Taming Emilio (Buried Secrets Book 2)

by Brina Brady

  “Stay safe,” Kaden said.

  Kaden and Valerik looked at each other and shook their heads in disapproval as Mateo left the room.

  “He wants no part of us for some reason. I know he’s Rafe’s brother, and he also had a hard time growing up with their monster father. There is no reason why we can’t travel together,” Kaden said.

  “Rafe said their father caged them in the basement for days. Mateo hates feeling trapped in one place for too long. I think both of them are damaged in one way or another.” Valerik exchanged an understanding look with him.

  “With Rafe, it isn’t as noticeable,” Kaden explained.

  “That’s because he had to do it all alone. Mateo has Rafe to watch over him, so he’s not dealing with his issues. Rafe bails him out like your father does.” Valerik pulled a small vodka bottle out of the well-stocked refrigerator.

  “I want to run something by you.” Kaden grabbed a beer.

  “Go ahead. I’m listening.”

  “I want to find the man who hurt Emilio and put Marco’s Mules out of business. They’re in San Diego. Are you in?” Kaden asked.

  Valerik nodded. “Of course. No one, who hurts one of ours, is going to walk away from it. What do you want to do?”

  “Fly to San Diego in the morning and rent a car. I know where the bastard works. We’ll watch him until we see where he lives. I don’t want to kill him; only beat the shit out of him and find out where Marco is.”

  “He deserves to die. Maybe we should torture him,” Valerik said.

  “Don’t get carried away with this. I don’t want to end up back in jail. The point is to put Marco out of business and in prison where he belongs.” Kaden knew James and Valerik could be far more violent than he or Rafe was. Of course, both Kaden and Rafe had been wrong about Eduardo. None of this would have happened if they had taken him out.

  “And punish that old bastard who hurt Emilio.”

  Kaden nodded. “I’m going to call Rafe and tell him we’ll be back in a few days.”

  “Are you going to tell him what we’re up to?”

  “Not exactly. He won’t like it. I’m going to tell him we’re going to meet my father there. After all, he helped us get out of jail.”

  Kaden called Rafe.

  “Congratulations!” Rafe said.

  “Thanks. We’re going to stop in San Diego for a few days. Then we’ll fly to Hawaii. I’ll let you know when we’re going to land.”

  “Why? Emilio will be upset, and so will Liam.”

  “I need to see my father and take him out to dinner for helping us. Valerik is going with me. So, in a few days we’ll be back. Tell Emilio I love him.”

  “Wait a minute. Why San Diego?” Rafe asked with suspicion in his voice.

  “He’s going to be there, so he asked me to go and see him,” Kaden said.

  “Can Emilio call you when he wants?”

  “I thought you took the phones away.”

  “I got them new phones, now that we don’t have an immediate threat. I’ll have him call you later.”

  “That’s good. Are we going back to New Jersey?” Kaden asked.

  “I don’t know yet,” Rafe said.

  “Okay, then. We’ll talk about it when I get back.”

  “It’s gorgeous here, but then you know that.”

  “I’ll get back to you when I know the time we’ll land in Hawaii. Mateo is already on a plane.”

  “I know. He called me. Take care.”

  After they finished their call, Kaden made reservations to San Diego. He called his father and told him that he was planning to be in San Diego for a couple of days. If he wanted to see him, he could meet him at the hotel. His father said he had business in Mexico, so he’d stop in San Diego to catch him for dinner.

  Valerik had gone through a few bottles of vodka. Kaden had another beer when his phone rang. He looked at the unfamiliar number but figured it must be Emilio.

  “Hey you,” Kaden said.

  “I can’t believe you’re taking a vacation without me,” Emilio said.

  “I have to meet my father, and you’re not allowed in San Diego. It will only be a few days.”

  “Your father doesn’t live in San Diego. Tell me what you’re really going to do?”

  “My father is traveling to Mexico and stopping in San Diego for business. Valerik is coming with me since we’re in Los Angeles. We need to thank him for helping us.”

  “So, how many days will all that take?”

  “We’re flying tomorrow morning. Then we’ll return in a few days.”

  “I wish you would skip San Diego. Couldn’t your father come here?” Emilio asked.

  “I told you. He can’t. He’s on his way to Mexico.”

  “I miss you.”

  “I miss you so much. I think about you all day and night. Are you getting along with Rafe?”

  “Yes, but I want you. Please hurry up. I’m really down without you.”

  “I know, and so am I. We’re going to have our time as soon as I get back. I have to go.”

  “I wish you were here now.”

  “I promise I won’t be longer than three days. I have some meetings to attend with my father. It’s all about his hotel properties. Eventually, he wants me to take over.”

  “Can I call you every night?” Emilio asked.

  “Call me during the day. I’ll be busy with my father at night.”

  “Okay. I love you.” Emilio ended the call.

  The next day, Kaden and Valerik took a flight to San Diego. Then for the next two days, they followed Mr. Brooks from the bank to his home. On the third day, they decided to make their way to his house in the evening. When they stepped out of the rented car, they covered their faces with ski masks. Kaden carried a coil of rope in his hand.

  They wanted to get in and out without being noticed or harm done to themselves or any noisy neighbors. Large trees and bushes surrounded the home, which would make that possible. His rage stirred with thoughts of this old man whipping Emilio and shoving things up his ass, especially a frozen dildo. With plans of making the old man suffer, last night, Kaden had purchased one and put it in the freezer.

  They had scoped out the home exterior and looked for any security systems. Lucky for them, Mr. Brooks didn’t have security systems or a dog in the yard nor did nearby neighbors. Kaden wanted to get this done quickly so he could return to Emilio. He and Valerik had discussed what they would do; each had a part like in a play. They had gone over it many times so it would go over smoothly without them getting caught. The man had hurt Emilio. No one will get away with hurting him.

  Kaden cut a circle around the sliding door handle in the back of the house. He stuck his arm through the opening and unlocked it. Valerik stood behind him with a gun ready in one hand to back him up.

  Quietly, they slid the door open wide enough for them to enter. They tiptoed to the room where they heard the TV blaring. Mr. Brooks was sitting on a padded reclining chair and smoking a pipe. His piercing gray eyes stayed focused on the TV screen. The old man’s white mustache matched his silky hair. He appeared taller up close, but Kaden wasn’t worried. He had a bottle of whiskey beside him with a glass half-empty.

  His skin was ruddy; Kaden figured it was from him drinking too much of the whiskey. He wore a pair of sweats with a gray T-shirt to match without any shoes. Kaden entered the room with his Glock pointed at the man’s head, with Valerik standing closely behind, covering him.

  “Turn off that fucking TV,” Kaden ordered.

  The man didn’t move for the remote. “What do you want?”

  “Kill the TV off, or I’ll shoot it off.”

  The man did as he was told. “Get out of my house.”

  Kaden pictured the old man threatening and hurting Emilio. To look at him, he appeared to be a rich old man, but Kaden figured he was a latent gay man.

  Kaden inched closer. “Strip your clothes.”

  “Why?”

  “Do it,” Kaden shoute
d as he inched closer with his gun still pointing at him.

  Mr. Brooks removed his T-shirt first, then slid his pants down. No underwear. He sat there naked, covering his cock and balls with his hands.

  “Stand the fuck up,” Kaden said.

  Kaden made his way closer, but Mr. Brooks swiftly punched him with a gun. Kaden hadn’t seen the gun anywhere. It must have been underneath him on the chair. He was completely surprised.

  “You fucking dick,” Kaden said, rubbing his sore cheek through the ski mask.

  “Get out of my home,” Mr. Brooks said.

  Valerik shouted in Russian to him. Kaden had no idea what he said and doubted that the man did. Kaden grabbed Mr. Brooks’s arm at his wrist and twisted with the gun aimed to the ground. Kaden bent the old man’s finger away from the trigger by bending his finger back and ripped the gun out of his hand. Valerik took the gun from Kaden, then checked it and emptied the bullets to the floor. Kaden’s heart pounded fast, knowing how close he had been to getting shot. If he had been shot, there was no doubt Valerik would have killed Mr. Brooks. He’d wanted to do that from the beginning. He was waiting for a reason to blow the man away. This man didn’t seem as strong as he looked, but he continued punching wildly.

  Kaden stopped his movements by placing his gun to the man’s head.

  After several minutes of Mr. Brook swearing at them, Kaden lost his temper and battered at him as if to pound him into the ground. Kaden’s simmering anger about the old man caning Emilio made the blows coming down hard.

  “So you thought you could shoot two of us with your cheap gun?” Valerik asked, laughing at the old man. He cut in front of Kaden and kicked the old man’s balls. “That’s what you get, old man for hurting young boys,” Valerik said.

  “Tie him up.” Kaden handed Valerik the rope.

  Kaden forced the man back into the chair with his hands in front of him and his feet close together. First Valerie tied the man’s hands, then his feet.

  “Don’t kill me, please. I only gave him what he wanted. The boy loved pain.”

  “Who are you talking about?” Kaden asked.

  “Emilio. He was the only one. The boy wanted it.”

  “But you paid him,” Valerik said. “Why?”

  “I rented him, and he became close to me. He told me he loved pain.”

  “That’s a fucking lie. That boy was traumatized,” Kaden said.

  “What do you want?”

  “We want the address of Marco’s Mules,” Kaden said.

  “I have a card.”

  “Where is it?”

  “In my wallet on my dresser.”

  “Get it,” Kaden said to Valerik.

  Kaden wasn’t going to be content with temporarily disabling Mr. Brooks; he wanted a full victory. He was out to punish him for all the atrocities he had committed against Emilio and other young boys. Kaden must destroy him to prevent him from ever coming after any other young gay boys.

  “I’m going to make you pay for all the shit you did to my boy,” Kaden yelled, then punched the man in the jaw and slammed another punch to his ear. He continued punching until the man’s face was a bloody mess.

  Mr. Brooks screamed, “Stop. Stop!”

  “Emilio’s mine, not yours,” Kaden shouted again and flipped him so he was bent over the chair.

  Valerik returned with the card. “I got it.”

  “Dildo,” Kaden shouted to Valerik.

  Valerik handed Kaden the large frozen dildo. He shoved it up the old man’s ass. His screams triggered Valerik to stuff a cloth into his mouth. With his phone, he took a few pictures of Mr. Brooks. When he was finished, he logged on to the old man’s laptop and uploaded the naked pictures to his workplace and Twitter using Mr. Brooks’s login.

  Valerik took his knife out and carved gay pervert on the man’s back. Blood oozed from his back and face. Kaden poured the whiskey in the carving. Then he removed his belt and beat every inch of the man.

  “Let’s shoot him.” Valerik aimed his gun.

  “No. No killing. Let’s go,” Kaden shouted.

  Once they were back at the hotel, Kaden used a throwaway phone to notify the police a man was in need of help at Mr. Brooks’s address and reported Marco’s Mules.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Emilio

  Now that Alek had returned, he slept with Rafe, and Emilio had the couch. In the middle of the night, he heard Rafe and Alek fucking. How was he supposed to sleep with that racket? It was the last night without Kaden. He and Valerik were flying in tomorrow afternoon. Emilio didn’t believe Kaden’s father was going to San Diego to meet him for dinner. He asked Rafe, and he didn’t seem like he believed it, but he didn’t outright say Kaden had lied either. Those two defended each other no matter what. Kaden might be doing a thorough research on him firsthand, but there was no need to do that since Emilio had told him everything. One little thought reoccurred that maybe Kaden was looking for another protectee to replace him. Of course, that couldn’t be true, but what if it was?

  He went to the kitchen and pulled out a beer. He sat down at the table and thought about Kaden coming home. Rafe stood in the doorway and smiled at him.

  “Are you okay?” Rafe asked.

  “I couldn’t sleep thinking about Kaden.”

  “You’re not worried about anything with him, are you?”

  “He was gone for four days in San Diego. I think he was checking my past to see if I am who I say I am.”

  “Kaden has no reason to do that. I told him everything about you.”

  “Did you have a hand in making him take me?” There was something about Rafe and Kaden’s friendship that made Emilio think this way. He felt it, but that didn’t mean it was so. He had to know the story about why Kaden really had picked him and why Rafe was so comfortable to allow Emilio to have his own protector. Of course, it might have had something to do with Rafe finally finding a protectee for himself, but that wouldn’t be reason enough to send Emilio to a protector.

  “No. I showed him a picture of you and asked him what he thought of you?”

  “And what did he say?”

  “I can’t tell you his exact words, but he was interested. He wanted you. So I sent him your file.”

  “Before the party?”

  “This is not common knowledge, and I expect you to keep this to yourself. I send the files to all the protectors before the party, and they tell me who they want. This way we prevent fights. If two protectors want the same one, they have to figure it out. I knew Kaden wanted you before the party.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me this? Then I wouldn’t have done something stupid that caused me problems with Kaden.”

  “What did you do?” Rafe asked.

  “You don’t know?”

  “I don’t.”

  “No one told you I had a problem with Kaden?” Emilio was surprised Rafe hadn’t heard about it from one of the protectors.

  “I promised Kaden I wouldn’t interfere with your relationship.”

  “I was with Valerik before the party and Kaden found out about it. He was really pissed at me and then I got mad at him for blaming me for cheating on him before I knew him.”

  “How could you be with Valerik?” Rafe asked.

  “In the room where I got undressed.”

  “Why would you be with that old man?”

  “I wanted a protector.”

  “I don’t understand why Kaden had gotten pissed at you,” Rafe said.

  “Well, I guess he didn’t think I had a life before him. He didn’t like the idea of me being with one of his friends, and he didn’t like James telling him about it.”

  “Why would James tell him that?” Rafe shook his head in disapproval.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Is everything okay with you and Kaden now?”

  “I hope so. Don’t you think it’s odd he and Valerik would go to meet his father in San Diego?”

  “I do. It’s strange behavior for him, but I trust him
, so I’m sure everything is okay.”

  “But he was away from us. He wouldn’t take me, and that’s why I think he’s up to something.”

  “No, he’s not up to anything.”

  “What if he’s looking for a new protectee?”

  “Not Kaden. He’s not a cheater when he’s in a relationship.”

  “What’s he like when he isn’t in a relationship?” Emilio asked.

  “He’s a completely different person. He fucks around…one-night stands. He’s with you now, and I know he wouldn’t cheat on you. I like us talking like this.”

  “Me too. I missed this. You always helped me feel better about myself. I’ve learned so much from you.”

  “You stopped confiding in me once I told you I was your father.”

  “I know. I didn’t know if I should discuss sex with you anymore. I’d never talk like we used to do with my other father.”

  “We have a special relationship and I don’t want me being your father to change it. I understand why you don’t see me as your father, and that’s okay. But let’s keep talking like this.”

  Emilio nodded. “When I think about how you were so supportive of me when I was growing up, I can see how much you loved me. You had a direct impact on my life and on who I am today. I always knew I could turn to you to help me out and even now, you are.”

  “Do you think you could sleep now?”

  “Yes. Thanks for talking to me.”

  ***

  Rafe drove Liam and him to the airport to pick up Kaden and Valerik. Rafe sat down at the gate, using his phone while Emilio and Liam stood against the window, waiting for the plane to land. It felt like hours passed by as Emilio searched the sky for planes. How long had it been since they had arrived here? He looked toward the clock. It had only been fifteen minutes. He took in a deep breath, trying to comfort himself with happy thoughts. These happy thoughts were not enough. Somehow, he knew something had gone terribly wrong. Where was the plane? Shouldn’t it be landing by now? The longer he waited, the more anxious he became. Finally, the plane landed and parked in its gate.

  “Thank God, they’re finally here,” Liam said.

  “I thought something happened to the plane.”