Noam carried one of the last boxes out of his house and put it in the back of Trenton's truck. "That should be it." He glanced over at Xander and Dyson, who were playing with Casper.
Trenton shut the tailgate on his truck. "That's not as much as I thought."
"I just needed my personal stuff. The rest can stay. Kasey has furniture and housewares already. We don't need double of everything. Besides, it will be put to good use." Noam smiled as Kasey stepped close, wrapping an arm around his waist.
He expected to feel a little more sadness at moving out of his house, but he was too excited to finally be living with Kasey full-time. They'd been spending nearly all their time together anyway, going back and forth between houses, this just seemed to be the smart step, and since Kasey's house was nicer and more secluded, he had no issue giving up his and moving.
It wasn't like he wasn't going to ever be at his house again. He'd still spend a ton of time there. It made sense to use his house as a base for the team. There was more than enough room once they cleared out some of the things. The house would stay in his name, further solidifying that he was the one in charge of the group and keeping Bryon's name or anyone else's off public records when it came to what he was doing.
It was all a bit overwhelming, but he was sure once things settled down, it was the right choice. The more he thought about things, the more he saw ways that he could make a difference and effectively use the team to help stop the perverts who were after the children.
"You need any of the stuff out back?" Carter asked.
"Nope, Kasey has everything already. The team can use everything here." Noam smiled at Kasey. "Seriously, guys, thank you for all the help. We're able to get it all in one trip."
"I want to see what's in that safe." Xander glanced at the large gun safe it had taken them nearly an hour to get into the back of Dyson's truck.
"I'll never tell," Noam teased. "One day we'll invite you over to look. Let us get settled first."
Kasey nodded. "Team day on the range."
"There's a great idea." Noam laughed before looking at Kasey. "Let me do a quick walk-through the house, but I think we have everything."
"I'll head home with Trenton and Dyson. You can follow us once you lock up." Kasey leaned in and kissed him.
"I'll be right behind you." Noam rushed into the house.
Alone finally, he took a deep breath, a bit overwhelmed by everything that was happening. His life had changed so much over the last few months. He didn't hate any of it. The changes were good ones, but he worried how well the stings would go once he got a team in place and started really working on cases.
He'd talked to the Captain at the police station earlier in the week, and he seemed supportive, and promised if he gave them enough notice, he would make sure that they sent an officer on each sting that Noam set up and gave him his full support in hiring officers to work part-time with him.
So far everything was looking good. He'd been surprised how much control Bryon gave him. He'd thought that Bryon would take a bigger part, but he got the impression Bryon was tired, slowly burning out. It didn't surprise him. This wasn't the kind of work you could do for years without it having some kind of effect on you. It was mentally and emotionally draining.
Kasey had hinted that there was something in Bryon's past that pushed him to keep going, but Noam hadn't heard what, and he wasn't going to ask. He'd found there were a lot of secrets in the team's past, and a lot of them were probably going to stay secret.
His house looked strange without all his personal things. The furniture still stood as always, but the little things were missing. His aftershave on the counter, his pocket change on the dresser, the cell phone charger was missing from the nightstand. It brought home the reality that he was really moving.
It was a good change. He'd been staying with Kasey for the last week, moving Casper and some of his things already. Casper took to Kasey's house like she'd been raised there, and that was really his only major worry about the whole move.
Things were happening fast, but it all felt like it was meant to be.
He ran his hand down over the kitchen table before turning and heading outside again. He locked the door, giving the house one last glance. It wasn't like he wouldn't be back, but it would be different. He made his way to his car, refusing to be sentimental. This was a new start, a change that was needed in his life.
He made the short drive to Kasey's, sighing when he saw they were just starting to unload the gun safe. He got out of his car and walked over to Dyson's truck. "Figures you waited for me to get the heaviest item."
Carter laughed. "We saved the best for last."
"We're just going to put it in the garage for now. Once we organize a bit more, we'll move it inside." Kasey came up behind Noam, wrapping his arms around him from behind.
Noam leaned back, realizing how just having Kasey's arms around him seemed to relax him. "Let's get it done, then I can feed you guys for helping."
Moving the safe wasn't easy, and by the time they were done, everyone was ready for a cold beer. Kasey led them into the house and pulled the beer out as everyone made their way into the large backyard.
"You need a fire pit like I have." Xander kicked back on one of the lounge chairs.
"You come build it for me." Kasey handed him a beer.
"Where's Faith today?" Noam asked.
"With my sister. She didn't want to go, but I forced her. I'm not letting her withdraw from my family. I know better than anyone that they can be hard to deal with, but they are family. She'll pout and give me a hard time for a few days, but it's for her own good," Matt told him.
"How's the trampoline team coming along for her?" Kasey asked as he sat down on a long lounge chair and motioned Noam to sit with him.
"Good. She still doesn't want to be alone, so either Xander or I have to go to all the practices, but she's slowly opening up. I don't blame her for her trust issues. I'm guessing they'll be around for a long time."
"She's an amazing girl. It's good to see a success story come from all the negative." Noam leaned back against Kasey. "Seeing her makes it all seem worth it."
"It does. We don't often follow up with the kids we save. We keep tabs on the pedophiles, make sure the courts do their job once they are arrested, but until Faith, I hadn't really seen what happens once the kids go home. I guess every case is different, but it's good to know that maybe most of the kids can get somewhat of a normal life back in time." Bryon stood near the edge of the patio, sipping his beer.
The afternoon went on, and by the time that Kasey had the burgers ready, Noam was relaxed and a little drunk. Just enough that he wasn't worrying, wasn't thinking about the past or the future for a change.
"You look happy." Kasey sat down beside him.
Noam glanced around, watching as the others talked as he tried to ignore the signs that another migraine was coming on. "I am. I've never really had friends like this. At least not since leaving Israel. I threw myself into work. I'd go have a beer from time to time with the other detectives, but it was nothing like this. You've got a great group of friends, Kase."
"I do. They are more like family. I guess you can't do what we do without being close. I have to trust them with my life. They have to trust me. You're part of that family now. My most important part actually." Kasey kissed him softly. Casper nudged his leg, dropping a ball at his feet. He picked it up, tossing it to the other end of the yard for her to chase.
"Thank you for welcoming me into your circle." Noam smiled.
"You are my circle," Kasey told him. "If you're not there, I don't want to be."
"Good thing, cause I'm not letting you go." Noam grinned.
"Guys, I need Carter and Trenton with me at the team house. Beau just called. He's got a case at the hospital that demands immediate attention." Bryon called over the yard as he stared at his phone, typing something as he talked.
"What is it?" Xander stood.
"Young girl just walked in. Said she'd been held hostage and managed to escape. I don't have details yet, but she mentioned other kids on site, but…" Bryon sighed. "She can't remember where she was. She ran from a house and just kept running. No idea where she ran from. A woman helped her call the police, but she said the girl looked as if she'd been running for a while."
"Police are looking then?"
"Yeah, they are, but we have some resources they don't. I want us to try and track where she came from. Business cameras, home security cameras, traffic cameras, something must have recorded her running. If we can backtrack the camera feeds, we might have a chance at figuring out where she was being held." Bryon shoved his phone into his pocket.
"And the police have to contact each home or business personally to get the video, where we can just hack into them," Kasey said softly.
"Can we help?" Noam asked.
"Not yet. Let us see what we can find. This might be tricky. The police are looking. We can't send a team in unless we are sure we are way ahead of the police finding her location. Best case is for the police to find it, but if we don't have a choice…" Carter ran his fingers through his hair.
"We'll call if we need muscle." Bryon nodded to them. "Thanks for the beer and food."
Noam stood, Kasey rising beside him. "Thanks for the help moving."
They watched as Bryon, Trenton, and Carter made a quick exit.
"Well, looks like we may have to work tonight after all." Dyson tossed his empty beer bottle in the trash.
"Yeah, hopefully." Xander set his plate on the table. "I didn't use to look forward to stings. What does it say about me now that I can't wait to get in there and make these pedophiles suffer a little?"
Noam looked up. "That you're human?"
Kasey nodded. "You can't help wanting justice, even if it's not within the law."
"Well, I'm going to head home and wait for a call." Xander sighed.
"Yeah, thanks for dinner. We need to do this more often. It was fun." Matt stood.
Dyson nodded. "Next time we can have it at my place. I'll put you guys to work laying sod in my backyard."
"What happened to the lawn you did have?" Kasey asked.
"I got rid of that old garden back there. I never planted shit. I'd rather have the yard space." Dyson tossed his plate in the trash. "Anyway, thanks for a good afternoon. Maybe I'll see you guys later tonight."
As they watched everyone leave, Noam realized how much of the team's lives were spent dealing with the issue of pedophilia in one way or another. It didn't consume their every thought, but they seemed to always be thinking about the next sting, or the next case. They never seemed to fully relax.
Was this what his life would be like soon? He hoped he could help fight the problem, but he vowed that he would not let it consume his life. Afternoons like this with Kasey were too important to him. It would be easy to fall into a habit of working tons, but he promised himself as he looked over at the man he was in love with that no matter what, they would always come first.