Page 15 of Greater than the Heart
“The hell I put Jax and Cade through while I dealt with it was enough. I just couldn’t do that to you. I’m happy to report I’m cancer free, and I have a favor that’s really shitty to ask right now, but I don’t expect an answer yet, and this isn’t a guilt trip to get you to agree to something you very well may not want to do, so don’t say anything,” he told her as their food was delivered. Eggs Benedict for him and crepes Foster for her.
They toasted again to his recovery and then dug into their food. Ford wished he’d ordered something simpler because his stomach was churning, but it was the food he’d ordered so he was going to eat it. Cade had brought home donuts for him andJax. Ford wished he was home eating a donut, but the brunch with Sela was necessary.
After they finished eating, Sela helping herself to as much of his breakfast as her own, they ordered coffee and sat across from each other. He could tell she was waiting for him to open his mouth and say something.
He finished his last Bellini and looked at her with a smile. “We’d like to have children, as strange as that might sound with us being a triple, but I was wondering…” he began.
She was nearly over the table, pulling him up into a tight hug. “Of course, I will. Just tell me when and where Branny. I think it’s fantastic, and I know the three of you will be amazing parents. I’ve seen it firsthand,” she told him through her tears. Hell, he shed a few of his own, but those tears were in thanks for her kind and loving heart.
The only thing left to do was to sell the idea to Cade—or feel him out. If he was against it, then the discussion ended. Unless the vote was unanimous, nothing moved forward. They’d made a contract that they all had to agree on big changes in their lives, and Ford was holding onto the very heart of it. All or nothing.
Chapter Seven
Cade
Cade stood in the line to get coffee at the shop down the street from the club. Things were going well with the family. It was late summer and the three of them were considering going away for a vacation. Cade was all for it. Cleveland and Griff were still fighting with Winnie over wedding plans, so they’d gone away for a week in order to regroup and come up with new ideas.
As Cade stepped up to the counter to order his caramel macchiato, he was bumped from behind, so he turned, happy to see a familiar face. “Vance? Is it you, Vance Blake?” Cade greeted the redhead. He was dressed in a suit which was a surprise, but Cade was certain it was the kid from the shelter.
“I’m sorry, do I know you?” the young man asked.
“It’s me, Cade… From Clark Street Shelter? Wait, I might be mistaken but you look like a kid I used to know, though you might be a few years older than him so obviously, you’re not him. Sorry,” he apologized as he stepped to the side to wait for his drink after he ordered.
After he had his coffee, he walked to the club. Jax was at the Center, and Ford was going to work that night at Fairytails. Cade and Jax were having a date night. It was harsh to say they’d worked out a schedule for their downtime, but with both businesses being so demanding and successful,they’d worked out a schedule.
It had allowed them to have time together with each other and then the three of them, and nobody complained because it was organized. If anything, it gave them time to plan special things, and they’d all had a lot of fun of late.
As Cade was about to unlock the front door, he felt a hand on his shoulder, startling him a bit. He turned to see it was the guy from the coffee shop. “I’m sorry, Cade, but it was too busy in there for me to speak with you. Indeed, I’m Vance Blake, the undercover agent from the shelter. I know Agent Porter never told you who it was, but it was me.
“I just wanted to check on you guys, so I sort of stalked you for a few weeks to get a feel for your schedules. You were all so damn kind to us, and the guilt never went away about how the shelter ended up being closed down because of all that bullshit. How’ve you been?” the tall redhead asked.
“We’re good, Vance. Do you know anything about the other boys?” It was Cade’s only real concern. He’d worried about those boys for a long time.
“Kevin and I were undercover, but he quit the organization not long after we left your home. We were able to get most of the boys into a better situation with a job and a new identity. We worried about those assholes coming after them, but thankfully, they’ll never be found.
“How about you, Kincade? Are you okay?” Vance asked.
“Well, Ford and Jax got married, as I’m sure you saw on the internet. They adopted me, which I’m sure you didn’t see on the internet. We’re all very happy together,” Cade offered with a toothy grin.
When Vance laughed, Cade giggled, too. “No, we didn’t see that on the Internet. We never told you guys, but Kevin and I are a couple and were working on that case together. He’ll be happy to hear you guys worked it out because we were all rooting for you. You were the first glimpse at family that most of those kids have ever had, but we had to make sure you and Sammy weren’t part of the money-laundering scheme.
“I’m sorry about how it went down, but I’m not sorry they shut down the operation. That money was really dirty. Agent Porter and a few others in our white-collar division are still sorting through the mess of it, but the gist seems to be the donations, or most of them, were made with dirty money and filtered through the organizational structure of Chicago Outreach to be paid out again to bogus vendors who had accounts offshore.
“Look, I gotta get downtown, but I’m glad to know you three are doing well and none of that shit is hanging over your heads. Tell Jax and Ford I said hello, please?” Agent Blake requested as he leaned down to give Cade a kiss on the cheek.
“Sure, Vance. Take care and say hi to Kevin. What’s he doing these days?” Cade asked.
“He’s working for the U.S. Marshals Service. He works with an extradition unit. Anyway, if I ever get promoted out of undercover operations, Kev and I will come into the club to have drinks with you. Be safe.” Vance Blake turned and hurried down the street to—not surprisingly—a black SUV.
Cade let himself into the club and locked the door, quickly disarming the security system as he turned on the lights to see the place was clean and ready for another day. He went upstairs to the office to call in the liquor order for the rest of the week and to double-check the deposit from the previous night. He wanted Brady Jones to take it to the bank when he got in before noon.
As he was tallying the credit card slips, he heard a noise downstairs. He glanced at the clock to see it was just after nine, and with Griff on vacation, he didn’t think the dancers were working on any new routines. They’d been recycling some of their old ones, taking turns at being the lead dancer, and thankfully, nobody complained.
He stood from the desk and quietly walked over to the one-way window, seeing two figures dressed in black with stocking caps over their faces. He picked up the phone and dialed 9-1-1 immediately. After he gave his location and told the operator what was happening, she insisted he stay on the line, so he did.
He pulled out the bottom drawer of Ford’s desk and opened the gun safe, pulling out the .38 revolver Ford had there. He checked to see if it was loaded, and then he remembered Tao was coming in early to finish power washing the patio and the outside furniture where the smoking customers liked to party.Cade didn’t want the kid knocking on the door and possibly getting shot, so he had to come up with a plan.
He put the gun behind his back, between his belt and his trousers, before he grabbed the baseball bat Ford had behind his office door, hoping to scare them off. He made a loud racket, bouncing the bat against the stairs as he walked down, but he saw both of them standing at the bottom of the stairs looking up at him. “Fellas, turn around and leave the way you came in. I already called the cops, and they should be here in about thirty seconds,” he warned.
