Always (With Bonus Material) (Always & Forever Book 1)

by Kindle Alexander

  Tyrone and Marcus never paused and were on the situation without a second thought or instruction from him. Marcus ripped the aging pastor off her and Tyrone had the young woman up and covered, removing her from the office. They were both off-duty Washington DC police officers and understood the need to quickly subdue the perpetrator and remove the victim from the threatening situation.

  "Tyrone, keep her in the chapel," Avery called out.

  "Unhand me!" The pastor struggled until his eyes landed on Avery and recognition set in. "What the hell are you doing here? This church has no place for the likes of you…" Avery ignored the rant and went to the desk telephone. The pastor lunged for him, Marcus eagerly cut him off, tossing him back on the sofa with a solid punch to the gut. The pastor was red-hot mad, spewing his venom until the hit landed, and he doubled over in pain, gasping for breath. Avery dialed 9-1-1.

  "What's your emergency?"

  Avery anchored his hip on the desk and looked directly at Pastor Dalton when he spoke. "I'm at First Baptist in town, and I've witnessed a crime. I need assistance, please," Avery said, and the pastor finally found his voice. He went nuts. The old partially naked man again flew off the sofa and began a violent rant so nasty, Avery had a hard time hearing the operator on the other end of the line.

  "I can do this all day long," Marcus said, after tackling Dalton again and violently throwing him back on the sofa. "Get up again, I dare you." Marcus got right in the pastor's face.

  "Marcus, keep him in here. The police are on the way." Avery left the phone on the desk, letting the recording capture everything the pastor screamed, and strolled out of the office with a casual gait he truly didn't feel. His mind raced as he made his way back to the chapel where Tyrone stood guard over a weeping, still somewhat frantic, young woman. Tyrone had taken off his coat and wrapped it around her. Her shirt must still be in the office.

  "I just need to go home! My parents are going to be so angry," she bellowed, collapsing against Avery as he sat down beside her.

  "Sweetheart, I've called the police. They'll make sure you get home safely, I promise. Are you all right?" Avery asked. The pews were equipped with small boxes of tissues. Avery pulled several and handed them to her as the tears poured down.

  "I thought I was coming to babysit for a meeting this afternoon after school. I didn't want to do that," she cried.

  "You need to tell the police officers the truth of what happened when they get here. It's the only way to keep this from happening again," Avery said, handing her another tissue.

  School-age had to mean she was younger than eighteen, right? What a seriously sick old man. For the first time since he'd walked in, Avery considered what he'd just witnessed and hugged the girl closer, thinking of Autumn. The thought made his blood boil. He hoped Marcus was getting a few extra punches in for him.

  "They won't believe me," she sobbed, blowing her nose into the Kleenex.

  "They'll believe us," Avery said as the police sirens neared. Less than a minute later, several officers entered the front door of the chapel. Weapons were drawn, clearly uncertain as to what they would find. The young woman crying in his arms looked over her shoulder and, if it were even possible, began to sob harder. Avery watched one of the officers look confused, lower his weapon some. The girl bounded out of his arms and stumbled forward, down the aisle toward the officer.

  "Daddy, I'm so sorry!" she said, jumping toward the man in uniform.

  "Shit," Tyrone said and immediately raised both hands in the air.

  "Take her outside, Pebbly. Hands in the air," the lead said, aiming his weapon between Tyrone and Avery. He finally understood what Tyrone must have already known and raised both his hands, wondering how long this was going to take. Robert's first basketball game was in seven hours.

  Cheers erupted from inside the gymnasium. Avery was late. Since every parking space had been taken, he had been relegated to the back forty, parking sloppily just to get inside the building a little faster. No way Robert or Kane would understand why he missed tonight, and he prayed as he jogged to the front doors that he'd at least made it there before halftime. That was when Autumn wouldn't forgive him for missing her halftime performance as a cheerleader.

  Avery'd had to pull some strings to get out of Alabama. His men were still there, detained for the next few hours. Since Tyrone and Marcus were moonlighting as private security, their real profession came in handy. Tyrone was a corporal with the Washington DC police force, which was probably the real reason his strings were even allowed to work. Pastor Dalton had a good reputation in that Godfearing town. No one wanted to believe the clear truth.

  Another big negative weighing against him was that he hadn't told Kane his plans to go to Alabama. But who would have ever thought things would turn out the way they had? He'd only called home briefly from the flight, asking Kane to keep Autumn away from the television. It wasn't hard to do tonight. Their private school hosted the basketball season opener. Autumn cheered, Robert played, and Kane headed up the parent booster club committee this year. For the first time since he had left all alone to go to DC, Avery was glad they were busy and not able to focus on anything else.

  He paid the five dollar event fee and entered the gym just as another set of cheers erupted. He hoped the home team was winning. It would make for a far better weekend if they won tonight, maybe help smooth over what he'd done this morning.

  He scanned the crowds, looking for Kane, but he spotted Autumn first as she cheered for the crowd. Avery looked up three rows, and there was Kane, sitting directly in front of her. His brilliant husband had strategically placed himself so he was high enough to see Robert play, but low enough to watch Autumn cheer for the team. Avery smiled—he missed his family.

  He nodded at a few people he recognized as he made his way around the gym. His Kane was such a good father. He took such good care of their children. All those years ago, when he suggested they have Autumn and Robert, he'd had no idea how much pride he'd experience with his family. Avery was so focused on Kane that it wasn't until the cheers of the crowd erupted again that he realized he'd completely missed the dunk Robert had just made.

  Avery worked his way over to Kane, who stood clapping excitedly. He excused his way up the bleachers, past the other cheering fans and parents. Kane's face lit when he spotted him, and Avery's heart tripped in his chest, along with his foot as he misjudged the step and fell forward into the space Kane was saving for him. Kane bent down to help him, and he took the opportunity to kiss those lips that were so close to his. The blush came, searching eyes were next to see who might have witnessed that public display, but Avery didn't care. He'd missed Kane while he'd been in Washington.

  He tried to be strong, put the needs of his family above himself. They agreed to let the kids finish out the year here in Minnesota, but he hadn't spent this much time away from Kane since they'd met. He wanted Kane with him all the time, because even after this long day, his body naturally relaxed with Kane there with him.

  "How's he doing?" Avery asked when Kane settled down beside him.

  "Twenty-four points," Kane said over the roar of the crowd, "now, twenty-six points."

  "Ah! That's great. He'll be excited. Autumn looks good," Avery said, smiling down at his daughter as she beamed up at him.

  "She's tumbling on the hard floor. She spelled out Panthers in back handsprings. She said she would do it again when you got here," Kane said. Avery kept his grin fixed on Autumn as she finished her cheer in unison with the other girls. When the chant ended, she smiled bigger and waved at him before turning back to the game.

  "Paulie's videotaping him from up in the bleachers," Kane said, turning back and pointing up. Paulie was as high as he could get with a tripod video camera following the game. He worked hard moving the camera back and forth as the boys ran down the court.

  "Where's Mom?" Avery asked after seeing it was impossible to catch Paulie's eye, as he was so focused on the game.

  "She's on the other si
de videoing Autumn." Kane pointed and Avery spotted her with the camera trained on Autumn. She waved in his direction. That overwhelming pride swelled more as he loosened his tie and undid the buttons at the top of his neck.

  "We should have had more children," Avery whispered, dropping his tie in his side suit coat pocket. He wasn't sure why he even put the tie back on after his flight, except he knew Kane liked him dressed up, and he wanted to please him after not seeing him for so long.

  "No. I'm glad I stood firm. They're perfect just like this," Kane said, his eyes back on Robert who was running down the court, dribbling the ball.

  "I miss you guys," Avery said, watching Robert too.

  "We miss you," Kane whispered, leaning in, playfully bumping a shoulder against Avery's, but keeping his eyes focused on Robert.

  "Shoot, Robert!" Kane yelled, standing and wildly clapping his hands as the shot slid right through the net. Avery was up beside him, maybe a little slower, but with two fingers in his mouth, whistling loudly. That caught Robert's attention, and he looked up, grinning at a smiling Avery.

  Okay, today with his family was worth whatever cost they might endure. Avery was truly a very lucky, lucky man. As Kane's strong arm slid around his waist, he realized things were just about as perfect as they could be.

  Chapter 24

  "I like Georgetown," Kane said from the bathroom door of their home in Stillwater. Avery stood over the sink as he finished brushing his teeth, glancing into the mirror to see Kane perched against the doorjamb, his pajama pants on and his shirt off. Both Robert and Autumn were gone for the night to sleepovers. Kane and Avery were alone in the house or as alone as they could be with the team of security Avery had watching over his family. Avery finished up at the sink, and Kane turned away from the door, heading toward bed.

  "Are you sure we need so much security, Avery?" Kane asked.

  "Babe, I don't want to take any more chances with you guys. We can tone it down when you get to DC, if things settle some."

  "I can't see that my father would seriously try and hurt us, Avery," Kane said. He lifted the bed covers and started to shove his pants down.

  "Honey, about your father…" Avery's tone, more than his words stopped Kane in mid- motion. "No, don't stop. You're still sexy as hell, and it's been a long month. Push 'em all the way down. I've missed you, Kane." Avery gestured with his hands before taking his robe off and dropping it at the end of the bed. When the kids weren't home for the night, they always reverted back to their old ways of sleeping—no clothes.

  "No…you keep going. What about my father?" Kane kicked out of the pajama pants, but sat on the bed, facing Avery, concern clear on his face.

  "Babe…Listen. I'm just going to say it. I went down to talk to him today," Avery confessed, making his way back around the bed to Kane's side.

  "What? Avery, you didn't." Kane's brows narrowed, watching every movement he made until Avery stood directly in front of him.

  "I did. I should have told you, but I'm tired of him hurting you, and I didn't want you to stop me." Avery kept his eyes locked on Kane's.

  "So you went there and gave him more ammunition to use against us?" Kane scrubbed his hands over his face. He reached back for his pajama pants, but Avery stopped him.

  "Kane, I thought about that, but the way he milks you for money, I thought I could pay him off. That's it. Maybe intimidate him a little and pay him off," Avery said, stepping back with Kane's pajama pants in his hands, refusing to let his husband add any physical barriers to the emotion-filled conversation.

  "He's my problem, not yours. You don't even know them!" Kane was up on Avery, grabbing at his pants. "You shouldn't have even known about the money I give him. How did you know? Do you watch everything I do?"

  "Of course not! It comes up on the taxes, Kane, and he's our problem. We're married, it's our money you're sending, and besides, he isn't going to be much of a problem anymore. Well, in the normal sense. I think he's going to be a huge problem, but not like before," Avery said, letting Kane snatch his pants back, but he'd lost some of his steam as the words settled in.

  "What does that mean?" Kane asked.

  "Honey, your dad apparently has a thing for young women," Avery said, now taking a step toward him.

  "What?" Kane said, balancing on one foot until he abandoned putting the pants back on and just stood there staring at Avery, apparently letting the words sink in.

  "I caught him with a young woman. She turned out to be barely seventeen, a police officer's daughter. I guess there are more your dad's been with in his parish." Avery watched the confusion cloud Kane's eyes.

  "More?" Kane asked. Avery knew he must be struggling as he tried to comprehend what he heard. "Did you go alone? Could you have seen it wrong, Avery?"

  "No. I took two of my security guards with me, but the girl was very upset and spilled to the police. It's the only reason I was so late to Robert's game." Avery reached out and gripped Kane's hip, but otherwise kept his distance.

  "Is she all right?" Kane stepped into Avery, concern clear in his voice.

  "I believe so. I know what I saw, but I don't think things got that far. Your dad was arrested immediately. He was still spouting Bible verses as the police car door closed and they drove away. We left soon after. The sheriff and arresting officers agreed to keep this quiet for now, but with him being as vocal as he's been lately, I didn't want to take any chances and rushed home. I didn't want you to hear about this from anyone else. This is something we'll have to deal with soon enough. I want you prepared. Our public relations people are ready to field any calls we get."

  "Avery, this is…I can't believe it. I had no idea," Kane said, visibly shaken as he tried to step away, but Avery held on tight.

  "I know you didn't. And I'm sorry I had to tell you. We'll deal with it together just like we always do. Come to bed. I've missed you. I don't want him to affect us ever again," Avery said and slowly began to walk Kane back toward the bed.

  "Is the girl okay?" Kane asked again. Avery pulled Kane close and pressed his lips to his husband's forehead.

  "She is, I promise, and I'll stay involved, but I don't want you connected. Let me handle this. Come to bed and hold me. I've missed you. It's awful sleeping alone. I think that might be the worst part of our separation," Avery said, trying to draw Kane to bed. He'd missed Kane and having to come home and tell him the latest news about his father gutted him. And they called themselves Christians? The man led a congregation for Christ's sake, yet he'd been stealing money from his son and forcing himself on young women. Kane was strong, but Avery hadn't been sure how he would handle the news. Now, all he wanted to do was comfort Kane and keep him from worrying any more tonight.

  "Honey…come to bed. I'll check in with the police department in the morning. Your father's not going to hurt you, or our children, or anyone else for that matter, anymore. He's done. That's what we need to focus on." Avery threw back the covers, climbed in bed, and scooted to the middle. "Come on, come join me, I need you."

  "I can't believe you went there. Thank God you did."

  "I'd do anything to protect you, Kane. You have to know that by now," Avery said, whipping the bed covers over Kane as he came to settle on Avery's chest.

  "I'm lucky to have you. I can't believe all of this. It completely changes everything." Kane finally turned, lifted a little as his gaze slid down Avery's body. Avery responded to Kane's intense stare, growing hard under his sensual inspection. He forced lingering thoughts of Kane's family from his head and focused all his attention on the man he loved. Avery reached over, pushed open the hidden compartment in their headboard, grabbed the bottle, and dropped it beside him on the bed.

  "I love you, Avery. I've missed you. I don't want to talk about them right now. All I want to do is make love to you." Avery leaned in and kissed his husband softly on his lips.

  Kane nestled against Avery's chest and leaned in to kiss the skin right above Avery's ear. When Avery told him about his father's ar
rest, he'd had so many emotions running through him he hadn't known how to respond. The news came as a total shock. All this time he'd tried to do what he believed was right, but they had used him, and his feelings, against him. He carried enormous guilt over letting them down. Now that everything was out in the open, he could already feel that weight lifting. In its place was the complete love and protection of his little family.

  Kane lifted, smiling that love down to Avery. He raised a hand, tangling his fingers into Avery's thick blond hair, keeping his mouth closed and crushing their lips together. Avery held him there, not letting him break from the kiss. Kane's smile broadened as he moved his hand to cup the back of Avery's head, holding him in place. Kane loved to play this game and flicked his tongue out, slowly licking along the seam of Avery's lips. He knew it was Avery's favorite move.

  Avery's lips parted, and he deepened the kiss. His body heated and every nerve ending heightened as Avery's body pressed against his. He'd missed this. He missed the closeness he and Avery shared. He attacked Avery's mouth thoroughly. Kane pulled Avery closer, needing the feel of this man's skin against his own. Kane didn't wait, couldn't wait, his hand went straight to Avery's hardened cock, and he wrapped his fingers around his husband's erect length. He began working him from tip to base, taking his time and circling his thumb around Avery's weeping head.

  "I missed you," Avery moaned, pulling from the kiss, pushing Kane's head toward his exposed neck. "I'm trying to buck up and be strong, but I don't like being without you. I'm not sure I would have agreed to run had I known you wouldn't be with me in Washington right now."

  "I miss you too, so badly. But we'll be there soon, baby. Just a few more months. The kids need to get through the school year," Kane said, breathing into Avery's ear as he kissed and nibbled his earlobe.