by Luna, David
Cade looked relieved and nodded. “Good. There are a couple of homeless vets I met several weeks ago. Something happened to one of them and the other called an ambulance. I want to make sure the one that’s hurt gets the help he needs and isn’t treated poorly because he’s homeless. I’d like to help them both get back on their feet. Yeah, the VA Hospital. The one that’s hurt is named John Davis, his friend is named Mike. Yeah, OK, thanks.”
He ended the call and then dialed again. “Sawyer, who’s with Nana? Good, I need you to pick someone up over at Peet’s Coffee on Mission and 3rd Street. Yeah, across from St. Regis. His name is Mike. Give him my name and take him to the VA Hospital. His friend is being taken by ambulance and I’d like to get them both help. I’ll have you work with Olivia on getting someone there to help you with them.”
Braden watched his man work, knowing he was unaware he had an audience. Cade called his office manager. “Olivia, hey, did you leave the office already? Good, I’m gonna need some help, if you’re up for it, and a healthy bonus on your next check?”
Cade chuckled. “I figured. So we have a bit of a situation here with a couple of homeless vets. I’m going to need you to work your magic with Valery at Veteran’s Affairs. We need someone that can help us with a vet that’s sick and headed to the VA Hospital here. If we could have someone meet Sawyer there, or get in touch with him, that would be good. Yeah. Yeah, that’s great. Thanks.”
Cooper approached Cade. “Do you need anything? I can see if Vaughn can get a sub in to take the class?”
Cade shook his head. “Nah, man, let’s keep that commitment. Vaughn needs the help, and Braden needs the practice.”
Cooper nodded and asked if Maya was ready to go. She nodded and they headed out. Cade looked Braden’s way. “Ready to go?”
Braden nodded and they were on their way as well.
The class dragged on for Braden. He could tell that Cade was distracted and wanted to get updates on John. After they showered and dressed, Braden couldn’t take anymore. “Let’s go to the hospital and check on John.”
Cade turned his head toward Braden, a surprised look on his face. Braden rubbed a hand up and down Cade’s back. “You’ve been distracted ever since you got the call. Talking to Sawyer or Finn won’t be enough for you, so let’s go.”
Cade narrowed his eyes at Braden. “Let me talk to Cooper. You can head home with them. I’ll come get you when I get back.”
“Would I be in the way if I came with you?”
“Do you want to come with me?”
Braden crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged. “Well, yeah, but if I’ll be in the way and you’d prefer I didn’t come, I can go home with Coop and Maya.”
Cade rubbed his hands up and down Braden’s arms and leaned down to give him a sweet kiss. “I always want you with me, Bray. I just figured you’d prefer to spend some time with Maya, rather than coming with me to the hospital to check on a virtual stranger.”
“Stranger or not, you’re invested in his welfare, so that means I’m invested as well.”
Cade looked into his eyes so long Braden wasn’t sure what was going through his head. He crowded Braden back against one of the walls of lockers, slipping his fingers into his hair and gripping his head, tilting it up for a bruising kiss. When he pulled away, he was grinning down at Braden. “I love the shit out of you.”
A surprised laugh burst from Braden before he could stop it. He waved his hand near his face and feigned being overheated. “Sweet nothings, whispered with such reverence. I’m swooning.”
Cade snorted and started pulling him from the locker room. “Oh, I’ll whisper some stuff in your ear later that’ll make you lose your mind, baby.”
Braden let himself be led out of the locker room and toward the exit. He did his best to avoid making eye contact with anyone on his way out. He didn’t want anyone seeing the blush suffusing his skin.
The lighthearted feeling slipped quickly away once they were outside and Cade swept the area with his gaze and hurried them to the car. As they pulled out of the parking spot, Cade got on the phone with Sawyer to figure out where to meet him.
They spent the remainder of the trip in silence, Cade seemingly deep in thought. When they finally pulled up to the hospital’s valet parking, they got out and Cade dealt with the car while Braden waited close by.
Cade clasped Braden’s hand as they walked inside. He texted someone and a second later his phone rang. Apparently John had suffered a mild stroke earlier and a bigger one had hit immediately upon his arrival. He was still in surgery and Finn wasn’t sure how long it might take. While they waited, he assured Cade that Mike would be able to stay in John’s room as a visitor overnight. Cade made sure that Sawyer would work with Olivia to find him a place to stay after that, and they’d do what they could to get both men back on their feet.
After three hours had passed, during which time they’d eaten dinner in the hospital cafeteria and then gathered in the waiting room, the neurosurgeon approached Finn. Everyone except Braden, who was asleep on the sofa, stood to hear the news about John. He made it through surgery and they were able to stop the bleed in the brain, however, they wouldn’t know how bad he was impacted by both strokes until he woke.
As Cade was about to wake Braden to go home, Sawyer caught his eye and nodded to the hallway. When he got out there, Sawyer was rubbing the back of his neck and just seeing the gesture put Cade on alert. “I’m getting a bad feeling right now. I think you need to get Braden home.”
Cade crossed his arms over his chest, his tension mounting. “Did you—”
Sawyer shook his head. “No, I didn’t see anything. Just got the sense that this isn’t a good place for him right now. I’ll follow you guys home to cover you.”
Cade reached in his pocket and pulled out his valet ticket. “Can you take this down to the valet and get both your car and mine pulled around? I’ll bring Braden along in a few minutes. I’ll have Finn walk us down.”
Sawyer headed downstairs and Cade got Finn’s attention, pulling him out into the hallway. He filled him in and he readily agreed to walk them downstairs to give Cade some backup. Cade let Mike know he was taking Braden home, gave him Sawyer’s number for him to call the next morning and headed toward a still sleeping Braden.
Cade crouched down and nudged Braden gently to wake him up, asking if he’d be alright to walk to the car or if he wanted to be carried. Cade managed a smile as Braden sat bolt upright at that, and got to his feet in order to avoid being carried out of the hospital like an invalid. He asked about John and Cade told him what the doctor had said.
Finn made his presence seem like an info-sharing session and Cade was glad Braden didn’t pick up on their combined tension as Finn explained to Braden what had occurred during John’s surgery. They made it to the entrance without incident and Finn chatted with Sawyer while they both kept an eye on the surrounding area while Cade helped Braden into the car. Braden was still groggy and Cade was grateful he didn’t have to explain what was going on. He just wanted to be able to focus on getting him home safe and he didn’t want to worry Braden unnecessarily. Once they were in the car, Sawyer at their six in his rental, he felt much more at ease.
Braden sighed. “I should have gone with Maya and Cooper. Sorry I fell asleep. I know I never met him, but can we come visit him tomorrow?”
“I wanted you there and I’m glad you got a little rest. These types of things might happen occasionally. You are always welcome to come with me to do anything, unless I’m on active assignment, or it poses a safety risk for you. And yes, we can come visit him tomorrow after work. How does that sound?”
Braden smiled. “I’d like that. Can I ask you something about them?”
“Mike and John? Yeah, of course.”
“When we were on our date and you talked to them, you seemed to have gift cards for them already and a roll of quarters.”
More tension left his body as he kept his eyes on the road. “I keep a ro
ll of quarters and gift cards to places like Target and Walmart. I stop when I see people who need help and give them one of my cards with our office number and a toll free number for Veterans Affairs written on the back. They can use the quarters to call if they need help. I give them gift cards to buy food or clothing, toiletries, that kind of thing.”
Braden watched out the window as they turned onto his street. “Sometimes I think that you’re way too good for me. I don’t know that I deserve you.”
Cade pulled into a spot close to Braden’s home and turned off the ignition. He surreptitiously watched Sawyer find a spot further down, hurry out of the car, and head their way to make sure they got inside. He glanced at Braden, frustration clear in his gaze. “Let’s get you inside and continue this conversation once we’ve gotten you secure.”
He got out of the car and came around to Braden’s side, opened his door, and led them inside, nodding to Sawyer in thanks. He disengaged and then rearmed the security system, feeling as if they’d somehow had a narrow escape.
He led Braden into his bedroom, turned and gathered him close, a serious expression on his face. “First of all, you know as much of my story as I’m able to tell you. You know damn well that I’ve done a lot of fucked up shit. I try to do what I can to make up for that, to balance the scales. And second, do you think I could love you as deeply as I love you if you weren’t good enough for me? We’re together now because you were made for me.”
The look in Cade’s eyes brooked no argument and Braden smiled up at him. “I was made for you.”
Cade smiled in return and smacked Braden’s ass. “That’s right, now come on, we’re both exhausted. Let’s get ready for bed and get some sleep.”
They brushed their teeth, Braden tested his blood, and they crawled in bed. They were both too drained to do much but whisper their love for each other and cuddle before they drifted off, with the agreement they both needed an extra-long run in the morning to make up for their unproductive self-defense class that evening.
Cade made a mental note to have a discussion with Braden regarding his thoughts on Eric and the scare they’d had that night. He knew Braden wouldn’t like that he’d been kept in the dark, but there was nothing to be done about it now. Braden was already asleep in his arms and for that he could only be grateful.
They awoke late the next morning and barely had time to shower before heading over to the café. After their long day yesterday, they were both feeling a bit off. When several batches of pastries were completed, they both got ready for a run, hoping it would get them back in gear. Pounding pavement, searching for calm was clearing Braden’s head incrementally, but his mind was still churning. He glanced over at Cade and saw his eyes searching their surroundings. Braden thought that constant vigilance must be exhausting, always on high alert, always ready. He wanted this bullshit with Eric to be over, needed it to be over. He felt like their lives were on hold, stagnant.
He finally broached the subject with Cade, not really wanting to talk about it at all, but he knew they had to. He couldn’t wait another second. “You don’t think he’s given up, do you? I thought maybe he’d seen his face on TV, gotten scared, and bolted, but that’s not what you think is it?”
Cade tried to avoid the conversation. He felt it was best to wait until they could be face to face. “Why don’t we talk about this when we get back?”
Braden’s stride faltered. He knew that tone of voice. That was Cade’s, ‘this brooks no argument’ voice, but he didn’t care, he wasn’t going to be kept in the dark. “No. I want to talk about it now. I deserve to know what’s going on. If he’s gonna come at me, I need to be prepared for that, not off in la la land, completely unaware that I’m about to get swiped.”
“Braden…”
“Zavier, I can give you a lot of leeway when it comes to most things, but I can’t be kept in the dark, not about this.”
Cade knew he was right, but he didn’t like that they were having this conversation when he couldn’t gauge Braden’s reaction. With one last look around them, Cade finally glanced his way. “Sawyer was really uneasy last night at the hospital, had a hunch that it wasn’t a good place for you to be. He followed us home to make sure we didn’t have issues getting you home safe.”
Braden scowled. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Cade glanced around, keeping vigilant. “He told me right as we were getting ready to leave and I didn’t want to worry you. I figured today was good enough. You were exhausted, and so was I.”
“Please don’t do that again.”
“Braden—”
“Please, Zavier. You have to trust that I’ll deal with whatever comes. I need to know what’s going on, don’t sugar coat it. Please.”
“He hasn’t given up. I got a psych profile from Gabe. He’s obsessive and you’re his obsession. He’d sooner die than leave things as they are with you. He dropped you off into my care because I think at the time he didn’t want you to die. Maybe, somehow, in his head, he truly wanted you back, thinking eventually you’d come around, see it his way and want him back as well.”
Braden’s pace slowed at the insinuation in Cade’s voice. “So, you think he wants me to die now?”
Cade met his eyes briefly and then looked ahead. “I think, now that the stakes are higher and his whole life is fucked, he isn’t so concerned about you living. I think now, he’s changed his goal. It isn’t to get you back any longer, but to take you and punish you until you come around to his way of thinking or your body gives out.”
Braden’s breath hitched and his pace slowed some more. “You think—”
Cade barreled on. “I think he sees the downhill slide his life has taken, and he blames you for everything. I think a switch was flipped when the cops started looking for him and we’re past the point of thinking he will ever be stopped. That won’t happen until he’s behind bars, or six feet under.”
Braden stopped at that, just flat out stopped running and bent over, hands on his knees, his breath coming out in pants. He hadn’t expected that answer, though what the fuck he thought he’d hear, he had no clue. Maybe he should have expected it—hell, he’d pushed and pushed and he finally learned what Cade had been thinking—but for reasons unknown to him, he hadn’t expected it at all. “You must think I’m so stupid, so naïve, thinking maybe it was over, maybe he was done. I thought the last several weeks with no notes, no threats, no breakins or vandalism were good things. No wonder you’ve been so fucking stressed. God, and to think I thought you were overreacting.”
Cade glanced at him and then quickly away, keeping his eyes moving, looking for threats. “I don’t think you’re stupid, nor do I think you’re naïve. You made the assumption most people would, given the circumstances. Because what sane person would keep coming at you, after everything that’s gone down? But that’s just the point, Braden, he’s not sane. He most likely lost what little sanity he may have had after seeing the reports of him as a wanted man.”
Braden tried to say something, but didn’t seem able to get anything out. He felt anxiety begin to take over and he wasn’t sure he could hear anymore, but that wasn’t an option either. He couldn’t keep still. As Cade continued, he crossed his arms over his chest and began to pace. It was all too much.
“In his mind, losing his job was a challenge. He wasn’t listed as having been fired, and he could easily move to another state and get another job without much hassle. All he needed, in order to do that, was you to be with him.”
Braden stopped and stared at Cade, frantically shaking his head. He didn’t want to hear anymore, but Cade was keeping his eyes on their surroundings and didn’t see him. “Now he’s backed into a corner with limited options. He no longer has that picture in his head of an easy transition to another location and fitting into a new job and city with little to no difficulty. Now, he has his face plastered all over every news channel, listing his crimes. Every single time he sees those reports, he also sees you as the one to blame for ev
erything, his downfall, and he’s angrier than he’s ever been before.”
Braden looked at Cade in horror as his words sank in. He felt the color drain from his face and he felt sick. His hands shook and his palms began to sweat. It was his worst nightmare, and he knew without a doubt that everything Cade said was true and terror like he’d never felt seized him. He had to get away, that was all he knew. Before he could process what his feet were doing, he was off like a shot, running full tilt to get away from the truth, to get away from what he knew he’d never survive. He couldn’t have stopped himself if he wanted to.
His vision tunneled, the peripheral edges blurry, showing clearly his escape route ahead and nothing else. He ran, not hearing Cade calling out his name or his heavy footfalls as he chased after him.
Cade saw the fear grab hold of Braden and he braced himself for the panic attack to follow. What he didn’t expect was for him to run and run faster than he’d ever seen anyone run. He was so caught off guard that it took several drawn out seconds to process what was happening. He yelled Braden’s name several times as he chased after him. He knew he had a very short amount of time to catch him. He couldn’t maintain the speed Braden was running for very long, so he knew if he was going to catch him, he had to do it fast.
Panic seized his chest as he saw Braden running for an intersection without slowing. He saw a car driving their way and he knew that Braden wasn’t seeing anything or anyone around him. He had to get to him, he had to get him out of the way, or Braden was going be run over by that fucking car.
He put on a burst of speed; the only thing on his side at that point was adrenaline. He reached the intersection seconds before the car did and shoved Braden out of the way so hard he went flying. The only thing he could do to prepare for the inevitable was turn his back to the car. If he could lessen the impact, he might be able to walk away.
