“I just wanted to get away from them. But I never will.” I sobbed.
Caden held me close and rocked me while he rubbed my back in a soothing pattern while I cried. Twelve years. I’d been safe for twelve years, and now, when everything was perfect, my family was trying to get back in my life—something I had never wanted to happen. Now, after all this time
Caden must have realized that my crying had quieted down because he gently nudged my chin up. “You survived, and you got away, Henry. Nobody knows that you’re still alive. And we’ll do everything to keep it that way. You don’t have to go back there. Ever.”
“I’m not scared of going back there, and I’m not scared of what they will do when they find me.” The moment I tried to run away, I signed my death warrant. No one ran away from the family, ever.
“Henry…”
“No. You don’t understand.” Caden flinched, and I knew that I was shouting.
But right now, I didn’t care. Robert could walk, and that was fine for me. In the back of my mind, I knew this day might come. But now I had a Daddy and friends. What would happen to them if the family found out I was still alive. It terrified me to think of what my family would do to those who helped me.
“I’m a traitor to them. Being gay is bad enough. But to betray the family and their cause? They’re going to kill me, Caden. Then they’ll kill everyone who helped me and everyone I love.”
Whatever Caden was going to say, he swallowed down and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he opened them again and looked at me. “Sam told me that they are…some sort of white supremacy cult?”
“That’s a nice fluffy way of saying that they’re Nazis.” I rubbed my eyes and leaned my face against his shoulder. For what I was going to say, I didn’t need to look at Caden. I didn’t want to see the pity or, worse, disgust on his face. “My great-grandfather was a Nazi sympathizer. He was an American soldier, but the truth was he was working for the Germans. When the war was over, a high-ranking German officer needed to get out of Germany. My great-grandfather smuggled the officer to America. They started the commune, so he had a place to hide.”
To my surprise, Caden gently nudged me to look at him. But there was neither pity nor disgust in his eyes. Only interest and something…sympathy? “That’s where you grew up, right?”
I shrugged. “It started as a place for them to hide, but then they figured that the land would be perfect for building some…community where they could keep the Nazi ideologies alive. My great-grandfather gave his eldest daughter, who was my grandmother, to the German officer, so they could start building the perfect race. That’s how it all started, and that is why they never let anyone go. They have their own rules and laws they live by, Caden. Based on some sick ideology. Have you ever heard of what the Germans did to traitors?”
Caden paled but nodded.
“That’s what they’re going to do to me when they find me. I knew that would happen. But now, they’ll go after everyone I love or care about.” Tears fell down my face. “That’s what they taught us. They taught us about what punishments would be for crimes against them.” I closed my eyes and remembered the lecture about gays. It was the moment when I realized that I had to run away. “The day I figured out that I was gay, I knew that I had to leave. But Robert found out and caught me at the bus station.”
Another gentle tap on my chin. When I looked at him again, I saw tears shimmering in his eyes. “That’s why he wanted to kill you?”
“No. Robert never intended to kill me. He got carried away.” For the first time, I was going to tell someone what happened. The FBI never questioned me. They just assumed that Robert wanted to kill me because I was gay, and I never corrected them. “Yes, the beating started because I’m gay, but he told me that he was going to bring me back so they could punish me for being a traitor. He just…he never got the chance because the FBI saved me. Ian was the agent who initiated it. He made sure that I got to Ava so that I would have a future…but now—”
“Shhh, shhh, Cupcake. I promise you; I won’t let Robert near you. I’ll do everything I can to protect you. You’re safe with me, Henry. Daddy will always keep you safe.”
“I always wanted someone to love me, and then I found out about Daddies and Littles, and I wanted a Daddy.” Rubbing the tears from my cheeks, I just watched Caden for a moment. He tilted his head and smiled when he caught me looking at him. Smiling back, I sighed and reached for his hand. “I hate that this ruined our weekend.”
“Hey, nothing is ruined. We’ll talk with Ian and deal with this, and then it’s just us again.”
“So, you’ll stay?”
“Of course, I’ll stay, Baby. Unless you tell me to leave, I’m not going to walk away from our special weekend.” I sighed and smiled when Caden gave me one of my favorite nose kisses. “Now, let’s get you cleaned up and then we’ll talk with Ian, okay?”
“Okay.”
I still didn’t want to talk about it or think about Robert and what he had done. But my Daddy would be there with me. Caden helped me off the floor. Then he stood behind me at the sink and brushed my teeth. I leaned into his embrace, held onto his arms, and watched
