Page 48 of Laila Manning (Shadeport Crew #3)

T he sun was scorching, but in the shade, with the cool breeze that so rarely found its way into the middle of the day, felt nice. Carly’s porch had quickly become a favorite place for Kade, just as it had for me when I first moved onto the estate.

It was a Thursday, or maybe Wednesday, I lost count.

All I knew was that Kade had been living with us for almost two weeks, and it had been the most fulfilling two weeks of my entire life.

He was quiet and withdrawn a lot, but he was—calm. He wasn’t rushing off to the next job, or worried about who was coming after him out of a dark alley. He wasn’t thinking about money, food, or sleep.

Kade was just being a kid. And I found healing in helping him heal.

Zeke found healing in making Charles and Clarissa Lupold pay for what they did with pain. He spent every day at The Shop, with Jed and Ryker, as if other business didn’t matter. The three men were focused on doing something to make up for all the harm those two individuals caused countless others.

I didn’t want to know what was happening behind the soundproof walls. And neither did Kade, though Zeke gave him that choice.

Kade was intent on just being a kid again, like the mission of experiencing all the things he never got to do as a carefree child could occupy his mind enough to silence all the darkness there.

Kade lay on the floor of the porch, on Carly’s fancy rug, rattling a toy for Gavin, trying to convince him to take a step toward him.

God, that kid loved Gavin. We all loved Gavin. A world full of people with darkness and scars on their skin, melted for the innocent, and silly little baby.

“Come on, I know you want to do it.” Kade said, sitting up on his butt and holding the toy closer to Gavin. “You know you want your first steps to be to me.”

Ellie snorted but kept her opinion on that matter to herself from her spot on the porch swing, sipping her tea and watching the boys. Carly was in her favorite rocking chair, smiling at them and peeking over at me.

“What?” I asked.

“Happy looks good on you.” She replied wistfully.

“Happy?” I scoffed gently, “I feel like I’m just trying not to shit my pants twenty-four seven.”

Carly chuckled, and Kade popped his head up, looking at me over his shoulder. “Two bucks in the swear jar.”

I rolled my eyes, and Elora snorted, “I’m sorry, what?”

“Their rules.” Kade held his hands up innocently, but we all knew he was anything but. “I’m just sticking to them.”

“Zeke and he have a bet going—two, actually.” I huffed, glaring at the boy, who winked at me with a charismatic charm so similar to Zeke’s.

“First bet is to see who can stop swearing first. They both have atrocious sailor’s mouths.

And then the second one is to see who can make me fill the swear jar up first, because they both seem to draw curse words from me like magic. ” I glared at Elora. “Men!”

Elora chuckled, shaking her head, “Oh, I like this plan. Do I get a cut if I make her curse, too?”

Kade shook his head, “Nope. I have a dirt bike on the line for that jar. No chance.”

I rolled my eyes, already dreading the day that Zeke showed up with a death trap on wheels.

I knew it was going to happen, the second Zeke and Kade started talking about those things, I knew Zeke would fold and get him one.

The big, scary man was obsessed with making Kade happy.

But in a careful way. It was so fun to sit back and watch the two interact; they bonded as if they had known each other their whole lives, instead of for just a few months, living together for only a few weeks.

Almost as if there was something deeper connecting them in this weird, wild world than just their similarly icy blue eyes.

My alarm dinged on my phone, and I turned it off, feeling the energy around Kade shift even though he didn’t even look at me. “Time to go, bud.”

“Yeah,” He leaned over and gave the toy to Gavin before standing up and wiping his hands off on his shorts. “Thanks for letting us hang out again.” He said to Carly and Elora, like a polite gentleman.

“Anytime.” Elora smiled.

Carly nodded, “See ya later, kiddo.”

Kade and I fell into step together, heading back to the barracks to leave for our therapy sessions, and I put my arm on his shoulders and pulled him into me. “Nervous? ”

“No.” He said firmly with a shrug as he kicked a stone with the toe of his sneaker. “You?”

“Always.” I said and smirked before I added, “I feel like I’m going to shit my pants at therapy every time.”

He scoffed and shivered dramatically, “You got poop problems?”

I tipped my head back and laughed as I shoved him lightly. “Not compared to the smells you make with your butt.”

“Rude.” He scoffed, pushing me back and cracking a smirk as we rounded The Shop. We both gave it a wide berth, but when the doors opened as we got to the front, we both hesitated when Zeke came out.

He looked like the powerhouse boogeyman he always did, but his suit jacket was gone, and his black shirtsleeves were rolled up, exposing parts of the tattoos that covered his entire body. The ones that made my mouth water. And between his perfect lips was a cigarette.

Which meant that whatever was going on inside that building was affecting even his hardened exterior.

“Hi.” He called when he saw us, taking one last drag off the cigarette before crushing it beneath his shoe as he walked to us. “Going to therapy?”

“Yeah.” I said breathlessly, staring up at his handsome features. “Everything okay?”

“Yes.” He said, pulling me into him and kissing my forehead as he turned to Kade. “Do you have your notebook ready for your therapist?”

Kade nodded, sliding his hands into his pants pockets. “Yes, it’s inside.”

“Go grab it so you’re not late.” Zeke said, nodding to the barracks behind us.

“Yes, Sir.” Kade turned and jogged into the barracks, where we did some new configuring. He was still at my place, and I was across the hall with Zeke. There were other studio apartments in the building, but none of us were interested in switching it up right now.

No one else was allowed to come in or out of the barracks since Kade moved in, so we just kept our doors open and moved in between as needed. Besides, it gave Kade the space to have a little privacy to settle into his new routine, without us being too far away from him when he needed us.

“Are you okay?” I asked Zeke, wrapping my arms around his waist as he squeezed me tightly. He would never tell me if he weren’t, but I didn’t need his words to confirm my suspicions. The way he clung to me gave me everything I needed to know. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” He sighed, threading his fingers through my hair and breathing me in. “Sometimes it is just more intense than others. Forgive me for coming out to find you and interrupting you with it on your way out.”

“Did you?” I asked, leaning back to look up at him. “Come out to find me?”

“Yes.” He cradled my cheek in his palm. “I needed you. Just a moment with you.”

“I’m here.” I whispered, falling into his embrace as he exposed his needs to me. Too often I doubted my ability to be something the beautifully tragic man in front of me needed, but it proved how wrong I was. “I can cancel—.”

“Don’t.” He took a deep breath and pressed his lips to mine, gently, as if he was savoring the taste on his tongue before he rested his forehead against mine with his eyes closed. “I just needed a moment with you.”

“You can have more when we get back.” I kissed him again. “Just like this. ”

“I’ll meet you in town after therapy.” He kissed my nose with a soft smile. “We’ll grab dinner, okay?”

“Really?” I asked excitedly, trying not to sound like a teenager getting asked on a date. He was usually just so busy, and I was busy with Kade most days now, too. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” He pulled back and let his hands fall from my body. “Just the three of us.” He gave me one of his earth-shattering smiles that only I saw, “If you’re a good girl, I’ll even buy you ice cream for dessert.”

“Pfft,” I rolled my eyes as I took a step back, feeling playful. “Being good is overrated.”

“Careful, Dove.” He warned and then waved. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“See ya.” I waved and walked to the front of the barracks to find Kade leaning against my new car.

Zeke surprised me with it last week, and at first, I refused it, but when he pointed out how many appointments and things Kade would need from me, there was no denying that I needed to be able to get him from point A to point B without ordering a car every time.

It was a Subaru, pearly white and, honestly, the cutest car I’d ever seen before. It wasn’t flashy or over the top, but it was the top-rated in safety, and I loved that even more. Especially now that I was responsible for Kade’s safety.

Elora had called it my new mom mobile, and she had no idea what those words meant to me. She didn’t know about my forced hysterectomy years ago.

She didn’t know about the dreams I’d never experience firsthand.

But in a way, Kade was giving me some of that. Even if I had no idea how to raise an almost teenager, I would figure it out for him .

And he had no idea how to be a son, letting someone mother him and parent him to keep him safe and healthy, but he was trying to figure it out too.

“Shoot, I forgot my helmet.” Kade joked when I got to the car, and I glared at him as he got in.

I had my driver's license, but I hadn’t had many years behind the wheel before I was taken, and to be honest, I was rusty.

I was trying nonetheless—for Kade.

Because he needed me, and I would rather walk into that brothel than let him down. Ever.

Hours later, I waited for Kade to get out of his session, flipping through a magazine when he came out of the room. His eyes were red-rimmed, but he was smiling at his therapist, Andy, when he walked him over to me.

We both saw therapists at the same clinic, which made it nice for lining appointments up as well as updates and progress checks, though Kade just started.