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"Trust me, I wanted to, but this way is better. I promise he won't hurt another child. The good police are going to come and arrest him in a bit. We're going to be far away, so you don't have to deal with any of them any longer. We'll get you to Geo where you'll be safe." Xander glanced toward Kacey. "You ready?"
"Need a few more minutes. I'm downloading his hard drive. Did you find anything?"
"His cell phone, but it was locked. I left it for the police to deal with." Xander stood. "Anything else around?"
"Not that I've found. Tera said there are pictures in the basement of other kids. I need two more minutes if you want to run down and look." Kacey looked out the window, relieved to see that there weren't any lights on in the surrounding houses.
"I'll be quick." Xander glanced at Tera. "How do I get down there?"
She pointed to a door in the hallway. "That door."
"Thanks." He took off in that direction.
Kacey watched the computer, wishing it would load faster. "Do you play video games?" he asked Tera, trying to calm her.
"Some before my grandma died."
"Geo and I were playing some earlier today. He's really good at them. Tomorrow, after you get a good night's sleep, he can show you. There're a ton of games at the house to choose from. There's also a swimming pool you can use. We'll get you a suit tomorrow if you want one. Geo and my friend who just went downstairs spend a lot of time in the pool. Do you like to swim?"
"I don't know how." She bowed her head, resting her chin on the backpack.
"We can teach you if you want, but that's up to you. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do." He heard Xander coming back up the stairs. "We're almost ready to go. Are you sure you've got everything?"
She nodded.
"One minute." Kacey looked at the laptop screen.
"Okay, Tera, we're going out the back. We'll lift you over the fence, then head to the sidewalk. We have to be very quiet until we get into the car." Xander knelt down in front of her again. "If you get scared, just hold one of our hands. We won't let anything, or anyone hurt you. We'll go straight to Geo."
She nodded but tears welled in her eyes again, giving away her fear.
Kacey didn't want to think about what this poor girl had been through. He couldn't begin to imagine how scared she had to be right now. As the download finished, he pulled the thumb drive out of the laptop and pocketed it. With a single nod to Xander, he moved to the sliding door and held the cut screen out of the way for Xander and Tera to walk through.
Tera hesitated, then glanced back at the house and shivered before letting Xander lead her across the yard to the fence line. Once there, Xander gently lifted her over the fence, then quickly jumped over it himself with Kacey following.
The night was oddly quiet, and Kacey kept a cautious eye on their surroundings. Two men walking down the sidewalk at this time might not draw much attention, but having a young child with them would. He wouldn't let down his guard until they were in the car and pulling out of the neighborhood.
They moved slowly since Tera didn't want them to pick her up. It was frustrating, but allowing Tera to feel safe was important after all she'd been through. He hoped she didn't need medical attention, because getting her to a hospital wouldn't be easy. They'd call Beau as soon as they got home, but he couldn't imagine she'd allow any of the men to examine her.
"Get in and put on your seat belt," Xander whispered to Tera as he unlocked the car and opened the back door. "We'll go see Geo."
Tera didn't hesitate this time. She climbed in and pulled the seat belt over her shoulder and clicked it into place.
Kacey got into the passenger seat, reaching for the burner phone in the glove box as soon as he was inside. As Xander started the car and slowly pulled away, Kacey made the call. It took only one ring for Bryon to answer.
"Status?" Bryon asked.
"We're done but have one child with us. We're returning to base with her. Have Geo ready to meet Tera. She's scared. Medically stable as far as we can tell. We'll leave again to dispose of equipment once we drop her off."
"I'll alert the others. Stay safe." Bryon ended the call.
Kacey glanced back at Tera. "Geo knows you're coming. He'll be there when we get to the house. There will be other men like us, but they are safe and you don't need to be scared of them. I promise that no one is going to hurt you."
She hugged her backpack to her chest but nodded.
"We need to call it in." Xander glanced in the rearview mirror.
Kacey nodded. "I know but get us a bit farther away first."
