist of two large bedrooms connected by a Jack and Jill bathroom. The huge master suite and an adjoining office would run the width of the building. The rooms opened up to a walkway looking down over the open floor below. Each room was fronted with what Braden called ‘magic glass’ walls and sliding doors that would let in the light from the windows on the bottom floor, but with the touch of a button, they’d turn opaque to block out the light.

  The walkway would be lined with a glass railing system, framed by beautiful dark wood, a theme that would continue down the stairs as well, again, allowing the natural light from the windows into the bedrooms. When Braden had first envisioned the space, he’d thought that he would want to have the space be more industrial, but the more he worked with the architects and designers, the more he realized he wanted something warmer for their home and decided to use more dark woods rather than cold metal.

  Braden couldn’t quite fathom how much the architects and the construction crews were being paid for this job. The work was being done at a ridiculously fast pace and he was practically tripping over workers every time he entered the building. They were everywhere, working on everything. Every time Braden mentioned something that might be nice, he received new plans the next day, incorporating his ideas. He had some surprises up his sleeve and had sworn the architects and designers to secrecy. At first they’d seemed uneasy when he’d ask that of them, until he explained what he wanted, and then everyone was in on it.

  He didn’t want Cade feeling like this wasn’t a home that could offer everything that any other home in the Bay area could offer. He didn’t want his future husband worrying that he was going to want to up and move in two years’ time. He wanted this to be their home for years to come, and he figured he just had to make Cade understand that’s what he wanted by incorporating aspects of their possible future, which included kids, into their new home. He got more and more excited every day.

  He was keeping Cade away from their floor, telling him he wanted it all to be a surprise. It wasn’t an easy task, as Cade had to keep him protected, but Cooper had agreed, as long as Maya was with Braden, he’d be happy to be the one keeping tabs on them both. As a result, Cade had been able to focus on his work with the architects for the business portion of the building, and Cooper was with them, and therefore, in the know regarding Braden’s surprise plans.

  Braden was happy with the progress of their new home and in running back and forth between the bakery and there, he’d realized that the drive was actually very short. He could run it, no problem, if he chose to do so once they moved in. He left so early in the morning to get to the bakery, he would miss traffic and get there in his car in about ten minutes. He knew that the change in their lives, once the building was done, would be immense, but he felt ready to take it on.

  Cooper had let him know that he was serious about renting or buying the condo from Braden, once he moved into their converted warehouse. The only outstanding issue was Eric. He was more hopeful every day that the APB for his arrest had frightened him off and had him running scared, right out of town. He’d bet his next batch of scones that Cade was in the office talking to Cooper about Eric at this very moment.

  Braden didn’t speak about it with Cade much, as he knew his optimism wasn’t shared. He could see that the issue was bothering him, even though Cade was showing no outward signs of stress. It was in the grim line of his lips, the tightening of his jaw, the strong grip of his hand when he held Braden’s, especially when they were outside, in the open. Otherwise there were no other signs that Cade was at all impacted by the situation. They were immeasurably happy with one another, and Cade’s strength and protection was like a balm to Braden’s frayed nerves.

  However, it seemed that the better Braden felt about things, the worse Cade felt about them. He knew they were going to have to have a discussion about it. Cade was happiest when Braden was feeling secure and safe, so he doubted Cade would discuss how he was truly feeling about Eric. Cade wouldn’t want to worry him. He made a mental note to discuss the issue with Cade that evening, so that they could get things out in the open.

  “He’s much smarter than I would have given him credit for. He pegged the little old lady he rented that house from as a potential threat and was moved out of the place before the cops could get there. At least they were able to search the place thoroughly and forensics found traces of Braden’s DNA on the carpet and in the bathroom—more evidence to convict him. We gotta assume that he’s holed up somewhere else with a new go phone and another stolen vehicle. The fucker has gotten really adept at hiding and boosting cars.”

  Cade growled. “He’s still in town, Coop.”

  “Oh, hell yeah, he’s still here. The psych profile you got from Gabe reflects that he isn’t one to give up. He’s here and he’s dug himself in for the duration until he sees his moment, his chance to grab Braden again. I know how uneasy you’re feeling. How is Braden doing, really?”

  Cade sighed. “Much better and feeling more self-assured. I don’t want to fuck with his new-found confidence, but I also don’t want him thinking that he’s out of harm’s way either. I’m gonna have to talk to him. I don’t want any of us getting complacent. That’s exactly what Eric is waiting for.”

  Cooper stood and stretched. “That’s probably smart. We all need to stay vigilant, Braden included.”

  Cade nodded and stood as well, slipping his phone in his pocket. “Go check on Maya, I’m gonna go see if Braden is done for the day. We can head to Vaughn’s together, if you’re both ready to go.”

  Both men walked toward the kitchen and stopped at the sight before them. Their expressions went from grave to astonished grins when they came upon a hip-shaking Braden, arms raised and dancing next to a hip-bumping Zoe, having a very good time together. What made the whole thing funnier is that they were attached to each other by Braden’s ear buds, each wearing one, so they couldn’t dance unless they were right up on each other, which they were, oh, they were.

  Neither of them knew they had an audience. The grinding they were doing had both former Special Forces men leaning up against the countertop enjoying the show, which finally tuned the dancing duo into the fact that they had an audience. Braden gasped, blushed, and covered his face with his hands, laughing. All the while, Zoe kept her hips moving and just smiled at them as she danced around Braden, completely shameless, utterly unaffected by their audience.

  Cade approached Braden, grinning at him. He pulled out the ear bud, handing it and the attached ph
one to Zoe who continued to shake her fine ass all over the kitchen, much to Cooper’s delight. He gathered Braden into his embrace, bent him back with one hell of a kiss, causing Braden to grip Cade’s arms to keep balance. When Cade finally eased him back, Braden’s lips were swollen and red and he was blinking up at Cade with a stunned expression on his face. “I do love a man who can shake his ass, and shake it well.”

  Braden snickered, butting his forehead up against Cade’s sternum, fighting his embarrassment at being caught shaking his ass like he was at some club, not in his own kitchen at the café. Cade tucked his finger below Braden’s chin and tilted his face up, leaned down and kissed him again. “You ready to go to self-defense? I know you’ve had a long day. Are you up for the class tonight?”

  Braden smiled up at him and nodded, pulling off his apron and setting it on the counter. Cade’s mobile rang and he frowned at what Braden assumed was an unknown number, but answered the phone. “McCade.”

  Braden could hear someone speaking quickly on the other end. “Yes, Mike. Of course I remember you. Mmm hmm. Did you call an ambulance?”

  After several long seconds of the other person talking on the other line, Cade’s brow creased and he shook his head. “Where are you, Mike? Alright, listen to me now, I need you to get back to your friend and stay with him until the ambulance arrives. What’s his last name? Alright, thanks. I’m gonna send someone your way to pick you up, so after he’s taken, stay where you are.”

  Cade paused again and rubbed his hand over the scruff of his beard. “Mike, I know you’re worried, but you need to stay calm for your friend. I’m not sure who will be coming to get you, but whoever it is will call you by name and tell you mine, alright? Hang tight.”

  Everything had gotten quiet in the kitchen. Zoe had long since stopped dancing. Maya, Cooper and Layla had come from the front when everything had been shut down for the day, and everyone had been listening to Cade’s side of the conversation. They continued to watch as Cade got off the phone and called his brother. “Finn, are you doing anything that you can’t get out of?”