Chapter 2
Chapter
Two
“ O h my God,” Leo breathed as the breathtaking stone cottage came into view.
“I know I couldn’t resist when I found it.” Torres smirked.
“This must have cost a fortune.” Leo breathed.
“No, it was condemned when I got it, I worked to restore it to its former glory.” Torres boasted this place would always be his pride and joy, and to have Leo love it was almost like the man was stroking his cock…weird but true.
“I’ve always wanted a place like this, but couldn’t justify it.” Leo said wistfully.
“Why?” Torres asked when he pulled up and parked.
Leo shrugged. “Too much money to just waste on space to write when I have a perfectly good desk at home.”
Torres paused; those didn’t sound like his own, they sounded like someone else’s. “Well, you are always welcome here to write if you need the escape.”
Shocked blue eyes met his. “You don’t have to do that but thank you.” Leo smiled softly.
Torres nodded but didn’t push, he didn’t want to make the man uncomfortable. “Would you like a tour or would you like to go straight to your mom’s?”
Leo grinned sheepishly. “I’d really love a tour.”
Torres chuckled knowing that would be the case. “Let’s get to it.” He led him through the laundry room which boasted a brand new washer and dryer set that he’d splurged on because hello he loved the smell of fresh laundry.
Leo peaked around the room. It was nicely painted a soft cream color and smelled amazing.
“This room leads to the kitchen.” Torres said, stepping into the room first.
The kitchen was spacious with new appliances and beautiful gray hardwood floors. He noticed Torres had a rustic theme going on and smiled, it suited the man just fine. He showed him the spare bedrooms and baths before stopping at the barn doors that lead to the master suite.
Torres smiled softly at Leo, no man had ever been in here, not even Kade. He didn’t let people into his cave.
The first thing Leo noticed was the floor-to-ceiling bookcases that covered two walls, the opposite wall was glass and the stars shined brightly. “Holy…shit.” He said slowly. “This is amazing.”
“Thank you.” Torres said softly, he was so proud of what he’d accomplished with his home and it was nice to get honest feedback on what he’d done. Really awesome.
Leo flocked to the books, and he noticed all the different kinds of genres ranging from Egyptian history to young adult fiction. He froze when he got to the last shelf, by themselves a copy of every book he’d ever published, and by the worn pages and spines, he read them a lot. He looked over to see Torres’ cheeks heat.
“Uh, did I forget to mention I’m a huge fan?” Torres grinned sheepishly.
Leo raised a brow. “Yes, you left that part out. I didn’t even know you knew I wrote books.”
Torres nodded. “Yeah, I had a friend I grew up with that loved your books, he got me hooked on them when we served.”
“I can see that.” Leo teased enjoying the fact that he could. Daegan had always taken things to heart when he tried to tease him. “Which one’s your favorite?”
Torres shrugged. “I don’t have a favorite.” He said honestly. “But I really connected with Julian more than any other character.”
Leo studied him for a second. “Why, he’s one of my most damaged characters?”
“Yeah, I can relate to him a lot, so can Kade, my life hasn’t always been rainbows and unicorns Leo.” Torres said roughly.
“No, I don’t suppose it has, I apologize for insinuating that. I don’t know much about you I’m afraid.” Leo soothed immediately.
Torres noticed Leo immediately took the blame and had to wonder, not for the first time, if his husband had been a good man or if he’d beat Leo down in other ways. “You can always ask me.”
Leo grinned. “Feels a bit like high school doesn’t it.”
Torres laughed. “Sure, I’ll pass you a note.”
Leo chuckled. He really liked Torres; he was always able to make him feel at ease. “Twenty questions?” He raised a brow.
“You mean the one where we ask each other questions to get to know each other or where we try to guess what the other is thinking of?” Torres asked, confused.
“The first one,” Leo said through his laugh.
Torres nodded. “Sure thing, wanna play on the way to your parents?”
“Sounds good.” Leo waited until they were on the road before he started. “ What is your favorite color?”
Torres snickered. “Blue, you?” He glanced over to see Leo raise a brow. “Oh, right you’ll answer that and I’m supposed to ask a different question. Ok, who's your favorite sibling?” He grinned wickedly at Leo’s groan.
“Blue and I are closer to Rafe than the others, but I don’t have a favorite.” Leo thought for a second. “Music?”
“Country, folk, and alternative stuff is what I usually listen to but I’ll listen to anything. Did you always want to be a writer?” Torres asked, enjoying himself.
“Same, I can listen to anything, and yes I’ve been writing stories since I learned to write.” Leo smiled innocently. “Have you ever slept with Saint?”
Torres choked on air. “Shit.” Once he got himself under control he glared at a beaming Leo. “No, I haven’t slept with him, but we have given each other handjobs before when we were deployed. We knew we could trust each other when DADT was still in effect. It was hard to handle things so to speak, so when it became too bad we would go to each other to let off steam.” He hated betraying Saint’s confidence but he couldn’t lie to Leo. “Only happened twice.”
“Kade?” Leo asked with raised brows.
Torres snorted. “I would have paid to see that happen.” He cracked up. “No, Kade doesn’t like to be touched, even back then so I never asked or offered.”
Leo nodded. “I can see that.”
“That was two questions. What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever done for one of your brothers, and do you have any more books planned?” Torres asked as he settled in for the ride.
Leo chuckled. “I was the lookout for when Saint fucked a choir boy after church one Sunday, the guy sucked me off as payback.”
“Holy shit.” Torres laughed. He couldn’t see Leo doing that but it definitely painted a picture. “That fucker,” He spoke of Saint when he controlled himself.
Leo chuckled. “I know, and as for books, yes I do have more planned.” He certainly wasn’t going to tell him that in his newest book, the hero was a dark-skinned warrior with the most intense chocolate-brown eyes. Nope, he wasn’t telling, it had just come to him earlier at his apartment.
“I can’t wait.” They chatted a little more, learning new things and cracking up when they got to his parents. “I’ve got to go help Kade, you gonna be ok here for a few hours?”
Leo’s heart warmed at the genuine concern in both Torres' deep voice and intense eyes.
“Yeah, I’ll see you at lunch.” Leo rushed off before he got a reply he needed to talk to his mother. “Hey Momma,” He said as he walked into the kitchen immediately heading to the sink to wash up and jumping in to help cook.
“Hey baby, you ok?” Sanem never wanted to push when it came to her children struggling but she did want to ask.
Leo shrugged. “I guess, I do have a question though.”
She raised a brow at him. “I may have an answer.”
He chuckled, bumping his hip into hers. “What do you think of Torres?”
She grinned wickedly behind his back as he turned to wash the lettuce.
“I think he’s sweet, very polite, and gorgeous.” She shrugged like it was no big deal for her son to ask that.
“He asked me out.” Leo blurted.
“I know he asked your father if it would be ok, he didn’t want to step on any toes.” Sanem said nonchalantly.
Leo stared at her in shock. “I’m sorry what?”
She shrugged. “He had found out about Daegan and he wanted to make sure we would be ok with you two together before he made a move. While I don’t know him very well yet, Saint vouches for him and you know how protective your brother is.”
“We don’t have a problem with it by the way.” Bram said as he walked in filthy, covered in dirt, dust, and sweat, but he still kissed Sanem on the cheek as he headed to the shower. He didn’t miss the heat in her gaze or the fingers that pinched his ass as he passed. He grinned and winked at her as he left.
Leo stood there flabbergasted. “I had no idea.”
“Made me like him.” She caressed his cheek. “The fact that when he learned what you’d been through he came to both me and your father to ask.” She smiled. “He’s got balls, I'll give you that.” She winked.
“I said no.” Leo mumbled.
“That’s ok, you don’t have to say yes to him baby, you may not be ready or you may be broken because that man is HAWWT!” Sanem screamed.
“Mom,” Leo groaned, smacking his forehead, and stared at her for a few minutes. His mother was crazy, that had to be it.
“Who’s hot?” Bram asked as he came back into the kitchen. He was still dripping from his shower and his shirt was plastered to his chest, but he grabbed a bottle of water and leaned against the counter.
“Torres,” Sanem said unashamedly.
Bram grunted in agreement. “Nice ass,” he nodded.
Leo’s eyes rolled so far back in his head he feared he’d never see them again. “Stop looking at his ass.”
Bram raised a brow. “That jealousy I hear, son?”
Leo sighed. “Even though I’m sure he’s a little uncomfortable around me now he still jumped in to help.”
Sanem shared a look with her husband.
“And he has a copy of every single book I’ve ever written.” Leo crossed his arms and just stared at them like they were supposed to tell him what the fuck he needed to do.
Bram cocked his head. “What’s the problem then?”
Leo sighed and then swallowed hard. “Mom…Dad…” he groaned in frustration. “At the end before he died, I had Daegan served with divorce papers.”
Both his parents stood straighter, they had known something had changed between the two husbands but didn’t know what.
“Can you tell us why?” Bram asked softly, hugging his wife close.
Leo sighed again. “A bunch of things really, but he changed after his first season overseas.” He wiped his sweaty hands on his thighs. He hated talking about this, it was just another thing he failed at. “When he got back I noticed he was distant and cold, I brushed it off thinking his time there had just been rough but he got mean.” He had to blink several times to keep the tears at bay. “It started with little insults to him full on trying to change things that had always been a certain way. The sex was just fucking scary at that point and I didn’t feel comfortable around him anymore. That’s why I stayed here a lot. Right before his last season, we had gotten into a huge fight he accused me of cheating. Even though he knew I hadn’t because I was always either here or at home. He became paranoid and vicious, the final straw was when I was packing my laptop to come help you cook Thanksgiving dinner. He grabbed it and threw it against the wall breaking it, he destroyed my office and tried to lock me in the bathroom so I couldn’t leave. The cops were called and I gave him a choice: get help or I’d file for divorce, he laughed so I filed the next day.”
Sanem closed her eyes in pain. She remembered that night Leo had shown up late with a gash over his eye and a lost look on his face.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Bram demanded his blood boiling, his sons were out there getting hurt and they kept him in the dark.
“I didn’t want you to think about him that way, and by the time I had gotten up the nerve to tell you he was already dead.” Leo stated softly. “Thankfully Saint was able to save what was on the computer, but I’m not grieving because my husband died mom, I’m grieving for that kid I fell in love with at seventeen. I still don’t know what changed but I had hoped the divorce papers would get him to figure it out.”
“He ever hurt you?” She demanded.
Leo shook his head. “Physically no, he wanted me to hurt him, some of the things he wanted me to do to him.” He flinched, slamming the door hard on the memories that tried to bleed through and immediately thought of a dark knight with chocolate-brown eyes. Those warm eyes soothed him. “I don’t know what happened.”
“With Deagan?” Bram asked softly.
Leo nodded mutely. “Yeah,” he sighed roughly.
“You did what you had to do son, and even though it was hard you stuck to your guns and I’m so proud of you.” Bram told him.
Tears immediately filled his eyes. It wasn’t often his dad spoke like that, while he knew the man adored him and his brothers, he still struggled sometimes with positive verbal affection. “Thanks, Dad.”
Bram nodded. “I know it’s scary to open back up, and whether or not you do it with Torres is up to you. I don’t think he’s going anywhere anytime soon.”
“I always seem to walk in at the most awkward moments.” Ram mumbled from the doorway while Saint snickered next to him.
Leo sighed. “You have that knack, Ram.” He helped his mom make snacks for everyone while they waited for the others to arrive.
“Hey Torres, how’s it going?” Saint asked as he answered his phone. “Let me put you on FaceTime while I'm eating.”
Leo grinned. More often than not if you called Saint you were put on FaceTime no matter where he was, so he could see you and keep his hands free.
“Whatcha eating?” Torres asked over the hum of cars as he walked with Kade to the diner.
“Hey Kade,” Saint frowned when he only got a grunt in response. “Walking Tacos,” He mumbled and chuckled when he heard Torres’ muffled groan.
“Damn that sounds good.” Torres grumbled.
“Are you heading to the diner?” Saint asked.
“Yeah, the coffee machine broke.” Torres told him seriously.
Saint winced, Kade was a beast without coffee.
“Hello, welcome to The Diner.” The young girl at the counter said, looking back and forth between them. “Are you going to be wearing masks?”
Kade raised a brow. “Do tell me what the virus could do to me that hasn’t already been done.” He barked.
“Kade,” Torres snapped. “Go get a table I’ll order for us.” He rubbed his forehead as Kade stomped off. “I’m sorry sweetie, the coffee machine at work broke and he’s a fucking animal without it.”
She nodded wide-eyed.
“Missy, you can’t be asking people about masks. This is Texas we don’t care about no COBID.” Sugar said from the kitchen doorway.
“COVID,” the young girl corrected. corrected softly.
Sugar looked at her bewildered. “With a v?”
“Yes ma’am,” she nodded.
“Huh, been saying that shit wrong this whole time.” Sugar muttered, bewildered.
Torres grinned, Sugar was the cook and owner of the place, a small older woman with so much spunk he adored her. “Kade was a dick.”
Sugar shrugged. “Kade’s the exception to a lot of things sweetie,” she told him.
“Yes, but not to be a dick. Just two black coffees please.” Torres ordered.
She nodded. “Any bagels we have a new selection of cream cheeses?” The young girl asked, smiling at him.
“Oh, yes please, an assortment of all of them I’ll take them home.” Torres winked and she grinned at him. When he headed to the table with the coffees and the bag overflowing with bagels and every kind of cream cheese they offered, he found Kade sitting at the table with a file open, his fingers dragging across the papers as he read them. He set the phone up so Saint could see both of them. “New case?”
“No, it’s a death certificate.” Kade replied gruffly.
“Oh, who’s?” Torres cocked his head; he didn't remember hearing of anyone dying lately.
“My little sisters,” Kade sighed, his fingers pausing over the paper as relooked towards the window in thought.
You could almost hear a heartbeat with how quiet everyone got.
“Fuck Kade.” Torres sat next to him, not daring to touch him as Valk put his front legs around Kade’s hips and smooshed his face against Kade’s chest. “Cause of death?”
“Haven’t gotten that far, but from where and how she was found it can’t be good.” Kade’s hands were shaking so he pushed the file over to Torres and buried them in Valk’s soft fur.
“Send me a copy.” Saint demanded, his food forgotten as his mom and dad looked on horrified. Leo gasped and Ram watched Kade with a critical eye.
“No, read it out loud, I want to hear it.” Kade ordered. “Start from the beginning.”
“The body of a young woman 20-25 years of age was found washed up on the ravine in Old Thomas Square in the early hours of December 6 th, 2020 by a passerby out for a walk. Dental records identified the woman as twenty-one-year-old Siren Stone. She had been reported missing by her brother Savage Stone four days prior.” Torres looked at Kade confused. “Stone? I thought your last name was Kinkade.”
Kade shrugged. “I didn’t have a birth certificate or a social status when I was found so I just gave them the name I remember being called.”
Torres nodded, that made sense.
“Cause of death?” Kade asked quietly.
“Hold on.” Torres read through it quickly trying to find the answer. “Strangulation, they’re connecting it to the serial killer that’s running loose, she fits the description of his MO.” He found a picture at the end of the file of her with her arms thrown around a shy-looking guy who was smiling softly at her. “Picture.” He pressed it into Kade’s hands. “She’s beautiful Kade, long dark hair, a willowy dancer’s body. She has her arms thrown around who I’m guessing is Savage. They look so much alike.”
Kade nodded, clutching the picture tight in his fist. “I’m sorry Saint, I won't be coming for lunch.”
Saint shared a look with Torres.
“What are you going to do?” Saint asked.
“Make an appointment at the prison.” Kade replied flatly.
“To see your parents?” Saint demanded.
“Yes,” Kade’s tone didn’t change.
“I don’t understand.” Torres said slowly.
“It’s customary in my culture, you don’t have to.” Kade murmured.
Before Torres could reply there was a commotion at the front door.
“Sir, this isn’t a pet-friendly place.” Sarah, the young girl at the counter called out.
“He’s got a dog.” The man fired back. The man was filthy, his clothes dirty and unkempt, his hair and beard was long, greasy, and snarled. The dog wasn’t much better, dirt and dust came off his dark black coat as it scrambled around on the floor, his nails making a noise that made Kade’s skin crawl. The second the dog saw Valk he charged.
“Fuck! Kade grab Valk!” Torres jumped up trying to head off the dog.
Kade knocked his chair back with the force of him jumping to his feet before grabbing Valk’s vest and hoisting him over his shoulder.
“Brace!” Torres barked out.
Kade did as the dog slammed into him, the momentum pushed him back into the wall. He heard snapping teeth too close to his face for comfort and Valk yelped. Doing his best to keep his balance and not drop Valk he lashed out with his foot hoping to knock the dog back. In response, he felt teeth dig into his shoulder before he used his fist to hit the dog in the face. The sound of Sugar yelling and her cocking her trusty rifle made them all freeze including the dog.
Sugar stood behind the counter, the gun pointed directly at the man’s dick. “Get your dog and get the fuck out of my place before I shoot your boys off.”
Blood was rushing so loud in his ears, it took Kade a moment to hear Torres calling his name. “SITREP.”
“Guy and dog are gone, got his truck info. It’s safe to put Valk down.” Torres reached out to comfort Valk who was desperately trying to comfort Kade.
Kade tried to get his breathing under control. His leg hurt like a bitch from when he got shot a few months ago helping Merrick find those women. “He got bit, where at?”
“I’m not sure, you’re both bleeding.” Torres tried not to panic as he helped Kade lower Valk back to his feet.
“Me and Ram will head to your apartment Kade, we'll meet you there.” Saint assured them and hung up.
“I think it’s his foot but I don’t think it’s bad, but let’s go get him checked out.” Torres sighed that had been too close.
Kade nodded, easily picking Valk back up as they headed towards the door to walk back to the office to get the truck, he didn’t want Valk to hurt himself more.
“I’ll file the report and give the cop your name.” Sugar assured them.
“Thank you.” Torres said as he grabbed the stuff and followed Kade. He could already see Ram and Saint when he pulled into Kade’s apartment parking lot. “We’re here.”
They all followed Kade into his apartment and waited while Ram checked over Valk showering him with hugs and kisses as he spoke to him. “He’ll be ok, small laceration to his right hind foot, it’ll probably swell so I’ll run and grab some antibiotics for him.”
“Thank you.” Kade said tiredly. It had been a shitty day.
“Saint, do you want to stay here while I go talk to the police?” Torres asked.
“No, go with him I’m fine.” Kade stated.
“Are you sure?” Saint asked.
“Yeah I’m good I’m gonna call it a night when Ram gets back. It’s been a hell of a day.”
They shared a look. “Ok,” they both didn’t want to leave him, but they wouldn’t push after the day Kade had.