5. Cayson

CAYSON

Well, shit. This kid was already having a bad night, and I just made it worse, apparently.

"Hey, there." My Daddy instinct kicked in, and I went to him, wrapping my arms around Dylan's shoulders and pulling him against my chest. "You're safe now, sweetheart. He was just someone who has made some bad decisions in the past and continued to make them tonight. You're good now."

Dylan sobbed against my chest, and my heart broke for the boy. He came in for snacks and was leaving with a near-tragic experience locked in his memory. "I know…thanks to you and Seargent Finn."

"Well, Sergeant Finn did the heavy lifting. I was cowering in the back of the store with you, so I can't really take any credit."

He pulled back and took a shuddering breath as his emotions seemed to settle. "But you…helped me." He lifted one sleeve of my hoodie then let it drop back over his crotch. "I'll have it cleaned and get it back to you." He finally looked up and met my gaze. "Can I get your number?"

Thought you'd never ask. "Of course." I held out my hand, grateful for the distraction while he fumbled in his jacket pocket for his phone. After he unlocked it and handed it to me, I added my full contact information, including the address to the pizzeria, and then sent myself a text so I'd have his number too. If Dylan ever found himself hungry, I wanted him to know where to find me. "But you're welcome to keep it. A souvenir of this exciting night."

Dylan coughed out a chuckle and flashed a smile that made my dick twitch. "Stupid Pop-Tart craving almost got me killed."

"Story of my life." I winked at Dylan as two uniformed officers came over to speak with us.

The officers separated us, guiding Dylan back to where he'd been crouching after Finn sent him my way. Right where he'd wet himself and apparently tried to cover it up with some charcoal, from what I could tell. The sweetheart must have felt terrible about his accident, and now he was back there, practically standing it in as he recounted what he saw.

I turned my back toward the front window so I could keep my eye on Dylan as I answered the questions the officer asked me. Everything seemed to be standard protocol, so I answered to the best of my ability and smiled at Dylan every time he glanced my way.

Which was often.

Around the time I was finished, Finn approached Dylan and stood by his side.

Looking at the two men together did something to me. Fuck, they were a beautiful pair. Such a juxtaposition, with Dylan's innocent youth and Finn's powerful presence that just exuded dominance. They would be good for each other.

My eyes traveled down to the wet marks Dylan did a pretty good job of hiding, but I could still see the dark shadows among the…Minions? I didn't take a close look earlier, but he was wearing cartoon PJs and buying junk food on Friday night.

Was Dylan into age play? All signs were pointing to…yes, Daddy.

A moment later, Finn made his way over to me, leaving Dylan alone to finish up his interview.

"You doing okay?" He crossed his arms over his chest and stood with his legs spread, exerting some kind of power that made me want to call him Daddy. Since when did I have a thing for bears? Since this one saved my life, apparently.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Glad you were here." I held his gaze just a few seconds too long, expecting him to frown or be annoyed, but he merely smirked. Interesting. "How is Dylan holding up?"

Now he did frown as he turned back to look at the boy. "He's barely holding on." Looking back at me, he gave me a sly once-over. But not so sly that I didn't totally notice. "Did you two know each other prior to tonight?"

"No." I slipped my hands in my pockets, remembering the headache I had earlier as it started pounding again. "Just got his name when you did."

"He seems…" Finn looked between me and Dylan. "Vulnerable."

"Yeah, I noticed he…" I knew Finn knew, but it didn't feel right saying it out loud, just in case. "Well, he was stressed."

"Yeah." Finn inhaled a deep breath. "It was nice of you to give him your sweatshirt. The news vans are setting up out front, so just getting him to his car is gonna be traumatic enough."

"Shit." I hadn't been paying attention to what was going on outside, but when I looked out the window, I saw a circus being set up out there. Apparently, it was a slow news night, and everyone in town wanted to know more about the near-robbery at the minimart. "He said he lives alone. I'm a little worried about him being on his own after all this."

Finn nodded and kept his gaze locked on Dylan. He probably agreed that they looked good together. "Maybe he can stay with a friend."

"I asked about that, and he got upset."

Finn's brow furrowed, and he turned to me. "I'll see if he wants a uniform posted outside his place for the night. Might help him sleep."

I pictured the sweet kid with a teddy bear and his Minion jammies and wanted to just pull him into my arms and read him a story. "Good idea."

Just then, Dylan was cleared to leave and walked toward us. "They said it's okay to go home."

"I'll walk you to your car." I stepped toward him and placed my hand on his shoulder, hoping the gesture was reassuring and not intimidating.

"Oh, I walked here." He started toward the front door, hellbent on getting out of there. "But thanks anyway."

"Dylan, wait." I wanted to grab on to him again so he didn't disappear, but I kept my hands to myself this time. "Can I give you a ride?"

He stopped instantly and looked at me, then at Finn. "That's not necessary. I live really close by."

Finn stepped forward, using the lower tone he seemed to have perfected during his years of law enforcement. "I can take you, if you'd prefer, but there's a lot of media out there, and we don't want them following you home."

Dylan glanced outside with the same surprised expression I probably wore when I noticed everyone waiting for us to emerge. "Oh, that's for…us?"

"Sorry. They're just looking for a story." Finn glanced at his watch. "And we're right in time to be live on the eleven o'clock news."

I hadn't realized the time, but he was right. They were looking for a story. "Hey, um, I can go first and distract them while you get to your car."

Finn made eye contact with me and nodded. "Yeah, that would be great."

I turned to Dylan to make sure he was okay with that plan.

He peeked up at me and forced a smile. "Thank you, Cayson. For…you know."

I told myself not to do it, but I couldn't resist reaching for the back of his neck and giving him a squeeze. "Take care of yourself, Dylan. And call if you need anything. You know how to reach me."