by Luna, David
He was about to crawl into bed next to Braden when he realized he wanted to check his email for any responses to his inquiries in Seattle regarding rentals and jobs, as he’d decided that was far enough to get himself and Braden away from their California lives. He went searching for his phone and couldn’t find it. He smirked when he realized the last time he’d used it, and went out to his latest stolen piece of shit car, and grabbed his phone, which of course was dead. He plugged it in and managed to clean up the rest of Braden’s mess in the bathroom before getting himself ready for bed. He got in beside Braden, but instead of getting close to him, he kept his distance, wary of being vomited on during the night.
Their SUV rental with the slashed tires had been picked up and replaced with another. Braden’s SUV would be returned with new tires the next day. It was after midnight and Cade was driving around town looking for the blue Honda with Cooper. He’d wanted to go out alone, but Cooper had insisted on tagging along, and he honestly didn’t have the energy to fight him. He knew Brody was doing his best; hell, everyone was doing their best, searching all available cameras. They’d been lucky several times and had gone out each time to search in the areas where the car had been spotted. At the moment they were once again passing through the three areas where the cameras had spotted the car to be sure no one had missed anything. Frankly, he couldn’t sit at the damned computer any longer without taking some sort of action, even if they were just chasing pavement for a second time around.
He glanced over at Cooper and saw he was texting someone. “Any updates?”
“No. Nothing new from Brody or the others.”
Cade saw in Cooper’s eyes that this situation wasn’t just fucking him up, it was messing with Cooper as well. Cooper had finally gotten Maya to agree to Finn’s suggestion of taking an Ambien to help her sleep right before they’d left. Braden’s grandmother had told Maya in no uncertain terms that they were opening the café in the morning, and she was going to do the baking. After that assertion, she’d turned to Finn. “You’re the doctor, right? Good. I need an Ambien, young man, or something of the like. I couldn’t sleep now if I tried, but I’m too damned old to stay up all night and then work all day tomorrow. So you’re just gonna have to give me a prescription for something tonight.”
Finn had raised an eyebrow at her demand, but answered promptly, “Yes, ma’am,” while digging out his prescription pad. He’d asked his mom and sister to go pick up the prescription, and he’d gotten enough for several people for several nights. Both Nana and Maya were out cold, along with Cade’s mom, which was good. Cade, and of course, Cooper, had rejected the offer and instead, drove out in their new rental. They’d ordered Sawyer and Jackson to get some rack time as well, while they went out to do some more searching, but his men wouldn’t need Ambien to sleep. They’d all been trained in the Army to get sleep when and where they could, so falling asleep and waking immediately to be ready to go at a moment’s notice was second nature to all of them.
Hopefully those that could rest, would. Cade was wide awake and had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to sleep if he tried, but he knew he wouldn’t allow himself that luxury, not when Braden was out there probably being beaten to shit and dealing with insulin withdrawals. Fuck, he couldn’t take it anymore and pulled his phone from his pocket. “I’m sorry it’s so late. No, Braden was taken. Yes, Cooper and I both do. Ten minutes. Thanks.”
Pulling a U-turn, Cade went the other way. It took Cooper a minute. “Vaughn’s?”
Cade nodded his head, and they both settled more comfortably into their seats, a bit more relaxed, knowing they were going to be able to work off some of the stress at the gym. They got there quickly and didn’t have to wait. Vaughn was already there. Cade stepped out of the SUV, approached Vaughn with his hand outstretched to clasp the fighter’s. “I didn’t even think to ask if you had Mikayla. Sorry, man.”
“I’d have spoken up, no need to worry about that. She’s with her mom this weekend. Talk to me,” he demanded, as he turned towards his gym and took them inside. Cade explained everything that happened so far while he and Cooper changed into some of Vaughn’s gym gear to get ready to work off some of the stress that weighed him down.
“Fuck man, that’s awful. Look, I know it’s not much, but I’ve called a couple of my guys. I’ve got them managing the gym for me tomorrow so that I can be available for you. I’ll just plan on following you back to the café tonight. Another set of eyes for the computer, a driver to check the places that the camera caught the car, a tester for some pastries, a distraction for Coop’s sister or Braden’s grandmother, whatever you need from me.”
Cade felt humbled by the offer, though he wasn’t the least bit surprised by it. He was incredibly lucky to have generous and supportive friends and family. Everyone was dropping everything to help him and Braden, and he knew he’d do the same for them in return. He got himself psyched up for a beat down. Both Vaughn and Cooper knew he needed to get out his anger, frustration, and stress, so they’d both be coming at him hard.
They all warmed up on both the speed bags and the heavy bags before going at it. Cade sparred with Vaughn first, while Cooper lifted some weights. Neither of them pulled any punches, and the match was fairly even. Cade had size and strength on his side and some tricky Krav Maga moves that he pulled out in the end, but even so, if they were being ref’d, he wasn’t sure who would have won. He was tired, but nowhere near exhausted. He needed to feel dead on his feet in order to release the kind of stress he was storing. He took a small break, got some water, walked it off, and then met Cooper in the ring. Cooper was a dirty fighter, and he was stressed for Maya and Braden as well, so that match was also pretty even. In the end, they’d both worn him out, and that’s exactly what he’d needed.
After showering and putting their street clothes back on, they left for the café--Cooper behind the wheel of their SUV and Vaughn got in his own car. By the time they got back they’d been gone for nearly four hours. Cade’s dad and older brother were out checking in another neighborhood where a 7-Eleven’s camera had caught a glimpse of Eric’s car. No other updates of note had occurred.
Finn approached both Cade and Cooper after they’d checked in with the rest of the crew that was still working in the kitchen of the café. “Zavier, Cooper, can I ask you both to get some rest?”
“Finn, I’m not going to sleep when Braden is out there, possibly being beaten to death, if a diabetic coma doesn’t do it first.”
“Zavier, listen to me and listen good, we’re gonna find Braden. I’d be willing to place a bet on that, but when we do, he’s gonna be in bad shape. There’s no avoiding that, as too much time has passed for him to have avoided insulin withdrawals. Everyone is doing everything they can and none of us would let you down. If anything happens, you know one of us will wake you. But right now, for your health, you need to get some sleep. I’m asking for at least four hours, preferably six. I can tell you now that you’ll be operating on all cylinders only if you get some sleep right now, and Braden’s going to need you the second he’s found. You can’t help him if you’ve gotten yourself too tired to do what needs to be done.”
Cade was getting pissed at Finn’s suggestion that he wouldn’t be there for Braden and he was about to say as much, when Cooper interrupted him, knowing exactly what he was thinking. “Cade, he’s not trying to insult you and insinuate that you wouldn’t be there for Braden. He’s trying to ensure that when Braden needs you, you’re at your best. Why don’t you get some rack time; I’ll stay up. I can sleep once we’ve got Braden back and into the hospital, but Finn’s right, you won’t be able to sleep when most of us will. Once Braden is found, you’re on deck and I know you, you’ll stay on until he’s home and no longer in danger, which means you’ll need this sleep, because you may not get any for days.”
He wanted to argue. The thought of heading to bed and getting some sleep when Braden was hurting and needing him almost killed him. However, he also knew that if situa
tions were reversed and this was happening to one of his guys, he’d be saying the same damn thing to them. He knew Braden was going to need him at his best, and that’s the only thing that got him nodding, heading across the street, and climbing into Braden’s bed. He plugged both his phone and Braden’s phone into their chargers and left their volumes set to high. After he set his watch to wake him in six hours, knowing he’d probably wake automatically in four, he forced himself to turn his mind off and was out in less than two minutes.
NO! Just. Fucking. No! This wasn’t fucking happening. It wasn’t. After all the planning, all the bullshit, living in this god damned sty, driving pathetic ten-year-old stolen cars, being fired from his job, left by an ungrateful son of a bitch who threatened him with exposure, and this was how it all pans out? There was no fucking way this was his reality. Eric stared at his phone in disbelief. He’d had five texts when he’d turned on his freshly charged phone that morning, a fact that rattled him more than he cared to admit, because absolutely no one knew the number.
He’d read all of the texts, each one bringing with it more information than the next, information he didn’t want, information that filled him with an insane anger he hadn’t had since the day he’d come home to find Braden really had gone, a video left in his place. How in the fuck had he forgotten about his goddamned diabetes? The laundry list of the shit he was in was long: insulin withdrawals, coma, brain damage, death, a long ass list of other symptoms, every one of which Braden had already suffered, he’d be willing to bet.
He went back to his home screen, and his heart stuttered in his chest. He had a voicemail. There could be nothing good in it, nothing. His thumb hovered over the delete icon, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Taking several deep breaths, he pushed the speaker icon and then the play icon. The voice that came through those speakers was one he never wanted to hear face to face. When he imagined the man Braden was with, he did not imagine that just hearing his guttural, angry voice would make his stomach twist. His heart was beating ten times its normal speed. He’d never been threatened like that before; he’d always been the one to do the threatening. His mouth grew dry, and his hands began to shake.
He listened again, in complete disbelief that this was happening. The instructions to Google his name nagged at him, almost daring him to do it, so he did, to his utter regret. He searched for Xavier McKade, but even his misspelling wasn’t a deterrent to seeing a nightmare spread before him. What came back made his skin crawl: Showing results for Zavier McCade, of which there were many links, including pictures to verify his identity and, of all things, a Wikipedia page. Wiki-fucking-pedia, for fucks sake! The more he read the more he felt like he was going to have a vomit fest of his own. His whole body broke out in a cold sweat as he read. The information got worse and worse, and words popped out at him like little daggers: West Point, micro-electrical engineering degree, US Army, Green Beret, Special Forces, Army Distinguished Service Medal, two Silver Star Medals, two Bronze Star Medals, Millionaire, McCade Watches, Co-Owner Custos Securities, specialist and ranked in Jiu Jitsu, Krav Maga, and Muay Thai.
He turned back towards the bed and glared at the person who in the last 20 minutes had rapidly become the bane of his existence. It was well after 9 a.m., and all of a sudden he felt time ticking away. He needed to get rid of Braden and he needed to do it in a way that ensured McCade would know, in order to avoid more of a man hunt for him than was already in effect. He grabbed some sweats and a t-shirt and struggled to get a comatose Braden into the clothing. Dragging him out to the garage, Eric stuffed him in the back seat and covered him from head to toe with a blanket.
In a full on panic, he drove faster than was wise through the streets of San Francisco, back towards the café. Two streets west of the cafe, he pulled into a parking spot on a side street under the shadow of some trees lining the sidewalk. He pulled up his hoodie, covered his ball cap, stepped out of the car and walked away. Only after he had walked ten blocks from the car and hopped a bus to the opposite side of town, did he pull out his cell phone and send a text.
Cade was in the office when his phone pinged a new text. He pulled it out of his pocket to see a black screen and immediately his heart started hammering in his chest. He reached into his other pocket and pulled out Braden’s phone and saw there was a text just before the screen turned black. He swiped it open, put in Braden’s passcode, and opened his messages. He’d finally gotten a response and it was only two words: Lapidge Street, but those two words made him weak with relief.
He burst out of the office and ran to the kitchen, surprising those that were in there working. Everyone stood when they saw his face. He looked Cooper in the eye. “Get Detective Miller on the line. Have him send an ambulance to Lapidge Street. I don’t know where that is, or how long it will take us to get there, but get Finn, and I’ll find it on GPS.”
Cooper was already on the phone and headed out to grab Finn from Maya’s place. On his way out the door, Cade turned to Nana. “I don’t know what we’ll find, or even if he’s physically there. We will call here and tell you and Maya which hospital to come to when we find him.”
The strain of the last 24 hours was reflected in her scared, wide eyed gaze. “This was my old neighborhood. Lapidge is just a few streets over from here. Please, find our boy.”
Cade nodded solemnly at her before he ran out the door toward their SUV, hopped into the passenger side and pulled out his phone. He had a text.
Brody: I’ve got him. You worry about getting to Braden, I’ll worry about tracking Eric. I’ll be in touch.
Feeling a bit relieved that Brody was on Eric’s trail, he got to work and searched for Lapidge on his phone’s Google Maps app., Nana was right; it wasn’t far. He glanced up, when he heard Cooper open the driver’s door and climb in. Finn got into the back seat with his medical bag. Cooper cranked the engine on and hauled ass out onto the street. Cade gave him directions, and less than five minutes later they were turning onto a tree lined street, moving slowly, searching for Braden or signs of the car.
Cade shot out of the still moving SUV when he saw a blue Honda up ahead. He almost fell to his knees when he recognized the license plate. He heard a siren in the distance and wondered if he’d have to break into the car. He didn’t see anyone in the front seats. When he glanced in the back and saw what he thought was a bundle of blankets, he took a second look and saw Braden’s bare foot peeking out from under the bundle of cloth on the opposite side of the car. He yanked frantically at the back door, not really expecting it to be unlocked, but relieved when it was. In seconds he’d removed the blanket and was kneeling down, breath sawing in and out of his lungs. He leaned over Braden’s inert form, feeling for a pulse with shaky fingers, and kissing his forehead, tears in his eyes, his voice a shaky whisper. “I’m here, you’re gonna be alright, baby. I love you. Oh god, Braden, I love you. Don’t give up, baby.”
His skin was hot to the touch, but he didn’t move or react at all to Cade’s words. Cade almost passed out from relief when he felt Braden’s pulse, and then nearly took Finn’s head off when he tugged on his shoulder to pull him away from Braden.
“Zavier, move back. The EMTs are here and they need to help him.”
Reluctantly, Cade moved back and allowed the EMTs access to Braden. He heard his brother talking to the EMTs in medical jargon, but only some words made it into his head before he moved aside: diabetic ketoacidosis, coma, and physical trauma. Another EMT followed with a wheeled stretcher, and he hung back, watching the two men and a woman treat Braden. When they began to slowly remove him from the car and place him on the stretcher, he rushed to Braden’s side. He ignored the medical speak and anything else going on around him. He followed them to the ambulance, and when one of the male EMTs tried to stop him from getting in the ambulance, he took an aggressive step forward into the EMT’s personal space, and used his size to intimidate the smaller man, who backpedaled in panic. Cooper and Finn held him back as they both tried to talk
him down.
He heard Detective Miller speak over the din. “Let him go with you. Mr. Cross is under protective custody. Mr. McCade must stay with him at all times, as his kidnapper is still at large. Pass this information along to the hospital, as well. They are not to be separated, understood?”
The male EMT gave Cade a cautiously curious look. “Sure thing, Detective.”
Cade stared at the detective, incredulous that he had essentially stepped in and fixed any further issues that Cade would have as merely Braden’s partner, with no legal right to stay by his side. He glanced over and nodded his head at the detective in gratitude and got the same nod back in return. He climbed into the ambulance and sat at the back of the vehicle by Braden’s head and did his best to keep his large frame from getting in the way. Once they were on the move, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Cooper.
He spoke in Dari, so the EMTs wouldn’t have anything to report to the cop. He hadn’t wanted to speak directly in front of the detective, even if he was speaking in another language, as the guy would immediately be suspicious and know Cade was keeping information from him regarding the case. Not to mention the cop had just done him a solid, and he didn’t want to insult him.
