Page 57 of Pain
"Don't go there." Kasey cast a side glance at him with a teasing smile.
Xander laughed and pulled out his phone again, quickly sending a message to Matt.
Police are there along with medical. I'll be there in forty minutes or so.
He hated that they were so far away from the house, but he had to trust the rest of the team to take care of Matt and keep him from going nuts as he waited for information.
What was the house like?
Matt's question had him biting at his lip. What was he supposed to say? Most of the houses they went into were normal, with no sign of the horrendous things that went on inside them. It could have been any neighbor's house, any family members.
It was a normal home, clean, like any other. Will explain when I get there.
He glanced at Kasey. "Matt's asking about the house. Do you think he hopes it was nice, so Faith wasn't held in filth or that it was something out of a horror story?"
"I don't know. Honestly, does it matter?"
"No, but I guess it's where any parent's mind would go."
"There and a lot worse places." Kasey turned onto the road that would take them to the lake.
"Yeah, I can't imagine."
"Look at your past. It happened in the home. There is no one type of place it happens. Homes, churches, schools, friend's houses, it can happen anywhere."
Xander nodded. "We take out so many, and more show up. When does it ever end?"
"I don't know." Kasey pulled up to a turnoff by the lake. "Let's do some stargazing."
"Wow, had no idea you were such a romantic date, first lover's lane, then stargazing. What's next, rose petals on silk sheets?" Xander got out of the car, his tools already bagged to be disposed of.
"Keep it up and I'm going to think you really do want my ass." Kasey tossed his smaller bag of things into the water.
"I've always liked the shy, quiet type." Xander threw his own bag, then the burner phone into the lake.
"I'm not shy or quiet, just picky." Kasey slid onto the hood of the car, looking out over the water.
Xander leaned against the car, anxious to get back to the house, but not wanting to rush Kasey if he needed a few minutes to clear his head after what they'd just done. He took the quiet moment to ask something that had always had him wondering. "Remember after my father's trial and you guys offered me a job?"
"Yeah." Kasey looked over at him.
"Why me? What made you think I was the right person to do this?"
Kasey shrugged. "What makes any of us the right person? We've all been touched by pedophilia, one way or another. Some recover from it, some let it consume their lives, and some, like us, fight back. You had a look in your eye the day they sent your dad to prison. It was a look that scared me, but not Bryon. Bryon said to us, we can save him by offering him a job and a way to deal with his pain or we can watch him self-destruct and take his pain out on everyone around him. It wasn't a hard choice to make. We knew you weren't squeamish. Your past, both personal and military, were enough to show that. Like with any other member we bring in, there was a risk you'd tell us to fuck off, but Bryon was sure you wouldn't."
"He was right. When he came and talked to me about it, I was ready to start that night. I hated that I had to go through training and wait. I kept hoping that just once I'd walk into a sting and see one of those fucks that my dad would give me to."
Kasey met his gaze. "Has it ever happened?"
"No, not yet. I know two of them are dead." Xander held up his hands. "Natural causes. They were the only two I knew the names of. One died before Dad's trial, the other during."
"Would it change how you did things if you did come across one of them?"
Xander shrugged. "I don't know. I'd like to think not, but I don't know." He'd spent more time than he cared to admit thinking what he would do to the men, but honestly, if it came to a sting, anything different would put the team at risk, and saying anything to the men would give away who he was, so no, he probably wouldn't do anything different. He wouldn't jeopardize the team that way.
"Bryon just seems to know who belongs on the team. He hasn't led us wrong yet. I worried about you being too much of a loose cannon, but you surprised me. Somehow you adapted to working as a team. I didn't think you would." Kasey jumped down off the hood. "Come on, let's get you back to your man."
Xander rolled his eyes. "He's not my man."
