Chapter 10 Cade
CADE
Ansel gapes at me. He doesn’t shake my hand. It bothers me more than I can say.
“I’m sorry about the fake name,” I say. “I don’t use my real one when I hook up, for obvious reasons. Brad is a go-to for me. Innocuous and plain.”
He swallows a couple of times before speaking. “And because you’re part of the most powerful family in the city?”
“And the richest. Don’t forget that part.”
“Oh my god.” Ansel drops his head into his hands. “What have I done?”
I chuckle, resting my hand on the back of his neck. “Nothing I didn’t want you to, that’s for sure.”
“I don’t understand,” he says, his voice muffled by his hands. “Why the fuck did you go along with this? Why did you stay all this time? And why the fuck did just a photo of you send…those people running in the other direction?”
Ah. So Ansel’s not ready to spill all his dirty secrets at once. He might’ve been ready earlier, but that phone call seems to have brought him screaming back to reality. “Well, unlike you, I guess they recognized me.”
“How did I not recognize you?”
I shrug. “Because people see what they want to. I told you my name was Brad, and that’s who you needed me to be. Besides, it’s not like I’m on the news, just the society pages.”
He lifts his head from his hands and stares at me wearily. “Why did you go along with it? You must’ve known I had the wrong guy.”
He looks so dejected that I tuck him under my arm. He’s stiff at first, but then he relaxes into me. “Like I’ve said before, you intrigue me. I haven’t met many people who’ve done that. I also knew I’d be a much better victim than whoever the real Brad was.”
“What?”
I kiss his temple. “I put myself in your car. I didn’t try to escape. I didn’t try to hurt you. I even gave you orgasms. Really, I’ve been the best kidnap victim. Just perfect for your first time.”
“But this isn’t your first time,” he says slowly, drawing himself out from under my arm. “You’ve done this before.”
I shift on the bed. Shit. I should’ve known Ansel would’ve put two and two together this fast. He’s smarter than I could ever hope to be. Not street smart, but the other kind. The one that figures shit out quicker than you’d like them to. “Technically, this is the first time I’ve been kidnapped.”
“But you’ve kidnapped people before.” Ansel’s on his feet now, pacing the room. “How is it that a Buckingham is involved in shady stuff?”
I stand slowly, and he flinches. “You knew I’d done bad shit before. Why is it different now?”
“I don’t know,” he says as he fists his hair. “It just is, okay? This whole time, I thought I was in control. But I wasn’t, was I?”
He looks at me, and it’s obvious he wants an answer. An honest one. “No, butterfly. You weren’t.”
He sucks in a breath like he’s been punched. He nods slowly and takes a shaky step backward. “This is all too much. I need… I just need a minute. Fuck.”
It goes against everything to let him walk away from me, but I do. Only because he’s not leaving the cabin. He’s just stepping into the other room, closing the door softly behind him.
I clench my fists as I stare at the wood separating us. I don’t understand why Ansel’s freaking out. I’ve managed to get whoever was bothering him to back off temporarily. Once I find out who they are, I’ll make sure they do it permanently.
And, yes, I lied, but he kidnapped me.
I think that makes us even.
When he doesn’t show any signs of coming out, I go to the bathroom and splash water on my face.
There’s a tapping sound. Confused, I look at the window.
And see Matthias staring back at me.
My heart jumps into my throat and then I roll my eyes in annoyance. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Matthias frowns, clearly able to hear me through the thin and warped glass. “Saving your ass. Come on.”
“No.” I make a shooing motion. “I don’t need saving. Now fuck off. Go away.”
Matthias’s mouth drops open. “You’ve been kidnapped, Cade. Come on. We need to get you out of here.”
“I told you, I’m fine. Go. Now. You’re going to ruin everything!”
His nostrils flare. “You might be an asshole, but you’re our asshole. We’re not leaving without you.”
We… We… Oh fuck.
Matthias gestures impatiently. “Quickly, while they have Ansel detained.”
Panic grips my throat in a chokehold. I move, sprinting through the cabin. But I’m not heading for the door.
I’m going to Ansel.
I burst into the other room and my heart stops dead in my chest. Ansel is on his knees, trembling. One of his eyes is bruised and swollen, blood dripping from his nose. He’s swaying, like he’s struggling to stay conscious.
And my brother, Samson, is holding a gun to his head.
Harley spots me first and squeals, covering his eyes. “Ew. Why the fuck are you naked?”
Dalton reaches over and slaps him upside the head. “I doubt he was allowed to wear clothes, you fucking asshole.”
I don’t respond. I don’t look at any of them. I just stare at Ansel. At the tears tracking down his cheeks. “Samson, take that gun away from his head before I put a fucking bullet in you,” I seethe.
Samson frowns, exchanging a confused look with Wylder. “What the fuck? This guy kidnapped you. He deserves to die. We only left him alive this long in case you wanted to be the one to do it.”
He jerks his hand slightly, and Ansel whimpers. That’s when I realize Samson is holding him by his hair. I step closer, murder in my eyes. “I swear to fucking god, Samson. Let him go, now.”
He looks at Wylder, who nods. Samson pulls away and puts the gun in the holster under his jacket.
Ansel sways on his knees once more, and I swoop in to catch him before he hits the floor. “It’s okay, butterfly. I’ve got you. You’re safe.”
All around me, my brothers are whispering and shuffling. I situate Ansel on my lap before glaring up at them. “Which one of you fuckers hit him?”
No one speaks, but I see Dalton wince. I narrow my eyes at him and mark it on my mental list. He’ll pay for this.
Wylder clears his throat and steps forward. “Cade, let’s not do anything hasty. We were under the impression that you needed rescuing.”
“You were wrong,” I snarl. Ansel’s lips part on a moan, his hand drifting to his temple. He faints, and a wave of panic fills me. Just how fucking hard did Dalton hit him? “Someone get a fucking doctor here before I start stabbing.”
Dalton vanishes out of the room immediately. Probably for the best.
He knows he’ll be the first to take a knife.
I won’t actually kill my brothers. They’re my family. I love them. I’d die for them.
I might injure them though. Actually, there’s no might where Dalton and Samson are concerned. I’m definitely going to punch them later. And they better not fight it.
Right now, all I care about is making sure my butterfly is okay.
“Here.” A damp cloth appears in my field of vision. “Figured you’d want to be the one to clean him up.”
I grunt at Wylder, accepting the cloth. That’s all the thanks he’s getting from me.
I quietly tend to Ansel’s wounds, clucking my tongue as I clean up the blood. Around the room, I’m aware of my brothers whispering. And staring. They’re doing a lot of that.
Unsurprisingly, it’s Harley who addresses it. “Um, Cade? Do you have a head injury too?”
My gaze snaps up. “What?”
Harley gestures at Ansel with a bemused smile.
“Well, you’ve been kidnapped. You managed to leave both your phone and your watch behind so we couldn’t track you.
You’re being held captive by a twink who weighs less than what you’re able to bench press, and you’re being held in possibly one of the worst setups we’ve seen.
Seriously, there’s one lock on the outer door, and it wasn’t even being used. ”
I glare at my youngest brother. “So?”
“So, maybe you can explain what’s going on,” Wylder says heavily. “We thought we were on a rescue mission, Cade. You’ve been AWOL for days. Is this some kinky roleplay shit?”
“No,” I say softly, pushing Ansel’s hair back from his face. His eyes are still closed. I have no idea how much of this he’s taking in. “Ansel really kidnapped me.”
“And now you’re protecting him?” Disbelief drips from Matthias’s words. “What the fuck, Cade?”
I point at him. “Really? Are you forgetting that you were so obsessed with a man that you tricked him into marrying you?”
Matthias flushes and opens his mouth to retort. Harley cuts him off by clapping him on the shoulder. “Can’t say shit, man. Cade’s right. Sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants.”
“Trust Cade’s heart to want someone as psychotic as him,” Samson drawls from where he’s leaning against the wall. “He was never going to pick someone normal.”
I gather Ansel closer protectively. “He’s not psychotic. He’s perfectly normal. Well, except for his hatred of nineties music. That is seriously fucked.”
“That makes him more normal, not less,” Samson grumbles. “No one else likes that shit.”
I’m about to argue, but Dalton re-enters the room, Dr. Ramsey following closely behind. I’m sure Wylder brought him along just in case I was in critical condition.
We aren’t just Buckinghams, we’re The Firm. There’s nothing that’s out of our reach or sphere, including having a doctor on staff for times like these.
I’ll abuse the fuck out of all of it to get Ansel the help he needs.
Ramsey eyes Ansel in my lap. “I’ll need to examine the patient. Can he be put on the floor?”
My arms instinctively tighten around Ansel. “No.”
He sighs. “It would really be much easier—”
“You’ll make it work like you always do,” Dalton says with a smile. It’s one people often mistake for charm. It’s never charm. It’s always danger. “He can’t be moved right now, so assess and treat him there.”
Dr. Ramsey sighs and looks around the room. He’s met with stoic glares from every single one of my brothers. Either they all know they fucked up, or they know better than to try and take Ansel from me right now.
I don’t…cope well when that happens. It’s why Wylder gets so frustrated when I find a new obsession. It takes over my life, and god help anyone who tries to step between me and what it is I want.
This is the first time it’s happened with a person, but the principle is the same. I want Ansel.
Very, very much.
And no one is taking him from me. Not even a fucking doctor.
Dr. Ramsey’s lips purse. “Really. It’ll be easier if—”
“Assess and treat him,” Dalton orders. “Now. We don’t like to be kept waiting. You know this.”
He exhales in frustration and drops to his knees to start his exam. “I should quit. You’re all getting worse with age. And my knees can’t take the up and down like this anymore.”
“You won’t quit. We pay you too well,” Wylder says wearily.
My eyes meet Dalton’s, and he offers me a tentative smile.
My ire at Dalton ebbs slightly. He’s trying to help. To make up for what he did.
I’m still gonna punch him. I won’t use the knuckle dusters though. Bare fists only.
That seems fair.
Ansel comes to while being examined, answering the questions the doctor asks.
“Shock and mild concussion,” Dr. Ramsey announces after a thorough check. As thorough as he can be with Ansel in my lap. “I’ll give you a list of things to watch for.”
As he speaks, Wylder takes notes on his phone.
“You’ll check on him though?” I ask Dr. Ramsey.
“Of course I will. You’ll just need to let me know where he’s staying. But I doubt you’ll let me near him right now, so I’m giving you instructions.”
“You’ve got that right,” I say. “If you touch him, I’ll be serving you your termination papers.”
Ramsey just sighs. “You’ve threatened me with termination papers before, and it’s never happened. Because most doctors can’t stand working with emotional men like you.”
“We aren’t emotional,” I say, and then sniff. Maybe I am. I’m pissed. Angry, even.
Ansel is hurt.
A fucking concussion. Caused by my brother, no less.
“We won’t be serving any termination papers.” Wylder interjects and then helps Dr. Ramsey to his feet. “You’re welcome to head back to the house now. We can manage from here.”
Ramsey nods, and when he leaves, Ansel opens his eyes. He squints in the light. “Um, why am I on your lap?”
His voice is heavy and thick. Probably from crying, from the fear.
It makes my anger flare once more.
“Because this is where I need you to be right now.”
His eyes sweep over my brothers. Apart from Wylder, none of them are attempting to conceal their curiosity. “Who are they? Are we in danger?”
“No, butterfly.” I sigh and gesture at the room. “Ansel, meet my family, the Buckinghams. You might also know us as The Firm.”