Page 34 of Wed
"We couldn't leave you there to be abused. There was no way we would leave without all of you." Bryon poured himself a cup of coffee. "Want to join me on the patio?"
"Sure." Geo put the milk away, then rushed to put the cereal box back in the pantry. He then grabbed his bowl and a spoon and followed Byron outside to the patio table.
"It's a nice morning." Bryon sat down, staring out over the swimming pool.
"It's almost always nice here, but sometimes too hot." Geo sat across from him.
"True. I live in Los Angeles. It doesn't get as hot there. So have you always lived in Vegas?"
"Mom said I was born in Portland, but I don't remember any of that. All my memories are here."
"What happened to your parents, if you don't mind me asking?" Bryon didn't want to push, but the more he knew, the more he could help the kid.
"They're still around. We lived on the streets most of my life. We'd get motel rooms sometimes, but mostly we lived in the underground area."
Bryon nodded. He knew of the expansive underground tunnels that ran underneath Las Vegas. A lot of homeless lived down there forming small communities. It explained why Geo seemed so mature for his age. Living on the streets wasn't an easy way to grow up.
"CPS caught up with me and forced me into the system after Mom overdosed and they couldn't find Dad. I didn't care much because Mom and Dad haven't been normal for a long time. They're always high. I thought being in a foster home I might get food and stuff easier. I did, but not much, and the other stuff made it worse than the streets." Geo shoved a spoonful of cereal into his mouth.
"Sadly, the foster system isn't perfect, and a lot of people can be bought off by child traffickers. They'll sell their own mother for that kind of money. I'm not saying the whole system is bad, but it's getting worse. When it comes to kids who don't have any family, it's easy for them to disappear without anyone asking questions."
"Which is why they wanted Lenora and Andy." Geo nodded.
"Right. And you. Your parents weren't likely to come looking for you. Being older, demand for boys your age isn't as high, but in time, they would've found someone to take you. Probably more for slave labor."
"I was better on the streets." Geo sighed.
"We'll find you a safe place to be. We'll make sure you're in agreement and not just dump you somewhere." He had no idea how he'd make it happen, but his team would figure out something. "For now, help us figure out who these men are that were working with your foster parent. If you know names, tell us. If you remember hearing anything that can help, let us know. I'm not hiding anything from you like I will be from Lenora and Andy. You're old enough to have the truth. I'll be meeting with my team in a few hours when everyone wakes up, and you can sit in with us if you want. I only ask that if you leave, you keep everything you've heard to yourself. Keep our names out of any conversation you might have. We kidnapped you last night and the police will be looking for all of us, including you guys. We don't want to end up in jail any more than you want to end up back in foster care. We want to try and save some of the other kids, but if we can't do that, maybe we can stop some of the men helping them if we can figure out who they are. My teams already uncovered the names of the men who were with Lenora. We're hoping to get the cop's name who took her, and the CPS worker who put you in that home."
"I'll tell you what I can, but I don't know much." Geo met Bryon's gaze. "You haven't mentioned the foster parent who had Eric. Don't you want to stop him too?"
Bryon stared at Geo for a long moment, praying his gut wasn't leading him wrong in trusting this kid. "He's already been taken care of."
"Good. I hope it was painful." Geo didn't smile, but the anger in his eyes said everything. "He hurt me and the others. There was a young boy there when I first got there and he had to be taken away because he wouldn't stop bleeding. I don't know where they took him."
"Who took him?"
"The foster mother. She came and yelled at the man, then took Tim away. I never saw him again and we didn't dare talk about him. If we asked anything, we'd get hit or worse."
Bryon's anger at these people kept growing. "I promise you, you're safe here. The only arguments that happen around here are over video games or the last slice of cake. If anyone makes you uncomfortable, you come to me. That goes for the other kids too. If they're too scared to come to us, you do it for them. We're here to help, not hurt. We want justice for everything you guys have gone through."
"Thanks." Geo's eyes filled with tears, but he held them back.
Bryon had to wonder if the guy had ever had anyone fight for him. Being raised on the streets by drug addicts, he would bet Geo was used to fighting his own fights. "You're welcome. Later today, do some online shopping with Becca and get you guys some clothes and stuff. She'll show you what to do. Let the other kids know it's safe here and not to fear us. There might be a few more rules for them since they're younger, but nothing bad or like what the other places were like. Treat this as your home until we figure out what we're going to do, okay?"
"Yeah, thanks. I mean it. Thank you. Can I see Eric?" Geo asked.
"As soon as Beau is up, I'll ask him to take you to him. He'll probably be happy to see you guys. He's got to be more scared than any of you right now. Knowing you're here too will help ease his mind. Make sure you guys get him some clothes as well when you do your shopping, and anything he might like to eat. I know kids his age can be picky."
"Not Eric. We were lucky to get much of anything. I think he'll just be happy to eat." Geo glanced at his empty bowl. "Can I have more?"
"Help yourself." Bryon smiled.
As he watched Geo hurry back into the house, he took a long sip of his coffee and wondered how he was going to find a way to make the world safe for the kids he'd somehow found himself responsible for.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Bryon looked up as Beau walked into Danny's office. They'd made the room their home base, setting up their computers along with laying out files of information they could grab easily when they needed information. "How's Eric?"
