by Luna, David
In the end, Cade needed to know how Braden wanted to handle it. “I need you to tell me what you need. Whatever you need, you’ll get. We can stay in a hotel tonight; a reservation has already been made. You can sleep in your guest bedroom; I can sleep on the couch. You can sleep in your room; it’s better than new, Braden. You have a new window, like I said, but you’ve also got all new bedding and a new bed.”
Braden looked up, confused. “A new bed? Why? Did he destroy more than just the bedding?”
“No, just the bedding, but I wasn’t going to have you sleeping on a bed that bastard touched. I didn’t want you to have to do that, so I told the guys to get you a new bed and they did. I hope I didn’t overstep.”
Braden looked up at Cade again, shocked. “Overstep? Zavier, how could you think you overstepped? You kept this whole thing quiet all day, until every trace of it was gone. The cops came and went, I have a new window, and the brand new security system is getting finished as we speak. You fixed it so that I didn’t have to feel him in my home. If you had asked me what I’d want done if someone broke into my home, I don’t think I would have even thought of everything you did. I can’t thank you enough.”
“I had to make you feel safe in your home, Braden. I didn’t act fast enough. I should have had that security system in your house and the café, the day after we met. I’m so sorry I didn’t move on it faster. He’d never done anything like that. I didn’t think he’d escalate as fast as he did and all I can do is apologize and work to fix my mistakes.”
“Zavier, don’t do that. Don’t take this upon yourself. I’m gonna be so fucking pissed if you blame anything this crazy bastard does on yourself. You aren’t to blame, do you hear me? I’m going to stay in my own home tonight, and after I see my room, and check to see if I feel comfortable in it, I’m hoping to sleep in my own bed tonight, thanks to you. The first thing I thought of when you told me what happened was, ‘How the hell am I going to be able to sleep tonight?’ But you thought of everything I might need, and you fixed it. Like you always seem to do, you took care of me, Zavier.”
Reaching up, Braden hooked his hand behind Cade’s head and drew him down into a gentle kiss. He felt Cade’s hands tighten around his lower back and draw him closer. As much as he didn’t want to, Braden pulled away slowly and smiled shyly up at Cade, who looked a little dazed. They looked at each other for several long moments. Braden slowly pulled out of Cade’s arms and told him that he needed to tell Maya. Braden phoned the front of the café and asked if Maya could leave the place to Layla for a bit.
When she was able to get away several minutes later, naturally, Maya freaked the fuck out. After crying and hugging Braden, she started yelling, which escalated to cussing a blue streak and threatening to cut off the stalker’s “tiny little pecker.” When they’d finally calmed her down, she let them know that she’d be over in about an hour after she closed the café. Cade walked Braden across the street to his place. The front door was open and Jackson was standing just inside, affixing the security panel beside the door.
Cade was surprised to see Vaughn and approached him immediately with an outstretched hand, thanking him for helping out. They had a quick whispered conversation, which ended in Cade hugging him, stepping back, and beckoning Braden forward. When he was next to him, Cade stayed close to Braden, his arm around his back.
“Braden, this is Vaughn, a former MMA fighter, who now owns a fighters’ gym called The Knockout. He helped find us someone that could fix your window today and apparently he personally purchased your new bed and several other things for your room and made sure it was delivered and set up for you.”
Braden shook Vaughn’s hand and thanked him profusely, but then smiled when he remembered, “So, it was your heavy bag that beat the hell out of Zavier’s knuckles?”
Vaughn laughed and thumped Cade on the shoulder. Braden felt that thump all the way through his body and couldn’t believe that Cade didn’t even react to the hit. Vaughn’s smile was infectious though. “Yeah, and then I did my best to take him down with some full contact sparring and ended up on my ass a couple times.”
Vaughn’s face grew serious, and he looked Braden in the eyes. “I don’t know if it’s something you’d be interested in, but I wanted to mention we have several self-defense classes at the gym. If you’re at all interested, let me know, and we can work something out. Sometimes it just feels good to have a little more confidence and these classes help with that. Ask Cade about it sometime. He teaches free self-defense classes at his headquarters and might even teach a few of mine for me while he’s here.”
Braden looked up at Cade in surprise. He’d had no idea that Cade did that, or even that he could fight well enough to take down a former MMA fighter and teach people how to fight in order to take care of themselves. His respect for Cade grew and he put his arm around him and squeezed him. “I’ll make sure to ask him about it. Thank you.”
Cade looked down at Braden and kissed his temple. “Do you think you’re up to checking out your bedroom? I think you’ll be pleased and hopefully feel comfortable there.”
At Braden’s nod, Vaughn, who had been watching the two of them with interest, smiled and lead the way. “So, I had Jackson take a few pictures of your room, to get an idea of what kind of bed you’d need. I kind of went a bit further than they asked, and you’ve now got all new furniture and bedding in there. We had the movers set everything up and remove all of the old. They said they’d keep it for a few days, in case you don’t like what I bought, or your old pieces had sentimental value. I didn’t know what he touched in there, so I figured why not start with a clean slate?”
Braden was speechless as he walked into his room, and even more so after he took in the details. The pieces were similar in style to his old pieces, but the woodwork had a bit more detail and a darker stain. Where his old bedding had been blue, this bedding was olive green, very masculine and luxurious. There were new window treatments to match the bedding. All of his personal items were exactly where they’d been on his old pieces of furniture. He opened his drawers and found them filled just as they had been.
He couldn’t believe the amount of work these men, these relative strangers, had put into fixing his home and making him feel secure. He sat on the bed and could tell just by sitting there that the bed was much nicer than the one he’d had. He took stock of how he felt, in that moment, in his room. He felt safe, and the room was warm and welcoming. He thought he might even be able to sleep on his new bed tonight.
He glanced up to see Cade, arms crossed over his huge chest, leaning against his doorjamb and watching him intently. Vaughn had left the room and given him some privacy to see how he felt being in the room that had, just hours ago, been violated by his stalker. However, he didn’t feel like it was the same room, and he felt such overwhelming gratitude to Cade and his friends at that moment that the emotional dam broke, he fell back on the bed, and raised his hands to cover his face.
Cade saw it coming and turned to shut the door quietly. He was beside Braden on the bed almost immediately, lying down and pulling him into his arms. “Shhhh, shhhhh, you’re OK, baby. You’re safe. I’m here. It’s OK. I’m so sorry this happened Braden, so, so sorry.”
Cade surrounded Braden with his bigger body, enveloped him, made him feel warm and safe and cared for. Braden wondered if he’d ever get the chance to repay Cade; if he’d ever get the chance to be the one taking care of Cade, rather than Cade always taking care of him. God, he sincerely hoped so, and couldn’t wait for that day to come. Braden purged his emotions, tight in Cade’s arms. When he calmed, he wrapped his arms around Cade and squeezed him as hard as he could.
He pulled back and raised a hand to touch Cade’s cheek, as he looked into his sad eyes. “Zavier, I wasn’t crying because of what happened. I’m just overwhelmed. A week ago, I was getting these notes and feeling so scared and alone with it. I didn’t know where to turn or what to do. In less than a week’s time, you’ve come into my l
ife and made me feel so many things. Things I didn’t know I’d ever feel again, not the least of which is safe.”
They looked into each other’s eyes. Braden ran his hand over the back of Cade’s head, scratching his blunt nails over Cade’s short, thick hair. He smiled when he saw the blissful look pass over Cade’s face. “You’ve literally taken something awful that happened today, erased it like it never occurred, and made things better. I get that it’s Jackson and Sawyer’s job to set up my security, but they went well beyond that today. Not to mention Vaughn. I’ve never met him before and he went shopping for me personally, and made sure, in less than three hours, that I came home to not only a safe place, but a warm and comfortable one, too. And you, you made it all happen. I just can’t even begin to figure out how to thank you all properly. I might have to make you coffee cake weekly for the next six months.”
Cade chuckled, pulled Braden’s hand from his head and kissed it. “I’ll take that coffee cake, every week, for as long as you’ll make it for me. We’re gonna get through this. We’re gonna find this guy and put a stop to him. I’m going to keep you safe, Braden, and after that, you’re gonna have a hard time getting rid of me.”
Braden grinned and kissed Cade softly and quickly on the lips. “Is that a promise?”
“Yeah, it’s a promise. Take a few minutes and come out when you’re ready. I think I smell food, and if I know my guys at all, it’s pizza. So I guess everyone’s going to eat here now. You OK with that?”
“I’m more than OK with that. Let me check my glucose levels and I’ll be right out.”
Cade walked towards the living room as Maya headed back to Braden’s room. She stopped him, pulled him by the neck down to her level, kissed him on the cheek, and hugged him. He hugged her back, and whispered, “He’s doing OK. He was upset, but mostly because it’s been kind of an emotional rollercoaster, in the last hour. He’s checking his glucose and is coming out in a minute.”
Maya took a shuddering breath and tightened her grip. “Thank you so much Cade. Coop told me everything that happened today. You’re taking such good care of my favorite person on the planet, and that means everything to me.”
Cade rocked her back and forth, holding on just as tight. “He’s become very important to me, Maya. I’m doing my best to take care of him like he deserves, not only with the stalker situation, but with everything else. Once this guy is dealt with, I want to continue to take care of him, if he’ll let me.”
“God, Cade, I hope so.”
“Me too. Now go see your guy and make sure he’s OK. I’m sure he could use his Maya fix.” With that, they pulled apart and Cade headed into Braden’s living room, to sit with his friends and dive into the pizza.
“Did you save any for me?”
“We ordered enough for an army, which is fitting.” This from Sawyer, who looked up at a noise from Jackson, who held up a salad container and made a few gestures with his other hand, which prompted Sawyer to continue, “Coop mentioned Braden was diabetic, so we also ordered a couple different types of salads for him, if he doesn’t want pizza.”
Cade clapped Sawyer and then Jackson on the back and thanked them. He looked around the room and realized that some of the most important friends in his life were there, men he considered brothers, helping him, helping Braden. “Guys, thank you all for your help today. It means a lot that you dropped what you were doing to deal with this situation. Braden’s become very important to me, and his safety is everything. Because of you guys, he’s feeling comfortable in his home and even in his room.”
The men merely nodded, except for Cooper, who spoke for them all. “You’d do the same for us, Cade. In fact, you have on multiple occasions. Everyone in this room has had their life, or the life of a loved one, saved by you and your actions, whether as part of Custos Securities or as leader of our unit. You’re family, and we can see how important Braden is to you, so that makes him family too. With us, it’s as simple as that.”
Vaughn lifted his beer in salute, as did the other guys, followed by Cade. Nothing more was spoken.
Maya came back into the room at that moment, giving Braden a couple more minutes alone. She walked towards her brother. A man she’d noticed earlier when she’d walked in was sitting by him. She regarded him with wary interest, realizing he wasn’t her type at all, but unable to help taking him in, because damn, was he sex on legs. He saw her approach and got up immediately, offering his hand and an introduction with the gruffest, sexiest voice she’d ever heard. “Hi, I’m Vaughn. You must be Cooper’s sister, Maya. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Maya gave him a small smile, and shook his hand. “So, I’m assuming when they say they’re going to Vaughn’s, that’s your gym?”
He smiled, happy that she’d heard of him, and ushered her into the seat he’d vacated, while he responded, sitting down across from her. “The Knockout, yeah that’s my place. I was a client of Custos Securities, which is how I know Cooper and Cade. I had some fun shopping for Braden’s bedroom and getting him all set up in there today.”
Tears came to her eyes as she met his intense gaze. She leaned forward, touching his tatted forearm, so grateful for his help. “You fixed up Braden’s room?”
“Well, I had help from the delivery guys and the others, but yeah, I picked out everything. I hope he likes it and that he feels comfortable there. I know what it feels like, having to completely redo a living space when it’s been violated, so I did my best to keep his aesthetics, but wipe out anything that might have carried the stalker’s imprint, I guess I’d call it.” He shrugged it off, as if it were no big deal.
Maya’s hand ran down his arm to his hand and she squeezed it, and whispered, so only he could hear, “He loves it. He’s so grateful. I’m so grateful. Thank you so much for helping him, it means a great deal.”
They shared a meaningful look, and he held onto her hand a bit longer than was probably appropriate, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. He was a sucker for a girl who cared for her friends and family so much she got weepy from a kind gesture. Their intense shared moment was broken when her brother handed her a plate of food and a soda. She smiled back at him shyly and then joined the conversation Cooper was having with the others, war stories about their unit. He ate his own pizza, and while he responded enough to the conversation to not be rude, he spent most of his time silently regarding this beautiful girl in front of him.
Braden stood back at the end of the hall by his bedroom door and was composing himself, getting himself psyched up to have more company than he was used to, when the voices in the family room filtered through his own thoughts. He stepped a bit closer, wanting to hear what the men were saying, but kept out of sight. Cade’s men were telling war stories. Braden could tell that the two men talking the most were Sawyer and Cooper. He was still very curious about Jackson. The only thing that Cade had offered as an explanation for the fact that Jackson didn’t speak much was that he had permanent damage to his vocal cords. Not that it mattered to him, the guy had dropped everything to come out here and help him, so in his eyes, it didn’t matter what any of their stories were, they had his undying gratitude. Maya and Vaughn asked a few questions, but most of the time, Cade kept his mouth shut, or contributed by downplaying his own actions.
What he was hearing was just so far removed from his reality, he stood there stunned. It became immediately obvious that the person he was getting to know so well was someone altogether different when he worked. Braden would have to do his best to get to know Cade better, in all ways. He had a feeling that it would be difficult, as he seemed reticent to speak of his life and his work. Braden knew he’d been standing there too long and needed to join the party, so he started walking toward them.
He looked at everyone in his living room, and then saw everything they’d had delivered; pizza boxes, breadstick boxes, salad containers and more covered every flat surface. He couldn’t think of a time that he’d had this many people over with this much f
ood. He smiled, and decided he really liked it. Cade scooted over and patted the seat next to his, and Braden sat down with an exhausted sigh. Cade handed him a plate with a slice of pepperoni on it, and offered him a beer, and Braden shook his head. “I don’t usually drink because of the diabetes. It’s possible to drink low amounts of alcohol, but the effects are pretty unpredictable. It can drop my blood sugar levels for a day or two, and I could risk getting hypoglycemia, so I just avoid it.”
Cade looked concerned. “Would you rather I didn’t drink around you? I can take it or leave it, but if it makes you feel uncomfortable, I won’t do it.”
Braden grasped Cade’s hand and squeezed it and looked up at him with a grateful smile. “It doesn’t bother me at all. I promise, it’s not a big deal to me.”
Cade relaxed and smiled in response, keeping hold of Braden’s hand, entwining their fingers and pulling them over onto his lap. They both managed to happily eat one handed, with plates on their laps. Braden finished his first piece, and Cade handed him a veggie slice. Braden grinned at Cade’s choices for him, and decided he had a knack for knowing what he needed and wanted. He was halfway through that piece when Cade reached over and grabbed a fork and then the salad with Italian dressing on the side and set it in front of Braden on the table. He let go of Braden’s hand and went to the kitchen to grab a glass of ice water and sat that next to the salad.
Cade sat back down beside Braden, stretched his legs out, and leaned back against the sofa cushions, draping an arm around Braden’s shoulders, playing with the ends of Braden’s hair. Braden laughed. “How do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Anticipate what I might want.”
“Did I get it right?”
Braden blushed. “Well, I was wavering between taking a veggie piece or a sausage piece.”
