Chapter 31
Chapter
Thirty-One
“ K ade!”
Kade’s head jerked up from where he was working in the living room of the farm house while Ram was at work. He stood as Torres and Saint came barreling in. “What?”
“We found the missing Marine,” they said in unison.
“Is he still alive?” Kade demanded.
“Yes, he’s being kept at a prison in Russia,” Torres said breathlessly.
Kade’s brows furrowed. “Why the fuck is he in Russia?”
Saint shrugged. “We have no idea, but we’re about to head out. Are you coming?”
Kade nodded, dropping the files back on the table and leaving Sanem a note on the counter before he grabbed his go bag from the cottage and headed to the SUV. His brothers still wouldn’t let him drive which was fucking stupid but whatever. He pulled out his phone and sent Ram, Carnage and Savage a text telling them what was going on. He knew Ram wouldn’t see it for a while as he was in surgery but he hoped it was enough to keep him from worrying. He didn’t want a repeat of what happened last time.
They made it to the little makeshift airport in record time and rushed to the Blackhawk.
“Hey guys, how’s it going?” Kade stated as he boarded. All his brothers were here and it almost felt like old times. He buckled in quickly followed by all his men as Jett started the helo up and started checks. “Plan?”
Scorp spoke up, placing a large piece of paper down on Kade’s little table. “The prison is out in the unpopulated area in northern Russia, it’s about a hundred miles from the closest town. So it will be pretty easy to fly in under the radar and land in a clearing somewhere.”
“What about Putin?” Sniper asked.
Doc cleared his throat. “I called in a favor and he won’t bother us, but if we get caught we’re on our own. He’ll deny any knowledge.”
Kade rolled his eyes. “Of course he will. Okay so, Jett and Sniper stay on the helo and keep it ready. Doc, Scorp, Digger, Drax, Hawk and Cowboy will be recon while me, Torres and Saint will infiltrate and recover the package.”
They all nodded and settled back for the several hours flight, Kade noticed all the buckets of extra gas and chuckled. Doc would most likely be the one to use the probe line to fill her up mid flight. They all tried to get some sleep so they would be ready to go when they hit the ground.
“We’ll be landing shortly,” Jett called out. “We’ll need to refuel.” Thankfully Jett was able to get a hold of one of his contacts from MI6 and he had an area that he could land and refuel. “I’ll have to drop y’all down so get ready.”
They all strapped up with the protective Kevlar and helmets before stepping into their rigs to rappel to the ground.
“Team one go first,” Kade ordered over the roar of the blades and the recon team jumped out one after another. “Let’s go.” He pushed Torres out then Saint before following them. He wouldn’t admit it to anyone but he was still a little uneasy being back on a rappel line. After the whole ordeal with Nuke he was kind of nervous. When he finally landed on the ground unscathed and unhooked himself he breathed a silent breath of relief. He fisted his hand then held up one finger and threw it forward like a fishing reel and team one took off. They were all wearing comms so if anything went wrong they would know immediately. He moved after team one slowly, with Saint on one side and Torres on his other. It took walking for several minutes before they finally came upon the prison. It looked to be a medieval castle with turrets on each corner of the tall stone building. It was basically a giant square. Just looking at it, Kade couldn’t really see any way to escape. There weren’t any windows close enough to the ground to be able to jump. “Do we know what this place used to be used for?”
“From what I could gather it was built by a rich man for his wife. She died shortly after it was finished and he abandoned it,” Cowboy said, his voice soft over the comms.
“Looks like a fucking torture chamber,” Kade mumbled.
“I think it was supposed to be a gothic style mansion, this is not what the original building looked like. They definitely did some renovations on it,” Cowboy assured him.
Kade hummed.
“There are windows on the back side and I see movement,” Scorp warned, “It also looks like they have motion sensor lights and cameras so hoods up.”
They all paused to pull the black face masks over their faces to hide any identifying features.
“It seems the easiest way inside would be the door on the right. It doesn’t seem to be watched, but I’m not sure if it’s locked. There is also an opening for a cellar nearby. I’ll try the door and then if that doesn’t work, we’ll try the cellar,” Scorp said in a hushed voice as he moved silently across the barren landscape to the door. He gently tried it and when it didn’t move, he hurried back to his original spot before he spoke. “The door is either locked or stuck so we’ll try the cellar. Me, Doc and Cowboy will go in first. Hawk, Drax and Digger will follow us. It’s too narrow to go in all at once.”
They all moved silently like a well oiled machine.
“Clear,” Scorp said in his mic.
Torres, Saint and Kade slowly entered the cellar. As he had just gotten his sight back this was probably not the best idea, so Kade was very careful where he stepped. He rolled his eyes at himself. He’d always liked to live dangerously, but he would have a severely pissed of Daddy if he got himself hurt. He moved silently to the front with Torres and Saint back at his flank and followed the others down a long dank hallway. “Night vision,” he said on a breath.
They all slipped down their night vision goggles, and moved further down the dark hallway. Kade kept a close eye on Scorp’s body language to make sure things were going to plan.
“There’s a dead end up ahead,” Scorp said quietly. “Gonna go right,” he warned.
As soon as Scorp turned they all followed suit and Kade knew from experience they looked like an optical illusion. Each piece of the puzzle moving fluidly with the others.
“Room on the left.” Scorp moved to one side and Doc to the other. Kade watched over Scorp’s shoulder to make sure no one was coming up behind him when he shouldered the door open gently.
Everyone but Saint and Torres filed into the room. Kade’s heart lurched at the sight before him. The Marine they were looking for was chained to the bed, his body skin and bones, as he clutched another body to his chest. Kade moved forward. “Sergeant Jordan Wells?” Kade called out softly, hoping not to spook the man.
The man’s body jerked in shock and he gasped, shrinking towards the wall, taking the other body with him.
Kade covered his nose as he moved forward. The smell in the room was nauseating. The smell of decomposition was something he never wanted to smell again. “I’m not here to hurt you. I was hired by your sister Abigail to find you.”
The man looked up. “Abby?” he croaked.
Kade nodded. “Yeah, they told her you just disappeared, maybe went MIA, but she knew something was wrong so she came to me. I’m retired military, and this is my team. We’re here to take you home.”
Jordan looked back and forth between the men who had burst into his room. He let out a weak laugh. “Not gonna fall for it again.”
Kade closed his eyes in anger. Those fucking bastards.
“I’ll handle it,” Scorp said roughly and he, Doc, Cowboy and Hawk took off.
Kade moved closer to Jordan. “I swear to you, Jordan. I am taking you home. I’ll call Abigail right now if I have to.” He pulled out his SAT phone and called Abigail.
“Hello?” her hesitant voice answered.
“Abigail, it’s Kade. I’m here with your brother.”
“Jordan!” she wailed through her tears.
Jordan scrambled for the phone, keeping a tight hold on the other body. “Abby,” he said desperately.
“Abigail, we need to get him out of here but he didn’t believe us, that we were actually here to take him home. Once we’re clear I’ll call you back okay? We need to move now before they come to check on you okay?” Kade ordered in his best drill sergeant voice. He didn’t wait for her reply before he hung up and put away the phone. “Do you hear me sergeant, we need to move now.”
Jordan looked down at his lap. “Not without him.” He held onto the other body tightly.
Kade gestured for one of the disposable giant bags they had. “Who is this?”
Jordan shook his head as tears streaked down his cheeks. “I don’t know his name. He was one of the village boys we saw all the time before I was taken. He was thrown in here a couple weeks ago. I think he died about six or seven days ago. He was beaten really badly before they threw him in here with me. I tried to fix him up, I swear.”
Kade pulled Jordan into his chest and tried to suppress his gag reflex when the other body came with him. Jordan was sobbing at this point. “I know you tried Marine, that’s what we do. Now keep trying. We’ll take him home and give him a good burial. He’ll never be forgotten.” Kade hauled Jordan to his feet and helped Saint place the other body into the bag. He pulled one of Jordan’s arms over his shoulder and helped the man stumble to the door. The man was so weak he didn’t have any strength to move. He reminded Kade of the pictures he’s seen of people that had survived the Holocaust. A shell of their former selves. He let the others lead as he tried to keep Jordan on his feet as they moved quietly back through the dark hallway. Kade didn’t even need his goggles. Being blind had made it to where he would remember how he got somewhere based on sounds and steps. As soon as they reached the fresh air they all gasped.
Jordan flinched as soon as they made it out. The cool night air felt like needles piercing his dry skin.
“Come on, we have a helo nearby.” Kade didn’t give Jordan any time to rest before he took off. He needed the man to keep moving, letting him rest would lessen the adrenaline coursing through his body and they needed to leave. “Back to the helo,” he ordered into his mic.
Torres moved to Jordan’s other side and pulled his arm over his shoulder to help Kade get the man to make the journey back to the helo.
“Jett, wheels up. We’re coming in hot,” Scorp said as an explosion sounded behind them.
“Fuck.” Kade stumbled but caught his footing and took off faster. They made it to the helo and he handed off Jordan to Doc who was already on board before he hopped in and pulled Torres and Saint behind him. “Everyone good?” he shouted. He breathed a sigh of relief when he got all affirmatives as an answer. He flopped back into his seat and tried to get his breathing under control as Jett took off.
“Are you okay?” Doc asked. His hands patted Kade down to search for any injuries.
Kade nodded. “Yeah, I’m just really out of shape,” he huffed.
Doc snorted. “That’s what you get when you have a man at home that waits on you hand and foot,” he teased.
Kade grinned through his panting. “It’s the best fucking thing ever.”
Doc laughed, and smacked Kade’s chest. “I’ll take your word for it, brother.”
After Kade was able to calm down a little he grabbed the extra SAT phone and handed it over to Jordan, who was sitting in a seat with a drip bag already administered and bundled in blankets. “Here, call Abigail.”
Jordan looked up at Kade. He still didn’t know what to say to the man. “Thank you.”
Kade nodded and headed back to his seat to check his SAT phone to see if he had any messages from Ram. His heart fluttered when he saw he had one.
Ram: Please be careful. I want you home in one piece. I love you.
He debated on whether to reply. He didn’t want to wake Ram if he’d gone to bed. He rolled his eyes at his own thoughts, he knew damn well Ram wouldn’t be able to sleep until he was home.
Kade: I’m safe. Heading home. I love you too.
Ram: Be safe.
Kade snorted. He knew it, Ram was awake and waiting. The flight back felt like it went so much quicker than the flight over. Kade made sure Jordan was settled in the hospital and Abigail was with him before he checked to make sure the other body was being taken care of properly. By the time he was done he’d been awake almost seventy two hours and he was dragging.
“You ready to go home?” Doc asked.
“God yes. I remember why I retired from missions.” He stretched, groaning at all the cracks and pops. “I don’t remember it hurting this much,” Kade grumbled as he walked stiffly to the SUV.
“This kind of work is hell on the body,” Doc agreed.
“How’s Jordan?” Kade asked as he settled back into the seat and turned the seat warmer on.
“He was tortured for sure, starved, dehydrated. He had some wounds on the back of his legs and dried blood around his anus but he swears he wasn’t raped. He said they just used whips on him.” Doc said the last part softly.
Kade hunched in on himself the phantom pain of the same treatment flashing through his body. “Fuck.”
Doc sucked in a sharp breath. “The young boy was a different story.”
“Oh God,” Kade mumbled, wanting to throw up.
Doc stayed quiet on the rest of the half hour drive, letting Kade process all he’d said. He patted Kade’s shoulder when he pulled up to Ram’s cottage. “Get some sleep, Kade. I’ll call you later, okay.”
Kade swallowed hard and nodded. “Thank you.”
Ram met him at the door and he’d never been so happy to see the man in his fucking life.
Ram could see Kade was struggling and pulled him into his chest. He wrinkled his nose. “What is that smell?”
Kade retched, pushing away from Ram and running to the bathroom. He made it just in time to lose everything he’d eaten and a few internal organs into the bowl.
“Kade, baby,” Ram said softly as he rubbed his boys back.
“Shower,” Kade croaked.
“Okay I’ll start it.” Ram moved over to the shower to start the warm water while Kade continued to retch. His heart squeezed at every sound. It was weird he’d never minded the noise when it was a boy choking on his cock, but when his boy was making the noise out of distress he didn’t like it one bit. He helped Kade undress.
“Burn those,” Kade said, retching again when he looked at the clothes before he jumped in the shower and the water was able to mask the scent.
Ram stripped, throwing both his and Kade’s clothes into a trash bag to take care of later, tossing it on the front porch and joining Kade under the spray. He was kind of at a loss on what to do. He didn’t know if Kade needed affection or if he didn’t want to be touched. “We don’t have to talk about it, but what can I do?”
Kade turned and buried his head in Ram’s neck. “Just be here.”
Ram nodded, pulling Kade in close. He moved them out of the spray and turned the water on hotter than they could stand so it would stay warmer in there longer. He sat back on the bench and pulled Kade into his lap, and rubbed his back soothingly. He had no idea what could have upset his boy so much. “Is the guy you were searching for okay?” he asked, softly.
Kade sighed heavily. “As good as he can be. He’s alive and being treated at the hospital, but there was a little boy in there with him… he wasn’t so lucky.”
Ram made a noise of sadness. “Fuck, baby. I’m so sorry.”
“The things they did to that poor boy.” Kade shook his head, hugging Ram tighter as he let his tears flow.
Ram cupped the back of Kade’s head and rocked him back and forth. “Take your time, baby. I’ll be here when you’re ready.”
After a while he had no choice but to wash Kade himself and move them to the bedroom. Kade had completely shut down. It felt like he was playing with a doll with the way he was able to manipulate Kade’s limbs to dry him and dress him in some comfortable clothes before settling him into bed. Ram dressed similarly before sliding in next to him and snuggling up to Kade’s back. He wrapped one arm around Kade’s chest and the other around his neck. He wanted Kade to know he was there for him whenever he needed him. Ram woke several times throughout the night to Kade crying out. It took a few minutes each time to calm his boy but he never woke. By the time morning rolled around Ram was exhausted and drained. “Good morning, baby,” he said gruffly when he noticed Kade looking at him.
Kade winced. “I kept you up all night didn’t I?”
Ram smirked. “It’s usually more fun than it was last night, but I don’t mind. I don’t have to work today so I can take a nap if I need it.”
“I’m sorry,” Kade sighed, resting his head on Ram’s chest.
“It’s okay, baby. I love you.” He ran his fingers through Kade’s hair as he assured him.
“Love you too,” Kade mumbled.
“Do you want me to make you some breakfast?”
Kade groaned. “No, I don’t even want to think about food for a while. I would like to go see Jordan though and see how he’s getting on. Then I wanna go see my brothers. I feel bad for just taking off after I just got them back.”
Ram shook his head. “They’re fine. They came to the farm last night for dinner. They told me they hoped you were okay and they would see you when you made it back.”
“Are they doing okay?” Kade wondered.
“Yeah, Savage met Owen yesterday and had so much fun playing with all the puppies. He even got Carnage to bottle feed one. It was really cute.”
Kade snorted. He couldn’t imagine his older brother being cute in any sense of the word.
“Are they liking the apartment?”
Ram chuckled. “Oh, yeah. I think Savage likes having his own room but I think Carnage just ends up sleeping on the floor in the room Savage chose. I saw a bedroll when I was over there yesterday dropping them back off. I checked your mail and made sure everything was paid for this month, because yesterday was the due date for the rent.”
Kade groaned. “Shit I totally forgot. I’ll pay you back.”
“You could just move in here,” Ram said before he’d thought it all the way through.
Kade froze, before shifting back to look into Ram’s eyes.
Ram met his gaze. While he hadn’t meant to just blurt that out, he didn’t want Kade to think he regretted it. He didn’t and he couldn’t wait to have Kade officially living with him. Hell he would sell his little cottage and find something else if that’s what Kade wanted.
Kade’s eyes narrowed on Ram. “Is that something you really want or are you just saying that because you think it’s a step that needs to be taken?”
Ram didn’t discredit Kade’s worry by immediately disagreeing with him, he actually thought about what his boy was saying. “I really want you to move in. Or I could move in with you. It doesn’t matter to me, I just want to always come home to you.”
Kade pursed his lips and raised a brow. “And what if we fight?”
“Well…” Ram widened his eyes. “I guess I’ll just have to sleep on the couch, you know your bad back and all,” he teased, smiling when Kade laughed.
Kade smacked Ram in the chest. “Hey, be nice.”
Ram sat up until they were chest to chest and kissed the tip of Kade’s nose. “It’s your choice.”
“You really want this?” Kade demanded just to be sure. He looked deep into Ram’s eyes. He was grateful once again to be able to see his man with his own eyes. Ram had become more blurry as the days passed and he wouldn’t lie and say he wasn’t a little worried but he could see the truth swirling in Ram’s blue eyes.
“Yes, I am,” Ram assured him.
Kade nodded. “Then I’d love to move in with you.” He looked around to see most of the stuff he owned already scattered all over Ram’s place. It was like he was staking his claim on the man without even knowing it. He grinned sheepishly at Ram. “Kinda looks like I already have moved in.”
Ram snorted. “I know and I’m loving every second of it.”
“I satisfy your Daddy side right?” Kade asked a little worriedly. He wasn’t like a normal boy, he didn’t make a mess and needed things a certain way to make sure he wouldn’t trip over shit and hurt himself.
Ram nodded. “Oh yeah you do. While I like littles and being a stand-in Daddy for them when needed, I prefer someone like you. Someone I can rely on and can match me every step of the way. I also love when you submit to me, it means so much more to me than I could ever explain because of your history, but you give into me so sweetly and that trust… I swear to you Kade, I’ll never take it for granted.”
Kade nodded. “Thank you.” He knew he would still ask periodically throughout their relationship and he adored that Ram just answered him honestly and with examples rather than just getting mad at him and trying to gaslight him. That made him think of some unpleasant thoughts. “Where is Devin?”
Ram studied Kade for a moment before he answered. “Doc has him secured somewhere. He didn’t want to tell me where though.”
Kade almost smiled at Ram’s petulant tone. “That’s because he knows you’ll go after him.”
Ram spread his arms wide. “Well duh. The motherfucker deserves it.”
Kade snorted and hugged him tight. “Okay, fine I’ll take you to see him.”
Ram pushed him back. “Really? Don’t play like this, Kade. I’ll wear the fuck out of your ass if you tease me about this.”
Kade blinked repeatedly as his body flushed with heat. Why the fuck was that so goddamn hot. “I’m not. Once I clear it with Doc I can take you to see him later today.”
“Good. Doc has strict orders to call me when they find the other guy, I want a few words with him as well,” Ram said, his deep voice menacing.
Kade grinned at him. “You do have some killer instincts in there don’t you.”
Ram cocked his head. “Doesn’t everyone?”
Kade snorted. “That’s a conversation you need to have with Justice.”
Ram rolled his eyes. “I bet he’d know the fucking answer too.”
Kade nodded. “Justice is a good guy. A lot like me actually, he came from an abusive home and has worked all his life to help people never feel like we did.”
Ram rubbed Kade’s back. “How did you feel? As a kid I mean?”
Kade chewed on his bottom lip as he thought. “Like I was a waste of space and the luckiest kid in the world,” Kade said softly. “Losing my mom the way I did was really hard. One second she was the best mom, we never had much but she was always there and she made sure we had everything we ever needed even if she went without. The next she was like a banshee I used to read about in some old folklore magazine at the gas station when Carnage would go steal us food. She was so beautiful and you would assume nothing was wrong and then bam.” Kade put his fist into his palm. “She turned into the wicked witch of New York.”
Ram snorted thinking Kade was going to say something else.
“I know right,” Kade said through his laughter, before he sighed and his shoulders slumped. “I’m not sure how else to explain it. She wasn’t my mother anymore. She became this vicious evil woman who just wanted others to hurt as much as she did. She hated the fact that my grandmother adored me so much. I apparently looked like a clone of my Uncle Kincaid who died when he was young. So my grandmother always had a soft spot for me, she adored Carnage too and never let him forget it but we definitely had a special bond.” He gave Ram a watery smile. “I remember we would go every summer to South Dakota and would stay with my grandmother through breaks in school. It was the best time of my life. Me and Carnage both decided not to tell her about what was going on at home, she was really old and we were afraid she would try and fight my parents and we would never see her again.”
“How old was she?” Ram asked, feeling incredibly grateful to the woman for being his boy’s sanctuary.
“She was ninety-nine at the time. She died when she was one hundred and three years old,” Kade told him, grinning. “She was working the day she died too. She worked all her life. She went out, tended to the farm, called me to talk for a bit, went to bed and just never woke up.” Kade gave him a sad smile. “I think she knew it was her time, we talked all the time, but we had a scheduled phone call every week on Sundays and she called me on a Tuesday.”
“She sounds like she was an amazing woman,” Ram told him.
Kade nodded. “A small spitfire, her name was Ahiga Chee which meant red fighter. It was said the night she was born there was a red flash across the stormy sky.” He snapped his fingers and threw himself from the bed. “Hold on,” he called out as he ruffled through his bag in the closet.
Ram got up and moved closer to Kade who was mumbling to himself.
“Where is it? Where is it… aha.” He held up an old photograph triumphantly.
Ram took it gently. It was old and frayed at the edges. The image itself was wrinkled and discolored but Ram knew that just meant it was loved a lot. He smiled wide when he looked at the picture. An older woman was sitting by a creek bed, her long inky black hair braided down her back as her head was thrown back in laughter. Two boys were in the creek and one was holding the other up ready to toss him in the water. Ram looked closer to see Kade and Carnage as the boys and he laughed. He could see the excitement on Kade’s face as he waited to be tossed and the look of love Carnage had in his eyes as he looked up at a laughing Kade.
“I’ll remember that day until I die. My grandfather had passed away a few months before and that was the first time I had heard my grandmother laugh since,” Kade mumbled as he took the picture back and gazed closely at it, wanting to commit it to memory once again.
“You all look so happy there,” Ram stated.
Kade looked up and smiled at him. “We were.” He sighed heavily. “That was a few months before our parents sold us. Sometimes I wonder what my life would have turned out to be had we been able to stay with my grandmother.”
“Why couldn’t you?” Ram asked, softly.
Kade shrugged. “Our parents could get benefits from the government if we were living with them, so they wouldn’t allow us to stay there.” He smiled at Ram. “But it’s okay. If they had, I may have never met you, and you make everything worth it, Ram. You’ll never know just how much I love you.”
Ram hauled Kade into a hug. “You can’t just say shit like that, baby,” Ram rumbled through his tears.
Kade grinned but held the man back just as tight. “I don’t regret saying it though.”
“And I would never regret hearing it,” Ram assured him softly. “Was she the reason you felt so lucky?”
“Her and Carnage. They made all the things I went through at home cease to exist when we were on her farm,” Kade told him as they returned to the bed.
Ram smiled as Kade gently set the picture on his side table. “What happened to the farm?”
“It’s still there. I own it and have kept it running. I have a guy I used to serve with that takes care of it. Now that Carnage and Savage are back I’ll be putting them on the deed and giving them portions of the money that was left.” Kade leaned back against the headboard and crossed his legs.
“You know I think your grandmother would be so proud of the man you’ve become.”
Tears filled Kade’s eyes before he could even blink. “You think so?” he croaked.
Ram nodded. “I do. She would be so proud of the warrior you became and I think that’s what she would have wanted for you. I think she’d be amazed at the strong man her beloved grandson turned into and how he put his own life at risk to help others.”
Kade had to look away from Ram otherwise he’d start bawling his eyes out. “Thank you.”