Page 56 of Caged
"I know you'd never do anything to hurt him. Just remember this is all new to him. Protect your heart as much as you're protecting him. I don't want to see you hurt in all this."
"Thanks, but I'm aware he could decide to live a little before taking on anything serious. If he does, I'll understand. There's a lot to work through, but if cuddling on the couch and kissing works for him now, I'm content to be the one he chooses to do it with. He's not ready for much more than that."
The front door opened and a moment later D walked into the kitchen pausing to kiss Jeremy. "Evening."
"Almost morning." Marshall glanced at the clock on the stove, seeing it was almost three. "Everything go smooth?"
"Other than the house was a fucking mess. I had to watch every step I took. There was garbage and junk everywhere. I'm lucky I didn't trip over something and alert the fucker I was in the house. I had to clear a place on the floor to just lay him down to do the job." D pulled out his phone. "I did find these on his desk." He flipped through his phone, then handed it to Jeremy. "I took photos of what I could."
Marshall waited patiently for information.
"Interesting." Jeremy handed the phone to Marshall.
He glanced at the photo, seeing a notebook filled with names and then different sexual fetishes to the side of each name. He recognized a couple of the names. "These are names of people who upload photos to the dark web. Mark Tiller is well-known for his roleplay photos. Things like a trip to the doctor or going naked at daycare. His work is disgusting. There's a lot of names here I haven't seen before."
"I was thinking the same thing." Jeremy took the phone back and looked again. "Good thinking getting pictures of this. Hopefully, we can get some leads on where these perverts are located."
"Sadly, most of them will be out of state." Marshall sighed.
"We need teams in every state." D pulled a beer out of the fridge and twisted the cap.
"Dream big." Jeremy sighed.
It was a dream they all had. To have a team in every area would make it so much easier for them. They had locations of some of the worst pedophiles, but traveling to them wasn't always smart. Going into a new place without known resources wasn't good.
"I figured it was worth a shot. The guy had photos taped to the walls. I have to say, I've seen some disgusting homes in my time, but this one was the worst. I couldn't wait to get out of there. As soon as I finish this beer, I'm grabbing a shower before we go home. I don't even want to step into our house until I change clothes." D shook his head.
"I thank you for that." Jeremy grinned. "We'll dig into these names tomorrow. We also might have a lead on Danny's kidnapper. I'll fill you in on the details later, but if they pan out, it might mean a trip to Colorado Springs."
Marshall watched for D's reaction. He didn't like going out of town if they didn't have to, but sometimes it was called for.
"That's doable depending on the location. We can go down a day early, book a hotel, act like we're there to take in a game or something. There's a lot of old ruins in the area we can say we're there to see. How many of us will you need?" D asked.
"Not sure yet. At least two, but we haven't verified anything yet. It's all gut instinct right now. We'll keep you posted." Marshall finished his beer. "I'll leave you two to enjoy what's left of the night. I need some sleep." He tossed the beer bottle in the trash and pulled his keys out of his pocket. "I'll be in sometime tomorrow afternoon. Call if you need me before."
"Don't come in too early. It's going to be another late night tomorrow," Jeremy told him.
Marshall nodded. "See you both then." He headed out the door and to his car. He was glad to be going home. He hoped Danny hadn't waited up for him. Then again, he loved walking into the house and having him waiting for him.
The roads were nearly empty as he made his way to his house, glad he'd gotten a place close to the team house so the drive wasn't far. All the lights were off in the house as he entered, a sign that Danny was indeed in bed. He tried not to be disappointed, but he would have liked a little time together before he went to sleep.
Locking the door, he made his way in the dark to his room and undressed. He showered, glad to wash away the day. He'd gotten a lot of information over the last few hours and wondered how much of it to share with Danny. Was it better to get all the facts first, or should he let him in on what was going on and keep him up to date on things as more information came in? It was hard to know. He didn't want to get Danny's hopes up. He also needed to be careful to make it look as if he was just doing some casual searching. Danny couldn't know about the resources STK had. He couldn't know about the team.
Too tired to think about it, he dressed in a pair of sweatpants before sliding into bed and turning off the lamp. Before he had the chance to even get comfortable, the door opened.
He glanced up, seeing Danny in the shadows. He waited, wondering what he needed, but Danny didn't say anything. He just shut the door again before wandering over to the bed, lifting back the sheets, and sliding in beside Marshall.
"Goodnight." Danny curled his back to Marshall.
Marshall smiled, turning so that he could wrap one arm over Danny's waist. He kissed his shoulder lightly and whispered, "goodnight."
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Danny leaned against Marshall's shoulder as they ate their ice cream cones in the park. The day had been amazing. After watching his first professional baseball game earlier in the day, the two of them had gone shopping, then out to dinner. Now, with the sun setting, they sat on the park bench watching people around them. "This is perfect."
"It is. I've had fun today." Marshall rested his hand on Danny's thigh.
It had taken time for him to relax and not worry about someone recognizing him, but after a few hours without anyone saying anything, he'd been able to forget about his past and focus on the game and just being with Marshall. "The last time I was at a park, I was kidnapped."
