16. Kane
Chapter 16
Kane
‘ I cannot fucking believe I didn’t think of this earlier!’ Kane said, out of breath as held his cellphone in his hand and looked at Google Maps. ‘I’m such an idiot.’
Kane was running out of gas. His cardiovascular fitness was superb, but all of his fitness training was being put to the test in this moment. Breathing hard, he had to take a brief rest to get some air back into his lungs.
Need air. Need it fast.
But why didn’t I just think of it sooner…
In a moment of inspiration, Kane had remembered that the three Littles all used a safety app that allowed them to search for one another’s location.
The moments that followed had been intense.
Kane had immediately called Katie. No answer.
Then Sydney. Denied again.
Then just as he was about to try Katie once more, Sydney called and thirty frantic seconds later, Kane knew exactly where Cassie was.
Café Sin.
It didn’t sound too appealing.
Kane knew the area. It wasn’t a good one. Certainly not the kind of place he would ever want Cassie to go venturing on her own.
The upside was that Kane knew some shortcuts in that area of town that he remembered from his days visiting the casinos and late-night joints in the vicinity.
One quick Uber and several sprinted side-alleys and wall-hops later, and Kane was nearly there.
Kane was desperate to see Cassie. He needed to ensure that she was safe and unharmed.
But beyond that, Kane was also incredibly angry. The rules between a Daddy Dom and his Little were there for a reason.
Rules had to be obeyed.
It was the only way that things could ever successfully work in the long term.
And by doing something so foolish as this, Cassie had broken pretty much every rule in one swoop.
Still, before Kane could confront Cassie, he had to find her.
‘One more push, let those lungs open up big man,’ Kane said, trying to capture the spirit of his old firefighting academy training marshal. ‘Quitters never win. And winners sure as hell don’t quit. Especially where there’s a fire involved.’
With his old training marshal’s words echoing in his ears, Kane made one final sprint and within no time found himself rapidly approaching the café.
It was every bit as grim as Kane imagined.
For a brief moment, Kane began to wonder whether he’d been in there before.
Maybe a late-night card game.
Perhaps an illegal roulette table or after-hours drinking den.
But he didn’t have long to consider it.
Making her way out of the café was none other than… Cassie.
‘Daddy!’ Cassie cried out, her voice trembling. ‘How did you find me?’
Cassie ran over at full speed and buried her head in Kane’s chest.
It felt good.
Kane breathed a huge sigh of relief as Cassie gripped her delicate hands around him. For a second, his anger as Cassie’s irresponsible behavior subsided.
That could wait.
‘I was so damn worried,’ Kane said, his voice loving but firm. ‘What the hell were you thinking?’
Cassie sniffed and sniveled.
It seemed like the last thing she wanted to do was talk. But Kane needed at least some kind of explanation. And he needed it right now.
‘I said, what in the hell were you thinking?’
‘Daddy, I had no choice,’ Cassie said, pulling away from Kane. ‘He was being mean to me online. Then tried to blackmail me and–’
‘Rules are rules,’ Kane said, cutting across Cassie. ‘Am I your Daddy or not?’
Kane felt a change in the atmosphere as soon as the words came out of his mouth.
Had he just over-stepped the mark?
Kane felt justified in what he was saying. Part of their arrangement was a Daddy Dom and a Little was that he was in charge.
Kane was the figure who looked after them.
Kane was the strong one.
The savior.
And for Cassie to so blatantly ignore this seemed like she wasn’t taking the relationship seriously.
‘That’s not fair!’ Cassie said, pouting. She looked angry herself.
‘It doesn’t matter if you think it’s fair or not,’ Kane continued, digging his heels in. ‘None of this would have happened if you had one ounce of respect for being my Little. Jesus, I can’t believe this is happening.’
Cassie stomped her foot in anger.
‘Enough!’ Kane barked. ‘Aren’t you even going to say sorry for all of this? After all that time I’ve put in trying to fix your computers. And letting you stay with me. You just don’t get it.’
Kane could feel his temper boiling over. He was beginning to lose control. Kane could feel it coming over him. Like a big wave, a huge tsunami of frustration and anger.
‘This is so unfair!’ Cassie repeated, putting her hands in her hair and pulling on it. ‘I’m the one who’s just been–’
Grrr. She’s not going to apologize.
Fine. Fuck it.
‘One more chance,’ Kane said, his voice drawing the attention of one or two passers-by. ‘Apologize right this instant. Or–’
‘Never-ever-ever not in a squillion years!’ Cassie screeched.
Kane was flabbergasted. He didn’t know what to do. Of course, Littles could act bratty sometimes. Show disrespect to their Daddies.
But this was different.
This didn’t feel like a standard Daddy-Little conflict.
This felt like something altogether different.
Kane’s head was scrambled. He couldn’t get his thoughts together. Kane knew something wasn’t right. Maybe he was overreacting. But he had to make Cassie understand just how silly she’d been.
However, the situation soon shifted beyond Kane’s control as he watched Cassie wave down a passing cab and hop into it.
Was everything between them all over?
‘Another. Make it a double,’ Kane said, shooting a look to the bartender that made it clear there would be more to follow. ‘Actually, let’s triple-down on it this time.’
Kane watched as Raul the bartender fixed up his triple scotch with ice. He felt his stomach tighten as he cast his mind back a few hours ago to the scene of Cassie being driven away in the cab.
Kane wanted to drink until he couldn’t remember.
But that was still some time away if his brain had anything to do with it. It felt like every second that Kane either wasn’t ordering a drink or consuming one, his mind wanted to focus on one thing and one thing only.
Cassie.
His Little.
Or… maybe his ex -Little.
‘Bad day huh?’ Raul said. ‘Hey, no judgements from me, Kane. We all go through shit from time to time. Just look after yourself, okay?’
Kane nodded.
He furrowed his brow and smiled at Raul.
Raul had seen Kane go through some tough times in the past. Back when his partying days were drawing to a close and he was no longer enjoying the fast life.
The thing with Raul though was that he truly never judged. He wasn’t about to stop serving Kane. He knew that Kane was an adult with his own free will. If he was back in Grease Riders Bar and sinking the hard stuff, there was probably more than good enough reason for it.
‘What’s new around here, anyway?’ Kane asked, deciding that he would take his time on this triple-shot. ‘Place looks like it’s had a refurb. Well, a little bit of one anyway.
Raul smiled.
‘Yeah, it’s had a lick of paint.’
‘Always the conversationalist,’ Kane laughed, remembering fondly Raul’s preference for short, to the point responses.
Kane looked around the bar.
The old, dirty paint job had been replaced by a brighter, navy paint job on the walls. The floor was still the rugged hardwood. That was good. But there was one thing missing…
The jukebox.
‘Please don’t tell me,’ Kane said, his voice full of sadness as he looked over to the old spot in the corner where the jukebox resided.
‘Ah, don’t stress it,’ Raul replied, a sly grin on his face. ‘Look behind you.’
Kane turned and saw that the old jukebox full of classic tunes had simply been moved over into a different corner.
But it wasn’t just that.
Something else about it brought a smile to his face.
Standing next to the jukebox was Cage.
‘Okay, so Savior Daddies don’t drink alone,’ Leon said. ‘Especially when they’re down.’
‘How did you know I was here?’ Kane asked, smiling but also a little confused.
Leon laughed.
It was a laugh of someone who very much knew the punchline.
‘Next time you go out day drinking maybe don’t sit on your phone and reveal your location on social media,’ Leon laughed. ‘Or do. It’s up to you, my brother.’
Kane shook his head.
As much as he was a fan of technology, he really hated how prone he was to either butt-dialling people or incidents such as this.
‘I should stop putting my phone so near my ass,’ Kane said, shaking his head. ‘Here, pull up a seat and let me buy you a drink. Raul? You know the deal. Two rounds. Let’s do this.’
Kane watched as Leon took a seat next to him.
To anyone watching, they were two big guys knocking the drinks back at the bar. But the nature of their conversation was anything but what a stranger would usually expect to hear…
‘That bad? Really?’ Leon asked, a concerned look on his face. ‘I thought you two were doing good. Like, seriously flying. Forever Little type of vibes.’
Kane felt his heart sink.
He had thought that too.
Cassie had felt like his Forever Little.
But now he just didn’t know what to think.
‘ Urgh , can we change the subject?’ Kane grumbled, his ability to think clearly being severely impeded by the copious amount of alcohol he was drinking. ‘The way it seems like right now though. I don’t know. I’m not sure we’re even a couple any longer.’
Maybe this was the reality.
Maybe there was nothing else to discuss.
Leon gave Kane a look of empathy. Reaching over, his tattooed bicep looking as carved of rock as ever, Leon put his arm on Kane’s shoulder.
‘Damn, man. Love’s a fucking asshole sometimes,’ Leon said. ‘That’s why I avoid it. You know me. If you can’t beat a problem, duck out of its way.’
Leon chuckled.
Turning the attention on himself was his way of attempting to deflect Kane’s pain in that moment.
It was kind of working too.
‘Well, you’ve never been short of a Little butt to spank,’ Kane said, thinking back to how active Leon’s dating life used to be. ‘You’ll find your Forever Little though. Right now, I’d even bank on you doing it before me.’
‘Huh, I don’t know,’ Leon said. ‘Maybe we’re destined to be two Savior Daddies riding solo. Cage can have the happy domestic life and we’ll just carve it up in Singleville. Right? That doesn’t sound so bad.’
‘Hmmm.’
‘Okay. You’re not sold on it yet, that’s okay,’ Leon laughed, warming to the idea. ‘How about this then. If we haven’t found our Littles by the time we’re fifty, we’ll move to the beach and buy beachside properties. We can be beach bum Daddy Dom neighbors.’
Kane cracked.
He began laughing.
Leon could always work a bit like this. Take a silly concept and make it funny. It was one of his skills. Even if his humor could come from some strange angles that weren’t always appreciated by everyone.
‘So, I take it by your response we have a deal,’ Leon said, hailing Raul over.
‘Sure, why not,’ Kane conceded, realizing that once Leon had an idea in his head, he very rarely let go of it. ‘Raul, another round please.’
‘Nah, I’ve got these,’ Leon said, pushing a note over the bar. ‘And have one yourself, Mr. Bartender.’
Raul rolled his eyes and couldn’t help but smile.
Leon was, after all, a very good-looking man.
Kane felt temporarily uplifted. His mind distracted momentarily from what had happened with Cassie.
The situation still didn’t make sense to him.
Not even close.
For Kane to get the full perspective, it was maybe going to take the arrival of the third Savior Daddy.
Cage.
But for now, it was just Kane, Leon, and a jukebox stacked with some classic cuts.