“We’ve dealt with Dirk Lawson in the past. He was a bully of the worst kind, dabbling and selling drugs and alcohol to minors. Roger Holland, on the other hand, is just plain crazy and has needed to be put away for a while now. What’s your plan?” Steve asked.
Turning to the hood of the car where Tony had his computer set up, Cade studied the satellite map of the area. A red dot was blinking just outside an image of a barn. There weren’t any more buildings in the area, just acres of fields surrounding it. Pointing to the barn and then the road running beside it, he said, “If you could drive my truck, my team will climb into the truck bed. About thirty yards before the barn, slow down and we will jump out. You keep going about a quarter of a mile and then turn around. Radio your men and have them meet you at the barn driveway. By the time you get back to the barn, your men should be there. That will give my team enough time to be in place and hopefully have gotten Bret out.” Cade looked up to see if the sheriff understood the plan.
“Sounds good to me,” Steve replied.
“What if he isn’t there, boss?” Alex, the fifth member of the team, asked. “Someone could have just ditched the phone.”
“Then we keep searching,” he replied. Cade pushed aside the rising panic that his pup could be with a potentially out of control, drugged-up mad man. As he had with other operations, he went into the professional mode of search and rescue.
Within minutes the team was in the back of the truck, and Steve had them just about to the drop-off spot. The truck slowed enough for the five to hit the ground running. They spread out, circling the barn at different points. Just as they reached the old barn, a shot rang out, followed by screams. They were his pup’s screams and Cade became an angry snarling alpha bear. Professionalism be damned!
With a roar, he wrenched open the old barn door, splintering it into pieces. What he saw would be imprinted on his brain forever. In the middle of the barn, hanging from a chain, was his beloved pup. Bret’s arms were pulled tight with blood oozing from beneath the chains wrapped around his wrists. Blood was also dripping from cuts on this arms and his torso.
The man standing by his side was covered in sweat, his hair plastered to his head. But it was the wild, crazy look in his eyes that told Cade in an instant that the man was totally gone on drugs and whatever else was going on in his head. He had his hand raised high as he was taking another swing with a thick leather strap across Bret’s back. In his other hand was a knife pressed against Bret's neck. The momentum of the next swing of the strap would cut Bret's throat.
That swing of the strap never happened. With a flick of his fingers, a knife was embedded in Roger Holland’s chest. Cade watched as Holland looked down in surprise at the knife.
That was when Cade saw there were four other knives sticking into the man’s upper body. It seemed his team had the same idea. Cade moved forward and watched as the man slumped down to the dirt floor and life left his body. Cade reached Bret and carefully supported him against his chest as Tony reached into his pocket of tricks and unlocked the handcuffs.
The sheriff’s hand rested on his shoulder. “An ambulance is on its way.”
Jack took a pressure bandage out of his pocket and pressed it against Bret’s leg. One of the deputies brought a blanket in and carefully wrapped it around Bret’s shoulders. The pup’s body was shaking, going into shock. Thank goodness he could hear ambulance sirens in the distance getting rapidly closer. Cade stood solidly, holding his baby while whispering calm assurances in his ear, waiting for the help he needed to arrive.
Outside the ruined door he heard the sound of doors slamming and then a stretcher was being rolled over the barn’s hard dirt floor. In a flurry of activity, Bret was carefully taken out of his arms and gently placed on the stretcher. An IV was inserted, and then they were quickly taking the pup away. And Cade just stood there and watched, not moving a muscle.
The hand that was still resting on his shoulder gave a squeeze. “Come on, I’ll drive you to the hospital.”
Jack was by the ruined door, talking to a detective as Cade passed them. Cade was very glad his second-in-command was fully capable of taking over for him so he could get to the hospital. The inquiries, paperwork, and fallout weren’t Cade’s problems right now. His was on the way to the hospital in an ambulance. Nothing else mattered.
Chapter Ten
Cade was sitting in the corner of the hospital waiting room, twisting the ring he had given Bret just hours ago around his little finger. One of the paramedics had taken it off of his rapidly swelling finger in the ambulance and had given it to Cade when he had walked into the hospital. He had been sitting there for the last three hours ever since he had arrived to find Bret had been immediately taken to surgery. It was where he would stay until his pup was transferred to a room for recovery. Across from him sat Bret’s parents. Bret’s family was very close and Cade had called them knowing that they would want to be here. Since they lived only about a half hour away, they had been sitting here with him for quite a while. Thank goodness he had talked to both of them on the phone multiple times in the past couple of weeks. As first face-to-face meetings with a partner’s parents went, this wasn’t exactly ideal. He figured Bret’s brother and sister would show up pretty soon, too. Fleetingly, he wondered if things were different, would he have called his own family?
His team was also in the room for support. They would stay until word came that his pup was out of surgery and going to be okay. If the news wasn’t good, they would stay as long as he needed them. He expected no less. They were good men, and teams tended to stick together in work and play, good and bad.
The door opened, and a tired-looking man in scrubs walked in, asking, “Bret James’s family?”
Bret’s parents jumped up and turned toward the doctor. Cade stood up also and waited. “The surgery went well,” the doctor stated. “We have repaired the knee. With physical therapy, he should get most of his mobility back. We will have to wait and see. We also stitched up the cuts on his arms, chest, and back. I will warn you it will take some time for him to heal physically. If there is no one to help him with day-to-day care, let the front desk know and they will make arrangements for you to meet with someone to discuss an after-care facility for him to stay at.”
“He will be staying with me, Doctor. I can make arrangements if he needs any special care,” Cade stated adamantly. The doctor nodded and let them know he would be in to check on Bret later, and if they had any questions he would be happy to answer them.
The first thing Bret became aware of was pain. His back was on fire. He tried to lift his hand and his arm was on fire, especially his wrist. Obviously moving was a bad thing. So he tried opening his eyes. It took blinking a few times, but they seemed to work. Looking to the side to see if he could figure out where he was, he saw the most welcome, beloved face he had ever seen. Cade’s lips were moving, but he couldn’t make any sense out of what they were trying to tell him. Yeah, he’s not proud. He did the whole close the eyes scare rabbit thing. Crap. Maybe he had lost his hearing or had brain damage and would never be able to understand anyone ever again. He took a deep breath to try opening his eyes again. But the deep breath made the pain intensify, causing the roaring in his ears to become even louder. He tried shifting his legs. It was then he realized his right leg was secured in some kind of brace. He also realized that he couldn’t feel or move his leg at all!
Bret’s attention was diverted by a low droning sound making its way through the roaring in his head. Opening his eyes, he found Cade leaning over him with his arms braced all around his head and shoulders. He had his lips pressed against his ear, and he could hear a calming murmur of words. With Cade’s arms boxing him in and the gentle rub of his cheek against his, the tension in Bret’s body slowly eased. And the words began to make sense.
“It’s okay, baby. You’re safe. I’ve got you, honey. I’ve pressed the pain button. It will administer the medicine right into your IV. Soon you will feel better. I l
ove you, pup.” On and on the words went and slowly the razor edge of pain subsided.
Cade leaned back slightly and looked into his eyes. “Better?”
“Yeah,” Bret’s voice croaked out. “Water?” Cade reached for a foam cup. He took a spoon out of it and gently fed Bret some ice chips.
“Please tell me it’s over.” Bret didn’t think he could stand to go through anymore abuse or pain like this again.
“He won’t bother you ever again, baby.” And that was enough. As far as Bret was concerned, he never wanted to hear anything about it again. The door to his room opened and Bret welcomed the sight of his mom and dad walking into the room.
The next couple of days became intense as Bret developed a fever and infection set into not only his knee but into some of the deeper cuts, also. Cade, being the rock that was Cade, never left his side, giving him water and cold compresses.
“I’m so tired, Cade. Please help me,” Bret pleaded, his over-bright eyes imploring. His body and mind just couldn’t take much more.
“It’s going to be alright, baby. Just lean on me. Together we’ll get through this.” Cade was not going to let the pup give up now. They had come too far. Raising the bed covers, he carefully slid in beside Bret, shifting him just slightly so he could gently take him into his arms. “Close your eyes, honey. Just rest and heal. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
Hours later the fever broke. Both Bret and Cade were drenched in sweat by the time it was over. Bret finally fell into an exhausted but healing sleep. Cade managed to leave the bed without waking him and collapsed into the chair.
The door to the room opened, and a nurse came in, followed by Jack. Taking one look at the tired lines etching Cade’s face and the smell of the man when he got closer, he said, “Man, you stink. I brought you some clothes. Go take a shower. Better yet, go home for a couple hours and get some sleep.”
Cade’s head jerked up and blazing laser blue eyes just about knocked Jack back a step. The boss could be a scary man when he was angry.
“I’m not leaving him.”
Before all hell could break out, a tentative voice softly spoke from the bed area. “There is a shower around the corner of the hall. I’ll make sure no one bothers you.” The nurse wasn’t usually a timid person, but both of these guys had to be over six foot five. Not to mention one of them was running on very little sleep, terrible food, and the stress of a loved one being very ill.
“I promise to sit right there in that chair, never leaving his side,” Jack vowed. “You’ll only be gone for a few minutes, boss. When you get back, I’ll go out and get you some decent food. Come on, boss, listen to reason. He’ll be fine for two minutes.”
It took a few minutes for Cade to turn it all over in his tired mind. The fact that he did smell really bad made him finally give in. “Alright, but if he wakes up, somebody better immediately come and get me. I promised him I would be here.”
“No problem, boss. He’ll be fine,” Jack assured him.
It was the fastest shower Cade had ever taken. He kept envisioning Bret waking up and freaking out because he wasn’t there. He could almost hear the screams coming from down the hall. His tired mind told him he was a failure for letting his baby get hurt in the first place and then to leave him after promising to be there. Cade logically knew he couldn’t control everything and everyone, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t try.
Getting back to the room, he opened the door, bracing himself for the mayhem inside. Instead of screams and shouting, he found Jack still sitting in the chair, looking through an outdoor magazine. In the bed, the pup was still sleeping the sleep of healing and was looking a little better.
Jack glanced up and said, “Everything okay, boss?”
“Yeah, everything’s fine,” Cade stated, knowing now it really was going to be.
Chapter Eleven
A couple of weeks later found Bret on the couch eating fresh cookies his mom had just baked, with his leg propped up on pillows. She came over a couple of times a week in the mornings and helped with the wash and cooking and stuff. His bear insisted on taking him to his doctors’ appointments and already informed him that he would be taking him when his physical therapy began. Bret wasn’t stupid. Anything that would take him out of the house or more than twenty feet away from Cade wasn’t happening at this point. He wasn’t going to argue or suddenly decide he had to be independent. His bear was in complete protective, possessive mode and Bret became more calm and steady everyday because of it.
“Okay, honey, I’m leaving now. There’s a chicken casserole in the oven and pie on the counter. I’ll be back next week unless something comes up. I’ll call this weekend to see if you need me to pick up anything from the store.” His mom came over by the couch and kissed him on the head and went to stand by the door. “I’m so glad you found someone that makes you happy, honey.”
“He does. Thank you for everything, Mom. I love you,” Bret replied.
“Love you, too. See you Tuesday.” And she was out the door.
Settling back onto the couch, he wondered what Cade was doing. He had learned long ago that any trips around the house with his walker had better have a darn good reason for being made or he would find himself carried to bed faster than he could blink. Hmm, that wasn’t such a bad idea.
Off came the blanket, sweats and T-shirt. Sitting up and sliding his legs off the side of the couch, he dragged the walker closer. By leaning on the walker, he managed to stand up on his good leg. The doctors and Cade had threatened dire consequences if he put any weight on the bad knee. Lifting the walker off the ground, he extended his arms forward about four inches. With a sly smile, he let the walker drop. Leaning on the walker, he glided forward. Then he lifted and extended the walker again, letting it drop. Again he moved forward. Bret hid the big smile on his face behind his hair when he heard a growl. Gliding forward and pretending to ignore the big bear behind him, he started to count under his breath. One…two…
Sweeping the pup into his arms, Cade stalked out of the living room and into the bedroom. He knew he may be pushing the whole protective envelope and he suspected he might have just been played, but he didn’t care. If he had to duct tape Bret to a chair to keep him safe, so be it.
“Trying out the walker naked, baby?” Cade laid Bret down on the bed and climbed between his legs, putting them nose to nose.
“I have boxers on, bear,” Bret defended.
Swinging his own leg over Bret’s good leg, Cade rolled and pulled off the boxers. Rolling back over and putting them nose to nose again, Cade continued the conversation. “If you needed me, all you had to do was call out. I would have heard you.”
Rubbing their noses together playfully, Bret answered, “Now how much fun would that be?” Unbuttoning Cade’s jeans and pulling down the zipper, Bret pulled out that thick hard cock. Judging by the pre-cum dripping out, Cade was having as much fun as he was with this game. “Love the commando, bear.” Then he let go as Cade surged forward, and he suddenly had a cock demanding entrance at his lips. Bret had counted on his bear reacting to any form of independence. Now he was reaping the benefits. Who was he kidding? He was loving every minute of it.
Opening his mouth, he swallowed as Cade’s gorgeous dick slid to the back of his throat. He had long ago mastered his gag reflex and deep-throating was a favorite. In and out Cade’s prick slid until he thought his own dick would explode from the pleasure.
When he had the pup whimpering and humping the air behind his back, Cade pulled his dick out and reared up onto his knees. Shoving his jeans down below his balls, he pulled the bottle of lube from under the pillow. Squeezing some lube onto his fingers, he reached with the other hand and pulled Bret’s good leg up and pushed his knee back against his chest. Then he slid his hand under that gorgeous tight bottom and lifted it up and shoved a finger up his ass. When the muscle loosened around his finger, he added another. He knew his baby loved being dominated and his sex slightly rough.
Sc
issoring his fingers and hitting the sweet spot had Bret begging, “More, please Cade, put it in.” Pulling his fingers out, he shoved his shaft in all the way up to his balls. Bret’s scream echoed off the walls, and his baby’s cum splashed off his chest.
Now it was Cade’s turn. He pounded into his baby over and over. Changing the angle, he continued to pound his way to paradise but made sure to hit that bundle of nerves that had the pup’s dick filling and again hard as granite. Time passed and Cade didn’t let up. If the pup wanted to poke the bear, the bear would give the pup exactly what he wanted, his utter attention. Finally he could feel his balls tightening and a tingle at the base of his spine.
“Come,” he ordered. And immediately semen splashed up in between them. The pup’s scream rang out and that ring of muscle tightened around Cade’s prick. That was all he needed for his own orgasm to hit, shudders raking down his back. Dropping his head down to the pillow, he needed a moment to compose himself.
When he came back to the present, he felt small hands sliding over the skin of his chest and back. Bret whispered soft words, “I love you, Cade. You’re my everything. This is forever. I’m yours. I love you.”
Lifting his head to look into the most beautiful eyes in the world, Cade declared, “I love you. You are mine and I am yours. Forever.”
Whatever the future held for them, Cade and Bret knew that it would be faced together. There would be more adventures with the team. Cade had been throwing around the idea of hiring a few more guys. He figured only time would tell.
Bear's Pup [Rescue for Hire 1] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) Page 6
