Foster Siblings 3: Brokedown Hearts (35 page)

After settling her at the foot, within the mess of the tangled comforter, Ben told her to stay put, sidled around the side of the bed, doused the lamp at the table and the one on the nightstand, and then crawled into bed beside David. Without hesitation, Ben dragged David to him, tucking David’s back against his front, and wound an arm around his waist.

Sighing with contentment, David threaded his fingers through the backs of Ben’s and held them to his stomach. David listened to Ben’s even breathing and bathed in the sure, strong beat of Ben’s heart thumping against his back.

Long minutes passed in silence, to the point where David had thought Ben had drifted off, when Ben murmured, “I think I’m going to be able to fall asleep and stay down for the rest of the night now.” He nuzzled into the crook of David’s neck and added in an even softer tone, “I feel much quieter inside than I did before.”

“Good.” David drew Ben’s hand up to his lips and pressed a kiss to the back. “That’s all I want.” Tears burned hot in David’s eyes, but he blinked repeatedly, looked to the wall, and willed them away. He wanted to take care of Ben right now; he didn’t want Ben feeling as if he had to soothe David and wipe away his tears. David clung with everything in him to Ben’s hand and whispered, “I just want to make life better for you, however you need me to.”

“You do that, honey.” Settling in more comfortably behind David, Ben slid a leg between David’s thighs. “God knows you do that more than I ever thought anybody could.” He pulled their twined hands back down to David’s belly and hugged him close. “Go to sleep, baby. I know you’re exhausted too.”

David mumbled his agreement, and he relaxed against Ben’s solid shape. He closed his eyes, but he didn’t go to sleep until Ben had relaxed completely too, and Elsa crept with slow, careful steps up the bed and curled into a ball next to David’s chest.

Only then did David float away into happy dreams, knowing he had Ben holding him securely to their world.

* * * *

Rolling over in bed, Ben stretched and slowly blinked sleep from his eyes. The rich, deep smell of coffee wafted into his nose, and he moaned as he willed himself awake. His stomach growled, reminding him he hadn’t eaten in quite a while. After he wiped crud from his eyes to clear his vision, a fully-dressed-in-jeans-and-a-button-down-blue-shirt David appeared in his sight line.

Oversize mug in hand, David strolled to the bed and sat on the edge. “Morning.” He handed over the coffee. “You slept well.”

“Morning.” Before going in for a sip of the heavenly smelling brew, Ben pressed a kiss to David’s cheek. As he lingered on David’s warm, smooth skin, the time on the alarm clock caught his attention. “Shit.” Nine twenty-eight sent a shock wave through Ben. “It’s late.” He never slept past eight, even on his laziest days. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

Bunching up the bedding under his hand, David shrugged. “Once you went down, it was like you were in a coma. I figured your body needed the rest, so I chose not to disturb you.” Black edged out the blue in David’s eyes, and he almost looked like Elsa when she knew she’d done something wrong. “I apologize if that wasn’t the right thing to do.”

“No, it’s fine,” Ben assured him. They’d made progress, but David was still fragile in so many ways, and Ben had to remember to stay mindful of his tone. “As much as I might not like to admit it”—he exaggerated a stretch for effect but then moaned,
Christ, yes
, as the move felt so fucking good all over—“you’re probably right about me needing the extra downtime.” Ben picked his cup of coffee back up from the nightstand and savored a long sip. “What about you?” He studied David, so nicely put together for the day, from over the rim of his mug. “You’re usually gone by now.”

“Someone at work needed the afternoon off,” David explained, “so I switched with her. I don’t have to be at the shelter until after lunch, so there’s no rush.” He suddenly jumped up, crossed the room, and busied himself with packets of instant oatmeal. After dumping two packets into one bowl and starting on the next, he looked up at Ben and blurted, “I thought maybe we could have some breakfast and then run errands or go to the park or even catch one of those dollar movies. Or we could do whatever you feel like doing.” With a blush, David shrugged one of those shrugs that meant the exact opposite of indifference. “I don’t know. I just want to do whatever normal people would do with a free morning and not think too much about it.”

Ben wasn’t sure anyone would ever call him and David normal, but his heart swelled for David, and he murmured, “Sure, we can do something.” He got out of bed and surprised himself with the lightness of his step.
Hmm
. The soft, willowy sensation continued to wind through him, and he couldn’t help himself. He grinned at David. “You know, your suggestion is a good one. I’d like to let a morning go by without worrying about anything beyond having a nice time together for a few hours.” Maybe, amid possibly the weirdest damned origin of a relationship, the two of them actually could share a morning similar to what many couples did. “I’ll drop you off at work afterward so you don’t have to worry about catching the bus. Let me get some fresh clothes and take a shower first.” Ben hoisted his duffel onto the table. With jeans and a T-shirt in hand, he glanced at David. “Clothing was half the reason I went back to Tampa yesterday, just so you know.”

“Yes, I figured that out.” David stuck his tongue out at Ben, and that bit of spunk hit Ben in the chest as powerfully as this man’s devotion and words of love. “Here’s a progress report for you on that front,” David shared, “
just so you know
too. Your phone beeped a little bit ago. I was tempted to check it, but I didn’t.” David started snapping the band on his wrist, and Ben understood how deeply David still battled these desires to cross boundaries with a partner.

The man’s triumph, no matter how minor, made Ben all the more proud. “I appreciate that you didn’t look. But just so we’re clear”—he fished his phone out of his discarded jeans from last night—“I don’t ask for privacy because I have something to hide. Anything you want to know, ask me, and I won’t keep it from you. Come here.” Ben beckoned David to him. “Sit with me while I check it.”

Rather than pull a chair next to Ben, David perched himself on Ben’s leg, a place he seemed to like being, so Ben pressed his lips against the man’s shoulder and draped an arm loosely around his waist. With his free hand, he got his phone going, and the second he saw the name at the top of his new-texts list, he sat up straighter.

“It’s Mika.” Ben tapped the screen to pull up the message. “I’ve been pestering him to get back to me.” Ben read the message, felt the blood drain from his face, and his stomach dropped to the floor. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” He eased David off his lap, and after jamming in Mikael’s number, he started pacing. “This isn’t good.”

David turned, watching Ben move. “What?”

Ben grimaced. “Mika’s message read, ‘Dad knows I know about you. He’s not happy. I’m scared. I have to get away now.’”

David’s face fell. “Oh no.” At Ben’s side, David began pacing with him.

“Shit.” Mikael’s voice mail kicked in, and Ben punched his fist in the air. “Why isn’t he answering?”

Walking with Ben, David rubbed Ben’s lower back in soothing circles. “Keep trying while you make a plan to go get him.”

Ben staggered to a stop and studied David with wonder. “You really know me.”

Looking up at Ben, David grinned, something soft and sweet. “Yeah, I think I do.”

His throat clogged with too many emotions, Ben tugged David in, planted a kiss to his forehead, and then held him close, needing his warmth. “I’m glad you’re here with me right now,” he whispered against David’s temple.

David held Ben in place. “What do you want me to do?”

Pushed out of his stupor, Ben calmed himself and listened to the gears already churning in his head. “Call this guy for me.” Ben grabbed a pen from the table and dragged over the first writing surface that hit his fingers. On the cover of one of David’s files, Ben jotted down a name and phone number and handed it to David. “He’s a Swedish investigator I used to help find Goran. He speaks English, though, so don’t worry about him not understanding you. I’ve called on his expertise when I needed assistance with a case that crossed into Europe too.” Getting Mikael’s voice mail once more, Ben hung up and dialed the number again. “Tell him who you are, who you’re calling for, and why. Tell him to start a search for Mika—he knows who that is. Tell him I will be on the first plane to Sweden I can get, and that I will call to speak to him in person as soon as I can.”

“Okay.” David grabbed his phone, scrambled across the room, and sat at the foot of the bed. “I can do that.”

While Ben listened to the repeated rings on the other end of the line, he held the phone between his ear and shoulder and struggled into the clothes he’d pulled out moments ago. No time for a shower now. He’d washed up the crucial bits last night; he wouldn’t kill anybody with the sweat smells that remained.

After getting Mikael’s voice mail for a third time, Ben tossed the phone on the table in disgust. Using his time more productively, he rushed to the bathroom to use David’s toothbrush. He didn’t want to waste an extra minute digging his own toiletry bag from the bottom of his duffel.

Just as Ben spit the first wash of toothpaste from his mouth, the phone came to life, blasting techno music through the room. After throwing the brush into the sink, Ben ran back across the room and dived for the phone. He pushed the Accept Call button and shoved the phone to his ear. “Mika?” Ben could barely breathe through the quick pounding in his chest. “Where are you? What’s going on?”

“Stay away from my son!” Goran Enquist’s thick accent thundered through the phone. “I won’t have him become a deviant like you.”

Impotent rage washed through Ben, but he forced the inferno down and demanded focus of himself. “Why do you have Mika’s phone? Where is my brother?” Too many visions of terrible cruelty flooded Ben’s brain and heart and overtook his cool head. “If you’ve hurt him, I’ll tear you to pieces with my bare hands. I swear I will.”

“Mikael is my business, and I will fix however you seduced him, and I will make him better. He will forget he ever knew you. Leave him alone!” Deathly silence suddenly filled Ben’s ear—Goran had already ended the call—and Ben shivered.
If he puts Mika through some kind of brutal gay-rehabilitation program, the kid could be damaged forever.

Moving with efficiency, Ben threw some of David’s things into his bag, zipped it, and hoisted it over his shoulder. He didn’t have time to stop and shop for additional personal items right now. “I have to go find Mika before that bastard gets to him first and does something crazy.” Ben felt down his sides to his pockets and, when he didn’t feel keys, fished through the pockets of his dirty jeans. Once Ben found them, he glanced David’s way. The guy looked like a preppy Hamptons teenager, sitting cross-legged on the bed, the phone to his ear, yet was helping in a way that gave Ben more peace of mind than just about any other person could.

Damn it, though, Ben couldn’t wait for David to get off the phone with Ben’s European contact. Waving his hand at David, Ben mouthed,
I have to go. Text me later.

At the same time, David said into the phone, “Okay, bye,” threw the phone on the bed, and jumped to run to Ben. “Here. Here.” He thrust the torn cover from the file into Ben’s hands. “I wrote down everything your guy said to me. He believed me. He said he could hear you in the background. He gave me a list of a few things he’s going to do right away. He wanted me to pass it along to you.”

“Got it.” Ben folded the thick paper and shoved it into his back pocket. He would read it on the plane. Giving himself just a second, Ben cupped David’s cheek, needing one last bit of contact with his warmth. “Thank you for helping me.”

On his tiptoes, David clung to Ben’s wrist. “Call me or text me an update when you get the chance. I’ll worry about you both until I know Mika is safe with you.” With deliberate effort—Ben could see the pain in his blue gaze—David moved a step back and whispered, “Stay safe, both of you.”

His heart tearing as wide-open as it had ever been, Ben tugged David in and took him with a fast, searing kiss, hoping with his whole soul David could feel the sweet ache in him that existed because of David. “I love you.” Ben pressed a half dozen more kisses up the side of David’s cheek and then buried his face in the man’s short blond locks. “I’ll be in touch with you soon.”

For a heartbeat, David squeezed Ben around the middle. “I love you too.” After that, though, he opened the door for Ben, held his head high, and his eyes didn’t water and his chin held true. “Bye.”

With a final brush of the back of his hand to David’s jaw, Ben jogged to his car across the lot. Before Ben threw his bag in the car, he dialed up the Skye Investigations travel agent and charged her with finding him the fastest flight to his brother.

He knew he didn’t have a second to waste.

Chapter Fifteen

At the shelter, David held his hands clasped low in front of him, twin worries battling inside and ramping up his nerves. He hadn’t heard from Ben, but in truth Ben had only left the motel seven hours ago, so even with an immediate flight, he hadn’t even made it to Sweden yet. As for the second worry, well, at least he would have a resolution to that one soon.

Erin sat at the lunchroom table with David’s computer in front of her, studying the shelter’s potential new website David had just presented to her. For nearly an hour, David had sat next to Erin, explaining each page and what he hoped to help Erin accomplish with the site. Minutes ago, David had stepped aside and given Erin some time to look over everything in greater detail without him breathing over her shoulder. As soon as he had, all the adrenaline had bled out of him, and his knees shook like crazy.

Erin finally looked up and murmured, “David, my goodness.” Her green eyes so big, she dropped her chin in her hand. “You really did this all by yourself?”

Softly exhaling with the first sign of approval, David nodded. “Once I got myself updated with the new technologies and programs, it wasn’t too bad. I enjoyed doing it.” Watching Erin as the acrobats still tumbled in his stomach, David rubbed the band on his wrist back and forth, letting the action aid in soothing him. “So it’s okay with you?”