Page 4 of Heal
Beau forced himself to turn and head out of the room. She was in good hands with Bobby. As much as he wanted to stay and comfort her, there were three other children to worry about. As he rushed to take the next patient, he forced thoughts of Lisa from his mind. He'd check on her later, and hopefully, have good news about her brother.
As he walked into the next exam room to see a young boy crying, he wondered if this was all worth it. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't separate himself from the pain the children felt, and it was starting to get to him. Something needed to change, but he wasn't sure just what.
CHAPTER TWO
Beau pulled into the driveway of the STK team house and shut off his car. He stared at the home for a moment, watching shadows move behind the curtains, letting him know that several team members were there. It was nearly ten at night, but it wasn't uncommon for the team to work around the clock. Most of the stings they performed took place after dark, and the members who weren't out actually hunting pedophiles would be working the computers, making sure everything was secure and gathering information.
With a sigh, he grabbed the files he'd made for each child he'd treated for abuse that night and headed inside. To anyone watching, it looked he was visiting a friend. No one was aware that inside the small home, tucked in a friendly neighborhood, there was a team of hunters that worked on bringing justice to the world.
The home looked like every other in the area. Even inside, no one would guess that this was the team's headquarters. It was only if they ventured into the back rooms where the computers were set up, or upstairs to where Beau had a full surgical suite built, that anyone would know this wasn't a typical home.
Bryon, the team leader, lived in the house full time, but he was seldom alone. There was always someone working on the computers, digging for information, or setting up surveillance for a sting.
"You look like shit." Bryon glanced over at Beau as he walked into the house.
Beau rolled his eyes. "It's been a long day." He inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of garlic. "What are you making me?"
"You assume I'm feeding you?" Bryon grinned from where he was in front of the stove.
"You knew I was coming. You wouldn't eat in front of me. It's not your way." Beau sat down at the kitchen table.
"You're right, it's not. I figured you would be hungry. It's just some fried eggs and hash. Nothing fancy." Bryon scooped some on a plate and set it down in front of Beau. "Beer?"
"Please." Beau arched his head back, letting out a long sigh.
"Bad one?" Bryon sat down across from him as he set the beer on the table.
"Horrible. Just when you think you've seen it all." Beau handed the files he held over to Bryon. They were filled with copies of test results and doctors' notes from the exams each child had. It was all Beau could get for Bryon, but he was sure with the team's hacking skills, Bryon would have more information on the foster family and children before the day was over. "It's not pretty." Beau reached for his fork, not really hungry, but needing to eat something.
He watched Bryon's face as he read through the medical reports, hating that he had to share the details of the cases with anyone. The stuff in the files was enough to haunt someone. Even though the team had seen some horrific things in the past, there was no telling what was going to affect you. For Beau, it had been the bite marks, and scars from old bites on the teenage girl that would give him nightmares for weeks to come.
Bryon glanced over at him. "Will they heal?"
"Physically, yes." Beau didn't need to stress that mentally this would probably stay with the kids the rest of their lives. "If he's lucky, the three-year-old won't remember anything, but trauma like that tends to stick with you."
"Foster parents are in custody?"
Beau nodded, remembering what the police had told him in passing. "Arrested them before bringing the kids in. The guy's sister showed up and found the ten-year-old boy with blood dripping down his leg. When she saw the damage to his rectum, she called the police. She didn't even know about the two girls living there. She'd only seen the boys when she'd drop by."
"Any idea how long this has been going on?" Bryon closed the folder.
"No, but the oldest girl and her brother have been there for two years. My guess is it started as soon as they arrived. The girl has scarring that has healed along with fresh bite marks. I've never seen so many bites in my life, let alone to the areas she had them." Beau set his fork down. "It's not in the report yet because the tests came in right as I was leaving, but the sixteen-year-old girl is pregnant. I'm not sure she even knows. She isn't showing yet."
"Fuck." Bryon reached for his beer.
"Yeah, I get to break the news to her tomorrow when the counselor is with us." Beau dreaded having to tell the young girl.
"I don't envy you your job, Beau." Bryon shook his head. "The other girl?"
"She had a couple bite marks on her thighs and some vaginal and anal bruising, but she's in the best shape of all of them. She was the most recent to arrive at the foster home, so maybe they'd just started in on her. I don't know. The other boy is three. He's got some major bruising, and scars, but will heal."
"The other boy, the one that was bleeding?" Bryon asked.
"Rectal tears, bite marks, broken ribs. He was the only one showing signs of being beaten. They were all sexually abused, but the ten-year-old was their punching bag it seems." Beau leaned back, leaving the food untouched. "His sister, Lisa, is the pregnant one. Her only worry was about her brother. She didn't care about her own injuries, just that we took care of him. She was so restless, that I finally had to put them in a room together for the night. She wouldn't calm down until she was with him."
"You okay?" Bryon stared at him, worry etching his brows.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll focus on the medical side of things, push the rest aside until I'm sure they are okay, then take a few days off to absorb it all."
