Caleb

Chapter Thirty Six

Caleb ~

It had been three days since Ricardo lost the election and the team was scheduled to return home. Ricardo had interviewed and hired two new security guards that were to take the place of Declan and Marcus as bodyguards for himself and Camila. Declan wasn't crazy about Ricardo's choices, but at the end of the day it was Ricardo's call.

Caleb was set to stay with Lainey for two more weeks. After that they had planned to return to California for a lengthy visit. Caleb hoped like hell that if Lainey spent a few weeks with him that he could convince her to stay permanently and his whole team was in on the plan. With Ricardo able to run his own companies instead of worrying about any political responsibilities, it would free Lainey up to make decisions based on her needs and not her fathers for the first time in a long time - maybe ever.

Declan and Pierce were on the first flights out that morning and had been smiling ear to ear when they left. Caleb was finally able to identify with the deep love they felt for their women and why it was so difficult for them to be separated. Whether it was a few hours, a few days, or a few weeks, anytime spent away from the women they love was too long and Caleb understood that fully.

Marcus was set to fly out later that evening and spent the day with Caleb, Lainey and James. They had avoided Lainey's office and were planning on having Lainey work from home until Alpha team could investigate and make moves on Manny and Juan. And to be honest, time away from the office and her mountain of responsibilities was doing so much good for Lainey. She was bright and warm, laughing all day as they ran errands or just spent time together at the house. It was as if the weight that had been holding Lainey down had been lifted and she was visibly happier knowing that she had the full support of Caleb and his team. Every day she seemed to let her guard down a little bit more and Caleb was loving every second of watching Lainey's transformation. Her trust in him grew and grew and it was allowing her to slowly remove every bit of armor that she had been forced to wear in order to protect herself, allowing the brightest parts of her heart to finally shine through.

Caleb, Lainey, Marcus, and James all sat around a small outdoor table, having stopped to get a bite to eat before heading back to the house. They had been out running errands and helping James with a few things at his club all day, but it was nearly 3:00pm and the group was starving.

As soon as they sat down to eat, Caleb's phone buzzed with a call. He held up the screen to Marcus that showed Nate's name flashing across the top before he answered.

"What's up Nate?"

"Hey Doc. How are things? How's our girl doing?" Nate asked.

"Good, man. Really good."  Caleb said with a smile, looking over at Lainey.

"Well I hate to rain on that parade, but I've got somethin that you are going to find interesting. Just sent a video to your phone. I was reviewing footage of Manny at a few events that took place before you guys arrived, trying to get some shots of Juan and Manny interacting, when I found something pretty scandalous instead."

"Thanks man. Mac and I will take a look at it."

"See you in a couple weeks. Can't wait to meet Lainey in person." Nate said before the line went dead.

Caleb smiled at Nates words and instantly went to open the video that had been sent. He motioned for Marcus to lean over and watch and the two men nearly choked on their lunch at the images that danced across Caleb's phone.

It was footage of the area outside of a hotel restroom where a black tie event had been held. The video showed Manny enter the bathroom alone, followed immediately by Camila. Caleb fast forwarded through the footage until it showed both of them emerging, adjusting their clothes and hair. Not only that, but Manny had a bit of Camila's lipstick on his mouth that she promptly removed with her thumb before they parted ways.