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Navy
I FOLLOWED CADE out to his truck, shaking off my disappointment about the shoes. They were just shoes after all and Pickles was the cutest puppy on the planet, so I couldn’t stay mad. I just had to train her... and keep my damn doors closed.
“We’ll sort out the shoes,” Cade promised as we pulled out of my neighborhood.
“I’m over the shoes, Lumpy.”
“That fast, huh?”
“Yes. It’s not her fault. She’s a puppy. I’ll be more diligent to close the doors and find some chew things for her. I’m her owner, so it’s on me to train her.” I smiled. “She’s the sweetest thing on the planet, so I know she’s just finding her boundaries. We’ll figure it out.”
He reached over the console and linked his fingers with mine. “Love that, baby.”
I gave his hand a squeeze. “Thank you for Pickles, Lumpy. She’s exactly what I needed. She’s perfect.”
“You’re welcome,” he said. “How’s your neighbor?”
“She’s good.” I turned my head toward him. “She’s having a little trouble getting around though, so the doctor wants her using a walker. Dot’s having none of it. We’re compromising with physical therapy once a week to see if we can get her mobility up.”
“She doesn’t have family?”
“She does,” I said. “But they don’t live close. And I’m happy to help.”
Cade gave me a little smirk. “Of course you are.”
I let out a quiet snort.
“What?” he asked.
I sighed. “Maybe I am perfect.”
He burst out laughing and lifted my hand to his lips, kissing my palm. “I never doubted it. You’re the only one who has ever argued that point.”
“Whatever, Trevor,” I sassed.
“I love you, beautiful.”
“I love you, too.” I squeezed his hand. “I can’t believe we’re doing this.”
“Doing what?”
“Going out on a real date. Like bonafide adults.”
“Yeah.” He chuckled. “Bit of a mind bend, huh?”
“Yes. Absolutely.”
We pulled into the ridiculously full parking lot near the restaurant, and after what seemed like forever, we found a space and pulled in. Cade cut the engine before turning to me. “We’ve got a bit of a walk, you gonna be okay in those shoes?”
I smiled. “I should be good.”
“Okay. Stay put, I’ll come round and get you.”
I nodded, and he made his way to my side of the truck, lifting me out of the cab, kissing me gently before locking up.
“You really look pretty, sweetheart,” he said, stroking my cheek.
I leaned into his touch. “Thanks, Lumpy. You certainly make me feel that way.”
Linking my fingers with his, he guided me through parked cars, other pedestrians doing the same, and we did our best to avoid the shit ton of cars trying to find open spaces. It was an absolute madhouse.
“What is with Vancouver and their shit poor space planning?” Cade grumbled as we finally made it to the footpath and headed across the street to the Chez Paul. “They build up all these fuckin’ condos and restaurants and only plan for a third of the parking.”
“It really doesn’t make sense,” I agreed. “Too bad you don’t rule the world, eh?”
He chuckled. “Well, let me start by ruling yours, then I’ll work on conquering the rest.”
Cade was about to open the door when I bumped shoulders with someone. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry,” the woman said at the same time, and I looked up and scowled.
Tami Lane.
I couldn’t stop my body from locking and Cade wrapped an arm around me just as the bitch grinned wide. “Oh my god, Navy Henderson, how are you?” she squealed with delight.
“Still of sound mind and body, Tami, and since I’m pretty sure you’re still a cunt, you better walk the fuck away if you want to keep those eyes in your head.”
She reared back like I’d hit her, and her eyes filled with tears. “What? But! Well, I never.”
“No, if you’d never, we wouldn’t be here, Tami, so I’m fucking serious. Walk the fuck away.”
Everything I said, I said in a near whisper and with a smile on my face so that no one around us had any clue there was anything wrong. Cade matched me in expression, but his arm tightened, giving me the strength I needed to do this.
Tami froze for a few seconds, but did, in fact, turn and walk away, and I melted against Cade. “You okay?” he asked.
“I will be.”
“What the fuck? Do people actually talk that way? Who says, ‘well, I never’?” Cade asked.
I chuckled, leaning my cheek against his chest. “Cunts do.”
“Do you want to go home?”
“Hell no.” I looked up at him. “My man’s treating me to a nice dinner and the likes of Tami Lane aren’t fucking with that.”
He gave me a squeeze. “Love that, baby. Let’s go.”
He pulled open the door to the restaurant and we walked inside.
Once we were seated and the waiter had taken our order, Cade reached his hand over the table and took mine. “Do you feel like sharing?”
“Not much to tell really.” I sighed. “I mean, a lot of people want to define womanhood these days, you know? We”— I patted my chest— “are being told that we have to relabel ourselves, then we’re being told we have to define being a woman, once again having to defend our position and pushing us further into the marginalized category. Tami is a glaring example of exactly what we as women have to deal with.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded. “I was in the break room of one of my first jobs down here, chatting it up with my friend, Susie, and I was complaining about one of the managers and how he was always adding work to my plate even though he wasn’t my manager. My boss, she was awesome, but also a woman, so navigating the same assholes I was, would tell me to ignore him, but then he’d get irritated with me and it was a whole thing. There was a lot happening, printer jamming, etcetera and I’d joked that if one more thing went wrong that day, I was gonna go postal, and Susie and I went back to our desks. Fifteen minutes later, my boss said HR needed to see me and I was so confused. Apparently, someone had reported that they were scared because they’d overheard me say I was threatening to bring a loaded weapon into the office and shoot him.”
“Fuck, seriously?”
I bobbed my head. “I was in shock and pissed all at the same time. Even after I explained what I’d actually said, they cautioned me to watch my words. They refused to tell me who it was who reported me, and I honestly had no idea. Come to find out it was Tami, and she’d been coming to my cubicle the entire time, telling me how horrible the person was and who would do that, yada yada.”
“Did you find out why she did it?”
“Not exactly. I think it was because Susie had thrown me a birthday girls’ night out and Tami hadn’t been invited. I didn’t even plan the party. It was a surprise, but Tami had blamed me anyway. It doesn’t really matter. The kicker is, ten years later, I was at some fundraiser for battered women and another friend of mine came over and asked if I knew Tami and I confirmed that I did and she said, ‘Oh my god, Tami talks about you all the time. She said to say hi and to give you her number so maybe you two can have lunch.’”
“Are you fuckin’ shittin’ me?”
I shook my head. “I told my friend not to give her anything and she could either tell her she didn’t see me or tell her to fuck off, dealer’s choice.”
Cade laughed.
“So, when someone asks me to define a woman, that’s what I tell them. Until you’ve been fucked over on the regular by your own kind, you don’t know what it’s like to be a woman.”
Cade frowned. “Don’t like that, Navy.”
“I don’t much like it either, Lumpy, but it is what it is. Women can be horrible creatures. Luckily, I’m better at seeing those coming now. I have Cola and Dot and they’re my ride or die. I don’t need anyone else.”
“You got me, too, baby.”
“Yes, but you have a dick. You don’t count.”
He chuckled. “At all?”
“You’re better.”
“Wow, baby, that’s high praise.”
“You’ve always been number one in my book, Lumpy. I doubt that will ever change.”
“We need to get some better women around you.”
“Good luck with that.”
“You’re gonna need to meet Cricket sooner than later, then,” he announced. “My sister’s the best woman out there next to you.”
I smiled. “Can’t wait.”
The rest of dinner was relaxed, not to mention delicious, and once we were done, we headed home to make sure Pickles hadn’t destroyed anything else.
Pulling into my driveway, my front porch light illuminated a vase of red roses sitting on the little bistro table next to my front door.
“More flowers?” I breathed out. “My house is going to smell amazing.”
“How many clients have your home address, Navy?” Cade asked as we walked up my front steps.
I rolled my eyes as I unlocked my door and Cade lifted the roses, carrying them inside. I punched in the code for the alarm while Cade carried the flowers into my kitchen and released Pickles from her confinement. She had started barking the second we’d arrived and came running to me as I locked up again.
I kicked off my shoes, then bent down and scooped her up. “Hey baby, did you miss Mummy?”
She licked my face, and I couldn’t stop a laugh as I snuggled her close and made my way into the kitchen. I was still grinning as I set her on the floor, found the card nestled in the roses, and slid it out, flipping it over to read it.
Tag, you’re it, bitch.
“Fuck!” Cade reached for me as my knees suddenly buckled, and I grabbed for him, managing to keep myself up. “Talk to me.”
“My... oh, god.”
“My?” he pressed.
“My ex.” I couldn’t breathe.
“Your ex?”
“He’s found me,” I breathed out.
“Jesus Christ.” Cade wrapped his arm tighter around me and slid his phone out of his pocket, putting it to his ear.
* * *
Cade
“Hey, brother,” Connor said on the first ring.
“Hatch.”
“Shit, if you’re callin’ me Hatch, some shit’s goin’ down.”
“Yeah. I need to know what you found out about that car,” I said.
“What car?” Navy rasped, gripping my arm like a talisman.
I gave her a squeeze and although she frowned, she got the message and leaned against me without further comment.
“What happened, Cade?” Connor asked.
“Baby, can I tell Connor what happened?” I asked and when she nodded, I said, “Her ex is threatening her, and I have a feeling that car is the key.”
“I’m at the club now, so I’ll check with Booker.”
“Okay, sounds good.”
“Are you comin’ home tonight?”
“I was, but now I think I should stay here,” I said.
“You don’t have to do that,” Navy said, squeezing my arm.
“It’s all good,” Connor said. “Cameron and Cullen are back at my place with Devon so if you need to stay with Navy, brother, stay.”
“Yeah, I’ll call Dev and see how he feels.”
“She’s welcome at my place too,” Connor said. “Plenty of room.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that.”
“No problem. I’ll see what Booker’s found out about the car and let you know.”
“Great. Talk soon.” I hung up and slid my phone back in my pocket. “I’m gonna call Devon and figure out if he’s okay with me staying here. If not, you’re coming back to Connor’s with me.”
“No, it’s okay—”
“This isn’t actually up for discussion.” I cupped her face. “You aren’t goin’ anywhere alone for the foreseeable future. Now, I’m gonna check your house, then you’re gonna change into comfortable clothes while I call my kid. Once that’s done, we’ll go from there. Got it?”
“You know, I should really find your bossiness offensive.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes.”
“But you don’t, do you?” I challenged.
“No, damn it.”
“Because it turns you on, doesn’t it?”
“I plead the fifth,” she hissed.
“But I’m right.”
“Maybe.” She wrinkled her nose and glared up at me. “Damn it.”
“Stay here.” I smiled, leaning down to kiss her gently. “I’m going to check the house.”
I left Navy in the kitchen with the dog and checked every inch of her house. It was locked up tight and there was no sign of windows being fucked with or locks being jimmied. I made my way back to her just as my phone rang and I pulled it out of my pocket to find my brother calling. “Hey, Con.”
“Hey. I’ve got Booker for you,” he said. “Puttin’ you on speaker.”
“Hey, Cade.”
“Booker. You found something on the car?” I asked.
“Sure did. He’s a P.I.”
I frowned. “No shit?”
“Some dickhead named Bart Simms.”
“Is he connected to Navy?”
“Yeah, brother, he is.”
“Fuck,” I hissed.
“He was hired to surveil her,” Booker said. “But I don’t know who hired him.”
“I have an idea,” I said.
“Figured you would,” Booker said.
“You got an address for him?”
“I do.”
“Send it over.”
“Hold up,” Connor said. “You’re not goin’ in half-cocked and alone, Cade.”
“You don’t get a say in how I fuckin’ handle this, Hatch.”
My brother chuckled. “Not saying I’m gonna give you an opinion, brother. Just sayin’ I’m gonna back you up.”
“So will I,” Booker said. “The club’s got your back, Cade.”
I relaxed. “Thanks.”
“You want me to head up there?” Connor asked.
“Not yet. Let me talk to Navy, then we’ll figure out a game plan.”
“Whatever you need, brother,” Connor said.
“I appreciate that.”
I hung up, calling Devon as I made my way back to Navy.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Hey, buddy, you doin’ okay?”
“Yeah, I’m kicking Cullen’s butt at Team Fortress 2.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“I’m letting him win,” Cullen called out in the background.
“You are not,” Devon scoffed.
I chuckled.
“What time are you coming home?” Devon asked.
“Well, that’s why I’m calling. Navy had a little problem, so I’m trying to figure out if I should stay here or bring her back to Connor’s.”
“What kind of problem?”
“An adult one, bud.” I wrapped my arm around Navy’s waist and pulled her close.
“Gotcha. Well, I’m okay if you need to stay with her, Dad. But can go we to the club tomorrow for family night?”
“Yeah, buddy, we can.”
“Awesome. Okay, cool. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay. Hey, Dev?”
“Yeah, Dad?”
“Love you.”
“Love you too, Dad. See you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.” I hung up and kissed Navy’s temple. “I’m staying tonight. Tomorrow we’ll figure out next steps.”
“I have dinner with Dot tomorrow, Lumpy. I’m not missing time with my friend.”
“And I’m not lettin’ some asshole get close to you,” I snapped.
“Don’t growl at me.”
I took a deep breath and gave her a squeeze. “Navy, I’m just trying to protect you.”
“Well you can do that without raising your voice.”
“Baby, I’m not yelling at you, you know that, right?”
She pulled away from me and squared her shoulders. “When you raise your voice like that, it scares me, Cade, so it doesn’t really matter if it’s aimed at me or not, because it triggers my flight instinct and I want out.”
“Jesus, did he do that?”
I could see her throat working as she swallowed. “Yes.”
“Okay, baby, we’ll figure it out.” I held my hand out to her. “I will never hurt you. Ever.”
“I do know that, Lumpy,” she said.
“You sure?”
She nodded, sliding her hand into mine. “Yes.”
I gently tugged her back to me. “When you feel comfortable to tell me what happened, I’ll listen.”
“You need to promise you’ll stay calm, because I have a feeling you’re going to be pissed.”
I sighed. “I will do my best to stay calm, baby.”
She nodded into my chest. “Let me change and I’ll fill you in.”
“I’ve got a bag in my truck with a change of clothes. I’ll grab it while you do that.”
“Okay.” She gave me the alarm code, then headed back toward her bedroom, Pickles at her heels.
