Noam tossed the file he'd been looking through to the side, frustrated that he wasn't getting anywhere. He was starting to worry they would never find the young boy taken from the park after his soccer game. All the leads they had were going nowhere.
He glanced at the clock, wishing he was headed home. Kasey was supposed to meet him and spend the night, and after the day Noam had, he wanted nothing more than to curl up on the couch and forget everything but Kasey and the movie they were going to watch.
He smiled, thinking about Kasey. They'd been together almost a month officially, and things had never been better. They took turns spending the night at each other's homes when Kasey didn't have to work, and nights where he did have to work, they often managed to at least get dinner together. On his days off, they went out, usually doing nothing important, but the walks through the park, the hours at the gun range, and the simple trips to the grocery store together meant everything to him. It was great having someone to do things with.
As stressful as work was, having Kasey in his life helped take the pressure off. He found comfort and relief in his arms, the job not being so central in his life anymore. He had an escape, someone to lean on.
Forcing his mind back onto the case, he started reviewing the park surveillance video again, hoping for some clue, some little thing they'd missed before. Having no leads on the two girls, and now the young boy, didn't sit well with him. It was his job to figure out what happened, to find the kids.
His phone rang, pulling his attention from the video. He saw Kasey's name and grinned. "Hey."
"Hi, sorry to bother you at work." Kasey didn't sound like his usual happy self.
"You know you're no bother. What's up?" He eased back in his chair, glad for the short break.
"I have to skip out on tonight. I'll have time for dinner, but that's about it. I have a job late, then I'm headed out of town first thing in the morning for a few days. There's some job they need help with and the money is good, so I told them I could go. I shouldn't be gone more than three or four days."
Noam bit back the sigh that wanted to leave him. It was only a few days, but it sounded as if it was going to be forever. "You warned me this happens from time to time. I understand. I'll be here when you get back. Do you want to still do dinner tonight? I'd like to at least see you before you go."
"Yeah, I can drop by about six. Want me to bring something to eat?" Kasey asked.
"No, I'll cook. I'm off at four and I have some meat in the fridge I need to use. Where are they sending you?"
"It's a town just outside of Vegas," Kasey told him. "There's four of us going."
"Vegas, huh? Wish I was able to go with you. We could sneak away and enjoy ourselves a little." He closed his eyes, imagining them standing in front of a wedding chapel. He quickly forced the thought from his mind. It was way too early in their relationship for something like that, but the thought caused his stomach to flutter.
"We'll have to plan a trip soon. I like the idea of going on vacation with you. We could both use the time away." Kasey sighed. "I need to go. Boss wants to talk about the Vegas job. I'll be by as soon as I can tonight."
"I'll see you then." Noam hung up.
As he set his phone down, he tried not to feel let down that Kasey was going away. It was only a few days, and they had been spending all their free time together. While he would miss him, maybe the time apart would be good. It would give him time to think about their relationship and where he wanted it to go. It was hard to take things slow. What he felt for Kasey had grown quickly, and already he was wondering if they might think about moving in together. He wasn't going to ask, not so soon, but it was where his mind was going.
His phone rang again, and Noam smiled, hoping it was Kasey calling back, but as he grabbed it off the desk, his smile faded. "Levinsky here." He answered after seeing it was his boss.
"We've got a lead on that van from the park. It was seen in an attempted kidnapping in South Ridge this morning. The kid managed to get away, but the whole thing was caught on video. I'm forwarding you the file and video, but I've also arranged to have you meet with the kid and his parents this afternoon. He got a good look at the man. He's with a sketch artist now, but as soon as he's done, I'd like you to talk to him."
Noam sat up straighter. "Give me the address and I'll be there. Is he okay? The kid?"
"Shaken up, but fine. He was older. Fourteen. Everything should be in your email."
"Thanks, I'll give it a look before I head over." He ended the call and clicked on his email, hoping that something might break the case open. Nothing weighed him down more than not being able to bring kids home. People looked to him to do his job, and when weeks or months went by and the family was still waiting for their child, he failed to do his job.
He ignored the file and went to the video first. He leaned in, watching as a young boy was walking out of a convenience store. As he left the building and started to walk down the sidewalk, he had to pass by a small alleyway. It was there the man had tried to grab him.
Noam hit pause on the computer, taking a second to look at the man closer. He appeared to be in his forties. He wore all black, but he hadn't covered his face. Noam stared at the man, trying to make out the details of his appearance. He was a white man with dark hair, maybe six feet tall. It was hard to say. He'd have a better idea once he saw the boy and knew how tall he was, so he could compare.
Picking up his phone he called one of his friends, leaving a message when he didn't answer. "Hey, Jess, I'm sending you a file. Can you run it through facial recognition for me? I know the guys here will be on it, but you're faster. I don't have days to wait on this."
After hanging up, he sent the file, then watched it again. The boy was tough, using some kind of martial arts looking moves to manage to escape. It was pure luck, the kid seemed to have some kind of training in self-defense. If not, he would have easily been hauled into the van.
Focusing on the van, Noam looked for any identifying marks he hadn't seen in the older video. There wasn't much, and the quality of the video wasn't the best. He hoped that there might be other cameras in the area, but for now, this was all he had to work with.
He spent nearly an hour going over the video and file before it was time to go meet with the kid. He was glad that they'd arranged to meet at the boy's home. Interviews were easier when they were done in a familiar place. He wasn't sure how much the boy would be able to tell him, but he hoped he could get something.
It was nearly five by the time he left the kid's house, but he'd gotten a ton of information from the boy. Not only had the kid gotten a very good look at the man, he'd seen inside the back of the van and saw speakers and guitars as if the man was part of a band. It was a small lead, but it gave Noam hope that maybe one of the bars or clubs in the area might recognize the van and lead him to the owner.
Noam pulled into the garage, glad the day was over. His mind was working a hundred miles an hour trying to piece together the clues he'd learned today with the clues that he had from the park. There wasn't a ton to go on, but it was more than he had. He'd focus the next few days on finding that van, and hopefully, keep himself distracted from the fact that Kasey was out of town.
He'd just gotten in the house when he saw Kasey pull up in front. He watched him climb out of the car, appreciating the roundness of his ass as Kasey bent into the backseat for a moment. The man was too perfect. There wasn't an inch of him that Noam didn't find attractive.
He unlocked the front door, holding it open as Kasey walked in. "Hey, sorry dinner's not ready. I just got home myself." He gave Kasey a quick kiss.
"I can still go grab something if you're not up to cooking," Kasey offered.
Noam shut the door. "No, it won't take long. It's just chicken breasts. I don't feel like going back out anyway. Was a long day. I want a hot shower and to put my feet up."
"Well, why don't you go get your hot shower and I'll cook?" Kasey wrapped his arms around Noam's waist, pulling him close. "I'd offer to wash your back, but I know if I join you in the shower, we won't ever get to dinner, and I have to leave here by eight. It would be too tempting to pull you into bed and hold you the rest of the night."
Noam loved how Kasey made him feel sexy without ever making it about sex. "You sure you don't mind?"
"Not at all. When you get out, we can eat, and you can tell me about your day." Kasey kissed him again. "Go shower. Casper and I will tear apart the kitchen."
"Great." Noam rolled his eyes. "That should make me nervous, but I'm too tired to care tonight. Thank you."
"Anytime." Kasey slapped Noam's ass as he turned to walk to the bedroom
Noam rushed through his shower. By the time he'd changed into something comfortable and got back to the kitchen, Kasey was pulling the chicken from the oven. "Smells amazing."
"Thanks, I wasn't sure how you liked them." Kasey set a bowl of cauliflower on the table along with fried potatoes.
"I could hire you as my chef." Noam smiled.
"Then I wouldn't have to leave town. This is a job offer I might consider." Kasey sat down with him. "So, long day?"
"Yeah, another attempted kidnapping. Same suspect that took the kid from the park a few weeks ago. I've got a good video of the suspect, and the kid gave me some great information to follow up, but I can't help thinking I've failed the family of the kid from the park by not getting him home by now."
"You can't put that on your shoulders. It's not like you can go banging down every door to look for him. You've exhausted every lead you've had up to today. This isn't on you, Noam. You know that."
"I know. It's just hard. That's three kids missing in the last few months and I have nothing to give the parents. I can't imagine what they go through each night, wondering where their child is."
"Me neither, but I do know you can't blame yourself. This is on the assholes who took them. They are the ones to blame. You do as much as you can, but you're not God, you're not some superhero who always gets your man. This is the real world, and sadly, sometimes the criminals win."
Noam nodded. "I know that. It's just hard. I miss the simple break-ins, the robberies, the things that don't have to do with kids. It makes it so much harder when it's a kid."
"It does, but keep thinking about Faith. She was gone for a long time and they found her. She was brought home safe."
Noam laughed at the irony. "Even that case wasn't because of the police. She'd probably still be missing if it was up to us."
Kasey froze, setting his fork down as he seemed to swallow hard. "What do you mean?"
Noam pinched the bridge of his nose. "Nothing. It's all confidential. I can't talk about it. I shouldn't have said anything. It was just that you were trying to make me feel better about a case, but it was one of the many cases we failed to do anything on. Let's just say, there are others searching for the kids who go missing. A sort of… I guess you could call him or her a vigilante. They managed to find Faith and called us with her location. We wouldn't have found her without the information from this person." He was saying more than he should, but hell, he trusted Kasey. There was no reason to think he was going to start some media campaign to shame the police. Hell, he wasn't even telling him most of the story.
Kasey nodded. "Wow, I had no idea." He shook his head. "I know that must be hard for you, for the police, but no matter how the kids get home isn't that a good thing?"
"Oh, it is. Don't get me wrong. It just makes me feel like I'm not doing my job. How does this person get the information I can't? I mean I have sources the general public doesn't." Noam was frustrated, unable to get anything positive to happen on his side.
Kasey reached over and covered his hand with his own. "You do your best, that's all you can do. Personally, if there is someone out there helping, welcome it. If it gets the kids home or helps you find the criminals you're after, then it's not really a bad thing, right?"
Noam shrugged. It wouldn't be a bad thing if whoever was doing it wasn't breaking the law in the process. It was such a mess. A legal and moral dilemma that he wished he wasn't in the middle of. Some days he wondered if it was all worth it. "Anyway, enough about me. Tell me about your trip."
Kasey pulled his hand back, picking up his fork and stabbing his potato. "Not much to tell. My company needs a few of us to work out some system problems. Four of us are going and spending three or four days. We'll be working nights, so I should be able to call and talk to you during the day. I'm not excited to go, but it pays well, and the guys need all the help they can get. The job is a lot bigger than it should be for just the four of us."
"Wish I could go with you."
Kasey smiled, but looked a bit shocked. "When we go on vacation together, it will be when I don't have to work, and I can spend every minute of the time with you. I don't care if we get a hotel in town or go across the world, I want it to be just us. Not a bunch of guys I work with tagging along with us."
"True, I agree. Where do you dream of going someday?" Noam asked.
"Hmm, I've always wanted to go see Hawaii, and I've also wanted to go to that big Mayan Pyramid. I couldn't even tell you where it is honestly, but I've always wanted to walk up it. What about you?"
"I've always wanted to see Paris, and I've wanted to go fishing in Alaska."
Kasey grinned. "I could really get into both of those. We'll have to plan something when I get back. When you can get time off work we'll go for a week."
"Do you get a lot of vacation time?" Noam asked, noticing Kasey had said when he got time off, but didn't say anything about needing to ask for it himself.
"My boss is pretty cool about letting us get time off when we need it as long as we don't take advantage of it. I have to give a little notice, but for the most part, as long as I let him know I'll be gone, he'll have the others cover my shifts." Kasey was fully focused on his food. "It's one of the things I like about the job. It pays well, and I have the freedom I wouldn't have at a lot of other jobs."
Noam had wondered about that. Kasey had a very nice house and seemed to never worry about money, yet he didn't work more than a few nights a week most of the time. It was a lot more than most IT jobs would pay. He didn't push even though he was curious about how much Kasey made. "I wish I had a little more freedom, but I can't complain. They deal with my headaches and the time off I need for those." He sighed. "What time do you leave?"
"I have to work tonight, then meet the others at eight in the morning. We're driving there. It's only a few hours. I'm hoping to be back by Friday, so we can have the weekend together, but it might be Saturday. I'll know more once we get there and see what we're dealing with." Kasey set his fork down again. "You're not upset I'm going, are you? You seem sorta down."
Noam shook his head. "No, I understand you have to go. I mean, of course, I'd rather you be here with me, but we have spent a ton of time together the last few weeks. A little time apart won't kill us. I've just gotten used to you here. Maybe more than I should have."
Kasey reached across the table again for Noam's hand. "Babe, it's not just you. I'm having trouble leaving you as well. I like waking up beside you in the morning, having you with me the nights I don't work. I really tried not to go, but I can't make the others do all the work alone. Not on a job this big. If I really wasn't needed, I'd stay."
"I know that. I sound like some sappy school girl. I'll be fine. It's just made me realize how serious we've gotten in a short time. I'm not saying it's bad. It's just how it is. I don't regret how close we are. It just means that it's that much harder to be apart when we have to. You've just sort of taken my world by storm and I guess now that I know how it feels to be happy, to care about someone, I don't want to lose it."
"You aren't going to lose me, Noam. It's a few days, then I'll be right back by your side, fighting Casper for one side of the bed, and reminding you every day how much you mean to me as well."
Noam smiled over the table, giving Kasey's hand a squeeze. "I'm glad you came into my life. I hope you know that."
"Noam, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't thank God for you. I never dreamed I'd find someone who was willing to… Was understanding and wouldn't pressure me to be someone I'm not, do things I don't enjoy. And to share so many things in common, to be able to talk the way we do. You are everything I've ever dreamed I could never find. I'll be back in a few days and we'll talk more, but know while I'm gone, you are on my mind and in my heart."
As he stared across the table at Kasey, trying not to let his emotions show, he was sure that this was the man he wanted to spend his life with. He'd wait until they'd been together longer to tell him, but as far as he was concerned, he'd found the one, and as soon as Kasey was back home, he was going to do everything he could to make sure it happened.