Page 94 of Caged
Gary sat back, silent for a long moment before he glanced at Danny. "And how are you involved with the team?"
Danny shook his head. "I'm not really. Other than knowing about them, knowing who they are, I'm not involved. I'm not one of them. I learned by accident or I might not even know now." The thought of Marshall still hiding what he did from him caused his chest to tighten. It was best he knew everything. He wouldn't change a thing.
"Did you know they were going after your kidnapper?"
"Not at first. I mean, I didn't know they were searching for him. I didn't know until recently who they were. I knew the night they went after him that they were doing it, but I wasn't part of it. I was home with Marshall while it happened." Danny hoped he wasn't saying too much.
"Danny, like you would be if you want to help, is someone who knows enough to get in a little trouble, but not enough to really worry. He doesn't hunt for pedophiles. He doesn't go after them. He's only aware of what is going on."
Gary ran his fingers through his hair. "You're asking a lot of me."
"I'm aware of that, but the team really needs someone to talk to. Right now, there are no signs of problems, but that could change at any time. A team member was injured the other night. Not seriously, and the team does have a doctor, but something as simple as a small injury can have delayed reactions. The team just wants someone to talk things over with. Someone they can trust with the information."
Gary stood and walked to the window of his office, staring outside for a long moment. "Would I be able to talk to this other counselor that you mentioned?"
"That could be arranged, but it would be up to her if she wants you to know her name. I'm sure in time she won't mind, but you have to understand the teams need for privacy, especially when they're still not sure we can trust you?" Jeremy told him.
"She?" Gary turned around to face them.
"Yes. Her husband was a member of the other team. He passed away from a heart attack years ago, but she stayed on to keep assisting the team." Jeremy glanced at Danny, then back at Gary. "This is a lot to take in. You don't have to give us an answer now, but I would like your word you won't be calling the police with what we've told you."
"You must have known I wouldn't do that if you were willing to come talk to me about this anyway. What made you think you could trust me with this information?" Gary asked.
"A lot of digging into your background. Learning about your past." Jeremy held up a hand. "Everything the team learned stays with the leader. Your personal information isn't going to get out. The leader had to know who he was dealing with and if he could trust you."
Gary's face paled.
Danny wondered what information they'd found on him. From the look on his face, it couldn't be good.
"You're the leader?" Gary asked. "You know about me?"
Danny tensed, wondering if Jeremy would risk admitting as much without a promise from Gary that he wouldn't turn them in.
"I am and I do. It's your history. Your past. It doesn't need to be discussed. If you want to let others know you'll tell them. We just want your professional knowledge and resources. We hope that you'll be friends with the team, interact, come to dinners and things like that, but if you don't, that's fine too. You get as involved as you feel comfortable." Jeremy glanced at Danny. "We're just a small group of people looking to stop the abuse. What we do might not be morally right, but it is successful. In the past year, the teams have rescued over thirty-four children who were either kidnapped or being held and abused. That doesn't count the number of children we have helped just by stopping the abuse that was going on from family members, coaches, teachers, or others we've hunted. We are sure of our facts and the evidence when we go in. If we aren't one-hundred percent sure, we pass the information anonymously to the police. We won't go after someone when we don't have visual evidence that they are abusing a child, and most of the time, unless the case is severe, we won't go after first-time offenders. We go for the ones who have already had their chance to reform, have already served time."
"If I agree to do this, what is the next step?" Gary asked.
"Well, we'd like to introduce you to everyone on the team. The best way to do that is to go out to dinner," Jeremy suggested.
"Come to my house. I'll cook." Danny suggested.
Jeremy raised a brow at him.
"You know I love to cook, and he already knows me and where I live. It's not like you're giving anything away. Our home is safe. It's not tied to the team in any way. It's a neutral place where we can just hang out and get a feel for each other. Besides, I've been telling Gary about all my cooking. I'd like him to try it." He hoped he hadn't made a mistake offering. Maybe Jeremy had planned on something else, but being at the house would be easier. They wouldn't have to worry about what they said in public and they could relax more than if they were sitting in some restaurant.
Jeremy shrugged and looked at Gary. "I'll leave that up to you."
"Wow, this is a lot to take in." Gary sat back down. "I'm not the one who is usually uncomfortable in here." He gave a soft laugh.
"You can simply say no and I leave. You can continue to see Danny as a patient and it's never mentioned again," Jeremy told him.
"And I lay in bed at night wondering if someone needs to talk and I turned my back on them. No, I can't do that. I will work for your team. I'm not sure how involved I want to be, but I'll accept them as patients. Everything said in this room is confidential. We'll just leave it at that for now. You can trust me. If I choose at any time to quit, I'll keep your secrets."
Danny blew out a breath, thankful that things seemed to be going well. "You'll come to dinner?"
"When?" Gary asked.
"Let me call you," Jeremy said. "I need to look at the team schedule and make sure everyone is available to meet you. It will be sometime next week. I have to give a couple of our members a heads up so they can make sure they have the night off other jobs."
